1. Monthly archive
  2. June 2017

June 2017

Industry 'surprised' by DOJ appeal in data warrant case

Businesses leaders expressed surprise that the Department of Justice is appealing a case about when law enforcement should have access to data stored in other countries. The case pits the DOJ against Microsoft over an issue both sides have indicated requires a legislative fix: whether or not a domestic warrant can require a company to retrieve data stored on a foreign server.

Both chambers of Congress had taken up the issue with hearings involving the DOJ, industry and other stakeholders, and both chambers had expressed a sense of urgency to resolve the conflict. The DOJ filed paperwork for the appeal on June 23. The government is appealing lower court rulings that law enforcement cannot obtain data stored in a foreign nation with a warrant. Rather, the ruling says law enforcement needs to follow the foreign nation's policies for searching and seizing evidence. This has long been the case with physical evidence and the United States has several treaties known as Mutual Legal Assistance Treaties (MLATs) to provide a diplomatic apparatus to request evidence be retrieved and sent stateside.

Comcast, Other ISPs Back FTC Against AT&T Mobility

In what they concede on the surface is a surprising alliance, major Internet service providers have aligned with the Federal Trade Commission and the Federal Communications Commission against AT&T Mobility over the issue of the FTC's ability to enforce edge provider privacy. That came in an amicus brief to the US Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit.

"At first glance, amici’s position might seem surprising—four leading corporations are arguing in favor of restoring the FTC’s authority to regulate their non-common carriage activities," they said. "On closer inspection, however, this position aligns with the companies’ desire to reinstate a predictable, uniform, and technology-neutral regulatory framework that will best serve consumers and businesses alike." Signing on to that brief were Charter, Comcast, Cox, and Verizon.

Three CNN staffers resign over retracted Scaramucci-Russia story

Three CNN staffers have resigned following the publication and subsequent retraction of a story linking a Trump transition team member to the Russia-related investigations. The piece, published late during the week of June 19, cited an anonymous source saying the Senate Intelligence Committee was looking into the chief executive of a $10-billion Russian investment fund who met with financier Anthony Scaramucci before the inauguration.

The reporter, Pulitzer-prize nominee Thomas Frank, assistant managing editor Eric Lichtblau (who recently joined from the New York Times) and Lex Haris, the executive editor in charge of investigations, are all out. "In the aftermath of the retraction of a story published on CNN.com, CNN has accepted the resignations of the employees involved in the story's publication," CNN said in a statement.

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