investigation
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US labor board will investigate Google's recent firings
The National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) has launched another investigation into Google. This time, the NLRB is investigating whether Google violated federal labor laws when it fired four employees late last month. The investigation will determine if Google discouraged employees from engaging in union activity, an NLRB spokesperson told CNBC.
AT&T and Verizon agree to change their eSIM practices
Two years ago, the Department of Justice launched an investigation into whether AT&T, Verizon (Engadget's parent company) and the GSM Association (GSMA) worked together to limit eSIM technology. Today, The New York Times reports that the DOJ is closing the investigation and has found no evidence of wrongdoing.
New York investigates claims of sexism in Apple Card credit limits (updated)
The bank behind Apple Card is facing legal scrutiny over accusations of inequality. New York's Department of Financial Services has launched an investigation into Goldman Sachs' practices after Basecamp founder David Heinemeier Hansson accused Apple (and really, Goldman) of sexism when determining credit limits. He received a limit 20 times higher than his wife despite her higher credit score, and received no help from customer service apart from murmurs of a "formal internal complaint." She eventually got a "VIP bump" to match his credit limit, but that appeared to have been a reaction to the public outcry. Hansson didn't believe Apple or Goldman set out to be discriminatory, but that the outcome was sexist nonetheless.
Uber may have to pay Waymo or redesign its self-driving software
In 2017, Waymo accused Uber of stealing its autonomous driving trade secrets. You may have thought the Uber-Waymo legal battle was over when, in 2018, the companies reached a settlement and Uber agreed to pay around $245 million. But as part of the settlement, the parties brought in an independent software expert to review Uber's software and make sure it didn't misappropriate Waymo's intellectual property. Now, the review is complete, and Uber admits that the findings are not good.
Crash investigators fault 737 Max's design and approval process
The Boeing 737 Max had design flaws that were made worse by inadequate pilot training and a faulty approval process that led to the Lion Air accident, Indonesian investigators concluded. Their report confirms multiple stories about Boeing's faulty MCAS control system, why pilots weren't properly trained on it and how it got approved in the first place, according to the Washington Post. The October 29, 2018 accident killed eight crew and 181 passengers.
Nearly every state AG has joined NY's Facebook antitrust investigation
Dozens of attorneys general have joined an antitrust investigation into Facebook. The New York Attorney General's office is leading the investigation, which it opened last month with AGs from seven other states and the District of Columbia.
Facebook suspends tens of thousands of data-scraping apps
In the aftermath of the Cambridge Analytica scandal, Facebook promised to investigate other apps with access to large amounts of user data. The app developer investigation is ongoing, but today, Facebook said it has reviewed millions of apps and suspended tens of thousands associated with about 400 developers.
The FDA has opened a criminal investigation into vaping
The Food and Drug Administration opened a criminal investigation into the vaping supply chain earlier this summer, it has emerged. The Office of Criminal Investigations started the probe following reports of a vaping-related lung illness. The agency now says more than 530 people have been affected, and seven deaths have been attributed to the illness thus far.
US investigates escort and massage sites over human trafficking
Backpage is no more, but US authorities are still determined to crack down on sites that enable human trafficking and other crimes. Wall Street Journal sources say Homeland Security, the Justice Department and others are reportedly investigating escort and massage sites Eros.com, EroticMonkey.ch and Rubmaps.ch to see if they've either participated in or knowingly facilitated trafficking, prostitution and money laundering. All three are dominating in the US in the wake of Backpage's closure, and both Eros and Rubmaps have turned up as evidence in multiple sex trafficking cases.
Google acknowledges DOJ scrutiny as part of competition review
Google has confirmed that it's one of the targets of the Justice Department's review of competition in tech. The search firm has revealed that DOJ officials asked it to provide information about "past investigations," with an SEC filing also referencing the request. It expected state attorneys general to make similar demands in the future, and planned to work "constructively" with regulators.
DoJ pushes Google and Apple to ID 10,000 users of a gun scope app
The US government has reportedly ordered Apple and Google to hand over the names, phone numbers and IP addresses of at least 10,000 users of a gun scope app. The data request is part of an investigation into weapons export violations, but it has privacy experts understandably concerned. According to Forbes, this is the first known case of US investigators demanding personal data from users of a single app from Apple and Google.
CDC warns against vaping until it figures out what’s making people sick
Until the Center for Disease Control can figure out what's causing the mysterious lung illness associated with vaping, it's cautioning people against e-cigs. Last week, it launched a joint investigation with the Food and Drug Administration into a respiratory illness reported after vaping. At the time, it said 215 possible cases had been reported from 25 states, and at least two deaths have been documented. "While this investigation is ongoing, people should consider not using e-cigarette products," the CDC wrote in a press release today.
Google could soon face another antitrust investigation
Next week, more than half of the nation's attorneys general are expected to announce an antitrust investigation into Google, The Washington Post reports. Details on the investigation are limited, but it's yet another probe into fears that big tech has amassed too much power.
The FTC is reportedly investigating Juul's teen marketing tactics
Juul is facing yet another investigation. This time, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) is looking into the company's marketing practices. It will decide whether Juul used deceptive marketing, including targeting minors and using social media influences, sources familiar with the matter told The Wall Street Journal. The FTC may seek monetary damages.
Facebook’s Libra Association is being investigated by EU antitrust regulators
Facebook's Libra cryptocurrency project is being probed again, this time by European Union antitrust regulators. The European Commission said it is "currently investigating potential anti-competitive behavior," related to the Libra Association, Bloomberg reports. In a questionnaire sent out this month, the EU authority expressed concerns that Libra would unfairly shut out rivals.
Huawei technicians may have helped African governments spy on opponents
An investigation by The Washington Post claims Huawei technicians helped African governments spy on domestic political opponents. According to the report, Huawei employees helped authorities in Uganda intercept encrypted messages and allowed police in Zambia to locate opposition bloggers. Such claims could validate the Trump administration's concerns about the use of Huawei technology in the US, but Huawei told The Washington Post it has "never been engaged in 'hacking' activities."
Facebook may have scrapped talks to buy Houseparty over antitrust concerns
The Federal Trade Commission is investigating Facebook yet again, and it's said to be delving into possible antitrust practices. Critics suggest its purchases of Instagram and WhatsApp were carried out, in part, to stave off potential competitive threats. With regulators and authorities placing Facebook's business practices under the microscope, it seems it's making changes to avoid further antitrust scrutiny.
EU opens Amazon probe to see if it used merchant data to gain an advantage
On the same day that Amazon announced plans to overhaul its business terms for its third-party sellers, the European Commission (EC) has opened a formal antitrust investigation into the retailer, designed to assess whether its use of sensitive merchant data is in breach of EU competition rules.
Las Vegas autonomous shuttle crash happened due to lack of manual control
Back in 2017, Las Vegas' self-driving shuttle service got into a minor collision after just an hour into its year-long trial. While it truly was a minor incident and nobody got hurt, the fact that an autonomous vehicle was involved prompted the National Transportation Safety Board to launch a probe. Now, the agency has wrapped up its investigation and has revealed two probable causes for the incident. First is that the truck that collided with the shuttle didn't stop when it was supposed to, which is consistent with the local government's claim after the accident. The other is that the autonomous vehicle attendant didn't have easy access to the shuttle's manual controller.
Senate finds US agencies left security holes untouched for a decade
It's almost a truism to state that government IT security is frequently lacking, but a new Senate subcommittee report has underscored just how severe the problem is. Investigators found that several federal agencies (including the State Department, Homeland Security and the Social Security Administration) didn't adequately protect personal data, and that six of them hadn't installed security patches in a "timely" fashion to close vulnerabilities. In some cases, these flaws had lasted for roughly a decade or more.
