Further Reading and Other Developments (6 June)

Other Developments

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• A number of tech trade groups are asking the House Appropriations Committee’s Commerce-Justice-Science Subcommittee “to direct the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) to create guidelines that help companies navigate the technical and ethical hurdles of developing artificial intelligence.” They argued:
  • A NIST voluntary framework-based consensus set of best practices would be pro-innovation, support U.S. leadership, be consistent with NIST’s ongoing engagement on AI industry consensus standards development, and align with U.S. support for the OECD AI principles as well as the draft Memorandum to Heads of Executive Departments and Agencies, “Guidance for Regulation of Artificial Intelligence Applications.”
• The Department of Defense (DOD) “named seven U.S. military installations as the latest sites where it will conduct fifth-generation (5G) communications technology experimentation and testing. They are Naval Base Norfolk, Virginia; Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam, Hawaii; Joint Base San Antonio, Texas; the National Training Center (NTC) at Fort Irwin, California; Fort Hood, Texas; Camp Pendleton, California; and Tinker Air Force Base, Oklahoma.”  The DOD explained “[t]his second round, referred to as Tranche 2, brings the total number of installations selected to host 5G testing to 12…[and] builds on DOD’s previously-announced 5G communications technology prototyping and experimentation and is part of a 5G development roadmap guided by the Department of Defense 5G Strategy.”
• The Federal Trade Commission announced a $150,000 settlement with “HyperBeard, Inc. [which] violated the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act Rule (COPPA Rule) by allowing third-party ad networks to collect personal information in the form of persistent identifiers to track users of the company’s child-directed apps, without notifying parents or obtaining verifiable parental consent.”
• The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) released Special Publication 800-133 Rev. 2, Recommendation for Cryptographic Key Generation that “discusses the generation of the keys to be used with the approved  cryptographic  algorithms…[which] are  either  1) generated  using  mathematical  processing  on  the  output  of  approved  Random  Bit  Generators (RBGs) and  possibly  other  parameters or 2) generated based on keys that are generated in this fashion.”
• United States Trade Representative (USTR) announced “investigations into digital services taxes that have been adopted or are being considered by a number of our trading partners.” These investigations are “with respect to Digital Services Taxes (DSTs) adopted or under consideration by Austria, Brazil, the Czech Republic, the European Union, India, Indonesia, Italy, Spain, Turkey, and the United Kingdom.” The USTR is accepting comments until 15 July.
• NATO’s North Atlantic Council released a statement “concerning malicious cyber activities” that have targeted medical facilities stating “Allies are committed to protecting their critical infrastructure, building resilience and bolstering cyber defences, including through full implementation of NATO’s Cyber Defence Pledge.” NATO further pledged “to employ the full range of capabilities, including cyber, to deter, defend against and counter the full spectrum of cyber threats.”
• The Public Interest Declassification Board (PIDB) released “A Vision for the Digital Age: Modernization of the U.S. National Security Classification and Declassification System” that “provides recommendations that can serve as a blueprint for modernizing the classification and declassification system…[for] there is a critical need to modernize this system to move from the analog to the digital age by deploying advanced technology and by upgrading outdated paper-based policies and practices.”
• In a Department of State press release, a Declaration on COVID-19, the G7 Science and Technology Ministers stated their intentions “to work collaboratively, with other relevant Ministers to:
  • Enhance cooperation on shared COVID-19 research priority areas, such as basic and applied research, public health, and clinical studies. Build on existing mechanisms to further priorities, including identifying COVID-19 cases and understanding virus spread while protecting privacy and personal data; developing rapid and accurate diagnostics to speed new testing technologies; discovering, manufacturing, and deploying safe and effective therapies and vaccines; and implementing innovative modeling, adequate and inclusive health system management, and predictive analytics to assist with preventing future pandemics.
  • Make government-sponsored COVID-19 epidemiological and related research results, data, and information accessible to the public in machine-readable formats, to the greatest extent possible, in accordance with relevant laws and regulations, including privacy and intellectual property laws.
  • Strengthen the use of high-performance computing for COVID-19 response. Make national high-performance computing resources available, as appropriate, to domestic research communities for COVID-19 and pandemic research, while safeguarding intellectual property.
  • Launch the Global Partnership on AI, envisioned under the 2018 and 2019 G7 Presidencies of Canada and France, to enhance multi-stakeholder cooperation in the advancement of AI that reflects our shared democratic values and addresses shared global challenges, with an initial focus that includes responding to and recovering from COVID-19. Commit to the responsible and human-centric development and use of AI in a manner consistent with human rights, fundamental freedoms, and our shared democratic values.
  • Exchange best practices to advance broadband connectivity; minimize workforce disruptions, support distance learning and working; enable access to smart health systems, virtual care, and telehealth services; promote job upskilling and reskilling programs to prepare the workforce of the future; and support global social and economic recovery, in an inclusive manner while promoting data protection, privacy, and security.
• The Digital, Culture, Media and Sport Committee’s Online Harms and Disinformation Subcommittee held a virtual meeting, which “is the second time that representatives of the social media companies have been called in by the DCMS Sub-committee in its ongoing inquiry into online harms and disinformation following criticism by Chair Julian Knight about a lack of clarity of evidence and further failures to provide adequate answers to follow-up correspondence.” Before the meeting, the Subcommittee sent a letter to Twitter, Facebook, and Google and received responses. The Subcommittee heard testimony from:
  • Facebook Head of Product Policy and Counterterrorism Monika Bickert
  • YouTube Vice-President of Government Affairs and Public Policy Leslie Miller
  • Google Global Director of Information Policy Derek Slater
  • Twitter Director of Public Policy Strategy Nick Pickles
• Senators Ed Markey (D-MA), Ron Wyden (D-OR) and Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) sent a letter to AT&T CEO Randall Stephenson “regarding your company’s policy of not counting use of HBO Max, a streaming service that you own, against your customers’ data caps.” They noted “[a]lthough your company has repeatedly stated publicly that it supports legally binding net neutrality rules, this policy appears to run contrary to the essential principle that in a free and open internet, service providers may not favor content in which they have a financial interest over competitors’ content.”
• The Brookings Institution released what it considers a path forward on privacy legislation and held a webinar on the report with Federal Trade Commissioner (FTC) Christine Wilson and former FTC Commissioner and now Microsoft Vice President and Deputy General Counsel Julie Brill.

Further Reading

• “Google: Overseas hackers targeting Trump, Biden campaigns” – Politico. In what is the latest in a series of attempted attacks, Google’s Threat Analysis Group announced this week that People’s Republic of China affiliated hackers tried to gain access to the campaign of former Vice President Joe Biden and Iranian hackers tried the same with President Donald Trump’s reelection campaign. The group referred the matter to the federal government but said the attacks were not successful. An official from the Department of Homeland Security’s (DHS) Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) remarked “[i]t’s not surprising that a number of state actors are targeting our elections…[and] [w]e’ve been warning about this for years.” It is likely the usual suspects will continue to try to hack into both presidential campaigns.
• “Huawei builds up 2-year reserve of ‘most important’ US chips” ­– Nikkei Asian Review. The Chinese tech giant has been spending billions of dollars stockpiling United States’ (U.S.) chips, particularly from Intel for servers and programable chips from Xilinx, the type that is hard to find elsewhere. This latter chip maker is seen as particularly crucial to both the U.S. and the People’s Republic of China (PRC) because it partners with the Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company, the entity persuaded by the Trump Administration to announce plans for a plant in Arizona. Shortly after the arrest of Huawei CFO Meng Wanzhou in 2018, the company began these efforts and spent almost $24 billion USD last year stockpiling crucial U.S. chips and other components.
• “GBI investigation shows Kemp misrepresented election security” – Atlanta-Journal Constitution. Through freedom of information requests, the newspaper obtained records from the Georgia Bureau of Investigation (GBI) on its investigation at the behest of then Secretary of State Brian Kemp, requested days before the gubernatorial election he narrowly won. At the time, Kemp claimed hackers connected to the Democratic Party were trying to get into the state’s voter database, when it was Department of Homeland Security personnel running a routine scan for vulnerabilities Kemp’s office had agreed to months earlier. The GBI ultimately determined Kemp’s claims did not merit a prosecution. Moreover, even though Kemp’s staff at the time continues to deny these findings, the site did have vulnerabilities, including one turned up by a software company employee.
• “Trump, Biden both want to repeal tech legal protections — for opposite reasons” – Politico. Former Vice President Joe Biden (D) wants to revisit Section 230 because online platforms are not doing enough to combat misinformation, in his view. Biden laid out his views on this and other technology matters for the editorial board of The New York Times in January, at which point he said Facebook should have to face civil liability for publishing misinformation. Given Republican and Democratic discontent with Section 230 and the social media platforms, there may be a possibility legislation is enacted to limit this shield from litigation.
• “Wearables like Fitbit and Oura can detect coronavirus symptoms, new research shows” –The Washington Post. Perhaps wearable health technology is a better approach to determining when a person has contracted COVID-19 than contact tracing apps. A handful of studies are producing positive results, but these studies have not yet undergone the per review process. Still, these devices may be able to determine disequilibrium in one’s system as compared to a baseline, suggesting an infection and a need for a test. This article, however, did not explore possible privacy implications of sharing one’s personal health data with private companies.
• “Singapore plans wearable virus-tracing device for all” – Reuters. For less than an estimated $10 USD for unit, Singapore will soon introduce wearable devices to better track contacts to fight COVID-19. In what may be a sign that the city-state has given up on its contact tracing app, TraceTogether, the Asian nation will soon release these wearables. If it not clear if everyone will be mandated to wear one and what privacy and data protections will be in place.
• “Exclusive: Zoom plans to roll out strong encryption for paying customers” – Reuters. In the same vein as Zoom allowing paying customers to choose where their calls are routing through (e.g. paying customers in the United States could choose a different region with lesser surveillance capabilities), Zoom will soon offer stronger security for paying customers. Of course, should Zoom’s popularity during the pandemic solidify into a dominant competitive position, this new policy of offering end-to-end encryption that the company cannot crack would likely rouse the ire of the governments of the Five Eyes nations. These plans breathe further life into the views of those who see a future in which privacy and security are commodities to be bought and those unable or unwilling to afford them will not enjoy either. Nonetheless, the company may still face a Federal Trade Commission (FTC) investigation into its apparently inaccurate claims that calls were encrypted, which may have violated Section 5 of the FTC Act along with similar investigations by other nations.
• “Russia and China target U.S. protests on social media” – Politico. Largely eschewing doctored material, the Russian Federation and the People’s Republic of China (PRC) are using social media platforms to further drive dissension and division in the United States (U.S.) during the protests by amplifying the messages and points of views of Americans, according to an analysis of one think tank. For example, some PRC officials have been tweeting out “Black Lives Matter” and claims that videos purporting to show police violence are, in fact, police violence. The goal to fan the flames and further weaken Washington. Thus far, the American government and the platforms themselves have not had much of a public response. Additionally, this represents a continued trend of the PRC in seeking to sow discord in the U.S. whereas before this year use of social media and disinformation tended to be confined to issues of immediate concern to Beijing.
• “The DEA Has Been Given Permission To Investigate People Protesting George Floyd’s Death” – BuzzFeed News. The Department of Justice (DOJ) used a little known section of the powers delegated to the agency to task the Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) with conducting “covert surveillance” of to help police maintain order during the protests following the killing of George Floyd’s, among other duties. BuzzFeed News was given the two page memorandum effectuating this expansion of the DEA’s responsibilities beyond drug crimes, most likely by agency insiders who oppose the memorandum. These efforts could include use of authority granted to the agency to engage in “bulk collection” of some information, a practice the DOJ Office of the Inspector General (OIG) found significant issues with, including the lack of legal analysis on the scope of the sprawling collection practices.
• “Cops Don’t Need GPS Data to Track Your Phone at Protests” – Gizmodo. Underlying this extensive rundown of the types of data one’s phone leaks that is vacuumed up by a constellation of entities is the fact that more law enforcement agencies are buying or accessing these data because the Fourth Amendment’s protections do not apply to private parties giving the government information.
• “Zuckerberg Defends Approach to Trump’s Facebook Posts” – The New York Times. Unlike Twitter, Facebook opted not to flag President Donald Trump’s tweets about the protests arising from George Floyd’s killing last week that Twitter found to be glorifying violence. CEO Mark Zuckerberg reportedly deliberated at length with senior leadership before deciding the tweets did not violate the platform’s terms of service, a decision roundly criticized by Facebook employees, some of whom staged a virtual walkout on 1 June. In a conference call, Zuckerberg faced numerous questions about why the company does not respond more forcefully to tweets that are inflammatory or untrue. His answers that Facebook does not act as an arbiter of truth were not well freceived among many employees.
• “Google’s European Search Menu Draws Interest of U.S. Antitrust Investigators” – The New York Times. Allegedly Department of Justice (DOJ) antitrust investigators are keenly interested in the system Google lives under in the European Union (EU) where Android users are now prompted to select a default search engine instead of just making its Google’s. This system was put in place as a response to the EU’s €4.34 billion fine in 2018 for imposing “illegal restrictions on Android device manufacturers and mobile network operators to cement its dominant position in general internet search.” This may be seen as a way to address competition issues while not breaking up Google as some have called for. However, Google is conducting monthly auctions among the other search engines to be of the three choices given to EU consumers, which allows Google to reap additional revenue.

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