News & Commentary
EU Court of Justice Rules on Facebook Content Removal
The European Union has not shied away from addressing issues with Big Tech. Regulatory efforts undertaken in Europe have influenced other countries around the world, and EU courts have played a leading role in clarifying the extent and scope of regulations. Now, the European Court of Justice (ECJ) has ruled “that individual…
Read MoreRing, Law Enforcement, and Data Sharing Partnerships
Ring, the home security and smart home company best known for video doorbells and security cameras, has developed a series of data sharing partnerships with law enforcement around the United States. The relationships have raised concerns about privacy and potential civil liberties violations, as well as questions about the intersection of data,…
Read MorePractice Fusion Reaches Agreement with U.S. Department of Justice
Practice Fusion – a subsidiary of leading healthcare IT provider Allscripts – has reached a $145 million agreement with the United States Department of Justice. The settlement is due to resolve potential criminal and civil liability facing Allscripts, as a result of Practice Fusion violations that allegedly occurred – and were initially…
Read MoreDomino’s Pizza Takes Matter of ADA Website Compliance to Supreme Court
When the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) passed into law in 1990, very few people could have anticipated how the internet would ultimately transform society and business. The landmark civil rights legislation, which was amended in 2008, is divided into five sections, each handling a different area. These sections “[guarantee] equal opportunity…
Read MoreData’s Role in Big Tech’s Antitrust Fight
The era of minimal oversight for the biggest technology companies appears to be ending. The Justice Department and FTC will split oversight of Google and Amazon, and the Supreme Court gave the go-ahead to a long-simmering antitrust suit against Apple. Taken together, it is becoming clear that lawmakers are poised to take…
Read MoreInside the Business of Ransomware
Cybercrime is an increasingly prevalent – and costly – concern for organizations around the world. Information loss represents 43 percent of an average $2.4 million cost for malware victims. Cybercrime damage is projected to reach $6 trillion annually by 2021. It is especially common in heavily internet-connected countries like the United States,…
Read MoreJustice Department and FTC to Split Oversight of Google and Amazon
Big Tech is part of everyday people’s lives in ways that were once the province of fantasy. Companies like Google and Amazon are ubiquitous around the world, and the products and services they offer are relied on by millions. Unfailingly ambitious (and extraordinarily profitable), it would appear that things have never better…
Read MoreCalifornia Judge Rules that Qualcomm Violated American Antitrust Law
In 2017, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) charged semiconductor and telecommunications equipment giant, Qualcomm, with anticompetitive behavior. After a protracted legal battle, Judge Lucy Koh of the District Court for the Northern District of California ruled that the company had indeed violated antitrust law, creating potentially seismic repercussions for the chipmaker’s business…
Read MoreSupreme Court Allows Apple Antitrust Suit to Move Forward
A long-simmering lawsuit has been given the go-ahead by the Supreme Court. Apple Inc. v. Pepper, a major antitrust suit with enormous implications for how the tech giant does business, was allowed to proceed in a 5-to-4 vote from the highest court in the land. While antitrust cases are typically long, protracted…
Read MoreLawsuits Alleges U.S. Cellphone Carriers Sold Customer Location Data
New class-action lawsuits have been filed against major US cellphone carriers AT&T, Verizon, T-Mobile, and Sprint in US District Court in Maryland. Each suit alleges violation of Section 222 of the US Communications Act in mostly identical terms via (in the words of the AT&T suit) the real-time “collection of geolocation data…
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