Twitter is suing the Department of Homeland Security and U.S. Customs and Border Protection, which are trying to force the company to reveal the identity of Twitter user @ALT_USCIS that criticized departmental officials and the Trump administration, the company said in a Thursday complaint filed with U.S. District Court in the Northern District of California. "The rights of free speech afforded Twitter's users and Twitter itself under the First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution include a right to disseminate such anonymous or pseudonymous political speech," Twitter's complaint said. It said DHS and CBP shouldn't compel the company to reveal the user's identity "without first demonstrating that some criminal or civil offense has been committed." The company said CBP delivered a March 17 administrative summons, demanding the firm unmask the account. Twitter wants the court to declare the summons "unlawful and unenforceable." A DHS spokeswoman emailed that it doesn't comment on pending litigation.

Flattr, which lets users send microdonations to online content creators, was acquired by Adblock Plus parent eyeo, Adblock said in a Wednesday news release and blog post. It's seen as the next step after the two companies last year collaborated on overhauling Flattr's micropayment service, allowing users to pay for content with a single account. Sweden-based Flattr said it paid 30,000 online content creators and publishers since it was created in 2010. "Constructive ad blocking and Flattr complete eyeo’s vision of putting users in control of an internet that is fair and still profitable,” said eyeo founder Till Faida. "This allows us to go that extra mile and finalize our vision of enabling hundreds of millions of users to choose how they want to pay for the content they consume." Eyeo, based in Germany, was heavily criticized by the marketing industry and others claiming they have to pay Adblock Plus to white list ads, amounting to a shakedown (see 1605260040, 1605270001 and 1609090057).

Facebook has introduced ways to help users report their intimate images posted without permission -- “revenge porn” -- and prevent the images from being shared on Messenger and Instagram, the social media company said in a Wednesday blog post. Antigone Davis, head of global safety, wrote that users who see an intimate image shared without permission can click a "Report" link that appears when they tap on a downward arrow next to the post. Trained Facebook representatives will then review the image and remove it if it violates standards and also disable the account that shared the image, though that account user can appeal, said Davis. She said photo-matching technology will be used to prevent sharing of the image and if someone does try to share it, the company will block that sharing and alert that user.

Entertainment and music are the top uses for Amazon Echo and Google Home, said an Argus Insights blog post Monday based on consumer reviews of the devices Nov. 1-March 31. Entertainment was mentioned by well over 30 percent of voice assistant users, followed by music, with nearly 35 percent of Alexa users using Echo devices for music and just over 25 percent of Google Home users summoning music on the device. Weather reports came in third.

BSA|The Software Alliance launched a research organization to help policymakers and the public better understand the impact of software, the association said in a Tuesday news release. BSA said Software.org: BSA Foundation will issue reports with governments and others on emerging technology including artificial intelligence, blockchain and IoT, and issue a study on software's U.S. economic impact. "The foundation aims to bridge that gap -- to connect the dots between software and society so that we can continue to grow the economy and positively impact people’s lives,” said Chris Hopfensperger, the foundation's executive director. The organization's board includes representatives from Adobe, Autodesk, IBM, Microsoft, Salesforce, Siemens and Workday.

CA Technologies completed the acquisition of Veracode, which secures web, mobile and third-party applications, said CA in a Monday news release. The FTC approved the deal last week (see 1703310074). Former Veracode CEO Bob Brennan is general manager of the Veracode business.

Allowing audio, visual and touch senses through a virtual-reality headset and its accessories “are crucial to the immersive experience of VR,” said Strategy Analytics in a Monday report. “The ability of a user to interact with items in a VR world using their own hands heightens the sense of immersion that user feels,” said the firm. That “drives emotional engagement with VR content by stimulating the tactile sense,” it said. “Full-hand tracking should be considered the ideal solution in the future as it is the most natural way of reaching out and grabbing objects, and would enhance the levels of interaction with a VR world with things such as finger tracking.” But achieving “total sensory engagement” through use of a VR headset “is not without risk,” said the report: “The inability to hear things in case of an emergency, combined with the inability to see what's going on in the immediate surroundings, can prove hazardous. Options need to exist that allow users to maintain spatial awareness of their surroundings, such as quick exit from games.”

Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross will speak at a National Technical Information Service event Tuesday on how government can better manage data and deliver public services, the Department of Commerce said in Monday news release. The meeting will focus on agency data priorities including achievements and challenges, according to the event details.The 8:30 a.m.-5 p.m. event will be at 1401 Constitution Ave. NW.

Z-Wave devices receiving certification require uniform adoption of a new security protocol, said a Z-Wave Alliance announcement Sunday. The board voted in November to require mandatory implementation of the Security 2 (S2) framework to give devices “new levels of impenetrability,” the release said. The alliance, which developed the security standards with chipmaker Sigma Designs, said by securing communication locally for home-based devices and in the hub or gateway for cloud functions, S2 “virtually removes the risk of devices being hacked while they are included in the network." The group cited a 2016 AT&T study that said 58 percent of companies weren’t confident about the security of connected devices.

The FTC won't block CA's acquisition of Veracode, said the commission in a Wednesday notice. CA said in a March 6 news release it agreed to buy Veracode, which secures web, mobile and third-party applications, for $614 million in cash. It said then the transaction was expected to close Q1 in fiscal 2018.