CNN: DOJ sues Google over its dominance in online advertising market

CNN: DOJ sues Google over its dominance in online advertising market. “The Justice Department and eight states sued Google on Tuesday, accusing the company of harming competition with its dominance in the online advertising market and calling for it to be broken up. The move marks the Biden administration’s first blockbuster antitrust case against a Big Tech company. The eight states joining the suit include California, Colorado, Connecticut, New Jersey, New York, Rhode Island, Tennessee and Virginia.”

California Department of Justice: Attorney General Bonta Urges U.S. Supreme Court to Allow Social Media Companies to be Held Liable for Recommending Harmful Third-Party Content, Narrow Interpretation of Communications Decency Act

California Department of Justice: Attorney General Bonta Urges U.S. Supreme Court to Allow Social Media Companies to be Held Liable for Recommending Harmful Third-Party Content, Narrow Interpretation of Communications Decency Act. “California Attorney General Rob Bonta, alongside a bipartisan coalition of attorneys general, filed an amicus brief in Gonzalez v. Google urging the U.S. Supreme Court to interpret section 230 of the Communications Decency Act to allow social media companies to be held liable when they use algorithms to make targeted recommendations of harmful third-party content.”

Bleeping Computer: Google sued over biometric data collection without consent

Bleeping Computer: Google sued over biometric data collection without consent. “Texas attorney general Ken Paxton has sued Google for allegedly collecting and using biometric data belonging to millions of Texans without proper consent. The Texas AG says that Google allegedly used products and services like Google Photos, Google Assistant, and Nest Hub Max to collect a vast array of biometric identifiers, including voiceprints and records of face geometry since 2015.”

Washington Post: Buffalo massacre report seeks to punish broadcasters of homicide live streams

Washington Post: Buffalo massacre report seeks to punish broadcasters of homicide live streams. “The New York attorney general on Tuesday called on the state legislature to pass new laws to deter the live-streaming of homicides, following an investigation that concluded the alleged gunman accused of killing 10 people in Buffalo was radicalized online and then used social media to plan and promote his rampage.”

Ohio Attorney General: Ohio Selected as Lead Plaintiff in Class-Action Lawsuit Against Facebook

Ohio Attorney General: Ohio Selected as Lead Plaintiff in Class-Action Lawsuit Against Facebook. “A federal judge in California yesterday agreed to consolidate a series of lawsuits against Facebook and appointed Ohio the lead plaintiff in the securities class-action case against the social-media giant. Attorney General Yost will lead the class action on behalf of Ohio and any other affected investors.”

CNN: Group of attorneys general announce investigation into TikTok’s impact on young Americans

CNN: Group of attorneys general announce investigation into TikTok’s impact on young Americans. “A nationwide group of state attorneys general announced an investigation into TikTok’s impact on young Americans Tuesday, adding to the steady drumbeat of political pressure being applied to social media platforms. The probe zeroes in on TikTok’s user engagement techniques and alleged risks that the platform may pose to the mental health of children, according to announcements by the states.”

Washington Post: Google deceived consumers about how it profits from their location data, attorneys general allege in lawsuits

Washington Post: Google deceived consumers about how it profits from their location data, attorneys general allege in lawsuits. “Attorneys general from D.C. and three states plan to sue Google on Monday, arguing that the search giant deceived consumers to gain access to their location data. The lawsuits, expected to be filed in the District of Columbia, Texas, Washington and Indiana, allege the company made misleading promises about its users’ ability to protect their privacy through Google account settings, dating to at least 2014. The suits seek to stop Google from engaging in these practices and to fine the company.”

Mashable: Meta is being investigated for alleged Oculus anti-trust violations

Mashable: Meta is being investigated for alleged Oculus anti-trust violations. “Mark Zuckerberg can change his company’s name all he wants, but that won’t stop the government from looking into its business practices. The latest round of government probes into the company now known as Meta actually centers on Oculus, its VR hardware and software subsidiary, per Bloomberg. The FTC along with the state governments of New York, North Carolina, and Tennessee have spoken to VR developers about alleged antitrust violations.”

New York Attorney General: Attorney General James Issues Warnings to EZ Test NY and Keep Health Safe to Stop Misrepresenting Turnaround Times for COVID-19 Test Results

New York Attorney General: Attorney General James Issues Warnings to EZ Test NY and Keep Health Safe to Stop Misrepresenting Turnaround Times for COVID-19 Test Results. “New York Attorney General Letitia James yesterday issued two warning letters to two companies facilitating coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) testing — EZ Test NY (a Brooklyn-based collection center) and Keep Health Safe (a Fort Lee, New Jersey-based collection center) — for not meeting promised turnaround times for test results.”

Reuters: Fourteen U.S. attorneys general press Facebook on vaccine disinformation

Reuters: Fourteen U.S. attorneys general press Facebook on vaccine disinformation. “The attorneys general of 14 U.S. states sent a letter to Facebook Inc FB.O Chief Executive Mark Zuckerberg asking if the top disseminators of vaccine disinformation on the platform received special treatment from the company. The line of inquiry was generated after Facebook whistleblower Frances Haugen used internal documents to disclose that the social media platform has built a system that exempts high-profile users from some or all of its rules.”

Washington AG: Facebook gave false info in campaign suit (Associated Press)

Associated Press: Washington AG: Facebook gave false info in campaign suit. “Washington Attorney General Bob Ferguson says a Facebook representative provided false testimony in a lawsuit that accuses the company of violating state campaign finance laws. The Seattle Times reports that in court filings the Democratic attorney general says both the social media giant and its attorneys knew the testimony was false.”