A decision by the three-judge panel of the US Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit could make it harder for the Federal Trade Commission to enforce online data security, or that is certainly the conclusion of Sen Richard Blumenthal (D-CT). Though, it is narrowly tailored to apply to a specific FTC enforcement tool.
Legislation to rein in Facebook’s practices — and even stiff penalties from the Federal Trade Commission — are starting to look like a real possibility, even in a Congress typically slow to move on tech issues. Lawmakers are pointing to two main vehicles emerging in Congress. One is the Consent Act, a bill sponsored by Sen Ed Markey (D-MA) that would require Facebook and other tech companies such as Google to get explicit permission from users before doing anything with their personal information.
Apparently, special counsel Robert Mueller's team is requesting that witnesses turn in their personal phones to inspect their encrypted messaging programs and potentially view conversations between associates linked to President Donald Trump. Since as early as April, Mueller's team has been asking witnesses in the Russia probe to turn over phones for agents to examine private conversations on WhatsApp, Confide, Signal and Dust, apparently. Fearing a subpoena, the witnesses have complied with the request and have given over their phones.
A strict new real-time disclosure law has forced Google to suspend political advertising in the Washington state. "Ads related to ballot measures and state and local elections in the state of Washington, U.S.A., will not be accepted," a new Google policy says. The new rules were enacted by Washington state's Public Disclosure Commission to implement provisions of new campaign finance legislation that was passed in March. The rules require ad brokers like Google to provide information to the public about who is funding political ads and how those ads are being targeted.
Internet Association announced that [former Benton Foundation Headlines writer!] Jon Berroya joined the organization as Senior Vice President and General Counsel to lead IA’s legal and regulatory efforts. Berroya joins IA from the Entertainment Software Association (ESA), where he was Vice President, Legal Affairs. At ESA, Berroya was responsible for managing all aspects of the organization’s efforts to enforce its members’ intellectual property rights and counseled the association on cybersecurity and privacy issues.
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