Congress
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Democrats move closer to passing the 'Save the Internet' Act
Democrats have just made significant progress in restoring net neutrality rules in the US. The "Save the Internet Act" unveiled last month has now been approved by the House Energy and Commerce Committee, which means it can now be considered by the full House of Representatives.
House committee chair calls for FTC antitrust investigation into Facebook
Facebook is already under regulatory scrutiny in the US, but it could be subject to much more pressure if one House representative has his way. Antitrust subcommittee chairman Rep. David Cicilline has written an editorial in the New York Times calling on the FTC to investigate Facebook for potential antitrust violations. He's concerned that the social network not only leveraged its power to collect and share data through questionable means, but tried to "obstruct" overseers and "smear" critics while simultaneously engaging in "denial, hollow promises and apology campaigns" that accomplished little.
House chair asks tech CEOs to speak about New Zealand shooting response (updated)
Internet companies say they've been scrambling to remove video of the mass shooting in Christchurch, New Zealand, but US politicians are concerned they haven't been doing enough. The Chairman of the House Committee on Homeland Security, Bennie Thompson, has sent letters to the CEOs of Facebook, Microsoft, Twitter and YouTube asking them to brief the committee on their responses to the video on March 27th. Thompson was concerned the footage was still "widely available" on the internet giants' platforms, and that they "must do better."
Senators want Congressional hacks to be public knowledge
When a company is hacked, consumers usually find out about it through the press or emails. You probably remember the Target hack that spilled data from millions of credit and debit card accounts. But do you remember the last publicly disclosed Congressional computer breach? (It was in 2009.) That's because Congress doesn't have to report when representatives' networks are hacked. Two Senators want to change that.
Trump's 2020 budget proposal cuts the EV tax credit
The Trump administration announced its budget proposal for 2020 and tax credits for electric vehicles is on the chopping block, according to Reuters. The White House is proposing eliminating the subsidy, which provides up to $7,500 on the purchase of a new EV, claiming that it will save the government about $2.5 billion over the next decade.
House Democrats will introduce bill to reinstate net neutrality rules
Now that the Democrats have the majority in the US House of Representatives, net neutrality is back on the table. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi has revealed that Democrats will introduce a bill to restore Obama-era net neutrality rules on March 6th. They haven't detailed just what the legislation would include, but its not-so-subtle name (the Save the Internet Act) makes the bill's intentions clear.
Congressman asks Amazon to stop suggesting anti-vaccination content
More internet giants are coming under pressure to crack down on anti-vaccination myths. Rep. Adam Schiff has sent a letter to Jeff Bezos expressing concern over a CNN report showing that Amazon was not only recommending anti-vaccination books and videos in its search results, but was displaying them in sponsored posts. Schiff worried that Amazon was spreading false scientific claims, including content that appears to be neutral on the surface. He effectively asked Bezos to stop suggesting these titles out of a duty to "act responsibly" and asked the CEO to answer questions about Amazon's stance on the material.
Congress to Google: How’d you 'forget' about the Nest Secure’s mic?
A week after news broke that Google's Nest Secure system has a microphone no one knew about, Congress is seeking answers from CEO Sundar Pichai. The company's Nest Guard -- a small hub that communicates with other sensors in the Nest Secure system -- has been on the market since September 2017. But it wasn't until Google decided to turn the device into a Google Assistant speaker that consumers knew the device had a microphone. Somehow, that detail was omitted from tech specifications.
House committee hopes to question Facebook over group privacy
Facebook is facing even more government scrutiny this week. Members of the House of Representatives' Energy and Commerce Committee have asked to meet Facebook over concerns about group privacy. They're responding to an FTC complaint alleging that the social network exposed the sensitive information of group members. Women in a discussion group for the BRCA gene mutation found out that it was possible to download personal data (such as email addresses and names) in bulk, making it too easy to share info outside the group.
Congress oversight body recommends GDPR-style privacy laws
Tim Cook and the Senators pushing for US version of the EU's General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) rules have found an ally in the Government Accountability Office. In a report publishing its findings for a study commissioned by the House Energy and Commerce Committee, GAO recommended establishing a comprehensive legislation on internet privacy. The bi-partisan government agency suggests putting the FTC in charge of enforcing the rules, which would be designed give people more control over their own data.
Facebook may take extra steps to remove anti-vaccine misinformation
Facebook is "exploring additional measures" to fight anti-vaccine disinformation, according to Bloomberg. Content discouraging parents from vaccinating their children has been rampant on the site, particularly in Facebook Groups, and may have contributed to a measles outbreak in Washington State. That caught the attention of US Representative Adam Schiff, who wrote a letter to Facebook and Google asking them to address the problem.
Democrats want to take another look at the T-Mobile-Sprint merger
T-Mobile's planned purchase of Sprint is facing new and intense scrutiny from the Democrat-controlled House of Representatives. The executives of the two companies will sit before two congressional hearings this week -- House Committee on Energy and Commerce took up the topic on Wednesday and the House Committee on the Judiciary will question the company heads on Thursday.
House committee wants answers from Apple about its FaceTime bug
Apple has some explaining to do. The House Energy and Commerce Committee is looking for answers from the tech giant regarding the recent Group FaceTime bug that allowed users to eavesdrop on others before they picked up a call. Committee Chairman Frank Pallone, Jr. (D-NJ) and Jan Schakowsky (D-IL), the head of a subcommittee on consumer protection and commerce, are giving Apple CEO Tim Cook until February 19th to respond to their questions.
US bills would ban exports to Chinese telecoms that violate sanctions
American politicians want to crack down further on Chinese telecoms like Huawei and ZTE. Members of both the House of Representatives and the Senate have introduced bills that would order the President to impose export bans on Chinese telecoms found to violate US export and sanctions laws. Companies like Huawei and ZTE are a "growing threat to American national security," according to co-sponsor Rep. Mike Gallagher, and they should face the same punishment that ZTE faced before its reprieves.
FBI investigates fake texts sent to House Republicans
Law enforcement is looking into one of the stranger digital attacks against US politicians in recent memory. The Wall Street Journal has learned that the FBI is investigating fake text messages sent to "several" Republicans in the House of Representatives, including Illinois' Adam Kinzinger. The currently mysterious perpetrator posed as VP Mike Pence's press secretary, Alyssa Farah, and asked representatives for both their availability for meetings and the whereabouts of other politicians.
Congress approves act that opens US government data to the public
Congress has passed a bill that could make it easier for you to access public data released by the government. The House approved the OPEN Government Data Act on Saturday, while all eyes were on the shutdown, as part of a larger bill to support evidence-based policymaking. It requires that federal agencies must publish any "non-sensitive" info in a "machine-readable" format (essentially in a way that's legible on your smartphone or laptop). The act also insists that agencies appoint a chief data officer to oversee all open data efforts. Having passed the Senate last Wednesday, the bill is next headed to the President's desk.
President poised to sign bill creating quantum computing initiative
Visions of an American quantum computing initiative are close to becoming a practical reality. The House of Representatives has passed its version of a bill that would establish a National Quantum Initiative Program and speed up the development of next-generation computing technology. Provided the President signs it into law (it cleared the Senate last week), the bill would set out a 10-year plan and launch several initiatives. These would include a presidential advisory committee, a National Science and Technology Council subcommittee, grants from the National Science Foundation and research at organizations ranging from the Energy Department to the National Institute of Standards and Technology.
Congress grills Google CEO over Chinese search engine plans
If you were hoping that Google chief Sundar Pichai would shed more light on his company's potential censored search engine for China... well, you'll mostly be disappointed. Rhode Island Representative David Cicilline grilled Pichai on the recently acknowledged Dragonfly project and mostly encountered attempts to downplay the significance of the engine. The Google exec stressed there were "no plans" to launch a search engine for China, and that Dragonfly was an "internal effort" and "limited" in scope.
House committee says Equifax data breach was 'entirely preventable'
Congress clearly didn't buy Equifax's attempt to pin its massive data breach on one lone technician. The House Oversight and Government Reform Committee has released a staff report declaring that the breach was "entirely preventable" and the result of widespread, systemic flaws in Equifax's security policies. The company didn't have "clear lines of authority" in its IT structure that would have properly enacted policies, for one thing. It also had "complex and outdated" systems that didn't keep pace with its growth, wasn't prepared to help victims and made basic security missteps. Equifax let more than 300 security certificates expire, for example, making it difficult to spot intrusions.
Google CEO will now testify before Congress December 11th
Google CEO Sundar Pichai was scheduled to appear before the House Judiciary Committee Wednesday, but that's no longer the case following the death of George H. W. Bush. The former president's funeral will take place that day and, as such, Pichai's hearing has been rearranged for December 11th at 10 AM ET.
