bill

Fri
11
Jun
John Lister's picture

TikTok Ban Unites Senators

A bill to boost US technology has received rare bipartisan support in the Senate. The proposed law includes measures on drones, computer chips and video app TikTok. While the "Endless Frontier Act" includes many measures targeted at the US, it also ... includes several that directly target China. They are intended to address fears not just of tech competition but also security threats. The bill passed the Senate by 68 votes to 32. President Biden has indicated he would back the bill, though it's not yet certain it will pass the House of Representatives in its current form. Some critics who are on ... (view more)

Thu
25
Feb
John Lister's picture

Proposed Law Would Bar State-Run Broadband

A proposed US law would ban states and local governments from offering broadband services. Supporters of the bill say "municipal broadband" crowds out commercial providers, while critics say such services only exist to fill the gap left by the ... commercial market. If passed, the bill would become law as the CONNECT (Communities Overregulating Networks Need Economic Competition Today) Act. It would ban any state or political subdivision (such as a city) from starting to provide "retail or wholesale broadband Internet access service." (Source: house.gov ) This would apply whether it was provided ... (view more)

Wed
07
Aug
John Lister's picture

Tech Giants Could Face Massive Fines

A proposed law would dramatically increase maximum fines that can be imposed on companies that break monopoly rules. Tech firms would be among the most likely to be affected in the admittedly unlikely event the law was enacted. The proposed bill ... would be known as the Monopolization Deterrence Act of 2019. It's designed to change the current system by which the maximum penalty for violating the main US antitrust law, the Sherman Act, is $10 million. That applies regardless of the size of the company or companies involved. Critics say such penalties are little deterrent to major companies, ... (view more)

Thu
25
Jul
John Lister's picture

Robocall Bill Passes House

The House of Representatives has overwhelmingly backed a bill to crack down on unwanted robocalls. The bipartisan measure would increase regulatory power and make use of technology to tackle the problem. The proposed Stopping Bad Robocalls Act ... passed by 429 votes to 3. It follows a 97 to 1 vote in the Senate on a similar bill in May. It's now highly likely one of the bills will pass through both houses and become law. (Source: appleinsider.com ) Robocalls are automatically dialed phone calls. Because there's no need for a human to dial the number, both legitimate marketers and scammers can ... (view more)

Thu
15
Sep
John Lister's picture

'No Negative Reviews' Clauses Could be Banned

The House of Representatives has passed a bill banning companies from gagging clauses that stop customers leaving online reviews. But the law doesn't mean customers are exempt from libel and related laws. The Consumer Review Fairness Act doesn't ... affect the legality of writing reviews itself. Neither is it anything to do with criminal law. Instead it's all about the terms and conditions that companies insist customers agree to before placing an order. These documents sometimes include a non-disparagement clause that says customers won't publish negative reviews of the companies ... (view more)

Fri
08
Aug
Brandon Dimmel's picture

Is a Kill Switch the Solution for Mobile Phone Theft?

California is about to implement a "kill switch" requirement for all smartphones sold there. The plan requires vendors sell smartphones equipped with a feature that allows owners to remotely disable the device if it is lost or stolen. California's ... kill-switch bill was approved by the state's assembly yesterday morning. Now, experts believe it's only a matter of time before Governor Jerry Brown signs the bill, making it law. Kill-Switch Software Wipes Personal Data, Locks Phone The bill mandates that smartphones contain software capable of wiping all personal data and ... (view more)

Wed
19
Mar
John Lister's picture

Privacy Debate: High Tech Cars, Tracking, Info Sharing

Politicians in California are to consider a proposed law that would give drivers more control over what happens to data gathered in their high-tech cars. It's prompted a heated debate between driver clubs and automobile manufacturers. According to ... senator Bill Monning, around one in five new cars are designed to automatically send data to manufacturers. That proportion is expected to grow rapidly in the next 10 years as more cars integrate mobile technology and rely heavily on electronic control systems. (Source: latimes.com ) The type of data collected varies widely. In some cases it ... (view more)

Mon
17
Dec
Dennis Faas's picture

US Gov't May Ban Smartphone Tracking Apps

A US Senate committee has approved the Location Privacy Protection Act. It's a bill that would ban the smartphone tools which allow people to track others without their knowledge. The act, introduced by Senator Al Franken, would force companies ... offering smartphone apps to get a phone user's permission before collecting or passing on data about their location. The new rules would also explicitly ban any application that tracked locations without the phone user's knowledge. (Source: govtrack.us ) According to Franken, such measures are necessary to prevent cases of people secretly installing a ... (view more)

Tue
03
Apr
Dennis Faas's picture

Can Bosses Demand Workers Show Facebook Passwords?

Congress has rejected a bill that would have barred employers from demanding workers reveal their passwords for social networking sites. The vote won't have any immediate effect, but could lead to further legal cases on the issue. The U.S. House of ... Representatives considered the topic as part of a wider bill that aims to limit the power of the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) by restricting the way it makes new regulations. There's no guarantee the bill itself would ever become law. Even if it passed the House, it may be rejected by the Senate or vetoed by the President. Representative ... (view more)

Wed
06
Oct
Dennis Faas's picture

Fake iTunes Bill Delivers Bank-Draining Trojan

Hackers have developed a new and clever scam that targets legitimate Apple iTunes subscribers, then drains their bank account. Fake Bill Traps Customers into Clicking Malware Link Victims of the scam receive fake "iTunes receipt" that appear ... completely authentic, with none of the spelling errors or image source code issues that have become synonymous with spam and malware messages. The only real problem with the would-be receipt is that the total for the bill was said to be completely outrageous. And that's part of the trap. Clicking "Report a Problem" Is a Big Mistake Researchers say that ... (view more)

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