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Sprint will pay New York $330 million over unpaid taxes
Sprint is about to write New York state a very, very large check. The carrier has agreed to pay New York $330 million in a settlement over claims it avoided collecting certain local and state taxes on cellular plans between 2005 and 2014. It's the largest ever false claims recovery by a single state, the Attorney General's office said. Allegedly, Sprint willfully misinterpreted a 2002 law to skip collecting a key sales tax based on the nature of its plans, leaving New York $100 million short.
Swarm to pay $900,000 for unauthorized satellite launch
The FCC announced today that it had reached a settlement with Swarm over the startup's unauthorized satellite launch in 2017. The trouble started in December of last year when the FCC denied Swarm a licence to launch a set of small satellites called SpaceBEEs, with the commission claiming the satellites were too small to be reliably tracked. But Swarm launched them anyway in January and once the FCC got wind, it initiated an investigation. The settlement requires Swarm to pay a $900,000 penalty and submit to extended FCC oversight over the next few years.
Spotify settles $1.6 billion copyright infringement lawsuit
Last year, Wixen Music Publishing filed a lawsuit against Spotify alleging that the music streaming service was using tens of thousands of songs without the proper licensing. But the $1.6 billion lawsuit has now come to a close as both companies have reached a settlement, Music Business Worldwide reports. "I want to thank Daniel Ek and Horacio Gutierrez, and the whole Spotify team, for working with the Wixen team, our attorneys and our clients to understand our issues, and for collaborating with us on a win-win resolution," Wixen President Randall Wixen said in a statement.
Charter agrees to $174 million settlement for poor service in New York
The New York attorney general's office has reached a settlement with Charter Communications for providing its customers with insufficient internet services. Under the settlement, Charter and Spectrum Management Holding Company will be required to pay customers $62.5 million in refunds and provide $100 million worth of services for free. Further, the agreement calls for Charter to be more transparent about its services going forward.
Facebook and ZeniMax settle VR copyright lawsuit
John Carmack isn't the only one ending a legal fight with ZeniMax. Facebook and ZeniMax have agreed to settle a lawsuit that had accused Facebook and Oculus of violating copyright for the alleged "unlawful misappropriation" of ZeniMax VR code. The two haven't revealed terms of the deal, but ZeniMax claimed that it was "fully satisfied" with the result. We've asked Facebook if it can comment.
Google settles with contractor over alleged racial discrimination
As much as Google talks about being inclusive of other cultures, it might have some more work to do. The Guardian has learned that Google recently settled a racial discrimination claim from a British contractor who collected shopping mall WiFi data for the Maps team in Europe. Allegedly, the company withdrew an offer for a new contract after the man (going by the pseudonym Ahmed Rashid) complained about harassment and racial profiling from mall staff and security due to his Moroccan roots. The company had a "complete disregard" for safety by insisting on secrecy for the project, Rashid said -- he couldn't tell others he was coming or flash ID to allay their suspicions.
Netflix and Warner Bros. settle with Satanists over 'Sabrina' statue
If you guessed that Netflix and Warner Bros. would rather not entangle themselves in a $150 million lawsuit from the Satanic Temple over a statue... you guessed correctly. The companies have settled with the Temple over claims the goat-headed statue in The Chilling Adventures of Sabrina violated the copyright and trademark rights for the Temple's own Baphomet statue. While most of the terms of the deal aren't pubilc, the Temple said Netflix and Warner Bros. have recognized the "unique elements" of the statue in the credits for already-filmed Sabrina episodes.
Judge approves settlement between SEC and Elon Musk
Today, as first reported by Bloomberg, a judge has approved Elon Musk's settlement with the SEC over his tweets about taking Tesla private. Hopefully, this means that Tesla can move on and focus on its business, rather than its CEO's Twitter account. And Elon Musk can get back to the real work he has to do, which is apparently creating Tesla-branded tequila called Teslaquila.
Uber will pay $148 million for 2016 data breach coverup
Last year, reports surfaced that Uber had been hit with a data breach, but instead of reporting it to the government or to those affected, it chose to cover it up. Now, the company will pay $148 million as part of a settlement, and the money will be disbursed between each US state and Washington, DC. After the hack and Uber's response to it became public, a number of states launched investigations into the incident while others filed lawsuits.
Uber will pay 56 employees a total of $1.9 million for harassment claims
Uber is nearing a final settlement regarding numerous sexual harassment and discrimination claims. Bloomberg reports today that 56 current and former employees who filed claims of sexual harassment will split $1.9 million, receiving just under $34,000 each on average. Additionally, members of a class action suit who claimed the company discriminated against women and people of color, will each receive nearly $11,000 apiece on average as part of a $10 million settlement.
Apple and Samsung settle seven-year patent battle
It looks like Apple and Samsung are finally burying the hatchet over the long-standing US patent dispute they've been fighting for the past several years. According to Reuters, the settlement was filed at the US District Court for the Northern District of California on Wednesday. No terms were disclosed.
Blu settles with FTC over allegations of lax user data security
Unlocked mobile phone retailer Blu has settled with the FTC over allegations that it didn't protect consumers from a Chinese company that farmed their data and misled users about the extent of it. The device maker won't get slapped with a fine, but as part of the agreement, it can't misrepresent how it protecting customer privacy and security. It will also need to adopt a program that addresses risks for protecting user information and be audited every two years for the next two decades to ensure compliance.
T-Mobile will pay $40 million for failing to fix rural calls
T-Mobile has agreed to pay (PDF) the FCC $40 million for failing to fix ongoing call failures for rural customers. The carrier previously claimed that it had resolved the problem, but the Commission kept getting complaints about calls that weren't going through. The company also admitted it had committed another grave FCC sin: Injecting false ring tones while customers are on the line, which misleads them into thinking the carrier isn't to blame if a call fails.
Niantic settles 'Pokémon Go' festival lawsuit for $1.5 million
Niantic has already refunded the ticket costs for attendees of 2017's disastrous Pokémon Go Fest, but it's now poised to pay more. The company is settling a class action lawsuit over the festival to the tune of $1.57 million, with an official settlement website due to appear by May 25th. The payout will cover hotel and transportation costs for the many attendees whose event was ruined by connectivity and logistical problems. Be sure to read the fine print if you were one of those affected, though -- you'll need evidence you were there.
Uber agrees to pay $10 million in discrimination lawsuit settlement
The San Francisco Chronicle reports today that Uber has agreed to a $10 million settlement in a class action lawsuit that claimed it discriminated against minorities and women who worked for the company. The lawsuit was filed in October and represents 420 women and people of color who were employed by Uber as software engineers going back to 2013. Additionally, the Chronicle reports that the company has also agreed to change how it manages compensation and promotion. The lawsuit alleged that women, black and Latino/Latina employees were not given raises, bonuses, stock and benefits at the same rate as male and white or Asian coworkers.
Apple settles with Immersion over haptic feedback licensing
In 2016, haptic technology company Immersion filed two rounds of lawsuits against Apple. Both alleged that the tech giant had infringed upon some of Immersion's patents with the first focusing on the iPhone 6, 6 Plus, 6s and 6s Plus as well as Watch, Watch Sport and Watch Edition. The second added the MacBook and MacBook Pro lines to its complaint. Immersion also filed a complaint with the US International Trade Commission (ITC), which launched an investigation into the alleged patent violations a few months later. But the saga may be nearing an end because today, Immersion announced that the two companies have reached a settlement.
Facebook settles out of court in unique revenge porn case
Facebook may have left itself wide open to whole heap of legal headaches after it recently reached an out-of-court settlement in a revenge porn case. Between late 2014 and early 2016, the naked picture of a 14-year-old girl from Northern Ireland was repeatedly shared to a "shame" page on Facebook. Police are said to have failed to act fast enough to build any kind of case, so the girl, who said she was blackmailed into sharing the image in the first place, sued the alleged perpetrator and Facebook instead. After exhausting efforts to get the case dismissed from the High Court, Facebook negotiated a confidential settlement with the teen, which is thought to be the first time anyone has achieved the slightest success in a suit of this kind.
Uber will pay New York drivers $3 million in class-action settlement
It's hard to keep track of all of the lawsuits Uber's juggling these days, but there's about to be one less. The company has settled a suit brought against it by 2,421 New York drivers who claimed Uber paid them less than was contractually obligated and falsely advertised how much drivers could make by working for the company. Uber will pay $3 million as per the settlement agreement while the drivers will agree to being classified as independent contractors -- a stipulation of two other settlements Uber has made with drivers in the past.
Fitness app company settles with FTC for nearly $1 million
If you're going to create a mobile app that offers monetary rewards for meeting fitness goals, you should probably make sure you back your promises up. The Pact fitness app offers users a way to incentivize workouts by charging a fee when users miss their fitness goals. If goals are met, the app also promises to pay a share of the punishment fees with successful members. According to the FTC, who filed a complaint against the developer Thursday, tens of thousands of Pact users have been charged the penalty, even when they met their goals or canceled the service. The Commission also said that none of the users received a payout, either. The developer has now settled the case with the FTC for more than $940,000.
Monkey selfie copyright battle ends with a settlement
The battle over who owns the rights to a monkey's selfies has raged for years, but it's coming to a quiet end. Camera owner David Slater, PETA and Blurb have reached a settlement in the case before a federal appeals court could rule whether or not Slater or PETA (on behalf of the monkey, a crested macaque named Naruto) owned the photos. The truce doesn't appear to alter Slater's original court victory, but it will have him donating 25 percent of future revenue from the selfies to charities that protect the habitats of Naruto and his species.
