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Privacy advocates are glad that the Federal Trade Commission outlined some potential problems with companies that collect and sell people’s data, but say it’s only a first step.

After the FTC released its call for new legislation on “data brokers”, Center for Digital Democracy executive director Jeffrey Chester called the effort “insufficient.” “The real problem is that data brokers -- including Google and Facebook -- have embraced a business model designed to collect and use everything about us and our friends -- 24/7,” he said. “Legislation is required to help stem the tide of business practices purposeful designed to make a mockery out of the idea of privacy for Americans.”

American Civil Liberties Union legislative counsel Christopher Calabrese said that the FTC itself needed to be doing more with its current powers “to root out bad practices now.” That could include action under the Fair Credit Reporting Act, he said, which bans various forms of discrimination that the FTC alleged are made possible through data merchants’ repackaging of consumers' information.

“Strongly enforcing those laws is a first step toward curbing the harms that come from the buying and selling of detailed personal profiles of every nearly every American,” Calabrese said.

China is hitting back against the United States’ spying operations, days after the Obama Administration escalated bubbling cyber tensions with charges against a team of Chinese hackers. In a report issued by the China Academy of Cyber Space, Beijing accused the US of running “unscrupulous secret surveillance programs” that “flagrantly infringe international laws, seriously impinge on human rights and put global cyber security under threat.”

“America's spying operations have gone far beyond the legal rationale of ‘anti-terrorism’ and have exposed the ugly face of its pursuit of self-interest in complete disregard for moral integrity,” the agency said. “As such, they deserved to be rejected and condemned by the whole world.”

The Chinese organization specifically criticized a number of the programs revealed by former National Security Agency (NSA) contractor Edward Snowden, including the government’s snooping on German Chancellor Angela Merkel’s cellphone, plugging into fiber networks used by companies like Yahoo and Google and targeting Chinese firms like telecom giant Huawei. It also alleged that the US specifically targets “the Chinese government and Chinese leaders, Chinese companies, scientific research institutes, ordinary netizens, and a large number of cell phone users.”

“America must provide explanations for its surveillance activities, cease spying operations that seriously infringe upon human rights, and refrain from causing stress and antagonism in global cyber space,” the agency said in its report, called “America’s Global Surveillance Record.”

Republicans in the Senate aren’t thinking about using the appropriations process to block the Federal Communications Commission from issuing new regulations on Internet service providers.

The top GOP senators on the Appropriations Committee and the subcommittee overseeing the FCC both told The Hill that they don’t expect a rider preventing the commission from moving forward with the effort.

The world’s first investment fund that focuses solely on the virtual currency bitcoin is bringing some lobbying muscle to Washington.

Falcon Global Capital director Brett Stapper filed paperwork to lobby Congress and federal agencies, according to federal lobbying disclose forms. The company is the second to formally declare that it is lobbying on the virtual currency, after MasterCard had five lobbyists it hired focus on the cryptocurrency in April.

According to the paperwork, the San Diego-based investment fund will focus on “education and understanding of Bitcoin and other crypto-graphic based currencies.” Falcon markets itself as being able to give clients “an easy entry and exit point into the exciting and fast growing Bitcoin markets while having their investment secured in our Insured Bitcoin vault.” The company’s team sees “Bitcoin as a disruptive force in the way currency is stored, transferred, and regulated around the globe,” it adds on its website.

A bipartisan group of senators introduced legislation to crack down on people and businesses that steal valuable economic secrets from American companies.

They say that the Deter Cyber Theft Act is necessary to protect US firms from foreign hackers who try to break in, steal their valuable secrets and strategies and then ship that information abroad.

The bill comes days after the Obama Administration filed landmark charges against a team of Chinese hackers for stealing trade secrets from American companies.

“It is time to fight back to protect American businesses and American innovation,” said Senate Armed Services Committee Chairman Carl Levin (D-MI), in a statement. “Battling the wave of computer espionage targeting the American economy requires law enforcement actions such as the indictment, and it requires action by Congress to hit those who profit from these crimes where they’ll feel it: in the wallet.”

Commerce Committee Chairman Jay Rockefeller (D-WV) and Sens John McCain (R-AZ) and Tom Coburn (R-OK) joined Sen Levin to introduce the bill. The Deter Cyber Theft Act would allow the Treasury Department to impose sanctions and freeze monetary assets of people behind the cyber snooping. Additionally, it would require the director of national intelligence to publish an annual report naming which countries target US company information through computer espionage, as well as a watch list of egregious offenders, how stolen information is being used and what the federal government is doing about it.

Sen Charles Schumer (D-NY) called on US Trade Representative Michael Froman to file a case against China over its cyber spying.

Sen Schumer urged Froman to file a case against Beijing at the World Trade Organization (WTO) in response to cyberattacks on US businesses.

"The sanctioning of these attacks, in which Chinese military officials have illegally gathered corporate information from members of the US solar, nuclear and metal industries is a threat not just to these specific companies, but to our entire economy," Sen Schumer wrote.

The Justice Department issued criminal indictments on five members of the Chinese People’s Liberation Army for online theft of trade secrets from US firms.

Sen Schumer said that since China won't extradite those involved to go on trial here, US government officials have to seek damages through a WTO suit. "Cyber-attacks from China and other nations could prove crippling to American businesses in the years to come, so we need real teeth in our response,” Sen Schumer said. "DOJ did the right thing in filing these indictments, but the only way to really punish China for these outrageous attacks is through the WTO."

The national police officers union is telling Congress not to impose a nationwide ban on online gambling. “We cannot ban our way out of this problem as this would simply drive online gaming further and further underground and put more and more people at risk,” Fraternal Order of Police National President Chuck Canterbury wrote to heads of the House Judiciary Committee.

“Not only does the black market for Internet gaming include no consumer protections, it also operates entirely offshore with unlicensed operators, drastically increasing the threat of identity theft, fraud or other criminal acts.” The police union is pushing back against measures like a bill from Sen Lindsey Graham (R-SC) and Rep. Jason Chaffetz (R-UT) that would ban most forms of online gambling across the country.

Lawmakers worried about protecting civil liberties said they had scored a win with the passage of the USA Freedom Act.

The bill had to overcome opposition from members on both sides of the aisle who worried it was too weak to curb the National Security Agency (NSA), but its passage nonetheless amounted to a step forward, they said.

“As result of the Freedom Act passing the House, the NSA might still be watching us, but now we can watch them,” said Rep James Sensenbrenner (R-WI), the bill’s author.

“This is a win for civil liberties today,” added Rep John Conyers (D-MI) on the House Judiciary Committee.

The bill ends the NSA’s collection of Americans’ phone records and adds new transparency provisions that Rep Sensenbrenner, who also wrote the Patriot Act, said would prevent abuses from ever happening again. Under the bill, the NSA would have to tell Congress about any new policy changes within a day, and then would have to inform the public within 45 days.

“That way, if the NSA goes too far, Congress will be able to stop it and the American public will be able to know what is happening,” Rep Sensenbrenner said.

The House voted to delay the National Telecommunications and Information Administration’s plans to relinquish the United States' oversight of fundamental Internet functions.

In a 245-177 vote -- including 17 Democrats -- the House approved a Republican amendment that would halt the Administration’s plans to end its contract with the company that coordinates Internet addresses. The measure was introduced by Rep John Shimkus (R-IL) as an amendment to the National Defense Authorization Act, which just passed. Rep Shimkus’s amendment would require the Government Accountability Office to conduct a study before the Commerce Department can proceed with its plans to hand off its oversight role of the system.

The administration has defended its plans, pledging to ensure that the new oversight mechanism will be structured to keep governments and multi-government groups from controlling the Internet. In a floor speech touting his amendment, Rep Shimkus pushed back on those assurances from the Commerce Department.

“While the administration says it won’t accept a proposal that puts the Internet in the hands of another government or government-led entity, there’s no guarantee that won’t happen after the initial transfer takes place,” he said. “But one thing is for sure: Once our authority is gone, it’s gone for good.”

The tech industry is accusing the Senate Judiciary Committee of bowing to “patent troll” lobbyists after Chairman Patrick Leahy (D-VT) shelved his patent reform bill.

“Patent trolls and their special interest allies are the only winners today,” Matt Tanielian, executive director of the Coalition for Patent Fairness, said. Sen Leahy announced that he would be pulling his patent reform bill from his committee’s agenda.

In response, tech groups slammed Sen Leahy and the committee for caving under pressure from patent trolls, the companies that profit by bringing and threatening meritless patent infringement lawsuits. Many groups pledged to continue pushing for patent reform, pointing to the businesses that currently spend time and money defending themselves from patent trolls.

Internet Association CEO Michael Beckerman called on Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) -- who some say played a role in derailing Sen Leahy’s bill -- to circumvent the Judiciary Committee. “If it is not possible for the Senate Judiciary Committee to proceed with its own legislation,” Reid should “stand with innovators and bring the House-passed Innovation Act to the floor of the Senate for an up or down vote,” Beckerman said. The Internet Association includes Google, Facebook, Amazon and Reddit.