Today’s Washington Brief An FBI official told House lawmakers that the agency has to work with for-profit entities to hack devices as more companies resist demands for customer data. Some lawmakers criticized the agency for buying hacking techniques from so-called gray hat hackers. (The New York Times) Data recovered from an iPhone used by one […]
The House Energy and Commerce Communications and Technology Subcommittee voted 17-11 along party lines Tuesday to advance GOP-backed legislation that would require a smaller, capped budget for the Federal Communications Commission’s Lifeline communications subsidy program. “All we’re asking for is a dose of fiscal discipline,” said Rep. Greg Walden (R-Ore.), chairman of the subcommittee. “If there’s a […]
The House Energy and Commerce Communications and Technology Subcommittee voted to advance four public safety-focused communications bills today. Each measure received the unanimous support of the committee. H.R. 4889 would have telecommunications companies hand over geolocation data to law enforcement if the phone in question was used to call 911 or if law enforcement believes it […]
An FBI official testifying by a House panel on Tuesday hinted at agency support for legislation that would establish a panel of experts to propose solutions for the security issues posed by encryption. Amy Hess, executive assistant director for science and technology at the FBI who testified before the House Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on […]
FCC Commissioner Ajit Pai wants more information about four companies that may have defrauded the agency’s Lifeline communications subsidy program. In an April 18 letter to the head of Universal Service Administrative Co., which oversees Lifeline and several other FCC programs, Pai requested details about investigations or reviews associated with four companies facing FCC fines. The names […]
Today’s Washington Brief Democrats have no plans to seek a compromise on a House bill that would institute a smaller, capped budget for the Federal Communications Commission’s Lifeline communications subsidy program. The House Energy and Commerce Communications and Technology Subcommittee today will mark up the legislation, which is likely to advance on party lines. (Morning […]
European Union regulators are preparing to charge Google Inc. with giving unfair prominence to its apps through licensing deals with operators for use of its Android mobile operating system, Reuters reported, citing four unnamed sources. Google could be subject to $7.4 billion fine, or 10 percent of the company’s revenue in 2015, Reuters reported. Google […]
Smartphone shipments dropped 18.6 percent in the first quarter of 2016 compared to the fourth quarter of 2015, a year over year decline of 1.3 percent, according to findings released Monday by market research firm TrendForce. TrendForce said the decline was mainly a result of market saturation, writing that Apple Inc. and Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd. […]
Congress and state legislatures should “reform all major labor laws” to better meet the realities of the growing gig economy, or they should create an exemption from labor laws for gig economy workers, according to a report released Monday by a Washington-based think tank. Gig economy companies like Uber Technologies Inc. and TaskRabbit Inc. “have […]
Voters trust companies over the government to protect their data, and they’re concerned about the effects of creating backdoors to privacy features, according to a survey released Monday. Fifty-four percent of respondents said tech firms such as Apple Inc. and Facebook Inc. are better at securing personal information, while 21 percent said they preferred government […]
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