Facebook is suspending about 200 apps that it believes may have misused data. The social media giant said in a blog post Monday that the suspensions resulted from its investigation into all apps that had access to large amounts of information before Facebook changed its platform policies in 2014. Those changes, according to Facebook, significantly…
EU Launches Probe of Apple’s Takeover of Digital App Shazam
The European Union is opening an investigation into Apple’s acquisition of song-recognition app Shazam to make sure it doesn’t limit consumer choice too much. Apple said in December it would buy the maker of the popular song-recognition app, which Apple’s digital assistant Siri had been competing with. EU Antitrust Commissioner Margrethe Vestager said the initial…
Russia Blocks Some Google, Amazon Servers After Telegram Ban
Russia’s communications watchdog says it is blocking access to some servers owned by tech giants Google and Amazon in order to comply with a court order to block a popular messaging app. The Russian Communications Agency on Monday began enforcing a court ban on the messaging app Telegram over its refusal to hand over encryption…
Russian Court Blocks Popular Messaging App in Privacy Row
A Russian court on Friday ordered that a popular messaging app, Telegram, be blocked after the company rejected to share encryption data with authorities. The Moscow court ruled in favor of the Russian communications watchdog, which had demanded that Telegram be blocked in Russia until it hands over the keys to its encryption. The ban…
Judge: NYPD Cellphone Tracking Tech to Remain Secret
The New York Police Department won’t have to reveal details about its portable cellphone tracking system commonly known as Stingrays. The New York Civil Liberties Union had sued the NYPD in 2016 for specific information on its Stingray program after a records request under the state’s Freedom of Information Law was denied. On Wednesday, a…
Russian Authorities Asks Court to Block Messaging App
Russia’s communications watchdog says it has asked a court to block access to a popular messaging app. The Russian Communications Agency said on Friday it has filed a lawsuit against the messaging app Telegram after it refused to hand over encryption keys to Russian intelligence. The announcement follows a months-long row between Telegram and Russian…
China State Media Say 4 Popular News Apps Suspended
Four popular Chinese news apps have been temporarily removed from the Android store in China following an order from regulators to tighten control over the spread of information, state media reported Monday. Toutiao, Phoenix News, NetEase News and Tiantian Kuaibao suspended their downloading services before 3 p.m. on Monday, the Beijing Daily newspaper said on…
Appeals Court Finds Google Infringed on Oracle’s Java
A federal appeals court has overturned a decision in a long-running legal battle over whether Google infringed on Oracle’s Java programming language to build its hugely popular mobile operating system, Android. The court said Google’s use of Java was “not fair” and sent the case back to trial to determine damages. Oracle had originally sought…
3 Facebook Messenger App Users File Lawsuit over Privacy
Three Facebook Messenger app users have filed a lawsuit claiming the social network violated their privacy by collecting logs of their phone calls and text messages. The suit, filed Tuesday in federal court in northern California, comes as Facebook faces scrutiny over privacy concerns. Facebook acknowledged on Sunday that it began uploading call and text…
Albuquerque Police Have Hush-Hush Cellphone-Tracking Devices
The Albuquerque Police Department is among numerous U.S. law enforcement agencies using highly secretive technology that can track the whereabouts of crime suspects by using signals emitted by their cellphones. The Albuquerque Journal reports that documents obtained by the American Civil Liberties Union of New Mexico following a lawsuit against the city indicate Albuquerque police have had…