Judge Tells DOJ Not To 'Play Possum' On Trump Fund

By Jared Foretek

A D.C. federal judge on Wednesday declined to block the Trump administration's proposed $1.8 billion "lawfare" fund, crediting statements from Attorney General Todd Blanche and other U.S. Department of Justice lawyers last week that the fund was dead.

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Meta, YouTube Lose Bid To Void $6M Addiction Verdict

By Lauren Berg

Meta Platforms Inc. and Google cannot overturn a landmark verdict finding them liable for harming the mental health of a young woman who says she became addicted to their social media platforms as a child, a Los Angeles judge has ruled.

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FCC Says Chinese Lab Falsified Reports Via Copy-Paste Ploy

By Christopher Cole

The Federal Communications Commission has started the process of pulling U.S. certification from an equipment testing lab based in China that the agency claims submitted false test reports for devices by copying other reports.

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Use 'Great Care' In Covered List Changes, Rural ISPs Tell FCC

By Christopher Cole

Rural internet service providers want the Federal Communications Commission to make sure only companies posing known risks are barred from interconnecting high-speed networks as the FCC looks to expand a national security program.

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FCC Grants ISP Biz Waiver On Router Hardware For 1 Year

By Nadia Dreid

The Federal Communications Commission has come through and granted NCTA — The Internet & Television Association members a waiver allowing them to make changes to foreign-made routers after granting similar permission to telecom titan AT&T.

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IT Co. Rigged Server To Christmas Tree Timer, $5.5M Suit Says

By Elaine Briseño

The National Institute of Building Sciences alleged in D.C. federal court that an information technology firm caused it at least $5.52 million in damages by failing to maintain and upgrade a web platform for government facility acquisition, instead doing "slapdash" work including rigging a server with a Christmas tree timer.

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GoSecure's Patent Case Should Stay Alive, Judge Says

By Adam Lidgett

A Texas federal judge has suggested that Austin-based CrowdStrike Inc. shouldn't be allowed to escape a suit accusing it of infringing a computer system monitoring patent, saying the allegations are sufficient at this point to avoid dismissal.

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Influencer Says Underwear Co. Posted Lewd Deepfake

By Elliot Weld

A lifestyle content creator has sued body-inclusivity-oriented underwear company EBY Inc., claiming that while she had agreed to be a brand ambassador, the company used artificial intelligence to create a "deepfake" version of her and then used it to post a video where she appeared partially nude.

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Accenture Pushes For Arbitration In WhatsApp Privacy Suit

By Caroline Simson

Irish technology consulting company Accenture PLC on Tuesday pressed a California federal judge to nix proposed class claims brought by WhatsApp users alleging privacy violations or send the matter to arbitration, as the users said that they will fight to at least keep certain state law claims in court.

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Grindr Says Arbitration Order In Teen Death Suit Was Proper

By Y. Peter Kang

The Grindr dating platform criticized a bid to undo an arbitration order lodged by the estate of a 16-year-old girl who was tortured and killed after a 35-year-old man allegedly used the app to lure her to his home, saying case law cited by the estate was not precedential.

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Data Security Biz Valued At $12B After $600M Funding Round

By Jade Martinez-Pogue

Data security company Cyera announced Wednesday that it reached a $12 billion valuation after raising $600 million from investors in its latest funding round, quadrupling the company's valuation over the last 18 months.

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Unpacking The Take It Down Act's Compliance Ambiguities

The Federal Trade Commission’s recent guidance concerning the Take It Down Act suggests that covered platforms should build removal systems immediately and prioritize compliance, but until courts or regulators provide additional clarity, companies will be navigating a statutory framework that is urgent and uncertain, says Laura-Kate Bernstein at ZwillGen.

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PowerSchool Data Breach Ruling Underscores PE Liability

The recent California federal court decision in PowerSchool, where Bain Capital was unable to dismiss claims relating to a data breach based in part on Bain's preinvestment activities, is an important addition to the line of cases addressing investor liability for acts of a portfolio company, says Mark Kelley at MoloLamken.

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Fla. Driver Ruling Shows Renewed Focus On Privacy Standing

A Florida federal court's recent dismissal of a class action alleging that private driving records had been improperly used in violation of the Driver's Privacy Protection Act suggests that companies defending against privacy class actions in Florida may reconsider Article III challenges at the dismissal stage, say attorneys at Sidley.

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West Coast Health Cos. Must Brace For Federal Enforcement

In light of the U.S. Department of Justice's newly established West Coast strike force targeting healthcare fraud across Northern California, Arizona and Nevada, health organizations will need to prioritize knowledge, vigilance and operational discipline to reduce exposure from potentially parallel criminal and civil investigations, says Michael Beckwith at Dickinson Wright.

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Susman Godfrey Beats, Seward & Kissel Matches Milbank Pay

By Tracey Read

At least four more firms have joined the associate pay raise bandwagon, with Seward & Kissel LLP matching the salary scale recently set by Milbank LLP, and Susman Godfrey LLP exceeding it.

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Judicial Noms Say Biden Won, But Critics Fault Their Caveats

By Courtney Bublé

Three district court nominees on Wednesday said President Joe Biden won the 2020 election, a departure from other judicial nominees in the second Trump administration, but court watchers on the left took issue with how they couched those statements.

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Camp Mystic Fights Sanctions Over 'Burn In Hell' Atty Remark

By Lynn LaRowe

Camp Mystic and parents of a girl killed in flooding there last summer faced off Wednesday over whether the camp should be sanctioned because its attorney said a plaintiff's lawyer would "burn in hell" and for other alleged misconduct in litigation over flooding deaths at the Texas camp.

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Ga. Federal Judge Faces 2nd Set Of Impeachment Articles

By Kelcey Caulder

A Georgia congressman has filed articles of impeachment against a federal judge who was reprimanded for having sex with a police officer in her Atlanta chambers within earshot of staff, the second lawmaker this week to do so. 

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Unions Rally As 5 Shops Approach Contract Deadline

By Andrea Keckley

Legal service providers across New York City gathered in City Hall Park on Wednesday afternoon as five unions represented by the Association of Legal Advocates and Attorneys approach their deadlines for a new contract at the end of the month.

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'Anti-ICE Vigilantes': DOJ Says Law Clerks Aided Noncitzens

By Lauren Berg

Two state court clerks in Utah are facing criminal charges after federal prosecutors say they acted as "self-appointed anti-ICE vigilantes" by helping noncitizens leave the courthouse by a back door to evade arrest by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, according to the newly unsealed case.

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Morgan & Morgan Atty Again Blocked From Harvard Suit

By Carolyn Muyskens

A Massachusetts judge rebuffed a Morgan & Morgan PA attorney's second attempt to appear in a lawsuit over the theft of body parts from a Harvard Medical School morgue, saying he would not reconsider his earlier decision to bar the attorney over an incident in a separate court involving fake AI-generated case citations.

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