Internet law

Audio player loading… Google has warned that a ruling against it in an ongoing Supreme Court (SC) case could put the entire internet at risk by removing a key protection against lawsuits over content moderation decisions that involve artificial intelligence (AI). Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act of 1996 (opens in new tab) currently offers a blanket ‘liability shield’ in regards to how companies moderate content on their platforms. However, as reported by CNN (opens in new tab) , Google wrote in a legal filing (opens in new tab) that, should the SC rule in favour of the plaintiff in the case of Gonzalez v. Google, which revolves around YouTube’s algorithms recommending pro-ISIS content to users, the internet could become overrun with dangerous, offensive, and extremist content. Automation in moderation Being part of an almost 27-year-old law, already targeted for reform by US President Joe Biden (opens in new tab) , Section 230 … [Read more...] about Google thinks a US Supreme Court case could radically change the internet

The US Supreme Court wants the Biden administration to weigh in on the Texas and Florida social media laws before justices decide whether to take up cases involving Big Tech industry lawsuits against the two states. In a list of orders released this morning, the Supreme Court did not decide whether to hear the cases. Instead, the court asked the Department of Justice's Solicitor General to provide the agency's view. "The Solicitor General is invited to file briefs in these cases expressing the views of the United States," the Supreme Court said. The Florida and Texas laws were challenged by Big Tech groups NetChoice and the Computer & Communications & Industry Association (CCIA), which represent companies including Amazon, eBay, Facebook, Google, Twitter, and Yahoo. The Florida law, which attempts to make it illegal for large social media sites like Facebook and Twitter to ban politicians, was blocked by a federal judge in a preliminary injunction. That injunction … [Read more...] about Supreme Court seeks Biden admin input on Texas and Florida social media laws

Paul Hansmeier, who is serving a 14-year prison sentence for filing sham copyright infringement lawsuits and extorting money from victims, has lost an attempt to enforce copyrights from prison. In a ruling Monday, a federal judge rejected Hansmeier's request to prevent the government from enforcing mail-wire fraud and money laundering laws against him. Hansmeier wanted an injunction so that he could file copyright lawsuits without facing new charges. Hansmeier, who is also appealing his conviction despite having pleaded guilty, will be familiar to Ars readers as one of the principals behind the notorious "copyright troll" firm Prenda Law. He was sentenced in June 2019 "for an elaborate fraud scheme that involved uploading pornographic videos to file-sharing networks and then threatening to sue people who downloaded them," as our reporting at the time said. Prenda Law's strategy involved seeking settlements of a few thousand dollars from each victim. Prenda Law founder John … [Read more...] about Prenda Law lawyer loses attempt to file more piracy lawsuits from prison

Audio player loading… Twitter could be blocked in Indonesia if failing to comply with new law coming into force on July 20. This mean that citizens may need to turn to the best VPN services to be able to keep accessing the platform. Known as Ministerial Regulation 5 (MR5), the new law will require online services like social media platforms, messaging apps and search engine providers to register with the local communication ministry (KOMINFO). These will then be required to hand over customers' data on request, as well as complying with content moderation orders. Around 108 foreign companies have already registered. These include Google, Meta - which owns Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp - video app TikTok and music streaming operator Spotify. What does the new law mean for Indonesian citizens? As Reuters reported (opens in new tab) , the government claims that Regulation 5 will be used to ensure providers protect customers' data, while promoting … [Read more...] about Twitter could be banned in Indonesia if failing to comply with new law

Google recently approached the Supreme Court against the Rs 1,337 crore fine imposed by the Competition Commission of India ( CCI ) on the tech giant for misusing its dominant position in the Android ecosystem. The company has been arguing that the move by the antitrust watchdog will not only stall Android growth in India but also hurt consumers by endangering their device’s security. To further highlight its case, Google has listed how CCI order risks safety, affordability and more of the Android ecosystem. “Google has partnered deeply with India in the last several years of its exciting digital transformation. However, at a time when only half of India’s population is connected, the directions in the CCI’s order strikes a blow at the ecosystem-wide efforts to accelerate digital adoption in the country. Google is appealing these directions before Indian courts. While there has been a lot of reporting and debate on the subject, it is critical that our users … [Read more...] about google: Google reiterates: CCI is ‘bad’ for Android smartphone users in India

7.5 Lorex Smart Home Security Center $450 at Lorex Get Price Alerts You're receiving price alerts for Lorex Smart Home Security Center Like Solid cameras Free local storage Don't Like Overpriced Dependent on an outmoded hub Most home security systems work like this: Entry sensors, motion detectors and a slew of other doodads monitor your home for break-ins. When you leave the house -- or just turn in for the night -- you arm the system, which gives you confidence that if something happens that shouldn't, you (and potentially emergency services ) will be swiftly notified. Lorex isn't like other home security systems. Its Smart Home Security Center doesn't come with the various and sundry sensors that stock the online stores of Ring or SimpliSafe -- although if you want, you can buy a separate set of sensors to integrate. Instead, for better or worse, Lorex focuses on two things: … [Read more...] about Lorex Smart Home Security Center Review

Some artists have begun waging a legal fight against the alleged theft of billions of copyrighted images used to train AI art generators and reproduce unique styles without compensating artists or asking for consent. Further Reading With Stable Diffusion, you may never believe what you see online again A group of artists represented by the Joseph Saveri Law Firm has filed a US federal class-action lawsuit in San Francisco against AI-art companies Stability AI, Midjourney, and DeviantArt for alleged violations of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act, violations of the right of publicity, and unlawful competition. The artists taking action— Sarah Andersen , Kelly McKernan , Karla Ortiz —"seek to end this blatant and enormous infringement of their rights before their professions are eliminated by a computer program powered entirely by their hard work," according to the official text of the complaint filed to the court. Using tools like Stability AI's Stable … [Read more...] about Artists file class-action lawsuit against AI image generator companies

Federal authorities on Wednesday arrested the founder of Bitzlato, a cryptocurrency exchange they said has been a financial haven for Russia-aligned criminals engaged in ransomware and illicit drug sales on the dark web. Anatoly Legkodymov, a 40-year-old Russian national residing in Shenzhen, China, was arrested on Wednesday in Miami, US prosecutors said . The prosecutors alleged that on Legkodymov’s watch, Bitzlato processed roughly $4.58 billion worth of cryptocurrency transactions and that a “substantial portion of those transactions constitute the proceeds of crime, as well as funds intended for use in criminal transactions.” Bitzlato is known as a virtual asset service provider (VASP). Ransomware and cybercrime bazaars—no questions asked Further Reading Paying ransomware demands could land you in hot water with the feds The US Justice Department took action in conjunction with the US Treasury Department's Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN), which … [Read more...] about Authorities dismantle crypto exchange Bitzlato, allege it was cybercrime “haven”

For the past 500 years, the National Library of Sweden has collected virtually every word published in Swedish, from priceless medieval manuscripts to present-day pizza menus. Thanks to a centuries-old law that requires a copy of everything published in Swedish to be submitted to the library — also known as Kungliga biblioteket, or KB — its collections span from the obvious to the obscure: books, newspapers, radio and TV broadcasts, internet content, Ph.D. dissertations, postcards, menus and video games. It’s a wildly diverse collection of nearly 26 petabytes of data, ideal for training state-of-the-art AI. “We can build state-of-the-art AI models for the Swedish language since we have the best data,” said Love Börjeson, director of KBLab, the library’s data lab. Using NVIDIA DGX systems , the group has developed more than two dozen open-source transformer models, available on Hugging Face . The models, downloaded by up to 200,000 developers per month, enable research at … [Read more...] about Booked for Brilliance: Sweden’s National Library Turns Page to AI to Parse Centuries of Data

Charter Communications last week sued a workers' union, alleging that its members have repeatedly sabotaged Charter's network in New York City during a strike that began in March. "On over 125 occasions, Charter cables, including both coaxial and fiber optic cables in both secured and unsecured locations at sites throughout New York City, have been deliberately cut or damaged, thereby denying thousands of subscribers access to cable, Internet, and voice service and interfering with their ability to contact emergency services, and forcing Charter to devote hundreds of thousands of dollars and hundreds of man-hours to investigating and repairing its property," Charter alleged in its complaint filed in the New York State Supreme Court. It's no coincidence that these incidents happened during the strike, Charter further claimed. Charter blamed members of IBEW Local Union No. 3: Upon information and belief the perpetrators of these acts of sabotage were Local 3 members and/or … [Read more...] about Charter accuses its employees of cutting cables 125 times during strike