CLIP-ings

Internet Governance

Disney Plus Asserts Twitter Users Are Subject To Disney Terms Of Service: The media giant’s twitter account spurred confusion after suggesting users who tweet with the hashtag #MayThe4th and mention @DisneyPlus are subject to its terms of service and agree to Disney’s use of any message shared in such tweets; legal experts have questioned the validity of Disney’s claims.

Amazon Loses Appeal In France To Sell More Than Essential Goods: The Versailles Court of Appeals upheld a previous ruling limiting Amazon’s delivery services to essential goods until a proper health and risk evaluation to protect workers from COVID-19 is conducted with French unions; the technology giant currently faces a fine of €100,000 for any delivery made in violation of the ruling.

Privacy

Apple And Google Promise To Shut Down Coronavirus Tracker When Pandemic Ends: The tech giants have issued a revised plan for their joint contract-tracing effort that includes a promise to end the service when the pandemic has been “sufficiently contained,” as well as stronger encryption specifications to prevent the identification or digital fingerprinting of individuals.

Information Security and Cyberthreats

Nintendo Hack Exposed Over 160,000 Accounts: The gaming company announced last week that the accounts were exposed starting in early April, and that hackers were able to access individuals’ date of birth, region, and email address; the hackers also used users’ PayPal or credit card information to buy items on Nintendo’s platform such as “V-bucks,” the virtual currency associated with the popular game Fortnite.

Intellectual Property

Jay-Z Responds To YouTube Deepfakes With Copyright Strikes: The hip-hop mogul’s entertainment agency, Roc Nation, claims that the AI-generated videos replicating Jay-Z’s voice rapping the “Book of Genesis and the infamous Navy Seal copypasta meme” amount to unlawful copyright infringement; though YouTube initially removed the content, the videos were reinstated after the platform determined Roc Nation’s DMCA takedown requests were incomplete.

Free Expression and Censorship

U.S. Army Reservist Falsely Accused Of Being Coronavirus Patient Zero In Viral Misinformation Campaign: Maatje Benassi, the subject of a viral conspiracy promoted by YouTube “misinformation peddler” George Webb and the Chinese Communist Party, has tried to get the viral content removed, but First Amendment speech protections and YouTube’s legal immunities have left her with seemingly little legal recourse.

Twitter Says Trump’s Disinfectant Statements Do Not Violate Coronavirus Misinformation Policies: While the social media platform has blocked hashtags related to the use of disinfectant as a coronavirus cure, a spokesperson for the company said that videos of President Trump proffering the idea of ingesting disinfectant to treat the virus do not violate its policies because the statements reflect “a wish for a cure rather than a call to action.”

On the Lighter Side

Library Of Congress Launches Free Audio-Mixing Website: Created by DJ and computer scientist Brian Foo, “Citizen DJ” allows users to access “roughly 3 million sound recordings spanning centuries” and remix them to create their own tracks.

Joel R. Reidenberg
Stanley D. and Nikki Waxberg Chair and Professor of Law
Founding Academic Director, Fordham CLIP

Tom Norton
Executive Director, Fordham CLIP

Brittany Thomas
Sean Conners
Editorial Fellows, Fordham CLIP

Internet Governance

Senator Blumenthal Raises Concerns Over Apple And Google’s Contact Tracing Technology: Apple and Google have teamed up to develop contact tracing technology designed to help contain the spread of coronavirus by alerting users after they’ve come in contact with a contagious person; Senator Blumenthal has warned the companies that they must balance consumer privacy with the needs of public health officials.

Supreme Court To Hear Cases Via Teleconference, Relaxes Paper Filing Rules: After delaying oral arguments last month due to the coronavirus pandemic, the Supreme Court will hear cases over teleconference in May and will live stream oral arguments; the Court also relaxed its rules for paper filings and service in an effort to protect the health and safety of personnel amid the outbreak.

Privacy

Half Of Americans Have Opted Out Of Products Or Services Due To Privacy Concerns: According to a recent Pew Research Center survey, 52% of Americans have decided not to use a product or service because of the amount of personal information it collected; the study also found that Americans who were victims of hacking or fraud were more likely to opt out of services due to privacy concerns.

Singapore Bans Use Of Zoom In Schools Following Security Incidents: After a series of “very serious incidents” in the first weeks of home-based learning involving “Zoombombing,” Singapore has discontinued the use of teleconferencing service for remote learning; the move follows a series of security and privacy incidents for Zoom, as other schools and regions have also banned use of the service for learning. 

Information Security and Cyberthreats

Zoom Allows Users To Choose Routing Region: After the Taiwanese government banned Zoom due to concern about the flow of its data through China, the video-conferencing platform is now allowing users of paid accounts to opt out of having their data routed through selected regions. 

Free Expression and Censorship

Amazon Halts Delivery In France: The Nanterre Court of Justice ruled that the e-commerce giant must assess the “occupational risks inherent in the COVID-19 epidemic” at its French warehouses and is now limited to delivering only essential goods; in response, Amazon has suspended operations in the country pending a review of COVID-19 risks in its facilities.

Practice Note

Court Reverses Order Requiring Facebook To Turn Over Murder Victim’s Data: California’s Court of Appeal reversed a trial court decision that ordered Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter to produce the victim’s social media messages to the defendants; the Court of Appeal found that the lower court had failed to “consider all the relevant factors” identified by the state’s Supreme Court before permitting the defendants to access the data.

On the Lighter Side

Unemployed Gamers Turn To Full-Time Video Game Coaching: As unemployment surges due to the coronavirus pandemic, some newly unemployed gamers are using their passion to earn extra money as video game coaches.

Joel R. Reidenberg
Stanley D. and Nikki Waxberg Chair and Professor of Law
Founding Academic Director, Fordham CLIP

Tom Norton
Executive Director, Fordham CLIP

Brittany Thomas
Sean Conners
Editorial Fellows, Fordham CLIP

Internet Governance

“Zoombombing” Now Considered A Federal Offense: The trend of gaining access to Zoom meetings and broadcasting disruptive content is now punishable by fines and possible imprisonment in Michigan, according to a press release posted on the state’s U.S. Attorney’s Office website; victims of teleconference hacking can report incidents to the FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center.  

EU To Create Common Rules For Coronavirus Tracking Apps: In an effort to streamline coronavirus tracking efforts across the region while maintaining privacy and data protection standards, the EU Commission and member states are creating a “toolbox” of common rules for the creation and use of mobile apps designed to track the spread of coronavirus.

Privacy

Google Releases Location Data To Assist With Coronavirus Response: The tech firm is releasing a series of “Community Mobility Reports,” which include aggregated, anonymized location history data intended to help public health officials better understand changes in trips to essential businesses and inform decisions regarding regional store hours and delivery service offerings.

Information Security and Cyberthreats

New York City Bans Zoom From Public Schools: Following a series of security and privacy issues with Zoom, New York City’s Department of Education banned the teleconference service in all city schools and is transitioning to Microsoft’s Teams service for remote learning.

Intellectual Property

France Rules Google Must Pay For Reusing News Content: The French competition authority has ordered Google to negotiate with publishers and provide them payment for its use of snippets of their content in its search results; Google had unilaterally removed snippets from search results as a way of avoiding payments to publishers under the EU’s new copyright measures, but the French authority found this tactic to amount to an abuse of Google’s dominant market position.

Free Expression and Censorship

YouTube Limits 5G-Coronavirus Conspiracy Videos: The social media company announced it would remove content connecting 5G to the coronavirus pandemic from the platform for violating its policies against videos promoting “medically unsubstantiated methods” of preventing coronavirus infections.

WhatsApp Restricts Message Forwarding To Limit Spread of False Information: Amid scrutiny for its role in spreading disinformation about the coronavirus, the messaging app announced that it will be attempting to minimize the dispersion of false information by restricting users’ ability to send “frequently forwarded messages” (i.e., messages that have been sent through a chain of five users) to only a single chat at a time. 

On the Lighter Side

New Hinge Feature Encourages Virtual Dates: In the wake of a recent surge in virtual dating, the popular dating app unveiled a new “Date from Home” feature to ease the transition from in-app texting to video calls; the feature allows users to indicate to matches their readiness to have a video call. 

Joel R. Reidenberg
Stanley D. and Nikki Waxberg Chair and Professor of Law
Founding Academic Director, Fordham CLIP

Tom Norton
Executive Director, Fordham CLIP

Brittany Thomas
Sean Conners
Editorial Fellows, Fordham CLIP



Internet Governance

African Governments Partner With Tech Companies To Fight Coronavirus Misinformation: Several African countries have partnered with Facebook, WhatsApp, and Twitter to combat misinformation as coronavirus infections now total around 6,000 on the continent; some countries, including Kenya and South Africa, have also resorted to punitive measures, threatening jail time and large fines for the spread of false information.

Privacy

With Massive Uptick In Users, Zoom Promises To Fix Privacy And Security Flaws: Citing a series of privacy and security concerns, including vulnerabilities that allowed users to hijack cameras and “Zoombomb” meetings, Zoom announced a 90-day feature freeze as it plans to focus on fixing privacy and security issues to better accommodate its 200 million daily users.

Washington Governor Signs Facial Recognition Technology Law: The law, signed on Tuesday, is the first U.S. state law to limit the use of facial recognition technology by law enforcement and requires, among other things, that government agencies obtain a warrant before running facial recognition scans. 

Information Security and Cyberthreats

Marriott Discloses New Security Breach: After a 2018 breach impacted over 500 million guests, Marriott said the latest breach exposed the personal information of 5.2 million guests, including names, birthdates, and phone numbers; Marriott said it does not believe any payment information was leaked. 

Intellectual Property

National Emergency Library’s Expanded Offering Raises Piracy Concerns: In response to increased demand from educators who are now teaching remotely during the coronavirus pandemic, the Internet Archive-affiliated digital library suspended waitlists for access to its collection of 1.4 million scanned books and ebooks; some authors and publishers have criticized the policy change and accuse the Emergency Library of “acting as a piracy site.”

Free Expression and Censorship

“Fake News” Banned By Vietnamese Government: Effective April 15, a new law will restrict social media users from posting or sharing content the government deems to be misinformation; the law, which empowers authorities to impose substantial fines and force users to remove posts, also prohibits a swath of other content including posts “encouraging unsound customs, promoting depraved cultural products,” or disclosing state secrets.

Practice Note

Judge Rules Call Of Duty Can Depict Humvees Without A License: A New York district court judge ruled that unlicensed depictions of Humvees in the popular video game did not infringe Humvee maker AM General’s trademark because the vehicle’s presence in the game was intended to promote realism rather than to trade on the Humvee brand.

On the Lighter Side

A Micro-Mini Purse For Your Airpods: Twelve South, a company that exclusively makes accessories for Apple products, debuted a purse designed to hold Airpods and Airpods only; priced at $49, the miniature leather satchel is equipped with both a side strap and a finger-sized top handle.

Joel R. Reidenberg
Stanley D. and Nikki Waxberg Chair and Professor of Law
Founding Academic Director, Fordham CLIP

Tom Norton
Executive Director, Fordham CLIP

Brittany Thomas
Sean Conners
Editorial Fellows, Fordham CLIP


Internet Governance

Tech Companies Partner With WHO For Coronavirus Hackathon: Facebook, Microsoft, and TikTok are among the tech companies participating in #BuildforCOVID19, a global hackathon aimed at finding software solutions for the coronavirus pandemic; the winning projects will be announced on April 3.

Privacy

Smartphone GPS Data Shows American Social Distancing Patterns: Unacast, a human mobility insights company, uses smartphone GPS location data collected from apps to gauge the extent to which people are staying put and generate a “Social Distancing Scoreboard” that grades adherence to social distancing guidelines by county across the United States; grades have varied greatly, with some localities such as Washington, D.C. receiving an “A” rating, while others like Wyoming earn an “F.” 

Information Security and Cyberthreats

Cybersecurity Experts Fight Coronavirus-Related Hacks: With an uptick in phishing scams and other hacking attempts designed to exploit the coronavirus pandemic, a group of over 400 international cybersecurity experts formed the “COVID-19 CTI League” to fight hacking and ransomware attacks targeted at health organizations and other “frontline responders.” 

Intellectual Property

Google v. Oracle Supreme Court Oral Arguments Delayed Due To Coronavirus: For the first time since the 1918 Spanish flu pandemic, the Supreme Court has postponed hearing oral arguments, delaying the $8 billion copyright case between the tech giants. 

Free Expression and Censorship

Namecheap Blocks Registration Of Domains Containing Coronavirus-Related Words: In an effort to prevent potential abuse, fraud, and misinformation, the domain registrar has temporarily blocked all domain requests that contain words including “coronavirus,” “covid,” or “vaccine;” legitimate companies and website owners will still be allowed to apply for domains containing the blocked words by making a request through Namecheap’s customer support team.

Twitter Locks Account For Promoting Unfounded Coronavirus Advice: The platform temporarily locked The Federalist’s account after the news site tweeted an article encouraging people to deliberately infect themselves in controlled-quarantine coronavirus gatherings similar to “medical chickenpox parties”; Twitter concluded that the post violated its rules regarding COVID-19 content, which prohibit posts that “go[ ] directly against guidance from authoritative sources of global and local public health information.”

Practice Note

Surge In Lawyers Working From Home Increases Risk Of Smart-Devices Hearing Confidential Conversations: Though companies such as Amazon and Google have stated that their digital assistants are designed to record and store conversations only when voice-activated, lawyers are being warned to remove or turn off the devices when working from home given that the devices can often activate in error.

On the Lighter Side

Spanish Police Arrest Man For “Hunting Pokemon” During Lockdown: A 77 year-old man dedicated to “catching them all” was arrested for playing Pokemon Go outside, in violation of the Spanish government’s coronavirus lockdown orders.

Joel R. Reidenberg
Stanley D. and Nikki Waxberg Chair and Professor of Law
Founding Academic Director, Fordham CLIP

Tom Norton
Executive Director, Fordham CLIP

Brittany Thomas
Sean Conners
Editorial Fellows, Fordham CLIP


Internet Governance

Israel Turns To Cellphone Location Data To Fight Coronavirus: Israel’s internal security agency has received authorization to use cellphone location data to “retrace the movements of individuals who test positive for the virus, and identify others who should be quarantined”; reports suggest that government researchers in the United States have been in talks with tech companies such as Facebook and Google on how to leverage their users’ data to help curb the virus’s spread in the U.S.

EU Asks Streaming Services To Downgrade From High-Definition: European Union officials are asking online streaming platforms such as Netflix to switch to standard-definition streaming to preserve bandwidth and prevent strain on the internet’s functioning during a time when many are working and learning from home due to coronavirus-related quarantines or lockdowns.

Privacy

House FISA Bill Delayed After Senate Extends Existing Surveillance Tools: On Monday, the Senate agreed to extend for 77 days a set of existing government surveillance tools to gain time to review the House-approved USA FREEDOM Reauthorization Act of 2020, which would update and renew domestic surveillance rules under the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act. 

Information Security and Cyberthreats

Security Firm Discovers Malware Disguised As Coronavirus-Tracking App: Mobile app security company Lookout discovered a malware app that mimics Johns Hopkins’ legitimate coronavirus-tracking app and allows attackers to access a device’s photos, videos, and location, as well as to enable its camera.

Free Expression and Censorship

Facebook Spam Filter Bug Blocks Legitimate Coronavirus News: Users who attempted to share legitimate news about coronavirus from outlets such as The Atlantic and The Times of Israel had their posts flagged as spam; Facebook contends that the issue arose as the result of a bug in the company’s spam filter.

TikTok Adds Content Advisory Council Following Content Suppression: The popular video-sharing app announced that a council of health and safety experts with expertise in areas such as misinformation, hate speech, and bullying will help form content policies for the app; the announcement comes after TikTok was discovered to have instructed its content moderators to suppress videos from users who appeared to be “too ugly or too poor.”

Practice Note

Department Of Health And Human Services Loosens HIPAA Penalties In Wake Of Coronavirus: To enable greater patient assessment while limiting the risk of infection through the use of telehealth services, the Department will waive penalties for violations of the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act that could otherwise result from medical professionals’ use of non-HIPAA-compliant videoconferencing services such as FaceTime, Facebook Messenger, Google Hangouts, and Skype.

On the Lighter Side

The Show Must Go On(line): Conan O’Brien will become the first of the late-night talk show hosts to attempt to return to the air from coronavirus-imposed self-isolation by filming his segment using an iPhone and dialing in guests via Skype.

Joel R. Reidenberg
Stanley D. and Nikki Waxberg Chair and Professor of Law
Founding Academic Director, Fordham CLIP

Tom Norton
Executive Director, Fordham CLIP

Brittany Thomas
Sean Conners
Editorial Fellows, Fordham CLIP

Internet Governance

YouTube Allows Some Content Creators To Monetize Coronavirus Content: Reversing its previous position, YouTube will now allow select content creators, including news organizations and a “limited number of channels,” to display advertisements on coronavirus-related videos.

Thousands Of Political Ads On Facebook Had Inaccurate Payment Disclosures: A New York University study of the social media site’s Ad Library found over $37 million worth of political ads with inaccurate or misleading disclosures about the ads’ sponsors; over 19,000 ads were found to be posted by “inauthentic communities” comparable to the Internet Research Agency, the Russia-backed organization believed to be responsible for the 2016 Democratic National Committee email hack.

Privacy

U.S. House Votes To Approve Extension Of The Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act: The bill, which will now go to the Senate, extends key provisions of the Act allowing the FBI to investigate suspected terrorism or espionage by foreign powers; the bill also includes additional privacy protections and harsher penalties for violating the Act. 

Information Security and Cyberthreats

Cybercriminals Expected To Exploit Coronavirus Pandemic: According to a RiskIQ study of past outbreaks and patterns of phishing and malware attacks, cyber-criminal activity using social engineering is expected to increase as a result of a heightening interest in coronavirus news.

Anonymous Secret Sharing App Left 900 Million User Records Exposed: Whisper, an app used by over 30 million people per month to anonymously post personal secrets, unintentionally exposed identifying user information—including that of children—on a searchable online database for years; the database, which included information such as age, location, ethnicity, and residence, has since been removed by Whisper.

Intellectual Property

EU Plans Expansive “Right To Repair” Electronics Legislation: In an attempt to curb electronic waste and “decoupl[e] economic growth from extraction of primary resources,” the European Commission plans to introduce legislation designed to compel electronics producers to “create products that last longer, include as many recycled materials as possible and are easier to reuse, repair and recycle.” 

Free Expression and Censorship

Biden Clip Prompts Twitter and Facebook To Apply Fact-Checking Labels: An edited video shared by President Trump in which former Vice President Biden appeared to say that Trump would be re-elected was labeled “partly false” by Facebook fact-checkers and also resulted in the first use of Twitter’s “manipulated video” tag.

On the Lighter Side

Wuhan Students Try To Kick Remote Learning App From App Store: In an inventive attempt to get out of their online classes spurred by coronavirus-related school closures, students in Wuhan bombarded the App Store with one-star reviews of remote learning app DingTalk because they mistakenly believed apps with one-star ratings would be taken off the App Store.

Joel R. Reidenberg
Stanley D. and Nikki Waxberg Chair and Professor of Law
Founding Academic Director, Fordham CLIP

Tom Norton
Executive Director, Fordham CLIP

Brittany Thomas
Sean Conners
Editorial Fellows, Fordham CLIP

Internet Governance

Cellphone Carriers Face $200 Million Fine For Selling Location Data: The Federal Communications Commission approved the proposed fines against T-Mobile, AT&T, Verizon, and Sprint after finding that the carriers violated the Telecommunications Act by not protecting the confidentiality of customers’ location information.

YouTube Sees Success In Curbing Conspiracy Theories: After announcing its plan to crack down on “borderline content” in January 2019, a new study conducted by UC Berkeley finds that conspiracy theories are now 40 percent less likely to appear in users’ video recommendations.

Privacy

Russian Court Rules Facial Recognition Technology Does Not Violate Privacy: A court in Moscow determined that the city’s 105,000-camera facial recognition system—most recently leveraged to enforce coronavirus quarantines and identify individuals at “mass events and protests”—does not violate citizens’ privacy.

Information Security and Cyberthreats

Chinese Nationals Assisted North Korean Hackers In Laundering Stolen Cryptocurrency: After stealing over $250 million in cryptocurrency in 2018, North Korean hackers relied on assistance from two Chinese nationals to launder $100 million of it through methods such as prepaid iTunes gift cards.

Intellectual Property

Lawmakers Look To Hold Amazon And eBay Accountable For Counterfeits: Though the retail giants have spent hundreds of millions of dollars targeting the issue, products on the sites such as “knockoff beauty products that cause people’s eyelashes to fall out, and counterfeit cellphone chargers that can cause fires” still remain, prompting lawmakers to hold a hearing and introduce a bill that would make retailers liable for counterfeits sold on their sites. 

Free Expression and Censorship

Dispute Over President’s Speech Raises Questions About Facebook Fact-Checking: A Facebook fact-checking partner’s decision to flag as “false” articles on the platform concerning President Trump’s use of the word “hoax” in connection with coronavirus has stirred questions about how Facebook has designed its fact-checking procedures.

Practice Note

Ninth Circuit Rules That A Privacy Violation Is A Concrete Injury: Though the court affirmed approval of a settlement challenged by Facebook users suing the company for scanning their private messages, the court rejected Facebook’s argument that the users lacked standing, and instead found that Facebook’s conduct resulted in concrete injury under the Electronic Communications Privacy Act and the California Invasion of Privacy Act.

On the Lighter Side

Google Hides Musical Treat In Smartwatch: The mini drum sequencer, an Easter egg left by the tech company in its Wear OS device, allows wearers to create their own sick beats using “a colorful four-by-four grid.”

Joel R. Reidenberg
Stanley D. and Nikki Waxberg Chair and Professor of Law
Founding Academic Director, Fordham CLIP

Tom Norton
Executive Director, Fordham CLIP

Brittany Thomas
Sean Conners
Editorial Fellows, Fordham CLIP

Internet Governance

China Cracks Down On Sharing Of Coronavirus Information: The Chinese government has started censoring posts related to the coronavirus outbreak on platforms like WeChat and Twitter, even if such posts are benign or uncritical of the government’s response.

Privacy

New Study Quantifies Value Of Online Privacy: The study by the Technology Policy Institute asked Facebook users across six countries how much they would want to be paid in exchange for Facebook to be able to share their personal information with third-parties; German users valued privacy the highest overall by desiring around $8.00 per month for Facebook to have the right to share their contact information.

ICE Runs Facial Recognition On Millions Of Maryland Drivers: Immigrant rights and privacy advocates are alarmed after the state of Maryland, which permits undocumented immigrants to obtain special driver’s licenses, allowed U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials to search millions of driver’s license photos without a warrant. 

Information Security and Cyberthreats

Facial Recognition Technology Startup Clearview AI Lost Entire Client List To Hackers: The client list, which was obtained through a security flaw that Clearview says has since been fixed, includes law enforcement agencies, police departments, and banks; the startup has been subject to scrutiny for scraping billions of photos from social media platforms for its facial recognition technology. 

Intellectual Property

Uber Forced To Face $1 Billion Trade Secrets Suit: The trial will proceed to a second phase, in which a new jury will decide the merits of plaintiff Kevin Halpern’s claims that leaders at Uber “made off with his trade secrets,” after lawyers for the ridesharing platform failed to convince a jury that Halpern’s suit was time-barred. 

Free Expression and Censorship

John Oliver Episode Criticizing Indian Prime Minister Modi Blocked By Disney: The episode was blocked on India’s largest streaming service, Disney-owned Hotstar; India’s Information and Broadcasting Ministry, which regulates media distributed in the country, has said the government was not involved in the censorship of the episode.

Practice Note

Google Prevails Against Conservative Group In YouTube Censorship Suit: The Ninth Circuit ruled against conservative non-profit Prager University in its suit alleging that Google unconstitutionally censored its videos by tagging those “on such topics as abortion, gun rights, Islam and terrorism for its ‘Restricted Mode’ setting” after finding that YouTube is not a government entity and therefore not subject to First Amendment scrutiny.

On the Lighter Side

Landlord Throws Out Drug Dealer’s Codes For $58 Million In Bitcoin: After he was convicted for drug-related crimes, many of the possessions in Clifton Collins’ Ireland apartment were sent to a dump by his landlord, including a fishing rod case containing the codes to $58M in Bitcoin; Collins may take some comfort in knowing Ireland’s Criminal Asset Bureau had already planned to seize the cryptocurrency.

Joel R. Reidenberg
Stanley D. and Nikki Waxberg Chair and Professor of Law
Founding Academic Director, Fordham CLIP

Tom Norton
Executive Director, Fordham CLIP

Brittany Thomas
Sean Conners
Editorial Fellows, Fordham CLIP

Internet Governance

Facebook Changes Its Sponsored Content Policy Following Bloomberg Meme Campaign: After Democratic presidential candidate Michael Bloomberg paid a number of Instagram influencers to post sponsored memes, Facebook and its subsidiary, Instagram, lifted a previous ban on “branded content” for political campaigns; under the new policy, such content will have to be clearly marked as sponsored.

Privacy

Congress Demands Information From Amazon Related To Ring Partnerships With Police: Amazon’s video doorbell subsidiary, Ring, has partnered with over 900 police departments since 2018, and the House Committee on Oversight and Reform on Wednesday requested more information on the nature of the partnerships; the inquiry follows an announcement from Amazon last week that it would tighten Ring’s privacy controls after a January study by the Electronic Frontier Foundation found that Ring shared customer information with Facebook and Google without user consent. 

Information Security and Cyberthreats

Israeli Soldiers Targeted By Hamas Malware Scam: The Palestinian militant organization targeted Israeli soldiers on social media by posing as young women and asking them to install malware-infected chat apps on their devices; the Israeli Defense Force says it has detected the malware infections and taken down Hamas’ hacking infrastructure.

Intellectual Property

Peloton To Allow Free Trade-In Of Competitor Flywheel’s Bikes: Following a settlement two weeks ago under which Flywheel agreed to stop using Peloton’s patented leadership board technology, Flywheel has discontinued its online service and Peloton has announced a new program allowing Flywheel customers to trade in their bikes for “like-new” Peloton bikes. 

Free Expression and Censorship

Maine Privacy Law Faces First Amendment Challenge From ISPs: In their lawsuit against the state, broadband providers argue that a provision requiring that they obtain opt-in consent before “using, disclosing, selling, or permitting access to customer personal information” infringes their First Amendment right to “advertis[e] or market[ ] non-communications-related services to their customers,” and “offer[ ] price discounts, rewards in loyalty programs, or other cost-saving benefits in exchange for a customer’s consent to use their personal information.” 

Attorney General Reviews Online Platform Immunity: At a recent public meeting held by the Justice Department, Attorney General Barr questioned whether, given a “changing technological landscape,” broad immunity under Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act is “necessary at least in its current form.”

Practice Note

Federal Judge Dismisses Huawei’s Equipment Ban Challenge: Unpersuaded by Huawei’s argument that it was unconstitutional for Congress to bar U.S. federal agencies from buying the company’s products, the court noted that contracting with the federal government is a privilege, not a constitutionally protected right.

On the Lighter Side

New Bracelet Jams Microphoned Devices: Designed by researchers at the University of Chicago, the “chunky” microphone-studded bracelet emits ultrasonic signals to render human voices incomprehensible to speech-detecting and recording devices such as digital assistants.

Joel R. Reidenberg
Stanley D. and Nikki Waxberg Chair and Professor of Law
Founding Academic Director, Fordham CLIP

Tom Norton
Executive Director, Fordham CLIP

Brittany Thomas
Sean Conners
Editorial Fellows, Fordham CLIP