Legal
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Facebook sues analytics firm that stole user data through third-party apps
Facebook has filed a federal lawsuit against a company called OneAudience, accusing it of stealing the personal information of its users. According to Facebook's announcement, OneAudience paid third-party developers to install a malicious software development kit (SDK) in their apps that allowed it to collect people's data without their knowledge.
Qualcomm fined €242 million in European antitrust case
Fresh off its high-profile feud with Apple, Qualcomm is suffering more legal woes. An investigation by the European Commission has found Qualcomm abused its market dominance in the manufacture of 3G baseband chipsets and will have to pay a steep €242 million ($271 million) fine.
SEC sues Kik for running an unregistered Initial Coin Offering
The US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is suing messaging service Kik Interactive, stating that its 2017 digital token sale, which raised $100 million, was essentially an illegal, unregistered securities offering. According to Bloomberg, this is one the highest profile cases yet where the SEC has targeted a company for not registering an offering with the regulator.
Canada says Facebook broke privacy laws in Cambridge Analytica scandal
Facebook is facing yet more legal trouble over the Cambridge Analytica scandal after Canada's privacy commissioner said it violated federal and provincial privacy laws. Daniel Therrien plans to take the company to federal court in the hopes of forcing Facebook to change its privacy policies.
Jury decides Apple violated three Qualcomm patents in iPhones
Following a two-week trial, a jury has determined that Apple violated three Qualcomm patents in some iPhones. The jury awarded Qualcomm $31 million, the full amount it was seeking, though Apple had won a ruling to limit the potential payout.
Huawei pleads not guilty to stealing US trade secrets
In a US federal court in Seattle, Chinese tech firm Huawei pleaded not guilty to several charges that allege the company engaged or attempted to engage in theft of trade secrets, the Associated Press reported. US District Judge Richardo S. Martinez, who presided over today's hearing, has set a trial date for March 2020 for the case. If Huawei is found guilty, it could face a fine of up to $5 million.
US charges Huawei with stealing trade secrets and violating sanctions
The US has filed 10 trade secret-related charges and 13 linked to sanction violations against Chinese telecom Huawei. Acting Attorney General Matthew Whitaker, FBI Director Christopher Wray, Homeland Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen and Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross announced the charges in a joint press conference Monday, which are likely to further deepen the tensions between the US and China.
Nintendo is going to court over its refund policy
Apparently, Germany agrees with Norway: Nintendo's no-refund pre-order policy isn't only harsh, it's also illegal under European law. According to Eurogamer, the German Consumer Protection Authority is taking Nintendo to court over a policy that doesn't allow pre-order cancellations, even if the game hasn't been released yet and even if you still haven't downloaded it. In short, all sales, including pre-purchases, are final -- and, yes, Nintendo of America has the same rule.
China grants Qualcomm a ban on some iPhone sales, Apple files appeal
A Chinese court granted Qualcomm an injunction against Apple that halts sales and imports of most iPhone models in the country. The court ruled that several devices, including iPhone X, violated two Qualcomm patents related to resizing photos and managing apps. Shortly after this news broke, CNBC reported that Apple was mounting an appeal.
US court rules that using online photos can be considered 'fair use'
In the real world, copyright legislation seems simple enough -- don't steal something and claim it as your own work. Online, however, things are murkier. The EU Parliament recently passed a law that would stop users from uploading copyrighted content -- but in the digital age, what does 'copyright' actually cover? An Insta picture of your morning coffee? A meme? What about a cropped photograph of a D.C neighborhood? It's the last of these options that resulted in a legal tussle, and ended with a federal court ruling 'fair use'.
'Upskirting' will become a criminal offense in the UK (updated)
It will soon be a criminal offense in the UK to point a camera up a woman's skirt and take a photo (an act called "upskirting"), with offenders facing up to two years in jail. It's hard to believe, but there's no specific law on the books, so police have had trouble prosecuting the creeps that do it. The new legislation will be largely through the efforts of victim Gina Martin. She was upskirted at a music festival in London, and despite having photographic evidence, police said they were unable to act because the photos weren't considered graphic.
Donald Trump really wants to be allowed to block people on Twitter
If there's one thing President Donald Trump has made clear during his time in office so far, it's that he's a big fan of Twitter. And that includes -- as recent legal battles demonstrate -- blocking users that disagree with his views. And even though last month a federal judge ruled that doing this constituted a violation of the First Amendment, it seems it's a pretty important feature for Trump, as the US Justice Department now says it will appeal that ruling.
How GDPR is affecting the games you love
The tech world has been bracing for a new set of European privacy rules that go into effect: the General Data Protection Regulation, better known as GDPR. Companies will have either changed how they handle their EU users' personal data or face serious fines. The regulations are intentionally broad, which has led them to affect industries that aren't typically thought of as trafficking in user information -- like gaming. That means gamers are protected by GDPR while playing online or posting in forums. But in complying with the EU regulations, gaming companies are nervous that they'll inadvertently run afoul of the new law's vaguely written rules.
Elon Musk may have violated US labor laws during tweet storm
When Elon Musk had a twitter meltdown a few days ago in response to bad press about Tesla factory safety, he may have actually said something illegal. According to Bloomberg, the United Auto Workers union is asking a federal labor board to investigate a tweet by Musk that could be interpreted as threatening to take away stock options if employees join a union. It's illegal for an employer to threaten retaliation for organizing.
Texas court rules 2015 revenge porn law is unconstitutional
Revenge porn is getting attention across the nation as state, regional and even federal lawmakers wrestle with how to deal with the practice of posting private, intimate photos of people without their permission. A 2015 Texas law that made revenge porn a misdemeanor with up to a year of jail time and a $4,000 fine was struck down by the 12th Court of Appeals as violating the First Amendment. The court also dropped a charge against Jordan Bartlett Jones, who challenged the law after he was denied a Writ of Habeas Corpus last year.
Airbnb cuts half of San Francisco listings as new laws kick in
San Francisco's strict short-term home rental laws just kicked in on Wednesday, and are already having a big effect on SF-based Airbnb. Listing plunged from over 10,000 to around 5,500, dropping around 4,760 listings, the site told the San Francisco Chronicle. Wednesday midnight was the deadline for hosts to register homes with the city for a $250 fee, or face fines as high as $1,000 a day.
Mozilla and Yahoo sue each other over default search engine deal
Deals between web browser suppliers and search engine providers are big business. For Mozilla, agreements with search engines have brought in as much as US$300 million a year, which accounts for 90 percent of its income. So the stakes are high amid the latest tech company quarrel, which sees Mozilla end its partnership with Yahoo due to claims it hadn't been paid. Neither party is happy with the situation, so they're suing each other.
Qualcomm files lawsuit in China to stop production of iPhones
Qualcomm filed suit in China requesting a ban on the creation and sale of iPhones in the country, Bloomberg reports. The lawsuit claims patent infringement and is seeking injunctive relief. It's the latest in the bitter legal feud between the tech titans that started back in January over whether Apple must pay Qualcomm licensing fees.
Taking ‘upskirt’ photos isn’t technically illegal, but it soon could be
This is a baffling one. You'd think that laws governing sexual offenses or rights to privacy or something would make it very obviously illegal to point a camera lens up a woman's skirt and snap a pic without their consent. But as it stands, anyone can do this without too much fear of punishment, at least in England and Wales. (Scotland included a specific voyeurism offence covering activities such as "upskirting" and "downblousing" in its Sexual Offences Act 2009.) Justice Secretary David Lidington told MPs yesterday he was taking legal advice on the matter, effectively preempting a potential, formal change to legislation to make upskirting illegal.
Uber and Lyft are losing their fight against unionization
A federal judge has dealt a blow to ride-hailing companies such as Uber and Lyft, after dismissing an appeal to block legislation that would allow their drivers to unionize. US District Court Judge Robert Lasnik rejected the lawsuit filed by the US Chamber of Commerce on behalf of its members (including Uber and Lyft), which argued that drivers are contractors, not employees, and therefore federal and state laws do not give them the right to unionize. This is good news for advocates of Seattle's Uber unionization law, which was passed by City Council in 2015 and gave rideshare drivers collective bargaining rights. But they're not out of the woods yet. In April Lasnik temporarily blocked this law from going into effect while he considered its various legal challenges, and it remains blocked despite the rejection of the Chamber's lawsuit.
