| Internet Governance DOJ Poised to File Second Antitrust Suit Against Google: Reporting suggests that a suit focusing on the company’s role in the digital ad market may come “as soon as next month.” A 2020 suit brought by the Department alleges that Google maintains an unlawful monopoly in the online-search market. |
| Privacy Facebook Provided Data to Law Enforcement in Nebraska Abortion Case: In response to a warrant, the social network sent to law enforcement private messages between a 17-year-old teen and her mother, in which the pair discussed the use of abortion pills. Meta says that it did not know that the disclosure would be used to investigate an illegal abortion. |
| Information Security and Cyberthreats Slack Exposed Workspace Users’ Hashed Passwords: An independent security research firm recently informed the company that users who created shared links to their workspaces had their hashed, non-plaintext passwords “slip out” in encrypted traffic. |
| Intellectual Property Google Sues Sonos for Allegedly Infringing Voice-Recognition Patents: In two new lawsuits, Google alleges that the speaker company’s latest design infringes seven of Google’s patents. The suits are the latest in a years-long quarrel between the companies. |
| Freedom of Expression and Censorship Report Finds White Supremacist Content Remains on Facebook: A study by the Tech Transparency Project discovered more than 80 white supremacist groups on the site, despite Facebook’s banning of such content in past years. The report also found that Facebook profits off advertisements shown in connection with search results related to white supremacist content. |
| Practice Note Federal Circuit Confirms that AI Systems Cannot Patent Inventions: The court upheld a decision that a computer scientist’s AI system could not legally be an inventor because it is not a “natural person,” which the Federal Circuit emphasized means “a human being, a person.” |
| On the Lighter Side “Fiber Cable Guy” Gets $2.6 Million in Government Funds to Expand His ISP: A Michigan man who built his own fiber internet provider after learning that it would cost $50,000 for other ISPs to extend their cable services to his home has won a contract with his local government to expand his broadband services across the community. |
| If you enjoy reading CLIP-ings, please consider making a contribution to Fordham CLIP. Your support provides crucial funding at a time when the study of information law and policy is more important than ever. |
| Ron Lazebnik Academic Director, Fordham CLIP Tom Norton Executive Director, Fordham CLIP |