General
The Human Cost of Amazon’s Fast, Free Shipping
Patricia Callahan, The New York Times
Amazon directs the destinations, deadlines and routes for its network of contract delivery drivers. But when they crash, the retail giant is shielded from responsibility.
China, U.S. to hold trade talks in October; Beijing says phone call went well
Kevin Yao et al., Reuters
China and the United States on Thursday agreed to hold high-level trade talks in early October in Washington, amid fears that an escalating trade war could trigger a global economic recession. The talks were agreed to in a phone call between Chinese Vice Premier Liu He and U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer and U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin, China’s commerce ministry said in a statement on its website.
Definers tries to reboot after Facebook oppo research controversy
Theodoric Meyer, Politico
Definers Public Affairs is rebranding nine months after Facebook cut ties with the Republican consulting firm and as several of its top staffers leave to join a Washington lobbying firm. Matt Rhoades, the Republican operative who ran Mitt Romney’s 2012 presidential campaign, is leaving Definers to become the co-chief executive of CGCN Group, a lobbying firm with ties to President Donald Trump’s White House and Republicans in Congress.
Apple exec: ‘We’re watching cryptocurrency’
Ahiza Garcia, CNN
Apple may not be fully on the crypto bandwagon like other tech companies, but it is keeping an eye on digital currency. “We’re watching cryptocurrency,” Jennifer Bailey, vice president of Apple Pay, recently told CNN’s Chief Business Correspondent Christine Romans at a private event in San Francisco.
Judge rejects attempt to raise bail of ex-Google engineer
Michael Liedtke, The Associated Press
A federal judge has rejected a government recommendation that he impose a $10 million bail bond on a former Google engineer who is accused of stealing self-driving car technology before joining Uber’s effort to build robotic taxis.
Self-driving cars could ease future evacuations
Joann Muller and Kim Hart, Axios
About 1.5 million Floridians have moved inland to avoid the wrath of Hurricane Dorian. Such evacuations can be perilous — but in the future, networks of automated vehicles could help shuttle people out of harm’s way more efficiently.
Stocks Extend Rally as Trade Talks Set; Bonds Drop: Markets Wrap
Samuel Potter, Bloomberg
U.S. equity futures and European stocks jumped on Thursday, tracking a rally in Asia on news that top American and Chinese officials will hold fresh negotiations on trade next month. Haven assets including the yen, gold and Treasuries retreated.
Intellectual Property and Antitrust
Republican, Democratic U.S. lawmakers ask Google to expand copyright protections
Bryan Pietsch, Reuters
A bipartisan group of U.S. lawmakers on Wednesday asked the chief executive of Alphabet’s Google to expand its use of technology that prevents copyright infringement to smaller creators who are “at a significant disadvantage.”
Telecom, Wireless and TV
T-Mobile US workers worry Sprint deal will mean job losses
Diane Bartz, Reuters
T-Mobile US retail employees and technicians delivered a letter late Tuesday for Deutsche Telekom CEO Tim Hoettges, seeking assurances that their jobs and paychecks will be safe if the wireless carrier is allowed to merge with Sprint, its smaller rival.
FCC offers another $950 million for broadband in Puerto Rico
Jon Fingas, Engadget
The FCC isn’t done funding Puerto Rican broadband in the wakes of Hurricanes Irma and Maria. Chairman Ajit Pai has circulated a draft order that would offer another $950 million to “storm-harden, improve and expand” broadband in Puerto Rico and the US Virgin Islands.
Mobile Technology and Social Media
Facebook Lays Out Challenges of Letting Users Take Their Data to Other Platforms
Jeff Horwitz, The Wall Street Journal
Facebook Inc. has promised regulators that it will protect users’ privacy and give them the right to take their data where they choose. Now the company is trying to figure out how it can do both.
YouTube Will Rely on Spotty AI to Comply With FTC Settlement
Gerrit De Vynck and Lucas Shaw, Bloomberg
YouTube will stop selling personalized ads on videos aimed at children as part of a regulatory settlement on Wednesday. But the company’s plan relies on technology that has struggled to make nuanced decisions in the past.
Facebook to direct vaccine searches to public health pages
Sarah Boseley, The Guardian
Facebook is to take a stand against vaccine denial by directing people searching for information or using vaccine hashtags to web pages set up by public health bodies. People who access Facebook and Instagram pages and groups that discuss vaccines, as well as those searching or using relevant hashtags, will see an educational module about vaccine safety.
‘So What’s His Kill Count?’: The Toxic Online World Where Mass Shooters Thrive
Georgia Wells and Ian Lovett, The Wall Street Journal
Less than two weeks after a gunman killed more than 50 people at two mosques in New Zealand, law-enforcement officials found a disturbing piece of graffiti outside a San Diego County mosque that had been set on fire. “For Brenton Tarrant -t./pol/,” it read.
Google Trolled by Small Business Over ‘Shakedown’ Search Ads
Jeff John Roberts, Fortune
When Jason Fried searched Google for the name of his software company, Basecamp, he grew frustrated with what he saw: A stack of four ads for competitors that appeared above the result for Basecamp’s own website. In response, Fried decided to fight back by buying his own ad on Google—one that claims the search giant forces small businesses to pay a “ransom” to protect their brand.
‘Storm Area 51’ Could Be a Disaster for Lincoln County
Jacob Stern, The Atlantic
Linda Looney, a manager at the Alien Research Center in Hiko, Nevada, is no stranger to unlikely theories and wild schemes. Even so, when she first saw on Facebook that thousands of people were planning to storm the nearby Air Force base known as Area 51, she thought it was a joke.
Cybersecurity and Privacy
FTC official: I understand concern over YouTube settlement, but believe it’s appropriate
Jessica Bursztynsky, CNBC
Andrew Smith, an official at the Federal Trade Commission, told CNBC on Wednesday that while he can understand disappointment over the size of YouTube’s settlement with the agency, he’s confident it was the right amount. Earlier in the day, the FTC announced that Google’s YouTube will pay a $170 million fine to settle a complaint that it earned millions by illegally collecting personal information from children without a guardian’s consent.
You shared Ring footage with police. They may share it, too
Alfred Ng, CNET
In more than 100 tweets over the last week, Ring told people that police only had videos with full consent from its millions of users. But while you might be giving permission to your local police department to see footage that could help solve a neighborhood crime, once police have it, your Ring video potentially echoes on forever.
Advocacy group launches campaign to pressure Senate Republicans to approve election security funding
Maggie Miller, The Hill
A progressive advocacy group plans to spend over $100,000 on a nationwide campaign to pressure Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) and other Senate Republicans to pass a funding bill that includes $600 million for increased election security.
Users Worry About Smart Speaker Privacy, But Keep on Buying Them
Allison Ingersoll, Bloomberg
Consumers are worried machines by Amazon and Google are eavesdropping on them at home, but that’s not stopping purchases. Despite increasing concerns about “passive listening” and privacy risks, more people are buying smart speakers like Amazon.com Inc.’s Echo and the Google Home, according to a Capgemini Research Institute report released Thursday.
Opinions, Editorials and Perspectives
The US government isn’t ready to regulate the internet. Today’s Google fine shows why.
Peter Kafka, Recode
The federal government has levied a record-setting fine against a giant internet platform for abusing its users’ privacy. Critics say the government hasn’t done nearly enough.
Our Face Recognition Nightmare Began Decades Ago. Now It’s Expanding
Os Keyes, Motherboard
Biometric surveillance is everywhere. In recent years, we’ve seen biometric systems steadily creeping into our everyday lives—especially in the realms of policing and immigration.
Uber Has a Plan to Treat Drivers Better. If Only We Could Trust It.
Farhad Manjoo, The New York Times
Should Uber be kneecapped for its long history of flouting the law, or can it possibly be reformed? Or am I a credulous dolt for even suggesting redemption for one of the sorriest companies ever to emerge from Silicon Valley’s tortured hothouse?
Research Reports
Annual Report on the Status of Spectrum Repurposing
National Telecommunications and Information Administration
On October 25, 2018, President Donald J. Trump issued a Presidential Memorandum establishing a national policy for the efficient and effective use of radiofrequency spectrum “to help meet our economic, national security, science, safety, and other federal mission goals now and in the future.
Disinformation and the 2020 Election: How the Social Media Industry Should Prepare
Paul M. Barrett, NYU’s Center for Business and Human Rights
This report assesses some of the forms and sources of disinformation likely to play a role during the presidential election campaign in 2020. While midterm Election Day in November 2018 did not feature much Russian interference, there is no guarantee that Russia, and possibly other U.S. antagonists, will refrain from digital meddling in the more consequential 2020 contest.
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