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Essential tech industry news & intel to start your day.
April 22, 2021
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  • A bipartisan group of lawmakers, including Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) and Sen. Todd Young (R-Ind.), re-introduced the highly anticipated “Endless Frontier Act,” which would provide $100 billion for investments in technologies and research to compete with China; the Senate Commerce Committee is expected to mark up the bill next week. (Reuters)
  • During her confirmation hearing for one of the Democratic seats on the Federal Trade Commission, progressive antitrust advocate Lina Khan received little pushback from lawmakers on either side of the aisle as she warned of the growing power of the tech industry through the online advertising market, consumer data mining and other sectors. (The New York Times)
  • App makers Match Group Inc., Spotify Technology SA and Tile Inc. detailed several incidents of alleged intimidation and abuse of power by Apple Inc. and Google during a Senate antitrust subcommittee hearing about competition in mobile app stores. (Protocol)
  • Sens. Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) and Rand Paul (R-Ky.) introduced a bill that would prohibit the U.S. government and law enforcement agencies from purchasing consumer location data and other personal information that was “illegitimately obtained” through deception, hacking or a breach of contract — effectively banning law enforcement use of Clearview AI. (The Washington Post)
 

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What Else You Need to Know

General
 

Biden’s associate attorney general nominee Vanita Gupta confirmed after GOP senator breaks ranks Jeremy Herb

Jeremy Herb, CNN

The Senate on Wednesday confirmed Vanita Gupta to be associate attorney general in a narrow 51-49 vote after Sen. Lisa Murkowski joined with Democrats in support of President Joe Biden’s Justice Department nominee. Vice President Kamala Harris was on hand for a procedural vote Wednesday morning in case she was needed for a possible 50-50 tie, but her vote wasn’t necessary after Murkowski, a moderate Republican from Alaska, broke with her Republican colleagues to back Gupta.

 

Seven House Republicans pledge to take no donations from major tech companies.

David McCabe, The New York Times

A group of seven House Republicans said on Wednesday that they would no longer take donations from major tech companies or their top executives, a sign of the growing distance between some conservatives and big business. The lawmakers said in a letter that the companies had limited the reach of conservative voices, citing bans on the chat app Parler after it was used by participants in the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol, and had abused their market power.

 

The global race to regulate AI

Ashley Gold, Axios

Regulators in Europe and Washington are racing to figure out how to govern business’ use of artificial intelligence while companies push to deploy the technology. Driving the news: On Wednesday, the EU revealed a detailed proposal on how AI should be regulated, banning some uses outright and defining which uses of AI are deemed “high-risk.”

 

Corporate Tech Leaders Are Mixed on EU Artificial Intelligence Bill

Angus Loten, The Wall Street Journal

Some corporate technology leaders say a proposed clampdown by European regulators on the use of artificial intelligence will run up costs and stifle innovation, just as companies are starting to unlock its potential. Others say stronger oversight will help build public trust in AI systems, which have inflamed tensions over data privacy, consumer protection and misuse—especially in areas like facial recognition.

 

How A Chinese Surveillance Broker Became Oracle’s “Partner Of The Year”

Mara Hvistendahl, The Intercept

Banners printed for the occasion read, “Build a new type of strategic partnership.” Artfully made cutouts of the two companies’ logos adorned the stage. And the frosting on the massive sheet cake curled into a red “20,” to celebrate two decades of cooperation between Oracle and one of its most important Chinese resellers.

 

Leading Crypto Group Boosts Its Membership Ranks as Lobbying Efforts Grow

Claire Williams, Morning Consult

As scrutiny around cryptocurrencies and other digital assets continues to ramp up in Washington, the industry is bolstering its lobbying efforts. The Association for Digital Asset Markets is adding nine companies to bring its membership ranks to 25, according to an early look at the announcement provided to Morning Consult.

 
Antitrust and Competition
 

Epic CEO, Apple App Store chief to attend antitrust trial starting May 3

Reuters

Epic Games Chief Executive Tim Sweeney will attend a weeks-long antitrust trial against Apple Inc, while the iPhone maker’s App Store chief Phil Schiller will be present, attorneys for each of the companies said on Wednesday. No cameras will be allowed during the trial starting May 3 in Oakland, California, between “Fortnite” creator Epic and Apple, U.S. Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers said during a pretrial conference on Wednesday.

 

Silicon Valley’s Deal Machine Is Cranking: ‘I’ve Never Seen It This Frenzied’

Heather Somerville, The Wall Street Journal

Deal flow and valuations are reaching new heights in Silicon Valley, as a flood of cheap cash fuels efforts to find the next big winners in tech, from software to social media. In the first quarter this year, U.S. startups raised $69 billion from investors—41% more than the previous record, set in the fourth quarter of 2018, according to data firm PitchBook Data Inc. 

 

Apple’s AirTag relies on a feature no competitor can match: 1 billion iPhones

Kif Leswing, CNBC

On Tuesday, Apple announced a long-awaited gadget called AirTag. Users can attach the $29 coin-sized device to valuables such as keys or a backpack, then, if the item gets lost, locate it on a live map inside Apple’s built-in Find My software. AirTag competes with a number of other products on the market, including from Tile, whose general counsel complained before Congress on Wednesday about Apple’s overall dominance.

 
Telecom, Wireless and Internet Access
 

Biden infrastructure plan sparks lobbying war over how to fix America’s internet

John Hendel, Politico

President Joe Biden’s infrastructure plan is igniting a broadband lobbying fight, with multiple internet providers claiming Democrats are miscalculating and risk abandoning rural America — not to mention threatening the companies’ bottom lines. The White House has said it wants to “future proof” the proposed $100 billion in subsidies to hook up the country with fast broadband internet.

 

Republican senators will unveil infrastructure counteroffer

Grace Segers, CBS News

Republican senators will unveil their counteroffer to President Biden’s infrastructure proposal on Thursday, while the president continues to solicit bipartisan opinions on the massive package. Senators Shelley Moore Capito, Roger Wicker, Pat Toomey and John Barrasso will hold a press conference on Thursday to present their framework.

 

US satellite company Dish taps Amazon for 5G launch

Nic Fildes, Financial Times

World’s first public cloud-based 5G network will run on AWS in major test for global telecoms

 
Mobile Technology
 

Ford Prolongs Shutdowns at Several U.S. Plants Due to Chip Shortage

Nora Naughton, The Wall Street Journal

Ford Motor Co. is planning more downtime at five North American factories due to a global semiconductor shortage, further disrupting output of a popular sport-utility vehicle and the F-150 pickup truck, the company’s biggest moneymaker.

 
Cybersecurity and Privacy
 

Ransomware Targeted by New Justice Department Task Force

Dustin Volz, The Wall Street Journal

The Justice Department has formed a task force to curtail the proliferation of ransomware cyberattacks, in a bid to make the popular extortion schemes less lucrative by targeting the entire digital ecosystem that supports them. In an internal memorandum issued this week, Acting Deputy Attorney General John Carlin said ransomware poses not just an economic threat to businesses but “jeopardizes the safety and health of Americans.”

 

Markey, Castor urge FTC to investigate Google Play Store

Rebecca Klar, The Hill

Sen. Ed Markey (D-Mass.) and Rep. Kathy Castor (D-Fla.) urged the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) to investigate if Google’s app store is misleadingly marketing children’s apps as compliant with a law aimed at protecting children’s privacy. The Democrats on Wednesday sent a letter to the FTC calling for the commission to launch an investigation into the Silicon Valley giant’s app store, citing recent studies that suggest apps that infringe on children’s privacy, in violation of the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA), are “rampant on the Google Play Store.”

 

At least 24 agencies run Pulse Secure software. How many were hacked is an open question.

Sean Lyngaas, CyberScoop

At least two-dozen U.S. federal agencies run the Pulse Connect Secure enterprise software that two advanced hacking groups have recently exploited, according to the Department of Homeland Security’s cybersecurity agency. Multiple agencies have been breached, but just how many is unclear. 

 
Social Media and Content Moderation
 

The Postal Service is running a ‘covert operations program’ that monitors Americans’ social media posts

Jane Winter, Yahoo News

The law enforcement arm of the U.S. Postal Service has been quietly running a program that tracks and collects Americans’ social media posts, including those about planned protests, according to a document obtained by Yahoo News. The details of the surveillance effort, known as iCOP, or Internet Covert Operations Program, have not previously been made public.

 
Tech Workforce
 

Google Turmoil Exposes Cracks Long in Making for Top AI Watchdog

Nico Grant et al., Bloomberg

For more than three years, Google held up its Ethical AI research team as a shining example of a concerted effort to address thorny issues raised by its innovations. Created in 2017, the group assembled researchers from underrepresented communities and varied areas of expertise to examine the moral implications of futuristic technology and illuminate Silicon Valley’s blind spots. 

 

At least 45 Amazon executives have recently left the company amid a historic leadership turnover

Eugene Kim and Ashley Stewart, Insider Premium

Jeff Bezos’s resignation may be the biggest news of the year for Amazon, but a broader sea change has been unfolding at a layer below. At least 45 vice presidents and senior executives have departed Amazon in the past 15 months, according to public announcements, LinkedIn profiles, and people familiar with the matter.

 

Latest Slack diversity report reveals some retention issues

Megan Rose Dickey, Protocol

Slack released its latest diversity report, revealing a slight increase in attrition among underrepresented minorities. “This is disappointing, something we take very seriously and are actively working to address,” Slack wrote in a blog post.

 

Uber and Lyft Are Spending Millions on Driver Bonuses to End Shortage

Lizette Chapman, Bloomberg Businessweek 

Misty Huffman has driven sporadically for Uber in El Paso over the past year, even as Covid-19 surged and many of the ride-hailing app’s regular customers stayed away. One recent Friday she opened the app and was surprised to see large numbers of people requesting rides at restaurants, bars, and other nightspots downtown. “The whole city was lit up, end to end,” she says.

 
Opinions, Editorials and Perspectives
 

An Inclusive and Effective Approach to ‘Community-Based’ Broadband

Shirley Bloomfield (CEO, NTCA–The Rural Broadband Association) and Claude Aiken (CEO, WISPA), Morning Consult

More than a year ago, many of us moved our lives almost entirely online as the COVID-19 pandemic forced office and school closures and stay-at-home orders. The pandemic has highlighted the critical nature of access to fast and affordable broadband internet service, and while there was momentum to expand rural broadband before the pandemic, the health crisis accelerated the urgency to connect as many people as possible.

 

Amazon Workers Spoke. It’s Important to Hear Them

Michael R. Bloomberg, Bloomberg

Workers at Amazon’s warehouse in Bessemer, Alabama, voted by a margin of more than two to one not to join a union. It’s a heavy blow for the Retail, Wholesale and Department Store Union, for the wider labor movement, and for the many politicians and activists who wanted the union’s push to succeed. But the workers have spoken — and all of the groups on the other side should be listening to the message.

 
Morning Consult