AI Scams Drive Need For More Action To ID Callers, FCC Told

By Christopher Cole

With data showing robocall scams even more rampant than reported and artificial intelligence making fraud easier, the Federal Communications Commission needs to take action to better identify the sources of calls, a consumer advocacy group said.

Letter attached | Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Wash. AI Task Force Forgoes Data Center, Labor Safeguards

By Rachel Riley

A Washington state task force made a series of recommendations to lawmakers Wednesday for promoting responsible use of artificial intelligence while declining to endorse proposed guardrails on data center development and the use of generative AI by state agencies, according to a final report.

3 documents attached | Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Amazon To Pay $2.25M To Settle FCRA Violation Claims

By Aneeta Mathur-Ashton

Amazon has been ordered to pay $2.25 million in civil penalties to settle allegations that it knowingly violated the Fair Credit Reporting Act by refusing to provide customers with transaction records after their personal information was used by identity thieves to commit fraud.

2 documents attached | Read full article » | Save to favorites »

TikTok Nears Deal Ahead Of 2nd Social Media Addiction Trial

By Craig Clough

A plaintiff who alleges he became harmfully addicted to major social media platforms as a child and whose case is set to be the second bellwether trial later this month out of thousands of similar cases pending in Los Angeles court has reached a settlement in principle with TikTok, his counsel told Law360 on Wednesday.

Read full article » | Save to favorites »

TD Bank Can't Escape Customer's Meta Pixel Tracking Suit

By Sydney Price

TD Bank must face a proposed class action alleging it wrongfully shared customers' personal information with Meta Platforms Inc. for marketing purposes, with a New Jersey federal judge ruling the latest version of the suit plausibly alleges the bank's tracking tool caused actual harm to the plaintiff.

Opinion attached | Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Anthropic Says Export Controls Are Lifted For Latest Models

By Ganesh Setty

Anthropic has announced that export controls ordered by the Trump administration regarding its new Claude Fable 5 and Claude Mythos 5 models have been lifted, saying it would make the frontier models available starting Wednesday.

Read full article » | Save to favorites »

House Bill To Regulate Earned Wage Advances Clears Panel

By Aislinn Keely

The House Financial Services Committee has advanced a federal framework for fintechs offering paycheck advances despite pushback from some Democrats that the proposal hamstrings states by blocking them from applying their lending laws to the services and imposing stronger consumer protections.

Bill attached | Read full article » | Save to favorites »

FCC Wants To Extend Covered List's Reach To Components

By Nadia Dreid

The Federal Communications Commission Wednesday announced new plans to expand the so-called covered list of telecommunications equipment — equipment deemed to be a national security risk — even further so that it bans not only a completed item but all the parts that make it up.

Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Yelp Gets To Lock In Part Of DOJ's Search Win Over Google

By Bonnie Eslinger

A California federal judge Wednesday partially granted Yelp Inc.'s request to lock in liability findings from the U.S. Department of Justice's landmark antitrust win over Google LLC for its own case against the company, thereby precluding Google from arguing it didn't monopolize the market for general search services.

Order attached | Read full article » | Save to favorites »

NJ Cops Can Accept Warrantless Location Info From Feds

By Nadia Dreid

A New Jersey appeals court has said it won't overturn the gun trafficking conviction of a man who was arrested in part due to cellphone location data that was acquired by federal law enforcement in Ohio, which didn't require a warrant to get the information.

Read full article » | Save to favorites »

FTC Says Distorting AI Outputs To Follow State Laws Won't Fly

By Allison Grande

Companies that "alter or steer" the outputs of artificial intelligence models to comply with legislation in Colorado and other states that aim to regulate the use of the emerging technology risk deceiving consumers and facing federal enforcement, the Federal Trade Commission warned in a proposed policy statement released Wednesday.

1 document attached | Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Walmart Hit With Ill. Biometric Privacy Suit For Recorded Calls

By Celeste Bott

Walmart has been hit in Illinois state court with a proposed class action claiming that customers' voiceprints were recorded and captured for fraud prevention purposes when they called the retail giant's customer service line, without the required consent and disclosures under Illinois' biometric privacy law.

Complaint attached | Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Farm Says $99M Deere Right-To-Repair Deal Is Unfair

By Mike Curley

One of the farms suing Deere & Co. in federal right to repair litigation is objecting to a $99 million settlement that received preliminary approval in May, saying the deal provides minimal relief compared to what the class could have gotten at trial, especially since more than half of it may go to class counsel.

1 document attached | Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Chen Says Herridge Must Name Source Even Under Her Test

By Jared Foretek

A woman claiming that an FBI agent smeared her by leaking confidential records to then-Fox News journalist Catherine Herridge told the U.S. Supreme Court not to halt Herridge's contempt finding and $800-per-day fine any longer, saying that even under Herridge's preferred test, she would still have to identify her source.

2 documents attached | Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Bojangles Can't Duck Workers' Data Breach Class Action

By Hayley Fowler

Bojangles cannot free itself from a proposed data breach class action alleging the fried chicken fast food chain left employees' personal information vulnerable to Russian hackers, a North Carolina Business Court judge ruled in largely denying the company's bid for an early exit.

Opinion attached | Read full article » | Save to favorites »

4 Mass. Rulings You May Have Missed In June

By Julie Manganis

An advisory firm's failure to register as a broker before diving into work on a $2.1 billion take-private deal last year has cost it, while emails and text messages took center stage in several other disputes pending in Massachusetts state court in June.

4 documents attached | Read full article » | Save to favorites »

LinkedIn Says Users Agreed To Browser Extension Scans

By Taylor Bowie

LinkedIn told a California federal judge that two proposed class actions alleging the website unlawfully accesses users' browser extensions are part of an "international retaliation campaign" over routine security methods that users agreed to.

Motion attached | Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Brief

IT Firm Seeks To Enforce Noncompete Against Ex-Sales Chief

By Julie Manganis

Massachusetts IT management company Coretelligent has asked a state judge to block its former chief revenue officer from starting a new, nearly identical job with a rival firm, saying the move violates a noncompete.

Complaint attached | Read full article » | Save to favorites »

GM Privacy Penalty Signals A Change In Calif. Enforcement

General Motors' $12.75 million settlement with the California attorney general over its sale of driving behavior and geolocation data to brokers shows that disclosures and user choice may no longer be enough to define permissible data use, says Sonja Arndt-Johnson at Buchalter.

Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Attorney Mental Health Is An Ethical Obligation In The AI Era

As attorneys cope with the increasing unpredictability that artificial intelligence and constant policy changes have created, particularly in practice areas where they carry the emotional weight of clients’ most consequential life events, otherwise soft discussions about self-care are a matter of professional competence, says attorney Jack Jrada.

Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Goldstein Calls Gov't's Attack On Text Messages 'Hypocrisy'

By Jared Foretek

Lawyers for convicted SCOTUSblog founder Thomas Goldstein have rejected prosecutors' claims that the famed U.S. Supreme Court lawyer may have deleted messages between himself and his poker backers, calling the government "hypocritical" after it had previously argued that Goldstein could authenticate the messages if he took the stand at trial.

Response attached | Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Judiciary Dems Seek DOJ Replies Before Blanche Hearing

By Courtney Bublé

Ahead of acting Attorney General Todd Blanche's confirmation hearing for the permanent position, Democrats on the Senate Judiciary Committee are demanding he provide answers to their outstanding oversight inquiries.

Letter attached | Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Brief

Texas Federal Judge Requires Confirmation Of AI Checks

By Emily Sawicki

Attorneys and self-represented parties appearing before U.S. District Judge Ernest Gonzalez of the Western District of Texas are now required to certify that they have independently verified the contents of any filings created or edited using artificial intelligence.

Order attached | Read full article » | Save to favorites »

'Do Your Part,' Mass. Judge Chides Read Case Attys Post-Leak

By Cara Salvatore

A Massachusetts judge on Wednesday lectured counsel in the high-profile civil case against Karen Read, the Massachusetts woman acquitted of murdering her Boston police officer boyfriend, to honor their ethical obligations after sensitive information leaked on social media.

Read full article » | Save to favorites »

U Of Ky. Appoints Controversial Dean Pick For Law School

By Courtney Bublé

U.S. District Judge Gregory Van Tatenhove of the Eastern District of Kentucky will retire from the bench later this month to become dean of the University of Kentucky's J. David Rosenberg College of Law, a move that sparked controversy in the state.

Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Wash. Atty Loses Bid For Jury In Dispute Over Bar Sanctions

By Emily Sawicki

A Washington lawyer sanctioned and disciplined for bringing a "frivolous" election suit in 2021 against then-Gov. Jay Inslee has lost her bid to have her ethics charges heard by a jury, with a state appeals panel finding no error in a trial court's ruling that it lacked jurisdiction to take on the disciplinary matter.

Opinion attached | Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Analysis

High Court's Guardrails Won't Ease Fight Over Trans Athletes

By Alex Lawson

The U.S. Supreme Court's decision permitting states to ban transgender athletes from girls' sports was written in simple terms, but attorneys tracking the issue see the ruling as a flashpoint for further litigation.

Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Analysis

Plea Deals Get Scrutiny In 'Hunter,' But Justices Stay Cautious

By Brandon Lowrey

The shock for Mary Fan came almost immediately after she began her career as a federal prosecutor in Southern California in the mid-2000s.

Read full article » | Save to favorites »

5 NYC Legal Service Provider Union Contracts Have Expired

By Andrea Keckley

The collective bargaining agreements for five New York City-based indigent defense and civil legal aid providers expired at the end of the day Tuesday as multiple unions reported outstanding points of contention in their negotiations.

Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Watchdog Says DOL Needs Better Info Sharing Controls

By Kellie Mejdrich

The U.S. Department of Labor's lack of controls over information sharing between subagencies and nongovernmental entities, including law firms and legal advocacy organizations, may have unfairly advantaged those parties with privileged investigative information, an agency watchdog reported, though use of the practice has dropped off. 

Report attached | Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Roundup

The Top In-House Hires Of June

By Michele Gorman

Legal department hires during the past month included high-profile appointments at Bayer, Harley-Davidson and PBS. Here, Law360 Pulse looks at some of the top in-house announcements from June.

Read full article » | Save to favorites »