A bipartisan group of senators on Thursday unveiled legislation aimed at restricting the ability of foreign adversaries to purchase data about American citizens. The Protecting Americans’ Data from Foreign Surveillance Act would direct the Commerce Secretary to identify kinds of personal data that could harm national security if exported. The agency would then determine which…
Author: Chris Mills Rodrigo
Crypto downturn fuels questions over industry’s future
The market value of most cryptocurrencies has plummeted over the last few months, leaving investors reeling. The steep fall amid a wider market dip poses risks for the future of crypto assets and raises questions about their insulation from the rest of the economy. The global market capitalization of cryptocurrencies recently dipped below $1 trillion,…
Biden praises newly unionized Apple workers
President Biden on Monday praised workers at an Apple store near Baltimore that voted to form the first American union at the Silicon Valley giant. “I’m proud of them,” Biden told reporters. “You know, workers have a right to determine under what conditions they’re gonna work or not,” he continued. “And I think the thing…
Democrats target location data sales
Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) on Wednesday introduced legislation targeting the sale of location data by third party data brokers. The Health and Location Data Protection Act would ban companies in the shadowy multi-billion dollar industry from selling or transferring sensitive data. The Federal Trade Commission would be given $1 billion over 10 years to promulgate…
Why a bipartisan data privacy proposal faces an uphill battle
A new bipartisan data privacy proposal is facing an uphill battle amid opposition from privacy hawks and business groups. Supporters of the current draft of the American Data Privacy and Protection Act (ADPPA) will have their work cut out for them trying to appeal to both sets of critics during a House hearing Tuesday. Groups…
Hillicon Valley — Microsoft vows neutrality over Activision union efforts
Microsoft applied its new principles for employee organizing for the first time, saying it will not interfere with efforts from Activision Blizzard employees to unionize. And in cryptocurrency news, companies blocked users from withdrawing funds as the value of digital assets fell. This is Hillicon Valley, detailing all you need to know about tech…
Federal watchdog expands Tesla autopilot investigation
Federal investigators are expanding their investigation into potential safety risks of Tesla’s autopilot feature. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) said Thursday that it is upgrading the probe of the car feature, launched in August, to an engineering analysis, which is a more rigorous evaluation that can lead to a recall. The agency first…
Labor board denies Amazon request to make hearings over union private
The National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) has denied a request by Amazon to close off public access to a hearing on the validity of a union’s historic win at a Staten Island warehouse. The e-commerce giant, which is petitioning to overturn the Amazon Labor Union’s win, was seeking to restrict who could view the hearing,…
FTC chair Khan expecting ‘very active year ahead’
Federal Trade Commission chair Lina Khan has a busy year ahead of her. With the panel’s newly restored Democratic majority, the agency tasked with enforcing antitrust laws and protecting consumers is poised to tackle a diverse set of issues across the economy. “As a general matter, we have a very active year ahead that’s planned,”…
Hillicon Valley — Congress takes on crypto, again
A new bipartisan bill is likely to leave the cryptocurrency community celebrating, as it would shift regulatory authority away from the SEC and to another body viewed by the industry as more friendly. In other tech news, Yubo unveiled new policies Tuesday that it has been under pressure to put out since it was revealed that…