Biden Administration Tech Policy: Federal Trade Commission (FTC)

Under President Joe Biden, the FTC will face most of the same issues presently before the agency. In a Biden Administration, the FTC may tip from three Republican Commissioners, including the chair, to a majority of Democrats if Chair Joseph Simons steps down as has been rumored for some months now, in part because of … Continue reading Biden Administration Tech Policy: Federal Trade Commission (FTC)

Further Reading, Other Developments, and Coming Events (5 November)

Further Reading “Confusion and conflict stir online as Trump claims victory, questions states’ efforts to count ballots” By Craig Timberg, Tony Romm, Isaac Stanley-Becker and Drew Harwell — Washington Post. When the post-mortem on the 2020 Election is written, it is likely to be the case that foreign disinformation was not the primary threat. Rather, … Continue reading Further Reading, Other Developments, and Coming Events (5 November)

FTC Asks Congress For Fix Ahead of SCOTUS Decision

The Federal Trade Commission urges Congress to undo three court decisions that have weakened its enforcement powers. The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) wrote the House and Senate committees with jurisdiction over the agency, asking for language restoring the power to seek and obtain restitution for victims of those who have violated Section 5 of the … Continue reading FTC Asks Congress For Fix Ahead of SCOTUS Decision

Further Reading, Other Developments, and Coming Events (4 November)

Further Reading “U.S. Cyber Command Expands Operations to Hunt Hackers From Russia, Iran and China” By Julian Barnes — The New York Times. The United States (U.S.) agency charged with offensive cyber operations sent teams around the world to undisclosed locations to work with partner nations to foil Russian, Chinese, and Iranian efforts to disrupt … Continue reading Further Reading, Other Developments, and Coming Events (4 November)

Tech Election Results

A number of tech ballot initiatives were considered. There were a number of significant technology measures put before voters in states in yesterday’s election. The most significant were in California as voters agreed to replace the “California Consumer Privacy Act” (CCPA) (AB 375) with a new privacy bill, voted for another technology-related ballot initiative, and … Continue reading Tech Election Results

Courts Further Block TikTok and WeChat Bans

Two Trump Administration measures to strike at the PRC remain unimplemented. The Trump Administration has suffered more setbacks in its efforts to move forward with its bans on applications from the People’s Republic of China (PRC). United States’ (U.S.) courts continue to block enforcement of orders prohibiting TikTok and WeChat on national security grounds. Courts … Continue reading Courts Further Block TikTok and WeChat Bans

Further Reading, Other Developments, and Coming Events (3 November)

Further Reading “How Facebook and Twitter plan to handle election day disinformation” By Sam Dean — The Los Angeles Times; “How Big Tech is planning for election night” By Heather Kelly — The Washington Post; and “What to Expect From Facebook, Twitter and YouTube on Election Day” By Mike Isaac, Kate Conger and Daisuke Wakabayashi … Continue reading Further Reading, Other Developments, and Coming Events (3 November)

Further Reading, Other Developments, and Coming Events (2 November)

Further Reading  “Harris target of more misinformation than Pence, data shows” By Amanda Seitz — Associated Press News. Given the hostile treatment women and minorities in the United States face on social media, it is not a surprise that Senator Kamala Harris (D-CA) has faced a barrage of sexist, racist, and xenophobic invective online.“The Untold … Continue reading Further Reading, Other Developments, and Coming Events (2 November)

EDPB Data Protection By Design and Default Guidance

The EU’s arbiter on the GDPR explains what it considers data by design and default that complies with the GDPR. The European Data Protection Board (EDPB or Board) issued “Guidelines 4/2019 on Article 25 Data Protection by Design and by Default Version 2.0,” which is “general guidance on the obligation of Data Protection by Design … Continue reading EDPB Data Protection By Design and Default Guidance

Further Reading, Other Developments, and Coming Events (29 October)

Further Reading  “Cyberattacks hit Louisiana government offices as worries rise about election hacking” By Eric Geller — Politico. The Louisiana National Guard located and addressed a remote access trojan, a common precursor to ransomware attacks, in some of the state’s systems. This may or may not have been the beginning stages of an election day … Continue reading Further Reading, Other Developments, and Coming Events (29 October)