General
Amazon threatened with closure of Wisconsin campus over coronavirus Kenya Evelyn, The Guardian
Health officials in south-eastern Wisconsin have warned Amazon that if the company does not fully cooperate with state testing and tracing efforts, its Kenosha campus located 40 miles south of Milwaukee could be shut down. The announcement comes as at least 20 workers have tested positive for the coronavirus at two facilities.
Out of charity and self-interest, tech lobbies for the ‘little guys’ in D.C. Issie Lapowsky, Protocol
The coronavirus crisis has exposed the extent to which the fortunes of some of tech’s biggest businesses are tied to some of the country’s smallest ones.
Palantir CEO reflects on work with ICE Mike Allen, Axios
Palantir CEO Alex Karp told “Axios on HBO” that there have “absolutely” been moments he wished the company hadn’t taken a contract with Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).
Desperate workers rush to delivery app jobs to find low pay and punishing rules Nitasha Tiku, The Washington Post
More than 38 million people have filed for unemployment. Hundreds of thousands of new gig jobs have become available from businesses including Amazon, DoorDash, Instacart and Shipt, a delivery app acquired by Target.
Who’s advising Joe Biden on tech policy? No one in particular. Emily Birnbaum, Protocol
At a moment when the biggest issues in technology are ascendant in national politics, Joe Biden has often been difficult to pin down. And that may not change anytime soon: The presumptive Democratic nominee does not have a top adviser focused on tech policy, according to campaign materials and party veterans, including some who have offered informal advice to Biden on tech.
SpaceX on the verge of sending astronauts into orbit Richard Waters, Financial Times
Successful test flight by Elon Musk’s company on Wednesday will open up space to commercial sector.
Stocks Climb With U.S. Futures; Dollar Steady: Markets Wrap Robert Brand, Bloomberg
Stocks in Europe and Asia gained along with American equity-index futures as investors weighed more signs of economies reopening around the world against the rise in U.S.-China tensions. The dollar was steady, and crude oil added to last week’s strong advance.
Intellectual Property and Antitrust
Tech’s long hot summer of antitrust Margaret Harding McGill, Axios
Google, Facebook and other tech giants face a summer of regulatory grilling as long-running investigations into potential anticompetitive practices likely come to a head. The big picture: Probes into the power of Big Tech launched by federal and state authorities are turning a year old, and observers expect action in the form of formal lawsuits and potentially damning reports — even as the companies have become a lifeline for Americans during the pandemic lockdown.
Why Regulators Aren’t Likely to Block an Uber-Grubhub Deal Christopher Stern, The Information
Democratic lawmakers have stepped up their attacks on a possible merger between Uber and Grubhub, accusing the companies of seeking to profit from the Covid-19 crisis. Yet antitrust experts said that robust competition in the meal-delivery business will make it tough for regulators to block the deal if the two companies reach an agreement.
Telecom, Wireless and TV
U.S. agencies ask FCC to rescind Ligado spectrum decision David Shephardson, Reuters
A group of U.S. agencies on Friday asked the Federal Communications Commission to reconsider its unanimous April 22 decision to allow Ligado Networks to deploy a low-power nationwide mobile broadband network, saying it could pose a threat to global positioning systems (GPS).
In $16 Billion Push to Expand Broadband, America Is Flying Through a Fog Ryan Tracy, The Wall Street Journal
Spurred by the coronavirus pandemic, federal policy makers are pushing to spend billions of dollars to close gaps in America’s high-speed internet network. There is one big obstacle: Government officials say they don’t have a clear picture of where service gaps exist, meaning parts of the country will be left out when it is time to distribute the funds.
Coronavirus pandemic claims another victim: Robocalls Tali Arbel, The Associated Press
Have you been missing something amid the lockdowns and stay-at-home orders? No, not human contact. Not even toilet paper. Robocalls.
Mobile Technology and Social Media
A feel-good ad from Facebook boasts a coronavirus group. But it’s not quite what it seems. Brandy Zadrozny, NBC News
A commercial for Facebook that ran on national TV promoting its group feature in the time of the coronavirus pulls at the heartstrings. Backed by a somber piano score, the 60-second commercial features the Facebook group, “Cheers For The Frontline!” and a montage of 16 posts seemingly plucked from the group in which users praised essential workers alongside dramatic photos of nurses, doctors, delivery drivers, grocery workers and janitors.
More harm than good? Twitter struggles to label misleading COVID-19 tweets Queenie Wong, CNET
Automated technology that Twitter began using this month to label tweets containing coronavirus misinformation is making mistakes, raising concerns about the company’s reliance on artificial intelligence to review content. On May 11, Twitter started labeling tweets that spread a conspiracy theory about 5G causing the coronavirus.
Democratic bills crack down on how political campaigns can target ads on Facebook and Google Lauren Feiner, CNBC
Two new Democratic proposals aim to crack down on the ways political campaigns can target narrow groups of voters on platforms like Facebook and Google. The latest to be announced comes from Rep. Anna Eshoo, D-Calif., whose “Banning Microtargeted Political Ads Act” would place limits on how narrowly political campaigns could target their messages online.
Nearly half of the Twitter accounts discussing ‘reopening America’ may be bots, researchers say Allen Kim, CNN
Be careful about who you’re arguing with on Twitter these days. The reopen America movement is a hot topic on the social media network, but half of the accounts could be automated bots fueling conversations about Covid-19, researchers say.
Bill Gates Conspiracy Theories Have Circulated For Years. It Took The Coronavirus Pandemic To Turn Him Into A Fake Villain. Ryan Broderick, BuzzFeed News
After months of conspiracy-mongering, people around the world are demanding Gates be arrested for crimes against humanity. Here’s how things got so bad.
Cybersecurity and Privacy
Get a warrant: Tech companies ask lawmakers to rein in digital surveillance David Ingram, NBC News
Tech companies are asking Congress to strengthen the privacy protections around search engines and web browsers as lawmakers enter the late stage of negotiations on a bill about government surveillance.
Irish regulator reaches preliminary decision in Twitter privacy probe Padraic Halpin, Reuters
Twitter may be the first big technology firm to face a fine by the EU’s lead regulator under the region’s tougher data protection rules after it submitted a preliminary decision in a probe into the social media firm to other member states. Ireland’s Data Protection Commission (DPC) also said on Friday it had sent a preliminary decision to Facebook-owned WhatsApp for their submissions and made further progress in three other investigations related to Facebook.
EU privacy enforcer hits make-or-break moment Mark Scott, Politico
As Ireland’s data protection authority was closing in late last year on its first major penalty against Facebook over alleged privacy abuses, the agency — a key global enforcer of data protection rules — reshuffled its top team, replacing a senior official in charge of its most high-profile cases.
California Activists Ramp Up Fight Against Facial-Recognition Technology David Uberti, The Wall Street Journal
California privacy and civil liberties advocates are mobilizing to thwart a bill backed by Microsoft Corp. that would regulate facial recognition technology and that is working its way through the state legislature.
States plead for cybersecurity funds as hacking threat surges Maggie Miller, The Hill
Cash-short state and local governments are pleading with Congress to send them funds to shore up their cybersecurity as hackers look to exploit the crisis by targeting overwhelmed government offices. Members of Congress have taken notice of cyber threats at the state and local level, both before and during the pandemic, and efforts are underway to address the challenges, though how much will be provided is uncertain amid a fight over the amount of additional coronavirus stimulus.
Coronavirus Monitoring Bracelets Flood The Market, Ready to Snitch On People Who Don’t Distance Sam Biddle, The Intercept
Surveillance firms around the world are licking their lips at a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to cash in on the coronavirus by repositioning one of their most invasive products: the tracking bracelet. Body monitors are associated with criminality and guilt in the popular imagination, the accessories of Wall Street crooks under house arrest and menace-to-society parolees.
Opinions, Editorials and Perspectives
Twitter Must Cleanse the Trump Stain Kara Swisher, The New York Times
The president is spreading a vile conspiracy theory on the platform. Maybe Twitter should finally hold him to its rules.
Imported Chips Make America’s Security Vulnerable Adam A. Scher and Peter L. Levin, The Wall Street Journal
America’s digital infrastructure has been a crucial part of the response to the Covid-19 crisis. But what if it becomes a problem? Semiconductors underlie many things we take for granted and desperately need: telecommunications, remote industrial controls, emergency services, and transportation and fleet-management networks.
U.S. cybersecurity deficiencies can no longer be ignored Hugh Hewitt, The Washington Post
Rarely has a bipartisan commission produced its findings immediately before the allocation of trillions of dollars in the service of national rehabilitation. The timing of the Cyberspace Solarium Commission’s report this spring could not have been more perfect.
Research Reports
Principles for a Solution in the OECD’s Project for Addressing the Tax Challenges of the Digitalization of the Economy Information Technology Industry Council
The OECD’s project to address the tax challenges of the digitalization of the economy represents a critical opportunity to ensure a stable, cohesive global tax system. The continued proliferation of unilateral tax measures – including digital services taxes – presents more uncertainty than ever in our international tax system and further necessitates a global solution.
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