Sponsors of the American Vision for Safer Transportation Through Advancement of Revolutionary Technologies (AV Start) Act (S-1885) will look to attach the bill to a legislation this summer, Sens. John Thune, R-S.D., and Gary Peters, D-Mich., told us. Meanwhile safety groups continue to warn against a rush to pass America’s first major federal autonomous vehicle legislation.
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 American Vision for Safer Transportation Through Advancement of Revolutionary Technologies Act (S-1885) is unlikely to get unanimous consent for expedited consideration, but there’s opportunity to attach it to a legislative vehicle this summer, Sen. John Thune, R-S.D., told us (see 1803230071). The FAA budget bill is one possibility, he said.
Facebook has developed a platform that encourages misuse of user data, and Cambridge Analytica likely improperly supplied data to Russian groups and the Trump campaign (see 1803190056), former Cambridge Analytica Research Director Christopher Wylie told the Senate Judiciary Committee Wednesday during a hearing on data privacy. Cambridge University scholar Aleksandr Kogan, the lead researcher Cambridge Analytica allegedly used to harvest the data, collaborated on physiological profiling campaigns for pro-Russian groups in St. Petersburg and likely allowed access to Facebook data, Wylie said. Chairman Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, requested Cambridge Analytica appear at the hearing, but the company declined, citing bankruptcy proceedings (see 1805020042).
Social media platforms are “absolutely not” capable of self-regulating and protecting consumer privacy, Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Ill., told us before Wednesday’s Senate Judiciary Committee hearing (see 1805100038). Durbin hopes Republicans realize what it will take to properly protect user data because platforms are free to collect sensitive information with little regard for consumer rights.
The White House established a select committee on artificial intelligence under the National Science and Technology Council to advise the president on interagency AI efforts, White House Deputy Chief Technology Officer Michael Kratsios told about 40 industry representatives, 25 government officials and 10 academics Thursday (see 1805090048). The “most senior” R&D officials will be members, he said. The panel will consider federal partnerships with industry and academia and leverage federal data to promote the national AI ecosystem, he said.
The FAA is working “as fast as” it can to introduce a proposed rulemaking on remotely identifying unmanned aircraft systems (UAS), though there's no set deadline, Unmanned Aircraft Systems Integration Office Director Earl Lawrence testified Tuesday. FAA’s UAS Identification and Tracking Aviation Rulemaking Committee submitted a final report in September with recommendations for setting an agency standard for identifying and tracking drones. Remote tracking of drones will have significant implications for commercial use, law enforcement and emergency response.
The State Department is fighting to maintain the free flow of data and maximize monetary value of the internet, as new international privacy laws threaten the ease of cross-border data transfer, said Deputy Assistant Secretary-Cyber and International Communications and Information Policy Robert Strayer Thursday. At a Media Institute event, Strayer cited Vietnam’s new digital economy strategy as an area of concern. From the audience CTA CEO Gary Shapiro cited efforts in China to “blockade” American tech sector progress and Europe’s “cumbersome” general data protection regulation, which he said further hampers U.S. competitiveness.
Three nominees for the U.S. Postal Service Board of Governors expressed willingness Wednesday to defend negotiated service agreements with Amazon if they prove to be fruitful deals for the agency. President Donald Trump ordered a task force to analyze the USPS’ financial situation, which he says is worsened by Amazon deals (see 1804130059). During a confirmation hearing before the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, ranking member Claire McCaskill, D-Mo., expressed concern that presidential task forces often “tell presidents what they want to hear.” Those who have confronted Trump have been “shown the door” in a short period of time, she said. Nominees David Williams, Robert Duncan and Calvin Tucker agreed to, in McCaskill’s words, stand up to the president if the deals are beneficial. But McCaskill said negotiated service agreements with UPS and FedEx also need to be analyzed. “I don’t think we’re going back in terms of volume of packages in this country, and I am very concerned that we have enabled our competition to be more successful while we’ve hamstrung the Postal Service,” McCaskill said. Duncan said the facts will lead to the truth, and Tucker said he doesn’t necessarily anticipate a confrontation with Trump but is willing to challenge assumptions. “There’s no question [Trump’s] on a mission here. He’s got a thing about the man who owns Amazon,” McCaskill said, referring to Jeff Bezos. Chairman Ron Johnson, R-Wis., shared McCaskill’s “frustrations” about gathering contract data from the USPS and said he looks forward to the task force’s findings. Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., said Trump and McCaskill appear to be on the same side in this issue, but McCaskill said that unlike UPS and FedEx, Amazon isn't a USPS competitor but rather a customer. The question is whether the USPS is charging adequately, Paul said. There's a price where Amazon will deliver packages on its own, and the USPS needs to find the appropriate price, he added. Paul said he doesn't dislike Amazon but dislikes losing billions of dollars.
Senate Judiciary Committee members and Patent and Trademark Office Director Andrei Iancu expressed willingness Wednesday to explore legislative proposals on patent eligibility issues for artificial intelligence. Two Supreme Court decisions -- Alice Corp. v. CLS Bank International and Mayo v. Prometheus -- created “significant confusion” for applying traditional patent protections to AI algorithms, Iancu said during an oversight hearing. PTO can issue certain guidance and better clarity surrounding AI patent application, but “it’s not easy” since the office has those two cases for context. “If there is an interest in this committee or elsewhere, we would be very happy to work with you toward a solution,” Iancu said.
After reading briefs in South Dakota v. Wayfair, Justice Stephen Breyer concluded both sides are “absolutely right.” That came in Tuesday oral argument on whether to reverse a precedent shielding online retailers from state and local tax collection (see 1804160059).