The Supreme Court denied rehearing in a mass surveillance case involving AT&T and Verizon customers Monday (see 2201210050). The court didn’t offer an explanation in Jewel v. NSA. A 9th Circuit three-judge panel denied a petition for panel rehearing in October with little explanation.

Bipartisan draft discussions on privacy are encouraging, but the bill being circulated needs more work, tech industry groups wrote Congress Monday (see 2206100061). The Computer & Communications Industry Association, Software & Information Industry Association and TechNet can’t support the bill in its “current form,” the groups wrote. They raised issues with the bill’s inclusion of a private right of action and duty of loyalty, as well as an “untailored, burdensome requirement to submit assessments of virtually all computer-based activities involving algorithms.”

Google believes its policies and practices are fair but agreed to pay $118 million to settle a class-action, gender-equity lawsuit, the company said in a statement Monday. Plaintiffs announced the settlement Friday, saying a settlement monitor will supervise over the next three years to ensure women aren’t paid less than male counterparts. The settlement covers 15,500 female employees in 236 positions in California since September 2013, said law firms Lieff Cabraser and Altshuler Berzon. “While we strongly believe in the equity of our policies and practices, after nearly five years of litigation, both sides agreed that resolution of the matter, without any admission or findings, was in the best interest of everyone,” Google said. “We are absolutely committed to paying, hiring and leveling all employees fairly and equally and for the past nine years we have run a rigorous pay equity analysis to make sure salaries, bonuses and equity awards are fair.” Plaintiff Holly Pease said: “As a woman who's spent her entire career in the tech industry, I'm optimistic that the actions Google has agreed to take as part of this settlement will ensure more equity for women.”

The next FTC virtual open meeting will be at 1 p.m. EDT June 16, the agency announced Thursday. The commission plans to vote on issuing a report to Congress “highlighting current uses of artificial intelligence to combat specific online harms.” The report will include high-level policy recommendations concerning harms like scams, fake reviews, deepfakes, dark patterns, hate crimes and child sex abuse.

Twitter’s refusal to share data with Elon Musk on the number of fake and spam accounts on the platform puts the company in noncompliance “with its obligations under the merger agreement,” lawyers for the Tesla CEO wrote Twitter Chief Legal Officer Vijaya Gadde Monday. “As Twitter’s prospective owner, Mr. Musk is clearly entitled to the requested data to enable him to prepare for transitioning Twitter’s business to his ownership and to facilitate his transaction financing,” said the lawyers. “To do both, he must have a complete and accurate understanding of the very core of Twitter’s business model -- its active user base.” Due to the “clear material breach” of Twitter’s obligations under the merger agreement, “Musk reserves all rights resulting therefrom, including his right not to consummate the transaction and his right to terminate the merger agreement.” they said. Twitter didn’t comment. Twitter shares closed 1.5% lower Monday at $39.56 -- roughly 27% below Musk's $54.20 offer price. In “certain specified circumstances” in which Musk's takeover is terminated, Musk has agreed to pay Twitter a $1 billion “reverse termination fee,” the payment of which he has personally “guaranteed,” says their merger agreement (see 2205170006). Musk has said the deal can't move forward until Twitter shows proof that fake or spam accounts comprise less than 5% of its memberships.

Cryptocurrency is quickly becoming the “payment of choice” for many online scammers, with about one out of every four dollars reported lost to fraud paid in cryptocurrency, reported the FTC Friday. An agency analysis said consumers reported losing more than $1 billion to fraud involving cryptocurrencies between January 2021 and March 2022. Most of the losses consumers reported -- $575 million worth -- “involved bogus cryptocurrency investment opportunities,” said the FTC. “These scams often falsely promise potential investors that they can earn huge returns by investing in their cryptocurrency schemes,” it said. Reports suggest cryptocurrency scams “often begin on social media,” it said. “Nearly half of consumers who reported a cryptocurrency related scam since 2021 said it started with an ad, post or message on a social media platform.” Adult consumers under 49 “were more than three times as likely as older age groups to have reported losing money to a cryptocurrency scam,” said the FTC. “Older age groups, however, reported losing more money when they did report a cryptocurrency-related scam.”

The “demand environment” for cybersecurity remains “incredibly strong,” said SentinelOne CEO Tomer Weingarten on an earnings call Wednesday for fiscal Q1 ended April 30. Revenue in the quarter grew 109% year over year. Cybersecurity is one of the top tech spending priorities, “and we haven't seen that change despite macro conditions,” he said. “Secular trends,” like digital transformation, expanding attack surfaces and data proliferation, “are driving strong demand for cybersecurity,” he said. “The consequences and risks of not being protected by a leading cybersecurity solution are just too hot.”

Disclosures in an April 19 earnings report that Netflix lost 200,000 subscribers in Q1, sending the stock plunging more than 35% in a single day, sparked at least the second federal securities fraud complaint against the streaming company seeking class-action status (see 2205040004). The Cleveland Bakers and Teamsters Pension Fund, a Netflix shareholder, “suffered damages as a result of the federal securities law violations and false and misleading statements and material omissions” made by co-CEOs Reed Hastings and Ted Sarandos, Chief Financial Officer Spencer Neumann and Chief Product Officer Greg Peters, alleged the complaint in U.S. District Court in San Jose that was filed Tuesday and transferred to Oakland Thursday after U.S. District Judge James Donato recused himself. In at least five quarterly earnings calls before April 19, the Netflix executives failed to disclose to investors that subscriber account-sharing and increased competition from other streaming services “were becoming significant headwinds” and that the company was “experiencing difficulties retaining customers,” the complaint said. Netflix didn’t respond to requests for comment.

Younger consumers are more receptive to tools that encourage brand interaction and communication, and the metaverse allows luxury brands to create community through personalized digital connections, said a Tuesday Colliers luxury retail report. Of potential metaverse participants, 72% showed interest in an Alo Yoga wellness space on Roblox and a Louis Vuitton game with non-fungible tokens (NFTs); 70% were interested in Discord channels for brands including Gucci and Adidas; 67% in Nike’s Nikeland and a Wendy’s virtual food fight; 65% in a Vans’ virtual skatepark on Roblox; 60% in shopping at the U.K.’s Selfridges Electric/City; and 27% in buying virtual Gucci and Balenciaga products on Roblox or Fortnite, Colliers said. NFT sales totaled about $25 billion last year, it said. Despite the hype around the metaverse, “most consumers have never heard of it or do not fully understand its capabilities,” the report said: “As a result the metaverse will remain a niche channel for the foreseeable future.”

Twitter must pay a $150 million fine for violating a 2011 FTC order and “deceptively using account security data for targeted advertising,” the agency said Wednesday. The commission voted 4-0 to refer the complaint and stipulated final order to DOJ. The company requested users’ phone numbers and email addresses to protect accounts but used the data to allow targeted advertising, the agency alleged. The behavior violated a 2011 order that “explicitly prohibited the company from misrepresenting its privacy and security practices,” the agency said. The settlement dates back to 2019, when some personal data “may have been inadvertently used for advertising,” said Twitter Chief Privacy Officer Damien Kieran. “This issue was addressed as of September 17, 2019, and today we want to reiterate the work we’ll continue to do to protect the privacy and security of the people who use Twitter.” The company “will continue to partner with our regulators to make sure they understand how security and privacy practices at Twitter are always evolving for the better,” Kieran tweeted. The $150 million fine ensures Twitter isn’t profiting from the alleged conduct, FTC Chair Lina Khan and Commissioner Rebecca Kelly Slaughter said in a statement. They highlighted that Twitter must notify affected parties and provide users with multifactor authentication tools that don’t require the sharing of their phone numbers. Commissioners Noah Phillips and Christine Wilson issued a statement saying: “We hope that the bipartisan approval of this order, one very much in line with prior orders, signals the beginning of a more constructive dialogue about how to continue refining our enforcement program.”