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House approves NSA reform
The Republican-controlled House of Representatives passed the USA Freedom Act on Wednesday in a sweeping 338-88 vote, moving forward legislation that would curtail the NSA's bulk collection of data. The bill now moves to the Senate, which must approve it or find a compromise by June 1 -- this is when the provision of the Patriot Act that allows the NSA to collect metadata expires. The Senate is expected to vote by May 22. The White House supports the USA Freedom Act, though Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) opposes it and wishes to extend Section 215 of the Patriot Act, allowing the NSA to continue collecting bulk data. Google, Apple, Facebook, Microsoft, Twitter and other major tech companies have been campaigning in support of the USA Freedom Act as part of the Reform Government Surveillance coalition since late 2014. Early in May, a federal court ruled that the NSA's collection of metadata was illegal. Read all about Section 215 here. [Image credit: AFP/Getty Images]
The GOP version of net neutrality leaves out Title II
While the FCC gets ready to vote on its new plan for net neutrality next month, a couple of Republicans in Congress are already showing off their own plan. Senator Jon Thune (R, SD) and Representative Fred Upton (R, MI) published an op-ed today outlining a proposal that they claim protects internet users while also spurring job creation and economic growth. They have 11 principles it should follow which include blocking, throttling and any kind of paid prioritization, however it differs from the approach backed by President Obama (surprise!) by classifying internet access as an information service under the Communications Act. It also mentions blocking the FCC from using Title II as a way to increase regulation over internet services by treating them as a utility, which some believe FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler will try to do at the vote next month.
Lawmakers in charge of NASA and the environment don't understand science
Well, this is more than a little depressing: The politician who tried reducing NASA funding (and successfully shut it down for over two weeks) is now in charge of the senate subcommittee that effectively controls NASA. More than that, one of the most vocal climate-change detractors is now in charge of the United States Senate's Environmental committee. Let's let that sink in for a minute, shall we? Despite all the progress we've made so far with things like unmanned, deep-space space-flight and our efforts toward limiting the negative effects that humans have had on the environment, any future plans are now up in the air. Any major scientific progress is now at the mercy of Republican senators Ted Cruz and James Inhofe. With their actions and words over the recent years, the pair have proved just how little they understand about each area they're now controlling.
Senators kill bill aimed at ending NSA's mass phone surveillance
Back in May, the US government began to process a bill aimed at reining in the NSA's powers of surveillance -- if Google, Apple and Microsoft are sending group letters, you know it's an important bill. However, it's been left on Capitol Hill, rejected by the Senate. It failed a procedural vote, after senior Republicans said it would affect efforts to defend the country from enemies. It fell short of the 60 votes needed, gathering 58 to 42 votes. It's now unlikely to become law, as Republicans (who made up most of the opposition), will hold a majority in the Senate in the new year.
Congress won't pass a law letting the FBI access your encrypted data
Just because FBI director James Comey believes his agency has a right to see your phone's encrypted data doesn't mean he'll get his way. Members of Congress from both major parties, including House Representatives Darrell Issa and Zoe Lofgren as well as Senator Ron Wyden, are saying that there's "zero chance" they'll pass a bill requiring that device encryption includes backdoor access for federal investigators. They argue that law enforcement has blown whatever chance it had at public support -- accountability problems at multiple agencies (especially the NSA) have led many to distrust the government's data requests. As it stands, the FBI is battling some fierce legal headwinds. The House recently passed a bill banning the NSA from using backdoor searches, and it's doubtful that these politicians will heed Comey's calls for more access.
Cellphone unlocking bill passes through the House, heads to the Oval Office
Well, it seems like the US cellphone unlocking bill didn't get held up legislation after all: the Unlocking Consumer Choice and Wireless Competition Act just passed through the House of Representatives with unanimous support. The measure reverses the 2012 decision that made phone unlocking a violation of copyright law and frees consumers from the mercy of their cellular provider, but it's not law yet -- the bill still needs the signature of President Obama. Still, that's almost a formality: the "bulk unlock" measure portion of the legislation that caused waves in the Senate has since been removed from the bill. Its text is clean and simple: unlocks can be "initiated by the owner" of any device or "by another person at the direction of the owner" with the express purpose of connecting to the wireless network of their choice. Sounds good here. [Image credit: Mondo3, Flickr]
Senate passes a bill that legalizes cellphone unlocking
The US is now that much closer to a law that makes it legal to unlock your phone. A few months after the House of Representatives passed a bill that would authorize unlocking, the Senate has passed its own measure accomplishing mostly the same thing. The biggest difference is their attitude toward bulk unlocking; unlike the House, the Senate has no major objections to resellers unlocking devices en masse. Both legislative branches still have to harmonize their bills before the President can sign something into law, and it wouldn't be surprising if the volume unlocking issue holds things up. However, it's good to know that the government is largely on the same page -- and that you might not have to rely on the kindness of carriers to get more control over the phone you bought. [Image credit: Mondo3, Flickr]
The United States Congress edits Wikipedia constantly
Members of the United States House of Representatives and Senate -- or, more likely, their interns and aides -- spend an awful lot of time editing Wikipedia entries. Not just entries about themselves, either: the list ranges from autobiographical changes to this crucial edit involving President Barack Obama shaking hands with a minotaur. We'll spare you the obvious, "so that's what the United States Congress spends its time on!" joke (or was that it?), and jump right to the credit. A new Twitter account named "congressedits," set up by self-described "web developer/armchair activist" Ed Summers, scans for Wikipedia edits across a variety of IP addresses associated with Congress. Summers got the idea from a similar robot in the United Kingdom. Other versions have since sprouted in Canada and Sweden.
California's smartphone kill switch bill passes a second senate vote
Perseverance pays off, it seems. Just weeks after California's senate shot down a bill that would require a remote kill switch feature on smartphones, the legislature has passed an amended version of the same would-be law. Senate critics dropped their opposition after changes were made to both give companies more time to implement the technology and explicitly left tablets out of the regulation. Apple and Microsoft are also onside after initially objecting to the measure, too. There's still no certainty that the kill switch will become official and let you disable a stolen phone from afar, but it's now a realistic possibility -- much to the chagrin of big US carriers.
NSA Director nominee wants every branch of the military to have a dedicated cyber attack force
It seems like President Obama was pretty serious about that cyber attack list he drew up last year -- his nominee candidate for NSA Director, Admiral Michael Rogers, just told the Senate that the military is building several new cyber combat units. Rogers, who is slated to both take over at the NSA and head the United States Cyber Command, spent several hours answering to the Senate Armed Services Committee this week, explaining his views on national security and his desire to be "as transparent as possible with the broader nation about what we're doing, and why." This included a detailed account of the need to create dedicated cyber attack divisions to supplement traditional ground, naval and air forces, which he says will help act as a deterrent to countries that see the United States as an easy target. "Clearly, Cyber will be an element of almost any crisis we're going to see in the future," he told the Senate. "It increasingly is becoming a norm."
Congress' new report tells you where Bitcoin is legal
Unfortunately, you can't assume that Bitcoin is legal everywhere you go -- it's safe to use the digital cash in some countries, but it's mostly verboten in others. However, you won't have to travel blind. The US' Law Library of Congress has just published a report (PDF) that outlines Bitcoin's legal status in 40 countries. In short, the currency mostly exists in a gray area. While countries like Germany and Finland have cleared Bitcoin for legal use in some conditions, most nations either haven't regulated it or see it as too risky. Don't leave your physical wallet at home on your next vacation, then.
US Senate hands the FCC's reins to Obama nominee Tom Wheeler
Obama nominated Tom Wheeler for the Federal Communications Commission chairman post back in May, and today the US Senate has finally given him its blessing. Although Texas Senator Ted Cruz had concerns over the nominee at first, the agency's new head honcho has been approved unanimously. The FCC may not pipe up too often, but it influences everything from what spectrums cellular carriers use to whether or not devices are safe enough (radiation-wise, at least) to be sold stateside. It's not entirely clear how Wheeler's history as a cable and wireless industry lobbyist will influence his efforts in the post, but his stance on legal phone unlocking gives us hope that the outfit will take a particularly consumer-friendly tact to its duties.
Activision hires lobbyists to advocate on Senate bill researching violence
Activision has hired a prominent lobbying group, Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld, to advocate on a Senate bill aimed at researching the impact of "violent" video games and programming on children. The lobbying registration form doesn't indicate Activision's position on the bill. The bill, S. 134: Violent Content Research Act, aims to have the National Academy of Sciences "study the impact of violent video games and violent video programming on children." The study would investigate whether there is a link between violent video games or programming and aggressive behavior. Singular to video games, it would study "whether current or emerging characteristics of video games have a unique impact on children, considering in particular video games' interactive nature and the extraordinarily personal and vivid way violence might be portrayed in such video games." This is a separate effort from President Barack Obama's executive order that the CDC research the causes of gun violence, with a specific mandate to study video games. The Violent Content Research Act was sent to the full Senate on July 30 and has yet to be raised for vote.
Bipartisan group of senators sends letter about trade ban to US trade rep
According to Florian Mueller of FOSS Patents, a bipartisan group of senators has asked the Obama administration to veto a looming import ban against older iPhone and iPads. The letter, dated July 30, was sent to US Trade Representative Michael Froman, who holds the power to veto this ban. Signing their names to the letter were Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.), Sen. Mike Lee (R-Utah), Sen. Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.) and Sen. Jim Risch (R-Idaho). The senators expressed concern that standard essential patents (SEPs) covering 3G cellular technology were at the heart of the ITC complaint between Samsung and Apple. These patents are meant to be licensed under fair, reasonable and non-discriminatory (FRAND) terms and not used in litigation. The senators note that the government has a chance to defend FRAND licensing terms. If it fails to act, then it might be setting a precedent that encourages other companies to withhold their SEPs and use them in litigation against their rivals. The senators write, Competition and consumers benefit tremendously from the creation of technology standards that promote interoperability, lower costs, and expand consumer choice. Standards are crucial to ensuring that consumers have access to a competitive market of compatible products. The standards setting process depends on a commitment from companies contributing patents to license those patents to all parties implementing the standard on fair, reasonable, and non-discriminatory (FRAND) terms. If companies implementing standards cannot rely on FRAND commitments, they will be less likely to participate in standard setting, which will drive up costs for consumers and reduce the pace of innovation. The import ban goes into effect on August 5, 2013, unless it is vetoed by Froman.
Congress is a great app to help you keep an eye on your Senate and House representatives
Congress (free) for iPhone is a handy way to keep track of what is going on in Washington in the Senate and the House. The free app comes from the Sunlight Foundation and is non-partisan. When you first run it you will get news from both the Senate and House, but then you can drill down by state and to a particular member of Congress. You can find new proposed legislation, or track the status of any bill. You can see the latest votes from your legislator, and what bills they are sponsoring. I gave the app a try and found it easy to use. I liked the idea of getting a map to my congressman's office, but it is only the DC office, not the local offices. Same for phone numbers. I consider these omissions surprising in an otherwise complete app. Also, when getting a map or digging deeper into a bill, I'm thrown out of the app to Apple Maps or Safari. It would be better to build the browser in, rather than forcing me to go back to the app. Other weaknesses look like they will get fixed in a future update, like push notifications for votes, committee listings and updates from the floor. %Gallery-194342% A similar free app that is universal is U.S. Congress Watch. I found the Congress app to have a nicer GUI and it was easier to use. Congress is a worthwhile app for those interested in politics and tracking your local legislators. Congress requires iOS 6 or later and is optimized for the iPhone 5. It is not a universal app so it will need to be scaled up to fit the iPad screens.
Apple releases Senate testimony as panel announces it avoided billions in taxes
A congressional panel has found that Apple avoided billions in taxes, the New York Times reports, thanks to an intricate network of subsidiaries throughout the globe. The structure of some of these sub-companies in certain countries made them exempt from paying or filing taxes or record-keeping laws. The Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations found that Apple kept US$74 billion from the IRS between 2009 and 2012. Apple is not charged, however, with breaking any laws. Apple has published the full text of its upcoming testimony to the Senate congressional panel, which it's scheduled to make on Tuesday. Among those to testify include CEO Tim Cook. Cook spoke with The Washington Post last week about his ideas to repatriate some of those billions, and points out that the company is focused on creating jobs in the US and most likely will pay $7 billion in taxes to the US in 2013.
Tim Cook says US-made Mac will be new model in an existing family
When Apple's Tim Cook revealed that his company would once more assemble a Mac line in the US, there was a flood of questions almost immediately: which model? Where would it be made? While the CEO isn't revealing all his cards quite yet, he just gave us a better sense of those domestic production plans through a Politico interview. The American Mac will be a new iteration of an existing family, Cook says. It also won't just be a collection of parts shipped from overseas, as multiple pieces will come from Arizona, Florida, Illinois, Kentucky and Texas. We're glad to hear that Apple's partial shift to US manufacturing is sincere, although the timing of the news isn't coincidental: Cook is about to defend Apple's growing offshore cash supply in front of a Senate committee, and any visible support for the US economy is likely to burnish his firm's image.
The Daily Roundup for 05.07.2013
You might say the day is never really done in consumer technology news. Your workday, however, hopefully draws to a close at some point. This is the Daily Roundup on Engadget, a quick peek back at the top headlines for the past 24 hours -- all handpicked by the editors here at the site. Click on through the break, and enjoy.
US Senate passes internet sales tax bill, faces a stiff fight in House
The debate over taxing out-of-state online sales in the US has been raging for years, but there are signs that the often messy saga is finally winding to a close... well, maybe. The Senate just voted 69-27 in favor of the Marketplace Fairness Act, a bill that would make internet retailers collect out-of-state sales taxes that Americans are already obligated to pay, but rarely do under a current system that puts the onus on (frequently unaware) buyers. Don't be too hasty in cheering or jeering the apparent conclusion, however. The bill's next stop is the House of Representatives, and the reception may be decidedly colder this time around. The act could be submitted to the President this year if it does survive the gauntlet, although a six-month buffer would likely push any tax changes to 2014 if the bill is ever signed into law. [Image credit: Scrumshus, Wikipedia]
Bipartisan bill to re-legalize cellphone unlocking introduced in Senate
We should have known that it wouldn't take long for someone in congress to take up the fight to re-legalize cellphone unlocking. Those championing the effort on the floor of the Senate are Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) , Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) and Mike Lee (R-UT) who introduced the Wireless Consumer Choice Act this afternoon. After the Librarian of Congress declared that unlocking a cellphone violated copyright law under the DMCA (that's Digital Millennium Copyright Act) activists kicked into high gear in an attempt to prevent or reverse the decision. Consumer advocates quickly collected 100,000 signatures on a petition, forcing the White House to take a position on the matter. To the relief of many, including the globe trotters and ROM fanatics here at Engadget, President Obama backed our right to circumvent carrier locks -- within reason, of course. This is after FCC chairman Julius Genachowski voiced concerns that the ban could hamper competition and innovation. Anna Eshoo, a Democrat from California, is pushing a similar bill in the House of representatives, but its the bipartisan senate version that seems to be garnering the most attention. In a statement Blumenthal called the legislation "common sense, crucial for protecting consumer choice and important for ensuring healthy competition in the market." Obviously this is just the beginning of a long long journey and all the sponsors can do is hope and pray their sad little scrap of paper will one day become a law. Update: It turns out that there's another bill that has been introduced in the Senate as well, penned by Oregon senator Rob Wyden.
