WASHINGTON, July 22, 2019 — With great power comes great responsibility. And now Google, which insists that it is not slanting search results based upon political leanings, is under attack from both the left and the right. At a Senate Judiciary Subcommittee hearing last Tuesday – titled “Google and Censorship through Search Engines” – Sen.… Keep Reading
WASHINGTON, July 15, 2019 — Rather than seeking to break up big technology giants, Congress should instead focus on ratcheting up regulation of the online platform players to curb their greatest abuses, public interest advocate Harold Feld argued on Monday. Feld, the author of the recent e-book, “The Case for the Digital Platform Act: Market… Keep Reading
On Friday afternoon, the Federal Trade Commission has issued a fine of $5 billion to Facebook for privacy violations. Adam Satariano of the New York Times reported that regulators and lawmakers in the U.S. and abroad have begun conducting investigations and proposing new sanctions against the Silicon Valley company. President Trump called out Facebook and… Keep Reading
WASHINGTON, July 9, 2019 — YouTube has been “inadequate and abysmally slow in responding” to recent allegations that its algorithms promote child sexualization, said Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., at a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing on Tuesday. If big tech companies don’t take sufficient steps to protect children from exploitation on their platforms, they should be… Keep Reading
WASHINGTON, June 20, 2019 — Legislation authored by Sen. Joshua Hawley could signal the start of a new chapter of the culture war: Conservatives directly targeting Silicon Valley tech companies. On Wednesday, Hawley, R-Mo., announced that he’d introduced the “Ending Support for Internet Censorship Act” (PDF), which would repeal a provision of the 1996 Telecommunications Act… Keep Reading
WASHINGTON, January 12, 2015 – President Barack Obama on Monday announced that his administration would push for two new pieces of federal internet privacy legislation, one pertaining to consumers and one pertaining to students. He also announced that the Department of Education would offer new tools to help students and teacher help protect their privacy.… Keep Reading
WASHINGTON, May 28, 2014 - The National Journal reported that the Federal Trade Commission released a report charging the data brokerage industry with collecting "troves" of information on nearly all American consumers. The agency urged Congress to push for more transparency. Believing that an invasive collection of personal data could harm consumers, the FTC recommended… Keep Reading
WASHINGTON, June 13, 2013 - Most Americans have a negative view of data gathering and feel that they have little control over what information is available to businesses and the government, according to a poll released Thursday by Allstate and National Journal-Heartland Monitor. However, many Americans also recognize the benefits, including connecting with friends and… Keep Reading
WASHINGTON Thursday April 19, 2012 – First search, then social media, and now privacy concerns? The digital world has transformed the way consumers access content; one can search an article they are interested in, subscribe to Google Reader, follow a friend’s recommendation from Twitter or read an article a co worker read via the Washington… Keep Reading
WASHINGTON July 18, 2011- Two congressional subcommittees called on the heads of several government agencies late last week to inquire how each addresses Internet privacy issues. The panel, assembled by the Subcommittee on Commerce, Manufacturing, and Trade and the Subcommittee on Communications and Technology included the heads of the Federal Communications Commission, Federal Trade Commission and the National Telecommunications and Information Administration. Keep Reading
WASHINGTON, July 13, 2011 – Child ID Theft more commonly occurs via organized crime, but the most severe damage happens when done by family members, experts concluded at a joint Child ID Theft forum Tuesday. Federal Trade Commission and Department of Justice held the forum one day after hacktivist group ‘Anonymous’ attacked U.S. government security contractor, Booz Allen Hamilton, resulting in the theft of 90,000 military email addresses. Keep Reading
WASHINGTON, July 7, 2011 – What was originally billed as a federal agency confessional before House Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations on Thursday turned into a search to create American jobs and economic growth. Monday, the subcommittee held its fourth hearing to improve the regulatory review system. With the national unemployment rate at 9.1 percent, burdensome regulations from federal agencies are seen by both sides of the aisle and agency representatives to contribute to the problem. An Executive Order the President issued in January sought to streamline federal agencies by having them do a retrospective review of existing regulations and discard those they determined outdated and unnecessary. Keep Reading
WASHINGTON, July 1, 2011 – The Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee assembled Wednesday its third hearing this legislative session on data privacy and security. In a hearing rushed so that members could make it to the Senate floor in time to vote, members and witnesses from government agencies and private sector entities testifying before the senate committee reiterated support for federal data security legislation. Consumer privacy bills such as the Do Not Track Online Act of 2011, Commercial Bill of Rights Act of 2011 and reintroduction of the Data Security and Breach Notification Act are all currently before the committee. Keep Reading
WASHINGTON, June 28, 2011 – A Center for American Progress panel assembled Monday explored the challenges presented by emerging Internet technology privacy issues with respect to Federal Trade Commission enforcement, child safety and free speech rights. Julie Brill, FTC Commissioner, addressed private sector and government solutions for protecting consumer data privacy in her keynote speech to a packed house of policy analysts, advocacy groups and government officials at the Center’s Washington, D.C. headquarters. Keep Reading
WASHINGTON, June 16, 2011 – Just days after Senate email accounts were hacked, the House Subcommittee on Commerce, Manufacturing and Trade held a hearing Wednesday to discuss a draft bill that would require companies to minimize the amount of data collected from consumers and notify them within two days of a data breach. Subcommittee members met with witnesses to clarify the ambiguous language of a discussion draft of Subcommittee Chairman Rep. Mary Bono Mack’s (R-CA) Secure and Fortify (SAFE) Data Act. The measure addresses the increasing threat of data theft, in the wake of high-profile cyber attacks on Sony, Epsilon, Lockheed-Martin and other U.S. companies. Keep Reading
WASHINGTON May 5, 2011- At the Washington Caucus meeting of the Computer and Communications Industry Association Wednesday, Congressional leaders presented their views on preserving the Open Internet, expanding patent reform, ensuring consumer privacy online and the need for spectrum reform. Keep Reading
WASHINGTON April 21, 2011- Federal Communications Commission Chairman Julius Genachowski visited the Economic Club of Washington Wednesday to answer questions that covered spectrum auctions and the impending merger between AT&T and T-Mobile. “To continue our growth in mobile broadband we need to free up more spectrum,” Genachowski said. “Spectrum is the oxygen of the mobile world and without more it will be stifled.” Keep Reading
WASHINGTON, February 8, 2011 - Rep. Edward Markey (D-MA), a senior Democrat on the House subcommittee on Communications, Technology and the Internet, sent a letter to the Federal Trade Commission urging it to investigate suspect practices surrounding purchases made through mobile applications. Keep Reading
WASHINGTON, November 3, 2010 - As consumers provide large amounts of private information to web services, the government is tuning into the fact that the use of this information by these companies is becoming increasingly important. Keep Reading
WASHINGTON, April 2, 2010 – Chapter Four of the plan focuses on broadband competition and innovation policy. It’s one of the most far-reaching sections in the entire document. It starts by addressing various mobile and fixed networks and moves on to discuss specific devices, privacy and identity theft. This third and final article summarizing Chapter 4 looks at the FCC’s take on set-top boxes, consumer privacy and digital taxation. Keep Reading
WASHINGTON, January 15, 2010 - Verizon and Google submitted a rare joint filing to the FCC on Thursday. The two communications giants praised the agency for its principles while stinging it by saying that communications laws and regulations should not apply to Internet applications, content, or services. Keep Reading
The Federal Trade Commission on Monday announced that it has approved final revisions to the guidance it gives to advertisers on how to keep their endorsement and testimonial ads in line with the FTC Act. The notice incorporates several changes to the FTC’s “Guidelines Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising,” which address endorsements by consumers, experts, organizations, and celebrities, as well as the disclosure of important connections between advertisers and endorsers. The guidelines were last updated in 1980. Keep Reading
WASHINGTON, December 5 - This report, authored by BroadbandCensus.com Editor Drew Clark for the Aspen Institute's Communications and Society Program in August 2007, asks and attempts to answer a series of questions about broadband adoption. Keep Reading
ASPEN, COLORADO, August 18 - At the 2008 Aspen Summit of the Progress and Freedom Foundation, day one's afternoon panel discussed the privacy and competition concerns that are developing as the online advertising market expands and evolves. Keep Reading
August 11 - Presumptive Republican presidential nominee John McCain is preparing to launch a new telecom and technology agency, in which he's pushing for the Federal Trade Commission -- and not the Federal Communications Commission -- to be the key internet enforcement agency. Keep Reading
WASHINGTON, July 9 – The CEO of upstart online advertising company NebuAd sparred with the head of the non-profit Center for Democracy and Technology at a Wednesday Senate hearing about the privacy implications of internet advertising. Keep Reading
WASHINGTON, July 8 – Online advertising firm NebuAd is violating individual users’ privacy, and possibly state and federal laws, officials at the Center for Democracy and Technology said at a Tuesday briefing on a report. Keep Reading
MCLEAN, VIRGINIA, June 26 – Whether wireless networks are open or closed to competition was the subject of sharp dispute at the Digital Media Conference on “The Coming Open Wireless Network: Hype vs. Reality?” Keep Reading