New York should pass a state privacy law to set proper standards and push federal legislators to take action, Senate Democrats told a hearing. Industry opposed including a private right of action. Consumer advocates applauded the provision.
Karl Herchenroeder
Karl Herchenroeder, Associate Editor, is a technology policy journalist for publications including Communications Daily. Born in Rockville, Maryland, he joined the Warren Communications News staff in 2018. He began his journalism career in 2012 at the Aspen Times in Aspen, Colorado, where he covered city government. After that, he covered the nuclear industry for ExchangeMonitor in Washington. You can follow Herchenroeder on Twitter: @karlherk
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration will establish safety standards for autonomous vehicles (AV) when the technology is “proven,” acting Administrator James Owens told Congress Wednesday. Industry is making significant adjustments to the technology, and the agency doesn’t want to stymie innovation, he said during a Senate Commerce Committee hearing.
Facebook supports industry setting content moderation standards, said Public Policy Manager Lori Moylan Friday. Speaking at a George Mason University Antonin Scalia Law School event, she said companies should collaboratively define terms like manipulated media and deepfake.
Google and Amazon representatives defended their platforms’ impact on small businesses before the House Small Business Committee Thursday. Retailers highlighted what they said were pitfalls of doing business in a landscape that Amazon and Google dominate.
The Senate Judiciary Tech Task Force meets 4 p.m. Thursday to discuss ethical uses of consumer data, co-Chair Marsha Blackburn, R-Tenn., told us Wednesday. Panelists are Ancestry Chief Privacy Officer Eric Heath and Global Blockchain Business Council CEO Sandra Ro, an aide said.
It’s worth Congress considering a merger moratorium, House Antitrust Subcommittee Chairman David Cicilline, D-R.I., told reporters after raising concerns about Google buying Fitbit at a hearing Wednesday (see 1911080062). Cicilline said FTC Chairman Joe Simons and DOJ Antitrust Division Chief Makan Delrahim were more supportive of the idea during testimony than he anticipated. A lot can be done short of a moratorium, Delrahim said, but it’s possible to explore burdens of proof for companies that control large market shares.
Regulators shouldn’t approve Google’s buy of Fitbit (see 1911010054) until various antitrust investigations are complete, Sen. Josh Hawley, R-Mo., told us. Other concerned senators in interviews urged antitrust regulators to respond to a platform facing mounting scrutiny.
Examiners would benefit from more clarity on testing patent eligibility, Patent and Trademark Office Commissioner of Patents Drew Hirshfeld testified Wednesday (see 1909110066). He was responding to a suggestion from Senate Intellectual Property Subcommittee ranking member Chris Coons, D-Del. He and Chairman Thom Tillis, R-N.C., are working on legislation for revising Patent Act sections 101 and 112 (see 1906050076).
House Democrats blasted CEO Mark Zuckerberg for failures in privacy, workforce diversity and advertising discrimination, during a hearing Wednesday. Skeptical Republicans drew attention to similar miscues. They also defended Zuckerberg as an innovator and warned Congress against hindering Facebook’s digital currency.
The FTC’s lawsuit against Qualcomm has observers debating whether the agency is properly applying antitrust authority in a case with major implications for the tech industry (see 1908230057). The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals is considering oral argument in early 2020.