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Mealey's Cyber Tech & E-Commerce

  • September 17, 2025

    4th Executive Order Issued, Again Stopping DOJ Enforcement Of Act Banning TikTok

    WASHINGTON, D.C. — President Donald J. Trump on Sept. 16 issued a fourth executive order pausing enforcement of the Protecting Americans from Foreign Adversary Controlled Applications Act as to TikTok until Dec. 16, requiring the Department of Justice (DOJ) not to enforce the act, which would have resulted in a ban on the popular social network absent a corporate ownership change.

  • September 17, 2025

    California Bill Seeks To Curb Harm To Minors From AI Chatbots

    SACRAMENTO, Calif. — As the number of lawsuits alleging that minors were harmed by the use of artificial intelligence chatbots continues to grow, the California State Legislature passed a measure designed to ensure AI companions will not promote self-harm.

  • September 16, 2025

    Parent Files Wrongful Death Suit Against Roblox, Discord Over Teen Son’s Suicide

    SAN FRANCISCO — The mother of a 15-year-old boy who committed suicide after purported sexual exploitation through online apps filed suit in a state court against Roblox Corp., which describes its app as “a platform for communication and connection,” and Discord Inc., whose app is described as “a voice, video, and text communication platform,” alleging negligence and other claims for their failure to protect her son from harm by a child predator using the platforms.

  • September 16, 2025

    Insurers Fail To Settle Equitable Contribution Suit Over Unlawful Recording Claims

    SAN DIEGO — A federal court in California on Sept. 15 reported that following an early neutral evaluation conference, a cyber liability insurer and a defendant insurer did not reach a settlement of the cyber liability insurer’s lawsuit seeking equitable contribution and indemnification for an underlying lawsuit alleging that their mutual insured intentionally failed to disclose that hidden cameras were installed in operating rooms and recorded patient procedures in an effort to investigate drug theft.

  • September 16, 2025

    FTC, Chegg Stipulate To $7.5M Judgment In ROSCA Dispute Over Cancellation Policies

    SAN JOSE, Calif.  — The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and Chegg Inc., an online textbook rental service, on Sept. 15 filed a joint motion for a stipulated order for a permanent injunction and monetary judgment in a California federal court in the FTC’s suit alleging violations of the Restore Online Shoppers’ Confidence Act (ROSCA) for Chegg’s purported failure to provide subscribers with a “simple” method to cancel recurring charges, stating that the parties have agreed to a $7.5 million judgment against Chegg and that Chegg is permanently “enjoined from failing to provide a simple mechanism for a consumer to cancel.”

  • September 16, 2025

    After Voluntary Dismissal, Judge Tosses Newsmax Streaming Services Suit Against Fox

    WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. — In an order entered Sept. 15 after plaintiff Newsmax Broadcasting LLC filed a notice of voluntary dismissal, a Florida federal judge dismissed without prejudice Newsmax’s complaint against Fox News Network LLC and Fox Corp. alleging violations of the Sherman Act and Florida state law related to Fox News’ purported “market power to coerce distributors,” including virtual multichannel video programming distributors, “into not carrying or into marginalizing other right-leaning news channels, including Newsmax.”

  • September 12, 2025

    Sanctions Ordered In Text Message Employment Dispute As To ‘Incredible’ Testimony

    CENTRAL ISLIP, N.Y. — A New York federal magistrate judge granted in part a motion for sanctions regarding failure to preserve electronically stored information in a suit filed by a woman against her former supervisor, former employer and its parent company alleging retaliation pursuant to Title VII of the Civil Rights Act, finding “highly incredible” the testimony of two individuals who deleted text messages and purportedly failed to “take reasonable steps to preserve evidence.”

  • September 12, 2025

    Federal Trade Commission Opens Investigation Into Chatbot Safety

    WASHINGTON, D.C. — In the wake of lawsuits accusing artificial intelligence chatbots of improper conduct, including contributing to children’s deaths by suicide, the Federal Trade Commission announced Sept. 11 that it was launching an investigation into the measures seven artificial intelligence chatbot companies take to monitor how children and teens use the technology.

  • September 12, 2025

    2nd Circuit: Labels Waived Inducement Argument, But Opinion Slightly Amended

    NEW YORK — A Second Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals panel partly granted a group of record labels’ petition to reconsider its finding that the labels failed to show that video sharing website Vimeo Inc. had “red flag” knowledge that user-uploaded videos contained copyrighted musical recordings, agreeing to remove a footnote musing on whether the labels had preserved for U.S. Supreme Court review arguments that Vimeo could not be entitled to the safe harbor defined in the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA).

  • September 11, 2025

    2nd Circuit Won’t Review FCC Forfeiture Order, $46.9M Penalty Against Verizon

    NEW YORK — The Second Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals on Sept. 10 denied a petition filed by Verizon Communications Inc. seeking review of a Federal Communications Commission forfeiture order imposing a $46.9 million penalty for violating the Communications Act and related regulations regarding Verizon’s alleged failure to safeguard certain customer proprietary network information, finding that the data is protected under statute, that the finding of liability was reasonable and that the forfeiture order does not violate Verizon’s constitutional rights or the applicable statute.

  • September 10, 2025

    Judgment Granted For Wireless Companies In Cell Tower Dispute With Idaho County

    COEUR D'ALENE, Idaho — An Idaho federal judge granted summary judgment to wireless companies in their dispute with an Idaho county government that denied their application to construct and operate a 150-foot wireless communication tower in the county, finding “no genuine question of material fact that the County’s denial of the Wireless Companies’ application violated the Telecommunications Act.”

  • September 10, 2025

    9th Circuit Mostly Affirms Ruling Denying California Social Media Law Injunction

    SAN FRANCISCO — The Ninth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals on Sept. 9 mostly affirmed a lower court ruling denying a preliminary injunction by NetChoice LLC, a nationwide trade association for internet companies, to prevent the enforcement of a California law requiring parental consent for minors to access personalized feeds on social media, finding in part that the act was not unconstitutionally vague.

  • September 10, 2025

    Apple Seeks To Dismiss Developers’ App Store ‘Monopoly’ Claims

    OAKLAND, Calif. — Apple Inc. in California federal court moved to dismiss a putative class action brought by developers accusing it of monopolizing the market for mobile apps and forcing companies to pay “supra-competitive commissions” to keep their products on the Apple App Store, writing that the plaintiffs lack standing under California’s unfair competition law (UCL) and cannot bring claims for violation of Korean and Japanese anti-monopoly laws.

  • September 08, 2025

    Order Issued Dismissing Newsmax Antitrust Streaming Services Suit Against Fox

    WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. — In a sua sponte order filed Sept. 5, a Florida federal judge dismissed without prejudice a “shotgun pleading” complaint filed by Newsmax Broadcasting LLC against Fox News Network LLC and Fox Corp., alleging violations of the Sherman Act and Florida state law related to Fox News’ purported  “market power to coerce distributors,” including virtual multichannel video programming distributors, “into not carrying or into marginalizing other right-leaning news channels, including Newsmax.”

  • September 08, 2025

    ISPs, U.S. To High Court: ISP Infringement Liability Ruling Could Stifle Web

    WASHINGTON, D.C. — A coalition of trade organizations representing internet service providers (ISPs) tells the U.S. Supreme Court in a Sept. 5 amicus curiae brief that the Fourth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals’ finding that an ISP was liable for contributory infringement for piracy actions from internet users could “undermine decades of progress in getting Americans everywhere connected to the Internet.”

  • September 05, 2025

    ‘Largest’ Class Certified In Antitrust Dispute With Amazon Over Monopolization

    SEATTLE — A Washington federal judge granted class certification in a Sherman Act antitrust suit against Amazon.com Inc. for its alleged monopolization of the market by stopping rivals from lowering prices related to the purchase on Amazon marketplace of physical goods from third-party sellers, finding that the requirements for class certification have been met, including numerosity, which according to plaintiffs’ economic expert, relates to “around 300 million” U.S. consumers.

  • September 05, 2025

    Newsmax Sues Fox News, Alleges Antitrust Violations Related To Streaming Services

    WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. — Newsmax Broadcasting LLC sued Fox News Network LLC and Fox Corp., alleging violations of the Sherman Act and related Florida state law, asserting that Fox uses its “market power to coerce distributors,” including virtual multichannel video programming distributors, “into not carrying or into marginalizing other right-leaning news channels, including Newsmax.”

  • September 05, 2025

    Judge: Tech Company Established Ownership In IP Fight With TikTok Before Trial

    SAN FRANCISCO — In a pair of orders, a California federal judge held that a China-based company adequately established that it owns the asserted copyrights and trade secrets in a “heavily litigated” dispute with TikTok Inc. and affiliated entities, including source code from an earlier video-editing app that preceded the plaintiff entity’s app.  The judge found that there is no triable issue of fact as to the ownership of the code.

  • September 05, 2025

    9th Circuit Transfers Fee Issue In Facebook Cybersquatting Trademark Suit

    SAN FRANCISCO  — Without providing explanation, the Ninth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals granted a motion filed by Instagram LLC and Facebook Inc., now known as Meta Platforms Inc., (collectively, Meta) to transfer consideration of attorney fees on appeal to a district court in Meta’s trademark infringement suit against multiple Chinese-based companies for their alleged cybersquatting by using domain names purportedly infringing on Meta’s trademarks.

  • September 05, 2025

    3rd Circuit: Policy Violations Not Federal Crimes, Passwords Not Trade Secrets

    PHILADELPHIA — Under the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act (CFAA), workplace policy infractions are not federal crimes and federal and Pennsylvania laws do not hold that passwords protecting proprietary business information are trade secrets, a Third Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals panel found “for the first time” in affirming a district court ruling that two former employees of a national debt-collection firm did not commit computer fraud, steal trade secrets or violate other state and federal laws through the creation and sharing of a spreadsheet containing passwords and login information protecting “confidential and proprietary information.”

  • September 04, 2025

    Disney Settles Children’s Online Privacy Violations With FTC For $10 Million

    LOS ANGELES — In a stipulation and proposed order filed in California federal court, Disney Worldwide Services Inc. and Disney Entertainment Operations LLC (together, Disney) have agreed to pay $10 million to settle allegations by the Federal Trade Commission that it violated the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA) by not properly designating whether videos it uploaded to YouTube were made for kids (MFK), which resulted in the collection of children’s personal data.

  • September 04, 2025

    U.K. Plaintiffs Amend Class Deception Claims Against Coupon Finder

    SAN FRANCISCO — Citizens of the United Kingdom filed an amended putative class action against a company that operates a discount-finding browser extension and its parent company for alleged violation of California’s unfair competition law (UCL) on behalf of all U.K. users of the browser extension who were not provided the best discounts available for certain products they purchased online, after a judge dismissed a prior complaint for lack of a connection to California.

  • September 03, 2025

    Judge Says Google Not Required To Divest Chrome In DOJ Antitrust Remedies Ruling

    WASHINGTON, D.C. — In a suit in which a District of Columbia federal judge determined that Google LLC violated Section 2 of the Sherman Act, the judge on Sept. 2 issued an opinion outlining remedies, including not requiring the divestiture of Google Chrome.  The judge accepted with modifications Google’s proposed remedies “in full” and adopted in part the Department of Justice’s (DOJ) and states’ proposed remedies.

  • September 02, 2025

    Online Service Seeks Supreme Court Review Of Standing Ruling In Antitrust Suit

    WASHINGTON, D.C. — An online pharmacy monitoring service filed a petition for a writ of certiorari in the U.S. Supreme Court, seeking review of the Ninth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals’ affirmance of a lower court’s ruling denying the petitioner’s motion for summary judgment based on a lack of standing in a suit against the service alleging Sherman Act violations for a purported group boycott.

  • August 28, 2025

    App Makers Unfairly Tried To Force Players Into Arbitration, 9th Circuit Says

    SAN FRANCISCO — A Ninth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals panel on Aug. 27 affirmed a lower court’s ruling barring a mobile gaming app developer’s attempt to enforce an “unconscionable” arbitration agreement with players who alleged that they were tricked into paying to play against bots instead of real people in violation of California’s unfair competition law (UCL).