DIRS.INFO The most relevant business & tech news

The closely watched court fight reflects how social media has become an informational battleground for major social issues. It has revealed the messy challenges for social media companies as they try to manage the massive amounts of information on their platforms. “For example, if there were a natural disaster, and there were untrue statements circulating on social media that were damaging to the public interest, the government would be powerless under the injunction to discourage social media companies from further disseminating those incorrect statements,” said Daniel Tenny, a Justice Department lawyer. Were social media platforms pressured? Earlier this week, he and other Republican lawmakers filed their own brief to the appeals court, accusing the Biden administration of a campaign to stifle speech.

Persons: Biden, ”, Daniel Tenny, “, John Sauer, ’, Terry Doughty, Christopher Wray, Trump, Jim Jordan, ” Jordan Organizations: DC CNN, of Homeland Security, Health, Human Services, Appeals, Fifth Circuit, Justice Department, “, Senate Intelligence, Ohio Republican, Biden Administration, Big Tech Locations: Washington, New Orleans, United States, Missouri, Louisiana

☆ Modi’s Hindu-Supremacist Politics Are Pushing India to the Brink - The New York Times
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-09 | by ( Debasish Roy Chowdhury | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +2 min

Under Mr. Modi’s government, the state monopoly on violence is being surrendered to extremists and vigilantes. The targeting of minorities — particularly Muslims — by right-wing Hindu extremists is now a way of life in many states. A similar drive in neighboring Assam state targeting Muslims has already reportedly disenfranchised nearly two million people. Those were Meitei men in the horrific 26-second video, sexually assaulting two Kuki women. Many similar attacks on Kuki women have been reported.

Persons: stokes, Modi Locations: India, Manipur, Myanmar, Assam

☆ GSK sues Pfizer in U.S. court for patent infringement over RSV vaccine
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-02 | by ( Annika Kim Constantino | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

GlaxoSmithKline on Wednesday sued Pfizer in U.S. court, alleging patent infringement over Britain-based GSK's respiratory syncytial virus vaccine. GSK claims Pfizer's RSV vaccine, Abrysvo, infringes on four of its patents related to the antigen used in its own shot. "Upon information and belief, Pfizer knowingly uses GSK's claimed inventions in Abrysvo without permission," GSK wrote in a scathing complaint filed in federal court in Delaware. They are the first shots approved to prevent RSV, a common respiratory infection that usually causes mild, cold-like symptoms, but more severe cases in older adults and children. Each year, RSV kills 6,000 to 10,000 seniors and a few hundred children younger than 5, according to CDC data.

Persons: infringes Organizations: GlaxoSmithKline, Wednesday, Pfizer, GSK, U.S . Food, Drug Administration, Walgreens Locations: Britain, Delaware

☆ 'Stoneos' cannabis cookies look too much like Oreos, says US FTC
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-05 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

All are marked as containing THC - the ingredient in marijuana that produces a high - in a lower corner of the package. "Ten of the reports specifically mention the edible product to be a copycat of popular foods," the letter said. It said it was seeking legislation that would criminalize selling THC edibles using packaging that infringes on that of famous snack brands. The letters from the FTC and FDA were sent to Delta Munchies LLC, Exclusive Hemp Farms, North Carolina Hemp Exchange LLC, Dr. Diane Becker, manager of NC Hemp Exchange LLC, said the company had received the letter and was no longer selling the products in question.

Persons: Jolly, Gummies, Diane Becker, Smoke, Diane Bartz, Bill Berkrot, David Holmes Organizations: U.S . Federal Trade Commission, FTC, Food and Drug Administration, FDA, Delta Munchies, North Carolina Hemp Exchange, Smoke LLC, Nikte's Wholesale, NC Hemp Exchange, Thomson Locations: North

☆ Chinese ambassador to US makes ‘strong protests’ to White House over Biden comments
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-22 | by ( Jennifer Hansler | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

That’s what’s a great embarrassment for dictators, when they didn’t know what happened,” Biden said. The US President’s comments came mere days after US Secretary of State Antony Blinken was in Beijing for meetings with key officials, including Xi. “The nature and impact are very negative,” the Chinese Embassy statement said. On Wednesday, the US State Department sought to downplay the potential impact of Biden’s comments, with State Department deputy spokesperson Vedant Patel saying the remarks had “absolutely not at all” diminished the progress. And all of this is in our interests to do that,” Patel said at a State Department briefing.

Persons: Xie Feng “, Joe Biden’s, Xi Jinping, Biden, “, Xi, ”, what’s, ” Biden, Antony Blinken, Blinken, ” Blinken, “ We’re, Vedant Patel, ” Patel Organizations: CNN, White, US Department of State, Embassy, US State Department, State Department Locations: United States, California, Beijing, China

☆ Montana’s TikTok ban throws users into new era of uncertainty
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-21 | by ( Catherine Thorbecke | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +5 min

CNN —Keri Williams wouldn’t have her business without TikTok. But earlier this week, Montana Gov. Now, Williams, who lives near Montana’s largest city — Billings — is scrambling to figure out the future of her business. The law, set to take effect in January, has already been the subject of a lawsuit by a group of TikTok users who allege it infringes on their First Amendment rights. TikTok said in March that it has 150 million monthly active users in the United States, up from 100 million users in 2020, when the Trump administration first threatened to ban the service.

☆ Factbox: Excerpts from G7 leaders' statement on economic coercion
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-20 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

May 20 (Reuters) - Leaders of the Group of Seven (G7) agreed on Saturday to establish an initiative to counter economic "coercion", pledging to take steps to ensure that any actors attempting to "weaponise" economic dependence would fail and face consequences. The initiative, dubbed Coordination Platform on Economic Coercion, will use early warning and rapid information sharing on economic coercion with members meeting regularly for consultations, the G7 leaders, meeting in Hiroshima, Japan, said in a statement. "We are taking additional steps today to enhance our ongoing strategic coordination on economic resilience and economic security by reducing vulnerabilities and countering malign practices that exploit and reinforce them. We will work together to ensure that attempts to weaponise economic dependencies by forcing G7 members and our partners, including small economies, to comply and conform will fail and face consequences. Within this Coordination Platform, we will use early warning and rapid information sharing, regularly consult each other, collaboratively assess situations, explore coordinated responses, deter and, where appropriate, counter economic coercion, in accordance with our respective legal systems.

☆ TikTok creators just filed a lawsuit to fight Montana's ban on the app. They say it tramples their rights.
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-19 | by ( Aaron Mcdade | Associated Press | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

A group of TikTok creators have filed the first lawsuit against Montana's ban on the app. — Five TikTok content creators have filed a lawsuit seeking to overturn Montana's first-in-the-nation ban on the video sharing app, arguing the law is an unconstitutional violation of free speech rights. Opponents say Montana residents could easily circumvent the ban by using a virtual private network. President Joe Biden's administration initially shelved those plans, but more recently threatened to ban the app if the company's Chinese owners don't sell their stakes. TikTok's parent company, ByteDance, has also released another so-called "sister app" to TikTok across the globe as talks of bans have mounted, called Lemon8.

CNN —The FBI improperly searched an intelligence database for information on suspects in the January 6, 2021, US Capitol riot and people arrested at 2020 protests after the police killing of George Floyd, according to a court opinion that was unsealed and released Friday. The new details about the database misuse are likely to complicate the Biden administration’s efforts to renew a key foreign surveillance program. The FBI searches were not “reasonably likely” to retrieve foreign intelligence information or evidence of a crime, Justice Department officials who reviewed the searches concluded, according to the opinion from the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court, which oversees US spy agencies. Analysts at the FBI and other agencies can then search the data gathered for leads related to foreign intelligence missions. Democratic Sen. Ron Wyden of Oregon said Friday that congressional action was needed to curb the privacy violations of Americans revealed by the court opinion.

Montana Governor Greg Gianforte on Wednesday signed legislation to ban TikTok in the state, effective Jan. 1. The TikTok users argue the state seeks to "exercise powers over national security that Montana does not have and to ban speech Montana may not suppress." The suit adds users believe the law violates their First Amendment rights. "Montana can no more ban its residents from viewing or posting to TikTok than it could ban the Wall Street Journal because of who owns it or the ideas it publishes," the lawsuit said. TikTok has faced growing calls from U.S. lawmakers and state officials to ban the app nationwide over concerns about potential Chinese government influence over the platform.

☆ Premarket stocks: Investors shouldn't ignore this recession warning sign
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-18 | by ( Nicole Goodkind | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +6 min

“Retail growth held on by the skin of its teeth this month,” said Neil Saunders, managing director of GlobalData. The retailer posted disappointing sales for its first quarter and lowered its outlook for the year as customers slowed their spending. Total sales ticked up 0.5% during its latest quarter from a year ago, the company said Wednesday. The bill, which will take effect in January, specifically names TikTok as its target, prohibiting the app from operating within state lines. Pence said he expects to come to a decision about a presidential run before the end of June.

☆ Montana to become first US state to ban TikTok
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-17 | by ( David Shepardson | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/File PhotoWASHINGTON, May 17 (Reuters) - Montana Governor Greg Gianforte on Wednesday signed legislation to ban the Chinese-owned TikTok from operating in the state, making it the first U.S. state to ban the popular short video app. Montana will make it unlawful for Google and Apple's app stores to offer the TikTok app within its borders. TikTok, which has over 150 million American users, is facing growing calls from U.S. lawmakers and state officials to ban the app nationwide over concerns about potential Chinese government influence over the platform. TikTok, owned by Chinese tech company ByteDance, said in a statement the bill "infringes on the First Amendment rights of the people of Montana by unlawfully banning TikTok," adding that they "will defend the rights of our users inside and outside of Montana." Montana, which has a population of just over 1 million people, said TikTok could face fines for each violation and additional fines $10,000 per day if they violate the ban.

☆ Montana governor bans TikTok
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-17 | by ( Samantha Delouya | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

Greg Gianforte signed a bill Wednesday banning TikTok in the state. The bill, which will take effect in January, specifically names TikTok as its target, prohibiting the app from operating within state lines. In a statement to CNN, TikTok said it would push to defend the rights of users in Montana. “Governor Gianforte has signed a bill that infringes on the First Amendment rights of the people of Montana by unlawfully banning TikTok, a platform that empowers hundreds of thousands of people across the state. NetChoice, a technology trade group that includes TikTok as a member, called the Montana bill unconstitutional.

☆ Montana Governor Signs Total Ban of TikTok in the State
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-17 | by ( Sapna Maheshwari | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

TikTok, which says it has 7,000 employees in the United States, has been fighting back in the state for months. It has run ads featuring Montana small businesses that use TikTok and given prewritten emails to users so they could contact Mr. Gianforte about opposing the bill. The legislation prohibits mobile app stores, like those run by Apple and Google, from offering TikTok within the state. A trade group funded by Apple and Google has said in recent months that it is impossible for the companies to prevent access to TikTok in a single state. The battle in Montana erupted during a period of intense national scrutiny on TikTok, which boasts more than 150 million U.S. users.

☆ Trump attorneys will seek to move criminal hush money case to federal court
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-04 | by ( Summer Concepcion | Chloe Atkins | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +5 min

Former President Donald Trump is seeking to move his criminal case from New York state court to federal court, his attorneys said during a hearing on Thursday. Trump's lawyers will seek the venue change sometime later Thursday, attorney Todd Blanche said towards the end of the hearing. During the hearing, attorneys for the Manhattan district attorney's office and Trump reiterated previous arguments regarding the proposed protective order. Trump's attorneys slammed the proposed protective order as "extremely restrictive" and argued that it infringes on their client's right to free speech. NBC News and other outlets oppose the prosecutor's proposed protective order to limit the public use of evidence ahead of trial, which includes potentially requiring the sealing or redaction of certain items.

☆ FAA sued over SpaceX Starship launch program following April explosion
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-01 | by ( Lora Kolodny | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +4 min

The SpaceX Starship explodes after launch for a flight test from Starbase in Boca Chica, Texas, on April 20, 2023. The groups argue that the FAA should have conducted an in-depth environmental report, known as an environmental impact statement (EIS), before ever allowing SpaceX to move ahead with its Starship Super Heavy plans in Boca Chica. Later, "based on SpaceX's preference," the lawyers wrote, the federal agency settled on using "a considerably less thorough analysis," which enabled SpaceX to launch sooner. The exact impacts of the launch on the people, habitat and wildlife are still being evaluated by federal and state agencies, and other environmental researchers, alongside and independently from SpaceX. Boca Chica land and wildlife there, namely ocelots, are also sacred to the Carrizo-Comecrudo tribe of Texas.

☆ ECB says Hungary government decree has impaired central bank independence
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-26 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

BUDAPEST, April 26 (Reuters) - Hungary's government has infringed the National Bank of Hungary's (NBH) independence with a decree restricting access to the bank's discount bill and by extending a cap on large commercial bank deposits until end-June, the European Central Bank said on Wednesday. Hungary's government last month extended a cap on large commercial bank deposits until the end of June and imposed restrictions on the transfer of central bank discount bills to curb "unjust" income earned on central bank facilities. "The decree, including the interest rate cap, interferes with the independence of the (NBH), since it impedes the (NBH) from independently choosing the necessary means and instruments to conduct an efficient monetary policy," the ECB said. "Therefore, the decree infringes the independence of the (NBH) under Article 130 of the Treaty." Prime Minister Viktor Orban's government announced a cap on large commercial bank deposits after the NBH launched a quick deposit facility with an 18% interest rate last October to stem falls in the forint.

☆ Montana lawmakers pass bill to ban TikTok
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-14 | by ( Rohan Goswami | In Rohangoswamicnbc | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

Montana legislators approved a bill on Friday that would ban TikTok from being offered in the state in a 54-43 vote. Beyond Montana, federal lawmakers have for months been pushing an act that would ban TikTok across the country if ByteDance won't sell its stake in the viral video app. The Montana bill cited likely Chinese surveillance and the potential theft of state intellectual property as some of the impetus behind the ban. TikTok said it opposes the bill, adding that there's no clear path for the Montana government to enforce it or punish violators. "We will continue to fight for TikTok users and creators in Montana whose livelihoods and First Amendment rights are threatened by this egregious government overreach."

☆ Chipotle is suing Sweetgreen over its use of the word 'chipotle' while promoting a new burrito bowl
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-05 | by ( Alex Bitter | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Sweetgreen's chipotle chicken burrito bowl is the subject of a lawsuit filed Tuesday by Chipotle. The Mexican chain's complaint centers on the "chipotle-chicken burrito bowl," which Sweetgreen added to its menu last month. Chipotle's issue isn't that Sweetgreen used the word "chipotle" alone, the company said in a complaint filed Tuesday in U.S. District Court in Southern California. One example cited in the complaint shows a sign that Sweetgreen uses to promote the burrito bowl. A portion of Chipotle's complaint against Sweetgreen shows a Sweetgreen sign promoting the chipotle-chicken burrito bowl, with the word "chipotle" in all-caps and against a red background.

If successful, Amgen would claim ownership of all antibodies that inhibit the PCSK9 protein, the mechanism of action for both Repatha and Praluent. Other companies could then do the same with their own antibody treatments in other disease areas. The case might also affect newer technologies used in medicine, such as CRISPR gene editing and messenger RNA, she said. A Washington, D.C.-based federal appeals court that covers U.S. patent cases invalidated Amgen's patent claiming ownership of all PCSK9 inhibitors as a whole in 2021. Amgen sued Sanofi and Regeneron in 2014.

NEW DELHI, March 27 (Reuters) - Indian banks must give defaulters an opportunity to be heard before they classify a loan account as fraud, the Supreme Court ruled on Monday. Banks cannot unilaterally declare an account as fraud without providing the defaulter the right to be heard, a top court bench led by Chief Justice DY Chandrachud said. However, there is no such requirement before registering a first information report (FIR) to declare a loan account as fraud, the bench observed. The apex court was examining judgements by the Telangana High Court and Gujarat High Court on the Reserve Bank of India (Frauds Classification and Reporting by Commercial Banks and Select Fls Directions 2016) master circular. Telangana High Court had ruled that not granting the right to be heard infringes on the borrowers' constitutional right.

☆ A New York grocery store is using biometrics including eye scanners and voice prints to identify repeat shoplifters. Some shoppers say that's creepy — even if it deters theft.
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-17 | by ( Alex Bitter | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

New York City grocer Fairway is collecting biometric data on its shoppers to catch shoplifters, the New York Post reported. Fairway is gathering facial recognition and other biometric information, such as voice recordings, on shoppers at one of its Manhattan locations, the New York Post reported on Thursday. Fairway told the Post that its system will only be accessed by "trained asset protection associates." Nearly one-third of the arrests made for shoplifting in New York City last year involved the same 327 people, the Post reported in January. But an investigation that year by the San Francisco Chronicle found that the affected stores reported fewer than two shoplifting incidents per month leading up to the closures.

☆ Apple crackdown on ChatGPT apps unlikely, but it could impose new rules down the road
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-03 | by ( Kif Leswing | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

Blix, an email app maker that has regularly clashed with Apple over its App Store rules, says it ran into that hurdle this week. Regardless, the Blue Mail episode isn't a sign of an impending Apple crackdown on AI apps. In fact, ChatGPT-powered features are already in Snapchat and the Microsoft Bing app, which are currently being distributed through the App Store. Other AI apps, such as Lensa, have also been distributed and have flourished in the App Store. There is no formal AI or chatbot policy in Apple's App Store Guidelines, a document that outlines what Apple permits on the App Store.

☆ Childbirth is far more dangerous for women than the abortion pill, American Medical Association tells the Texas judge weighing mifepristone ban
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-16 | by ( Charles R. Davis | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

The American Medical Association is urging a Texas judge to reject an effort to ban mifepristone. This is not an opinion — it is a fact based on hundreds of medical studies and vast amounts of data amassed over the course of two decades," the brief states. But pregnant teenagers, the medical groups note, have levels of progesterone far greater than their non-pregnant peers. "There is no reason to think, nor is there evidence to show, that preventing the absorption of progesterone for a brief window would have any effects on adolescent development," the brief states. Republican attorneys general also submitted a brief arguing that the availability of the drug infringes on the right of states to regulate abortion.

Feb 9 (Reuters) - A unit of medical device maker Medtronic plc (MDT.N) must pay $106.5 million to competitor Colibri Heart Valve LLC for patent infringement, a Santa Ana, California federal jury said Wednesday. The jury concluded after a seven-day trial that Medtronic CoreValve LLC's Evolut devices violate a Colibri patent for replacing heart valves in patients with heart disease, representatives for the companies confirmed Thursday. A spokesperson for Medtronic said the Minneapolis-headquartered company strongly disagrees with the verdict and will appeal. It alleged doctors use Medtronic's devices in a way that infringes Colibri's patent, which covers a method for controlling the deployment of self-expanding artificial heart valves. The case is Colibri Heart Valve LLC v. Medtronic CoreValve LLC, U.S. District Court for the Central District of California, No.

Search resuls for: "infringes"

25 mentions found