The Consumer Technology Association announced on Tuesday that it will invest in Harlem Capital Partners and SoGal Ventures as part of its $10 million commitment to venture firms and funds that invest in women, people of color, and other underrepresented entrepreneurs. Harlem Capital Partners is a minority-owned early-stage venture capital firm aiming to change the… Keep Reading
WASHINGTON, July 16, 2019 – In the House Judiciary Committee’s second hearing putting tech giants under the microscope, both the Democratic majority and some members of the Republican minority attempted to squeeze the companies into greater political compliance. At a Tuesday hearing featured witnesses from the widely-feared “GAFA” companies -- Google, Amazon, Facebook and Apple… Keep Reading
WASHINGTON, July 9, 2019 — Amazon may be profiting from the sale of products promoted by increasing numbers of fake ratings and reviews, raising concerns among lawmakers. Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman Frank Pallone, D-N.J., and Consumer Protection and Commerce Subcommittee Chair Jan Schakowsky, D-Illinois, sent a letter to Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos on Tuesday… Keep Reading
Silicon Flatirons announced Amie Stepanovich as the new executive director of the technology policy think tank based at the University of Colorado Law School. A noted cybersecurity and privacy law and policy expert, she plans to build upon Silicon Flatirons’ legacy of interdisciplinary conferences and programming. She begins on July 29, 2019, succeeding Flatirons’ founder Phil… Keep Reading
Nearly a quarter of rural Americans have used some form of telehealth service within the past few years, according to a recent NPR report conducted with the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and the Harvard T. H. Chan School of Public Health. The most frequently used telehealth services include receiving diagnoses and treatments from health care… Keep Reading
Axios is reporting that Sens. Mark Warner, D-Va., and Josh Hawley, R-Mo., plan to introduce The Designing Accounting Safeguards to Help Broaden Oversight and Regulations on Data Act (DASHBOARD). The measure would require tech company to better explain to consumers what they are giving up when they share their personal information with big tech platforms… Keep Reading
WASHINGTON, April 4, 2019 -- The White House's latest move to protect American industries and consumers could potentially give President Trump an opening to hit back at some of his favorite targets. National Trade Council Director Peter Navarro on Wednesday announced that the President had signed a Presidential Memorandum to combat "a very serious problem"… Keep Reading
BROADBAND BREAKFAST INSIGHT: Are Facebook and Amazon really GDPR compliant? Researchers used artificial intellence software to analyze Facebook and Amazon new GDPR policies. The AI tool found one-third of policy clauses to be “potentially problematic” or containing “insufficient information”, which could put the companies’ in violation of GDPR. Meanwhile, Google and Facebook asserted they are working… Keep Reading
WASHINGTON, June 21, 2018 - The United States Supreme Court on Thursday dealt a blow to the online retail industry by overturning a 26-year-old ruling, Quill v. North Dakota, which had prohibited states from forcing mail-order retailers to collect sales tax from customers in states where they lacked a physical presence. The 5-4 ruling on Thursday, in South… Keep Reading
SEATTLE, January 18, 2018 - Amazon announced the 20 finalists for its second headquarters, or HQ2, after a high-profile quest among economic development officials around North America. The candidates include: Boston New York City Newark, New Jersey Pittsburgh Philadelphia Montgomery County, Maryland Washington, D.C. Raleigh Northern Virginia Atlanta Miami Toronto Columbus Indianapolis Chicago Denver Nashville… Keep Reading
WASHINGTON, November 21, 2017 – In a move that could further infuriate an already-energized coalition of technology industry power players, consumer advocates, and progressive interest groups, Federal Communications Commission Chairman Ajit Pai on Tuesday unveiled plans to undo the net neutrality rules that put in place in some form or another since the early years… Keep Reading
WASHINGTON, July 26, 2017 – The official topic of Tuesday’s House Energy and Commerce subcommittee hearing was reauthorization of the Federal Communications Commission, but the big focus was on net neutrality. “The Commission’s decision in 2015 to reclassify the internet as a public utility was a power grab laced with the irony of suffocating the… Keep Reading
WASHINGTON, June 21, 2017 — President Donald Trump on Monday kicked off the White House’s “tech week” by calling for a “sweeping transformation of the federal government’s technology” while speaking during the first meeting of the American Technology Council. The effort of information technology company CEOs – which Trump called an “incredible group” during their… Keep Reading
WASHINGTON, January 24, 2017 - The Senate Commerce Committee on Tuesday voted to advance 16 bills, including several with implications for telecommunications policy. The most significant communications-related measure among the bills clearing the committee was the so-called MOBILE Now Act, sponsored by Commerce Committee Chairman John Thune, R-South Dakota and Ranking Member Sen. Bill Nelson,… Keep Reading
WASHINGTON, September 12, 2014 - In what would have seemed highly unlikely just a few months ago, growing support for public utility regulation is emerging. Tech companies, politicians, internet service providers, and component makers have started to outline their views regarding their policy approach to the issue of net neutrality. In order to understand the… Keep Reading
WASHINGTON, July 30, 2014 - Internet service providers are adopting more usage-based pricing models and consumers may be using the internet less as a result, according to preliminary results from a Government Accountability Office study. Consumers may also be neglecting benefits of lower-cost models due to confusion over data caps, the report found. "In the… Keep Reading
WASHINGTON, July 14, 2014 - Some of the world's leading tech giants, represented by a lobbying firm called the Internet Association, have officially filed their petition for net neutrality. The companies include Google, Facebook, Netflix and Amazon, among others. "The internet’s continued success is not inevitable," the group wrote. "Broadband internet access providers continue to… Keep Reading
WASHINGTON, June 30, 2014 -Following the Supreme Court's blow last week against Aereo, the video streaming service has shut down indefinitely as it drags back into the lower courts. Aereo CEO Chet Kanojia wrote a letter to consumers explaining the decision. "We have decided to pause our operations temporarily as we consult with the court… Keep Reading
WASHINGTON, June 17, 2014 - Sen. Patrick Leahy, D-Vt., and Rep. Doris Matsui, D-Calif., on Tuesday introduced a bill, the Online Competition and Consumer Choice Act, that would grant the Federal Communications Commission the authority to bar so-called “paid prioritization” agreements between internet service providers and content providers over the last-mile of a broadband connection.… Keep Reading
WASHINGTON June 7, 2011- The California State Assembly passed a bill last week that would require online retailers such as Amazon to collect state sales taxes on all goods the site sells within the state. The bill is similar to those that a number of other states and the U.S. Congress are currently debating. Keep Reading
WASHINGTON, February 25, 2011 - Amazon’s new movie streaming service represents a first step into the market but it will be a while before it - or any other new entrant to the sector - challenges Nexflix at the top of the heap. This week through its Prime subscription service, Amazon offered free streaming movies and television shows to its subscribers. Amazon will offer more than 5,000 movies and shows that subscribers can access through their computers, compatible Blu-ray players or set top boxes that Amazon has begun to feature on its website. This move represents Amazon's entry into the new and unstructured online video market. Keep Reading
WASHINGTON, December 21, 2010 - Federal Communications Commission Chairman Julius Genachowski on Dec. 1 announced that there would be a set of open internet rules that his agency would vote on during its open meeting on Dec. 21. While many stakeholders in the debate initially were happy to learn that the chairman would finally bring the issue to a vote, support dimmed after learning what he planned to include in the rules. Keep Reading
Google plans on launching its open eBook service Google Editions by June or July, according to a Tuesday report in the Wall Street Journal.
Google's manager for strategic partner development Chris Palma disclosed the company's plans during a Tuesday morning panel discussion sponsored by the Book Industry Study Group in New York City. The panel discussion focused on cloud computing and the business of publishing.
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Washington, February 26, 2010 – The chairman of the Federal Communications Commission this week previewed his agency’s spectrum recommendations in the FCC’s upcoming national broadband plan to be presented to Congress next month. In Julius Genachowski’s statement titled “America’s 2020 Vision for Mobile Broadband,” he established that “no area of the broadband ecosystem holds more… Keep Reading
WASHINGTON, October 26, 2009 - Absent from the notice of proposed rulemaking released by the Federal Communications Commission Thursday is the charged term of “network neutrality” that has been discussed over the years. Instead, the paper is focused on the need to preserve an “open internet” through government intervention. Keep Reading
WASHINGTON, October 21, 2009 - As the Federal Communications Commission nears the monthly meeting slated for Thursday to consider new regulations regarding Net neutrality, e-mail boxes across Washington are being flooded by all manner of interest groups staking their claim over neutrality and freedom on the Internet. Keep Reading