Neowin News Feed for: Legal

AI is causing a massive headache for Linux and laying the groundwork for legal issues

Paul Hill — Thu, 28 May 2026 08:42:01 +0000

Beyond adding severe workload pressure on kernel maintainers, code generated by black-box AI tools risks polluting the ecosystem with unmaintainable and legally ambiguous bloat. Read more...

Anthropic just won a major legal battle against the Pentagon

Karthik Mudaliar — Fri, 27 Mar 2026 08:12:54 +0000

A federal judge has temporarily blocked the Pentagon from blacklisting Anthropic, ruling it constitutes illegal First Amendment retaliation. Read more...

Microsoft under fire for allegedly pushing OEMs to exclusively bundle Edge in Windows PCs

Usama Jawad — Fri, 13 Feb 2026 18:49:19 +0000

Microsoft is in hot water again as regulators check if its Jumpstart program nudges PC makers to favor Edge over other browsers. Read more...

These TV-makers are allegedly taking screenshots of what people watch, without consent

Usama Jawad — Wed, 17 Dec 2025 07:32:01 +0000

Lawmakers in Texas have sued five major TV manufacturers for capturing user data such as screenshots of what they are watching without their explicit consent. Read more...

Dozens of EU companies are suing Google for €12 Billion in antitrust damages

Karthik Mudaliar — Tue, 13 May 2025 06:22:01 +0000

Google is now facing at least €12 billion in civil damage claims from European price comparison websites, following a 2017 EU antitrust ruling. Read more...

Google seeks reversal of verdict forcing it to open the Play Store to third-party app stores

David Uzondu — Mon, 03 Feb 2025 15:08:01 +0000

Google is not happy with the 2024 verdict that forces it to allow third-party app store installations from the Play Store and is now set to request an overturn. Read more...

OpenAI claims The Times hacked ChatGPT for evidence in lawsuit against Microsoft and OpenAI

Anushe Fawaz — Tue, 27 Feb 2024 17:32:01 +0000

OpenAI is claiming that The New York Times hacked ChatGPT to get the evidence for its lawsuit, where Microsoft and OpenAI were accused of infringing rights and copying articles from the Times. Read more...

Meta is under fire after reports of exploitative content surface, Zuckerberg faces lawsuits

Anushe Fawaz — Fri, 23 Feb 2024 16:38:01 +0000

Meta is under fire for ignoring reports of sexually exploitative content of children being posted by parent-owned accounts. These parents used children for financial gain and attracted pedophiles. Read more...

TikTok is getting sued by Iowa Attorney General for incorrect age rating on app stores

Anushe Fawaz — Thu, 18 Jan 2024 18:52:01 +0000

Iowa's Attorney General is taking legal action against TikTok for having an incorrect age rating on stores such as Google Play Store which exposes young audiences to inappropriate content. Read more...

Apple Watch Series 9 and Ultra 2 stripped of pulse oximeter to avoid ban on sales in the US

Anushe Fawaz — Tue, 16 Jan 2024 09:44:02 +0000

A recent filing showcases that Apple is trying to avoid further bans on its Apple Watch Series 9 and Ultra 2 models' sales in the US. It is now removing the pulse oximeter technology in recent models. Read more...

Turkish authorities force Meta to pay $160,000 daily amidst ongoing investigations

Anushe Fawaz — Wed, 10 Jan 2024 15:18:02 +0000

Meta has been under the radar of the Turkish competition board since 2022 after it stated that Meta violated the competition law. Today, it has placed another fine that needs to be paid daily Read more...

AI-powered Microsoft Word add-on for lawyers raises $26 million in new funding

Paul Hill — Wed, 03 Jan 2024 03:18:01 +0000

Robin AI, a company which makes a Microsoft Word AI add-on to speed up work on legal documents, has just raised $26 million in funding to help it capitalize on its recent successes. Read more...

The billion-dollar Google Chrome Incognito mode lawsuit could reach a conclusion soon

Anushe Fawaz — Thu, 28 Dec 2023 19:20:01 +0000

Filed in 2020, the Incognito Mode lawsuit by plaintiffs against Google is now seeing a potential end. As a recent filing suggests, Google is now looking to settle the case and working on agreements. Read more...

Google takes legal action against scammers who exploit enthusiasm for Bard AI

Steve Bennett — Mon, 13 Nov 2023 15:00:01 +0000

Google has announced in a blog post published today that it will be taking legal action against scammers who wish to profit from the hype surrounding generative AI and its tool, Bard. Read more...

Online video chatting platform Omegle shuts down after 14 years

Anushe Fawaz — Thu, 09 Nov 2023 08:48:01 +0000

In a long and heartfelt post, Omegle's founder Lief K. Brooks has announced that the live video chatting platform is now shutting down. He shared his sentiments and reasons for the decision. Read more...

Amazon and Meta sign two agreements about advertising data as UK CMA ends investigation

Anushe Fawaz — Fri, 03 Nov 2023 15:36:01 +0000

CMA, the UK watchdog, is closing its investigations against Meta and Amazon about the use of ad data after securing two commitments from the tech giants. These ensure user and seller protection. Read more...

Apple Watch import could be banned as Joe Biden reviews complaint for patent infringements

Anushe Fawaz — Fri, 27 Oct 2023 16:50:02 +0000

Apple has found itself stuck with legal issues again. Now, President Biden will be asked to review whether the Apple Watch should be banned or not due to alleged patent rights violations. Read more...

Russian district court fines Google $32,000, Wikipedia also under fire

Ishtiaqe Hanif — Thu, 17 Aug 2023 18:24:01 +0000

Google was fined after failing to remove an alleged fake news video about the Russia-Ukraine conflict from YouTube, a Russian district court ruled after the company broke its administrative laws. Read more...

Apple is forcing a 111-year old fruit company to change its logo in a weird trademark battle

Mehrotra A — Mon, 19 Jun 2023 19:44:01 +0000

Apple has filed for a trademark in Swiss court to gain intellectual property right to apple fruits. If granted, this could potentially force a century old apple farming company to change their logo. Read more...

UK competition regulator greenlights Amazon's billion-dollar purchase of iRobot

Anushe Fawaz — Fri, 16 Jun 2023 14:12:01 +0000

The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) in the UK initially expressed concerns over the purchase of Roomba vacuum cleaner maker iRobot by Amazon. But, it has now greenlighted the decision. Read more...

Spotify has been fined $5.4 million due to GDPR violations

Steve Bennett — Tue, 13 Jun 2023 18:44:01 +0000

Spotify has fallen foul of the EU's General Data Protection Regulations and has been fined SEK 58 million (equivalent to $5.4 million) by a Swedish regulator due to how it handles personal data. Read more...

Meta can be sued by ex-content moderator, Kenyan court rules

Steve Bennett — Mon, 06 Feb 2023 20:16:01 +0000

A Kenyan labour court has ruled that Facebook's parent company Meta can be sued by an ex-moderator. Daniel Motaung used to review posts on the site and claims it harmed their mental health. Read more...

Google shares concerns about India's antitrust law, claims it threatens user safety and more

Anushe Fawaz — Fri, 13 Jan 2023 18:36:01 +0000

Google shared a blog post commenting on the consequences the CCI's fine imposes on India's economy and the company. It argued that the order affects smartphone prices, costs to developers, and more. Read more...

Social media sued by Seattle public schools over mental health concerns

Anushe Fawaz — Mon, 09 Jan 2023 14:34:01 +0000

Public schools in Seattle have filed a lawsuit against tech companies behind platforms like TikTok and Instagram for inflicting negative affects on the mental health of young students. Read more...

India antitrust suit allegedly copy pasted EU rulings more than 50 times

Anushe Fawaz — Tue, 03 Jan 2023 15:56:01 +0000

After being fined $161.59 million in October on the basis of anticompetitiveness by the Competition Commission in India, Google has charged an appeal that the order threatens its market in India. Read more...

Amazon UK could pay £900 million to customers if consumer-rights champ gets her way

Paul Hill — Thu, 20 Oct 2022 14:48:44 +0000

Amazon UK could be forced to pay out £900 million to customers who have purchased items since October 2016. A case is being brought against the company that claims it has acted uncompetitively. Read more...

Google loses antitrust appeal in EU court, will have to pay record €4.1 billion fine

Usama Jawad — Wed, 14 Sep 2022 10:26:01 +0000

Google has lost its appeal in the EU General Court for a case that required it to pay a €4.34 billion fine. Although this fine has been slightly reduced now, it is still its biggest penalty in the EU. Read more...

Google and Meta fined in South Korea for displaying targeted adverts without user consent

Usama Jawad — Wed, 14 Sep 2022 09:56:02 +0000

Meta and Google have collectively been fined $72 million in South Korea for not clearly informing users prior to collecting their data to analyze their interests and behaviors to display custom ads. Read more...

Former Apple car engineer pleads guilty to allegations of trade secret theft

Usama Jawad — Tue, 23 Aug 2022 12:58:01 +0000

One of the two Apple engineers accused of stealing trade secrets related to the firm's self-driving car project has pleaded guilty. The stolen material included plans for a circuit board. Read more...

Amazon demands FTC to go easy on Jeff Bezos and Andy Jassy... kind of

Usama Jawad — Tue, 16 Aug 2022 07:22:01 +0000

Following subpoenas issued by the FTC during the ongoing probe of Amazon, the company has accused the regulator of making unjust demands to harass its top executives, including ex-CEO Jeff Bezos. Read more...

Google sues Sonos for infringing its patents once again

Anushe Fawaz — Mon, 08 Aug 2022 12:50:02 +0000

Google has sued Sonos at a federal court in California claiming that it allegedly infringed seven additional Google patents on wireless charging, voice-control technology, and using 'hotwords'. Read more...

Meta is being sued by META for “stealing” the brand name

Paul Hill — Tue, 26 Jul 2022 03:32:01 +0000

Meta is being sued by META for infringing on its brand name. The two companies had previously been negotiating, but Meta has so far refused to come to the table to settle the matter. Read more...

Delaware judge gives Twitter a quick trial in Elon Musk takeover bid

Paul Hill — Tue, 19 Jul 2022 19:28:02 +0000

A judge has expedited a trial between Twitter and Elon Musk. It will take place over five days in October. Musk had hoped to delay it until February, but the judge said this would harm Twitter. Read more...

Only Apple Pay has iPhone NFC access and it violates antitrust law, alleges lawsuit

Alap Naik Desai — Mon, 18 Jul 2022 22:18:04 +0000

Apple is abusing its market position by restricting access to the iPhone NFC hardware, blocking entry to other payment companies, and monopolizing Apple Wallet, claims a class-action lawsuit. Read more...

Twitter: Elon Musk's termination of acquisition deal is "invalid and wrongful"

Usama Jawad — Tue, 12 Jul 2022 06:26:01 +0000

After Elon Musk's announcement that he is terminating his $44 billion acquisition of Twitter, the latter's attorneys have filed a letter to the billionaire's lawyers, calling the decision "wrongful". Read more...

Elon Musk is terminating his $44 billion Twitter acquisition

Usama Jawad — Sat, 09 Jul 2022 03:24:02 +0000

Elon Musk has filed to terminate his $44 billion acquisition of Twitter, claiming that the platform did not provide him information about bot accounts. Twitter says that it will pursue legal action. Read more...

Microsoft is removing non-compete clauses in the U.S. and increasing pay transparency

Usama Jawad — Thu, 09 Jun 2022 06:38:01 +0000

Microsoft has announced four U.S.-centric initiatives to foster a healthy culture at its workplace. These include removing non-compete clauses for almost all employee and increasing pay transparency. Read more...

Uber and Lyft will pay fines for drivers affected by Oklahoma's anti-abortion laws

Paul Hill — Sat, 30 Apr 2022 20:48:02 +0000

Uber and Lyft will cover the legal costs of their drivers who get fined for assisting someone to get an abortion by driving them to a clinic. Lyft announced measures to help customers too. Read more...

Some iOS developers could get up to $30,000 from Apple in a settlement but must apply soon

Paul Hill — Mon, 25 Apr 2022 20:56:02 +0000

Some iOS developers based in the United States could get a payout by Apple as part of an antitrust settlement. If you believe you're affected, you should apply for the money by May 20. Read more...

Scraping data from websites is not hacking or a crime, rules Appeals Court in US

Alap Naik Desai — Mon, 18 Apr 2022 20:42:01 +0000

Scraping data from websites that are publicly accessible does not constitute 'hacking', ruled the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals in a case involving LinkedIn. This ruling could set a precedent. Read more...