CLIP-ings

Internet Governance Apple Faces Scrutiny from EU Competition Regulators Over Contactless Payments: The European Commission has accused Apple of abusing its dominant market position by restricting third-party access to technology necessary to develop a mobile wallet to rival Apple Pay. Apple denies the claims.

Privacy Outlawing Abortion Could Lead to Digital Privacy Crisis, Senator Warns: Senator Ron Wyden (D-OR) warned that if the Supreme Court overturns Roe v. Wade, digital data may be utilized to track women who have had abortions. Already, in at least two states, women have been charged with murder after miscarrying, in part due to evidence gathered from the women’s internet search history and phone messages indicating that they considered purchasing abortion pills.

Information Security and Cyberthreats UK’s National Health Service Hit By Phishing Scam: A phishing operation compromised over one hundred NHS email accounts over the course of about six months starting in October 2021. The attackers harvested online credentials from their victims and, in a few cases, tricked them into sending money.

Intellectual Property Apple Sues Start-Up for Allegedly Stealing Trade Secrets: According to a complaint filed in the Northern District of California, a California-based start-up that builds computer chips poached Apple employees and convinced them to copy confidential documents before leaving the company.

Freedom of Expression and Censorship European Court of Justice Upholds Use of Content Filters: The Court issued a ruling that recognizes the tension between Article 17 of the EU’s Copyright Directive, which imposes liability on big tech companies that allow copyright-infringing material on their platforms, and the Charter on Fundamental Human Rights of the European Union, which guarantees freedom of expression. The Court acknowledged that the obligation to review content creates a “de facto requirement” to use automatic recognition and filtering tools, but argues that there are enough safeguards in place to ensure that any technology being utilized will not otherwise violate EU law.

Practice Note Federal Judge Orders Every ISP in America to Block Three Pirate Streaming Services: After none of the Doe defendants in a DMCA case filed in the Southern District of New York responded to the complaints or showed up to court, a federal judge issued an order requiring every internet service provider in the country to block the offending websites, as well as an injunction against the defendants and others who provided services to the defendants or may do so in the future.

On the Lighter Side AI Helped Scientists Design a Plastic-Eating Enzyme: The synthetic enzyme, designed by researchers at University of Texas Austin, can break down plastic in as little as 24 hours in ambient temperatures that can mirror real-world environments.

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 Elyssa Diamond Editorial Fellow

Internet Governance New EU Law Would Allow Authorities to Declare a State of Emergency on the Web: European Union officials agreed to add a “crisis mechanism” into the new Digital Services Act, which would grant authorities “significant influence” over how major tech platforms are run during wars and pandemics. While lawmakers have reached a political agreement about the inclusion of the crisis mechanism, its language and technical details have yet to be finalized.

Privacy Leaked Documents Indicate Facebook Has Little Control Over User Data: Privacy engineers wrote a report last year that warned that Facebook could have a hard time complying with privacy regulations around the world because it doesn’t have an “adequate level of control and explainability” over how its systems use the personal data of its estimated 1.9 billion users. Google to Expand the Type of Personal Information it Will Remove from Search Results: The search engine updated its policy to allow individuals to request that it remove links from its search results that include information such as physical addresses, phone numbers, and passwords. Previously, removals were limited to information that might allow someone to steal your identity or money.

Information Security and Cyberthreats Instagram Hacker Steals $2.5 Million of Board Ape Yacht Club NFTs: The hacker gained access into the brand’s Instagram account and posted a link that promised a free allotment of land in the metaverse. The link was ultimately a phishing scam, and anyone who clicked it and connected their crypto wallets had their Bored Ape Yacht Club NFTs stolen.

Freedom of Expression and Censorship Elon Musk Is Buying Twitter to Protect Free Speech: Musk defined “free speech” in a tweet, stating that he is against censorship that goes beyond the law. Some have pointed out that private companies have a First Amendment right to moderate speech and that Twitter is a global company, meaning that users around the world are subject to a variety of laws moderating speech.

Practice Note Intuit Sued for Mailchimp Crypto Theft: The proposed class-action lawsuit, filed in the Northern District of California, claims that Intuit failed to implement measures to keep users’ data protected, and then failed to disclose in a timely manner a breach that resulted in a phishing attack that led to the left of Trezor cryptocurrency.

On the Lighter Side The Batman Deepfake Replaces Robert Pattison with Adam West: Creators transformed Pattinson’s gritty portrayal of the superhero by using deepfake technology to turn him into Adam West’s Batman, complete with comic-book-inspired “WHAM” and “POW” graphics.

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 Elyssa Diamond Editorial Fellow

Internet Governance Parents Hit Social Media Companies With Wrongful Death Lawsuits Following Their Children’s Suicides: Parents are suing social media companies, such as Meta and Snap, alleging that social media addiction played a role in their children’s deaths. While the families have an uncertain road ahead of them, the recent Big Tech Congressional hearings and the so-called “Facebook Files” may help persuade judges and juries that the companies can be held liable.

Privacy Apps Can Reportedly Circumvent Apple’s Privacy Update: A study from Oxford University found that, while Apple’s privacy update makes it more difficult to track individual users, opportunities still exist to do so. Large companies, like Facebook and Google, are particularly likely to continue tracking users, which reinforces their market power as gatekeepers of first-party data.

Information Security and Cyberthreats Text Message Phishing Scams Are on the Rise: According to the Federal Trade Commission, 21% of all fraud reports filed in 2021 involved “smishing”—a word created by combining “SMS” and “phishing” used to describe text message scams. Another report from cybersecurity firm ProofPoint found that smishing attempts have increased by 24% in the United States and 69% globally. British Officials Were Reportedly Targets of NSO Spyware Attacks: Prime Minister Boris Johnson was informed that 10 Downing Street, the London headquarters of the British government, and the British Foreign Office, were targeted by bad actors using Pegasus spyware. It is suspected that the attacks were orchestrated by operators linked with the United Arab Emirates, but the specific individuals who were hacked are not known.

Freedom of Expression and Censorship New Child Safety Feature on UK iPhones Will Scan Messages for Nudity: If a parent turns on the feature, AI technology will scan all photos sent to and from the phone, and will blur any photo that contains nudity. If nudity is found, the feature will also direct the child to children’s safety groups, will encourage the child to not send nude images, and will give the child an option to “Message a Grown-Up.”

Practice Note Scraping Data from Public Website Does not Violate CFAA: Following the Supreme Court’s ruling in Van Buren vs. United States, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals in hiQ vs. Linkedin reaffirmed its 2019 decision that scraping data from public portions of websites does not violate the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act, even if the scraping violates a website’s terms of service.

On the Lighter Side Digital Pill Can Let Your Doctor Know if You Miss a Dose: Pfizer has created a version of its antipsychotic drug Abilify that includes a microchip that can connect via Bluetooth to a smartphone app. While the technology has been marketed as a way for users to stay on top of their treatment, there are concerns about the app’s accuracy, its effectiveness in actually helping patients remember their medication, and its role in further stigmatizing mental health.

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 Elyssa Diamond Editorial Fellow

Internet Governance Apple to Face Additional EU Antitrust Charges: Apple reportedly will face additional antitrust charges from the European Commission following a complaint from music streaming company Spotify, which alleges that Apple’s 30 percent commission on in-app purchases stifles competition among companies that attempt to compete with Apple Music.

Privacy Google Removes Apps With Hidden Data-Harvesting Code: Dozens of apps, including several Muslim prayer apps, a highway speed trap detection app, and a QR reader, contained code written by a Panana-based company that surreptitiously collects user data.

Information Security and Cyberthreats Senior EU Officials Were Targeted by Israeli Spyware: The European Commission became aware of the targeting in November 2021, after Apple sent a message to thousands of iPhone users warning that they had been “targeted by state-sponsored attackers.” It is still unclear who was behind the scheme.

Intellectual Property  The Metaverse Is Reshaping Fashion: Today, digital fashion is mainly used as a marketing tool for tangible clothing brands such as Balenciaga, who teamed up with Fortnight, or Lacoste, who had a collaboration with Minecraft. However, Morgan Stanley predicts that digital fashion could be a $50 billion industry by 2030.

Freedom of Expression and Censorship By Pulling Out of Russia, Big Tech Might Be Hurting More Than Helping: Following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, companies like MailChimp, Google, Visa, and Mastercard have suspended some or all services in Russia, leaving some Russian dissidents without access to their clients and livelihoods.

Practice Note Google Instigates Lawsuit Over Puppy Fraud: The breach-of-contract suit accuses the defendant of using Google products like Gmail and Google Voice to lure would-be adopters to pay for puppies that would never arrive.

On the Lighter Side John Oliver Tackles Data Brokers: The Last Week Tonight host called for a federal data privacy law but acknowledged the challenges of passing such a piece of legislation when many politicians rely on personal data on the campaign trail.

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 Elyssa Diamond Editorial Fellow

Internet Governance State Department Announces Bureau of Cyberspace and Digital Policy: The first-of-its-kind bureau will focus on topics like national security, economic developments, and digital technologies from a policy perspective.

Privacy EU Proposal Would Create One of the World’s Largest Facial Recognition Databases: The proposal, which has been criticized by privacy professionals, would give police officers in countries that have adopted the plan access to photo banks compiled by police forces across the continent. European police forces already share information like fingerprints and DNA data.

Information Security and Cyberthreats Russian Hackers Send Out Fake Claims of Ukrainian Surrender: Since the beginning of the invasion, Russian hackers have breached trusted social media accounts and broadcasting systems to share the news of Ukrainian surrender. While the fake messages likely aren’t fooling anyone, they are part of a broader mission to erode confidence in Ukrainian media and government officials.

Intellectual Property Hackers Take Over YouTube Channels of Popular Musicians: The hackers, who took credit for the breaches on a Twitter account using the name Los Pelaos, uploaded unauthorized videos onto the accounts of artists including Taylor Swift, Justin Beiber, Lil Nas X, Harry Styles, Drake, Michael Jackson, and The Weeknd.

Freedom of Expression and Censorship Proposed Amazon Worker Chat App Would Ban Words Related to Labor Organizing: Internal company documents express a plan to create a worker chat app that would block words pertaining to labor unions and flag employees who use offending keywords. The proposal, which was made public in the days following the unionization of an Amazon warehouse on Staten Island, would also allow for the blocking of words that could represent critiques of working conditions. Twitter Takes a Harder Line on Content Related to the Russia-Ukraine Conflict: The social media company announced that it will “require the removal of Tweets posted by government or state-affiliated media accounts” that show photos or videos of prisoners of war from the Russian invasion of Ukraine, and it will reduce the chances of users seeing posts from Russian government accounts; it will still allow prisoner-of-war content that is particularly compelling or newsworthy. The decision is meant to ensure that Twitter complies with provisions of the Geneva Convention that relate to prisoners of war.

On the Lighter Side TikTok-Viral Unofficial Bridgerton Musical Wins Grammy for Best Musical Theater Album: The 15-song album based on the hit Netflix series, which was composed with help from TikTok users, is the first Grammy win for a project that began on the popular platform.

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 Elyssa Diamond Editorial Fellow

Internet Governance EU Legislation Could Bring Sweeping Changes to Big Tech: The Digital Markets Act, which aims to bolster competition in online services by imposing new regulations related to aspects of big tech such as app stores, software bundling, search engine self-preferencing, and messaging interoperability, was approved by EU member states and awaits official adoption.

Privacy U.S. and EU Leaders Reach Deal on Data Transfers: Almost two years after an EU court struck down the Privacy Shield, U.S. and EU leaders have reached an “agreement in principle” to assure the legal transfer of personal data between the continents. The deal still needs to be finalized, a process which includes President Biden putting the commitments into an executive order.

Information Security and Cyberthreats Hackers Stole Data By Impersonating Law Enforcement: Apple, Meta, and others handed over users’ personal data to hackers who gained access to police department email accounts and forged emergency data requests. The information includes IP addresses, home addresses, and phone numbers.

Intellectual Property  Video Game Company Sues John Doe Defendants Over Allegedly Fraudulent DMCA Takedown Notices: Ten John Doe defendants allegedly sent fraudulent DMCA takedown notices to YouTube claiming to be acting on behalf of Bungie, the video game company behind the Destiny game series. In its complaint against the defendants, Bungie criticized YouTube’s DMCA takedown process and is asking the court to compel Google to unmask the defendants.

Freedom of Expression and Censorship Google Is Using AI to Better Detect Searches from People in Crisis: Google is integrating a new machine learning tool into its platform that can spot complex queries related to difficult personal situations, such as domestic violence or suicidal ideations, which will then allow Google to direct the user to appropriate resources.

Practice Note FTC Sues TurboTax for Allegedly Misleading Advertisements: Parent company Intuit advertises TurboTax as a free tax preparation software, but the FTC says that this is a “bait-and-switch,” and that approximately two-thirds of tax filers cannot use TurboTax’s free product.

On the Lighter Side Proposed Legislation Would Create a Digital Version of the U.S. Dollar: House Democrats plan to introduce the Electronic Currency and Secure Hardware (ECASH) Act, which would direct the Treasury to establish a program to develop and implement digital currency.

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 Elyssa Diamond Editorial Fellow

Internet Governance D.C. Sues Grubhub for Deceptive Business Practices: The District’s Attorney General claims that the food delivery app inflates restaurant prices without being transparent to users and adds restaurants to its service without their permission. In a statement, GrubHub said that the practices at issue are either “appropriately disclosed” or discontinued.

Privacy Minnesota Police Used App to Collect Data on Journalists: Police officers in Brooklyn Center, Minnesota, singled out journalists during a protest in April 2021 and took photos of each of them, which were shared on an app that attached geolocation data to the images. Although none of the journalists were accused of crimes, their images are now available on at least one data repository accessible to multiple government agencies at both federal and state levels.

Information Security and Cyberthreats Microsoft, Okta, Confirm Breaches by Hacking Group: Microsoft and digital identity management group Okta both confirmed that they were breached by South American hacking group Lapsus$. The hackers posted a file online on Monday that contained partial source code to Bing, Bing Maps, and Cortana.  Biden Urges Private Sector to Prepare for Russian Cyberattacks: While the U.S. government has no evidence of a specific potential cyberattack, President Biden warned that his administration has observed “preparatory activity” toward a possible cyberattack on U.S. infrastructure in retaliation for the sanctions imposed on Russia following its invasion of Ukraine.

Freedom of Expression and Censorship As Russia Bans Facebook and Instagram, WhatsApp Remains: A Moscow court’s ruling on Monday that Meta is carrying out “extremist activities” purposefully allowed Meta’s messaging app WhatsApp to continue operating in the country. While the court claimed that its decision was “due to [WhatsApp’s] lack of functionality for the public dissemination of information,” some believe the move was an attempt to avoid alienating Russian citizens.

Practice Note Mercedes Will Accept Legal Liability for Accidents Caused by its Autopilot Feature: Partially in an attempt to gain approval from U.S. state regulators, Mercedes will accept legal responsibility for its vehicles when its self-driving Drive Pilot mode is active. Already approved for use in Germany, Drive Pilot can be activated on certain highways when the car is traveling less than 40 miles per hour.

On the Lighter Side Tech Start-Up Aims to Preserve Culture Through AI: Intelligent Voices of Wisdom helps underrepresented groups, such as Native Americans, create data that will be used to train AI to better understand their cultures.

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 Elyssa Diamond Editorial Fellow

Internet Governance Ukraine Legalizes Cryptocurrency: Under the new law, both Ukrainian and foreign crypto exchanges will be allowed to operate in the country, subject to regulation by Ukraine’s National Securities and Stock Market Commission. The new law highlights the impact of cryptocurrencies on the country’s response to the Russian invasion–Ukraine has received over $63 million worth of crypto donations that it will use to aid its defense and humanitarian efforts.

Privacy Irish Data Protection Commission Fines Meta for Breach-related Recordkeeping Violations Under GDPR: Following an investigation into twelve 2018 data breaches that affected over 30 million users, the Commission fined the company €17 million for “fail[ing] to have in place appropriate technical and organisational measures which would enable it to readily demonstrate the security measures that it implemented in practice to protect EU users’ data.”

Information Security and Cyberthreats Russia-Ukraine Conflict Creates Schism Among Hacking Groups: A new report by Accenture’s Cyber Threat Intelligence team finds that for what seems to be the first time, cybercriminals are “divided along ideological factions” and selecting targets depending on whether they support Russian or Ukraine. Pro-Russian groups are increasingly targeting perceived “enemies of Russia,” including Western financial entities and infrastructure.

Intellectual Property Wordle Archive Goes Offline: The site, which let users play prior games of the popular word puzzle, was taken down at the request of Wordle-owner The New York Times.

Freedom of Expression and Censorship Russia Blocks Instagram: The country’s censorship body implemented the block after Meta temporarily adjusted its content policies to permit postings calling for violence against Russian soldiers from within Ukraine as a way to “[protect] people’s rights to speech as an expression of self-defense.” Facebook and YouTube Remove Zelensky Deepfake: The platforms have removed postings of a fake video of the Ukrainian President purportedly ceding to Russia and calling for Ukrainian troops to lay down their arms. Twitter is monitoring the spread of the video on its platform, and is taking “enforcement action” in instances where the video violates company policies.

On the Lighter Side Smart Shirts: An in-development “acoustic fabric” that can detect and produce soundwaves has promising potential uses ranging from detecting an individual’s heart rate to monitoring the build-up of space dust on spacecraft.

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

Internet Governance House Judiciary Committee Alleges Amazon Lied to Congress About Use of Third-Party Seller Data: In prior testimony, Amazon senior executives said that the company did not use data collected from third-party sellers to compete with them, but multiple reports found that Amazon employees routinely and openly did just that. In a letter to the Department of Justice, the House Judiciary Committee has called on prosecutors to investigate the tech giant for criminal obstruction of Congress.

Privacy FTC Says Weight Watchers App Collected Data from Children: WW International, the company formerly known as Weight Watchers, allegedly used an app to collect personal information from children without their parents’ consent in violation of the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act. The weight loss company will pay a $1.5 million penalty as part of a settlement with the FTC and has agreed to erase the algorithms it developed from the data.

Information Security and Cyberthreats Ukraine, Others Faced Cyberattacks up to Two Weeks Before Russian Invasion: Cybersecurity organizations such as Google’s Threat Analysis Group said that they uncovered cyberattacks targeting Ukrainian officials, the Polish military, and U.S. firms that supply natural gas up to two weeks before the Russian invasion of Ukraine began.

Intellectual Property LimeWire to Relaunch as NFT Marketplace: Peer-to-peer filesharing site LimeWire will relaunch in May as a marketplace for trading NFTs. LimeWire shut down in 2010 after a federal judge found that it facilitated large-scale copyright infringement.

Freedom of Expression and Censorship Russia Blocks Facebook as War in Ukraine Rages On: As many western tech platforms halt their operations in Russia, the Russian government has blocked Facebook from its internet. This came in conjunction with a new law in Russia that makes it a crime to share “fake” information about the invasion of Ukraine.

Practice Note Shareholder Lawsuit Against Alphabet Inc. May Proceed: The Supreme Court declined to hear Alphabet’s attempt to throw out a lawsuit by shareholders accusing Google’s parent company of fraudulently concealing a security glitch in the company’s now-defunct social media platform Google+.

On the Lighter Side AI Tool Helps Historians Restore Ancient Text: A team of computer scientists and classics experts based in Italy trained an AI tool to restore texts written in ancient Greek, as well as estimate when they were written and from where they may have originated.

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 Elyssa Diamond Editorial Fellow

Internet Governance Disability Orgs Call on DOJ to Finalize Online Accessibility Rules: While the DOJ has held that the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) applies to websites and other tech, the Department has never defined what technological compliance looks like. The American Council of the Blind, the National Disability Rights Network, the National Federation of the Blind, and more than 170 other organizations are calling on the DOJ to complete a rulemaking process that it began in 2010 to answer these pressing questions about ADA compliance online.

Privacy Biden Calls for New Laws to Protect Child Safety Online: During his first State of the Union address, President Biden called on Congress to implement new laws that would protect child safety on social media platforms. In addition, the administration plans to ask for funding to study child safety on social media, as well as social media’s impact on mental health.

Information Security and Cyberthreats Russia’s Invasion of Ukraine Leads to Public-Private Partnerships in U.S. Cybersecurity: United States companies including Microsoft are aiding Ukraine’s defense by identifying and countering cyberattacks launched by Russia, both on their own and in conjunction with government organizations such as the National Security Agency, the United States Cyber Command, and British authorities.

Intellectual Property Non-Alcoholic Spirit Maker Engages in Trademark Warfare: The founder of a non-alcoholic spirit brand has been accused of orchestrating an elaborate sabotage scheme in which he registers trademarks, buys website domains, and publishes press releases to discredit competitors and stir confusion among consumers.

Freedom of Expression and Censorship Big Tech Pulls Russian State-Backed Media from Platforms: Spotify and other sites such as Facebook, YouTube, and TikTok have pulled Kremlin-linked outlets RT and Sputnik from their platform as misinformation about the Russian invasion of Ukraine spreads.

Practice Note U.S. and EU Close to Replacing Privacy Shield: Since the European Court of Justice struck down the U.S.-EU data-sharing arrangement in 2020, leaders on both sides of the Atlantic have been eager to find its replacement. Officials representing both the United States and the Europe Union announced at the State of the Net conference in Washington, D.C. that they are close to a new solution.

On the Lighter Side Ice Cream Machine Savior (or Hacker) Sues McDonald’s: A start-up that created a device designed to fix the fast-food giant’s notoriously broken ice cream machines alleges that McDonald’s engaged in anticompetitive conduct by sending an email to franchisees warning them not to use the product.

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 Elyssa Diamond Editorial Fellow