Apple Appeals verdict in app store battle with Epic
Epic Games (Epic), a video game company, sued Apple for anticompetitive behavior after Apple removed Epic’s Fortnite game from its App Store because Epic created a workaround to paying Apple’s 30% fee on customers’ in-app purchases. The district court ruled mainly in favor of Apple, declaring that Apple was not a monopoly. But, the court did side with Epic Games on the grounds that Apple could no longer prohibit developers from advertising alternative payment methods beyond Apple’s own payment systems. This could allow users to circumvent Apple’s fees, and ultimately threaten the profitability of the App Store. Apple is appealing that judgment and order.
Facebook whistleblower testimony spurs calls for regulation
Testimony in Congress this week by the whistleblower Frances Haugen has prompted discussion surrounding the regulation of Facebook and digital media companies in general. Haugen shared internal reports of Facebook’s research on the effects of its algorithm and how data collection and its misuse contributes to widespread misinformation. She explained that Facebook puts “profits before people,” because it knowingly harms children and threatens national security by promoting inaccurate and divisive content. Haugen analogized Facebook and Instagram to tobacco: “It’s just like cigarettes … teenagers don’t have good self-regulation.”
Elizabeth Holmes, founder of the failed blood testing start-up Theranos, is being tried on 12 counts of fraud, charged with misleading investors about her company’s technology. The trial is now entering its 6th week and it hinges on Ms. Holmes’s knowledge of the problems with Theranos’s blood testing devices. This case is significant, not just because of the wicked scheme it centers around, but also because the implications it may have for Silicon Valley’s “fake it till you make it” culture. Many Silicon Valley startups rely on hubris and exaggeration to pool investments to achieve their mission. While this does sometimes result in many fruitful innovations, it has also allowed for some unethical companies to flourish.
US Plans to Counter Ransomware Attacks through Crypto Tracing
The rise and threat of ransomware attacks has been catastrophic. It has devastated municipalities, schools, hospitals, energy companies, and transportation companies. Oftentimes, the cost of paying off the ransom is cheaper than the cost of rebuilding systems and data from scratch. Cryptocurrency serves as a catalyst for this cybercrime because hackers typically request cryptocurrency payments to decrypt ransomware. The White House, together with the Department of Justice, is funneling resources towards proactive cybercrime investigations. One method it is targeting these hackers by is following crypto transactions across the blockchain. It is also sanctioning cryptocurrency exchanges for aiding hackers to launder ransomware payments. By doing so, the government is cutting off a key component of a successful ransomware attack—the payment.
US government ordering Google to provide users’ search data
The US government has issued “keyword warrants,” ordering Google and other search engines to track and provide data on anyone who searches certain terms. Unsealed court documents that have recently been made public have shown that the government has been taking these requests more frequently. For example, it was revealed that in 2019 federal investigators ordered Google to provide data to help search for men allegedly involved in trafficking and sexually abusing a minor. Federal investigators requested data on anyone who searched for the victim’s name, two spellings of her mother’s name and her address over 16 days across the year. From the government’s perspective, the scope of the warrants is limited enough to avoid implicating innocent people, but privacy experts are concerned.