Category: Technology

Further Reading, Other Development, and Coming Events (4 January 2021)

Further Reading “Microsoft Says Russian Hackers Viewed Some of Its Source Code” By Nicole Perlroth — The New York Times. The Sluzhba vneshney razvedki Rossiyskoy Federatsii’s (SVR) hack keeps growing and growing with Microsoft admitting its source code was viewed through an employee account. It may be that authorized Microsoft resellers were one of the … Continue reading Further Reading, Other Development, and Coming Events (4 January 2021) →

FY 2021 Omnibus and COVID Stimulus Become Law

The end-of-the-year funding package for FY 2021 is stuffed with technology policy changes. At the tail end of the calendar year 2020, Congress and the White House finally agreed on FY 2021 appropriations and further COVID-19 relief funding and policies, much of which implicated or involved technology policy. As is often the practice, Congressional stakeholders … Continue reading FY 2021 Omnibus and COVID Stimulus Become Law →

EC Finally Unveils Digital Services Act and Digital Markets Act

The EU releases its proposals to remake digital markets. The European Commission (EC) has released its draft proposals to remake how the European Union (EU) regulates digital markets and digital services, the latest in the bloc’s attempts to rein in what it sees as harms and abuses to people and competition in Europe and the … Continue reading EC Finally Unveils Digital Services Act and Digital Markets Act →

IC Concedes PATRIOT Act Used To Collect Browsing

The top U.S. intelligence official admits the PATRIOT Act has been used to surveil a website and its visitors. This admission could result in a narrowing of FISA to stop this and related practices. In a follow-on letter to correct his previous letter the Director of National Intelligence (DNI) acknowledged the Federal Bureau of Investigation … Continue reading IC Concedes PATRIOT Act Used To Collect Browsing →

Further Reading, Other Developments, and Coming Events (15 December)

Further Reading “DHS, State and NIH join list of federal agencies — now five — hacked in major Russian cyberespionage campaign” By Ellen Nakashima and Craig Timberg — The Washington Post; “Scope of Russian Hack Becomes Clear: Multiple U.S. Agencies Were Hit” By David E. Sanger, Nicole Perlroth and Eric Schmitt — The New York … Continue reading Further Reading, Other Developments, and Coming Events (15 December) →

Further Reading, Other Developments, and Coming Events (14 December)

Further Reading “Russian Hackers Broke Into Federal Agencies, U.S. Officials Suspect” By David Sanger — The New York Times.; “Russian government hackers are behind a broad espionage campaign that has compromised U.S. agencies, including Treasury and Commerce” By Ellen Nakashima and Craig Timberg — The Washington Post; “Suspected Russian hackers spied on U.S. Treasury emails … Continue reading Further Reading, Other Developments, and Coming Events (14 December) →

Task Force Calls For Enhanced Digital Regulation in UK

The UK may soon reform its competition and consumer laws visa vis digital markets. A United Kingdom (UK) entity has recommended that Prime Minister Boris Johnson and his Conservative government remake digital regulation in the UK, especially with respect to competition policy. A task force has returned an extensive set of recommendations requiring legislation and … Continue reading Task Force Calls For Enhanced Digital Regulation in UK →

U.S. Federal Government and States Ask Court To Break Up Facebook

Antitrust suits finally filed against Facebook. The U.S. and state governments want to spin off WhatsApp and Instagram. As has been long rumored, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and state attorneys general have filed lawsuits against Facebook, claiming the social media giant has pursued anti-competitive practices in violation of federal and state laws. This is … Continue reading U.S. Federal Government and States Ask Court To Break Up Facebook →

Further Reading, Other Developments, and Coming Events (10 December)

Further Reading “Social media superspreaders: Why Instagram, not Facebook, will be the real battleground for COVID-19 vaccine misinformation” By Isobel Asher Hamilton — Business Insider. According to one group, COVID-19 anti-vaccination lies and misinformation are proliferating on Instagram despite its parent company’s, Facebook, efforts to find and remove such content. There has been dramatic growth … Continue reading Further Reading, Other Developments, and Coming Events (10 December) →

Canada Releases Privacy Bill

Canada’s newly released privacy bill shares commonalities with U.S. bills but features a stronger enforcement regime that could result in fines of up to 5% of annual worldwide revenue for the worst violations. The government in Ottawa has introduced in Parliament the “Digital Charter Implementation Act, 2020” (Bill C-11) that would dramatically reform the nation’s … Continue reading Canada Releases Privacy Bill →