Washingtech Tech Policy Podcast With Joe Miller

  TikTok reportedly records every one of your keystrokes   So security researcher Felix Krause says TikTok is running JavaScript on other sites you visit in the iOS browser, and collecting your credit card information and keystrokes. And a TikTok spokesperson acknowledged the existence of the script, but said the Chinese based subsidiary of Bytedance only uses it for debugging, troubleshooting and performance monitoring … performance monitoring, like monitoring your performance, I suppose.   We’re supposed to believe that TikTok is the only company that isn’t doing everything it can to find ways to collect data on the low. Ok.   The Federal Trade Commission released an Advanced Notice of Proposed Rulemaking this week seeking public comment on how it should regulate commercial data collection practices.    Biden is being secretive about how the Trump-era visa data collection policy works   In 2019 the Trump administration began implementing a new policy requiring all visa applicants to submit their social m

The digital divide is the gap between those who have access to digital technologies and resources and those who do not.  If you asked most people what the digital divide was, they would probably assume it’s a reference to Internet access or computer usage. While these are both accurate representations of the digital divide, there’s more to it than that. The digital divide is actually a social divide that exists between individuals based on their access to technology and its benefits. In other words, it’s the disparity in technological knowledge, skills, and usage among different social groups.  One of the areas in which this divide has massive implications is privacy. For example, state governments that surveil women who are seeking abortions can discourage them from going online and taking advantage of all of the benefits that technology has to offer for entrepreneurship, education, and remote work.   Bio Joi O. Chaney is a domestic legal policy expert, a political strategist, and currently the Executive Di

  Competing privacy bills may slow down kids’ protection online   Three competing privacy bills have made negotiations on the Hill even more difficult as the Senate and House have 3 different versions – two of which focus specifically on creating stronger protections for kids online.    The one in the House that passed late last month is an overarching federal privacy framework that some legislators have objected to, particularly Maria Cantwell, the Democratic Senator from Washington State, who is concerned about a forced arbitration provision in the bill that would limit you from suing a company that violates your privacy.   Some lawmakers have also raised concerns about the fact that the federal privacy bill may weaken the privacy legislation that several states have passed for you if you live in California, Virginia, Colorado. Connecticut, or Utah.   But in addition to the House bill, we have two Senate bills that will almost certainly complicate negotiations – both of which focus specifically on your ki

When it comes to the intersection of technology and law, our minds go straight to challenges that feature prominently in the media, such as privacy in the digital age, the ethics of artificial intelligence, or how blockchain will change everything. But the Federal Communications Commission continues to play an outsize role in determining the parameters around how telecommunications companies provide service in a way that takes into consideration the interests of a wide variety of consumers, corporations, and elected officials. Belinda Nixon joined Public Knowledges Antoine Prince Albert III to shed light.   Bio Belinda Nixon is a Partner in the Technology Transactions and Privacy Law practice at Perkins Coie, where she provides strategic legal counsel on complex transactional and regulatory issues for communications and technology companies. With over 20 years of experience at the Federal Communications Commission, Belinda Nixon brings both a deep background in telecommunications and regulatory issues to coun

Veda Cruz: Play to Earn Games: What You Need to Know About the Law  The video game industry has grown rapidly over the last several years. With new technology and more affordable equipment, more people than ever are interested in playing video games as a hobby. The booming popularity of “play to earn” games – also known as user incentive programs – has only accelerated this trend. These programs incentivize gamers to play specific video games by rewarding them with virtual or physical rewards based on how much time they spend playing, their skill level, or other measurable actions. However, as with any new trend involving money, there are risks associated with these programs. If you play these games, there are some things you need to know about the law. Veda Cruz   LinkedIn Twitter  Instagram  Website    Bio   Veda Cruz is an attorney who serves as in-house counsel at Gearbox Entertainment, developer of the Borderlands games. She received her law degree and MBA simultaneously at the University of Miami wher

Hey everybody, I’m Joe Miller and here’s what’s going on in the world of online safety and free speech this week. Amazon’s $3.9bn One Medical bid Washington Post. Privacy experts worry about how Amazon will use healthcare data if the acquisition goes through – a deal that’s subject to Federal Trade Commission approval. The agency has already launched an aggressive campaign to rein in Amazon’s market power.  YouTube to ban abortion misinformation   Clare Duffy at CNN Business reported that YouTube will stop allowing its users to post information on alternative ways to seek abortions, as well as misinformation regarding abortions. The move comes in the wake of the Supreme Court’s overturning of Roe v. Wade, and trepidation about potentially facilitating abortions in violation of individual state laws prohibitting it. Car warranty calls now banned: FCC order   The annoying calls you’ve been getting about your auto warranty are now illegal. Hopefully, a new order the FCC dropped on Thursday will make them

Kathy Baxter: The Ethics of AI    Consumers are between a rock and a hard place. We expect the companies we distrust to be honest about their data collection practices. Ninety percent of consumers think companies should improve the world. According to many of us, it’s not happening. Saleforce’s Kathy Baxter and her colleague Yoav Schlesinger developed a maturity model which depends on managers being open to feedback from their subordinates about AI bias. With trust as a starting point, ethics can flow naturally. Kathy Baxter   LinkedIn Twitter   Bio   As an Architect of Ethical AI Practice at Salesforce, Kathy develops research-informed best practices to educate Salesforce employees, customers, and the industry on the development of responsible AI. She collaborates and partners with external AI and ethics experts to continuously evolve Salesforce policies, practices, and products. Prior to Salesforce, she worked at Google, eBay, and Oracle in User Experience Research. She received her MS in Engineering Psycho

Hey everybody, I’m Joe Miller and here’s what’s going on in the world of online safety and free speech this week.   Denver case may let cops check search keywords   If a crime happens, should police be able to get a warrant that requires Google to release data on who used particular search terms? That question is at issue in a Denver criminal trial against a teen defendant who allegedly killed 5 Sengalese immigrants by setting fire to their home. Denver police nabbed the suspect using a technique called a “reverse keyword search,” under which authorities, before they even have a suspect, obtain relevant search data from search engines before the crime took place. Civil rights advocates are concerned that allowing the cops to obtain search data on arson could potentially open the floodgates for searches related to abortion – such as “Planned Parenthood” – to become fair game for law enforement officials.   But the Justice Department announced the formation of a Reproductive Task Force, Chaired by FTC Chair Va

Payton Croskey and her team investigate the ways in which racial bias and discrimination shape how we are watched, policed and targeted by surveillance technology.   Payton Croskey   LinkedIn Instagram   Bio   Payton Croskey is a visual artist and tech justice scholar writing, coding and designing a liberatory future for all who refuse to submit to technology’s watchful eye. Pursuing a degree in African American Studies and a minor in Computer Science at Princeton, Payton’s research uncovers ways of designing digital systems that protect and empower targeted communities. Resources   www.paytoncroskey.com   Payton Croskey et al., LIBERATORY TECHNOLOGY AND DIGITAL MARRONAGE — IDA B. WELLS JUST DATA LAB IDA B. WELLS JUST DATA LAB (2022), https://www.thejustdatalab.com/tools-1/liberatory-technology-and-digital-marronage (last visited Jul 11, 2022).

TikTok is under intensifying pressure   TikTok is under intensifying pressure from Congress after Buzzfeed released leaked audio from nine different TikTok employees saying that ByteDance, TikTok’s parent company based in China, had access to TikTok user data in the U.S. In a letter to Federal Trade Commission Chairwoman Lina Kahn, Senate Intelligence Committee Chair Mark Warner and Vice Chair Marco Rubio called for a comprehensive investigation of TikTok’s practices, since the Buzzfeed revelation contravenes sworn statements from TikTok’s policy lead, Michael Beckerman, back in October, that the company doesn’t share user information with ByteDance. The Chinese government holds a stake in ByteDance, and TikTok’s statements regarding whether it considers itself a ByteDance subsidiary have been vague, according to several lawmakers on both sides of the aisle.   Parents sue TikTok over little girls’ deaths due to ‘Blackout Challenge’   The parents of two little girls, ages 8 & 9, are suing TikTok in Los A

The discourse in the US is increasingly toxic and divisive. Disinformation, misinformation, and hate speech are rampant and we have few options to change it. The US has been entrenched in a deteriorating political and information environment for a long time now. The Supreme Court’s overturning of Roe v. Wade instantly removed a right that 165 million Americans expected to have indefinitely. The discourse has always been divisive, but now it's reaching a point where people are unable to listen to one another or understand each other's perspectives. This means that there isn't any real discourse anymore, just fighting words that make people feel good about themselves but don't actually accomplish anything at all. Bio Ryan Merkley @ryanmerkley Ryan Merkley is Managing Director at Aspen Digital, focused on emerging technology, internet policy, and the information ecosystem. He is an accomplished executive working at the intersection of public good and technology for organizations like Wikimedia, Creative Commons,

Supreme Court overturns Roe v. Wade, opening the door to surveillance In a 6-3 decision Friday, the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade. Justices Breyer, Sotomayor, and Kagan were the only dissenting justices. Writing for the majority, Justice Alito left it up to state legislatures to write their own abortion laws. As far as tech policy is concerned, many advocates, including WashingTech, are concerned that law enforcement will now be able to surveil location data in any of the 13 states in which abortion is now outlawed. Congress inches closer to federal privacy law The House Energy & Commerce Committee passed a bipartisan privacy framework on Thursday, with the measure now heading to the Senate. Reuters’ Diane Bartz reports the bill would let you opt out of targeted ads online. It would also give users the ability to sue firms for selling their user data to third parties. The bill would override the patchwork of state privacy laws we have currently in states including California, Colorado, Connecticu

Biden calls for better kids privacy laws in State of the Union During his state of the Union address Tuesday, President Joe Biden called for better regulation of social media companies. First Lady Jill Biden invited Facebook whistleblower Frances Haugen to the State of the Union – Haugen was the first to shed light on Facebook’s (now, Meta’s) internal efforts to target children as young as 6 on Instagram, and the fact that the company ignored its own research showing Instagram damaged teenage girls’ self-esteem. Facebook is getting sensitive medical information The Markup reported yesterday that Facebook may have been receiving your medical information from a tracking tool – Pixel. Many hospitals use Pixel on their websites to track site visits. So let’s say hypothetically that you search for a health condition on the hospital’s website – well, for about a third of those sites, the tracking tool sends the information to Facebook. Johns Hopkins, UCLA ReaMgan, New York Presbyterian, Northwestern Memorial, and

I decided to do a solo episode this week because I think it’s really sort of super important to highlight bias in the public policy profession – because it is a profession. Because over the last 17 years that I have been working on tech and media public policymaking, majority-white organizations have always seemed to think it’s totally fine to attack organizations founded and led by people of color, orgs like this one, to pursue their status ambitions. So, let’s be transparent, shall we? Just to give you some background – when I started working in this space – there was one organization in Washington – the Multicultural Media & Telecom Council (MMTC) – that focused specifically on telecommunications and media policymaking as they relate to underserved and underrepresented communities. This is where I cut my teeth as a young lawyer, in the ONLY fellowship in town for somebody like me who went to law school at night.  Their members are, and continue to be, some of the finest minds in the business – folks li

Congress makes progress on federal privacy law A bipartisan group of lawmakers in the House and Senate introduced a privacy bill last week that some observers including the Washington Post say faces a steep uphill battle. But the bill would require companies that use your data to only collect that data which is necessary for their businesses to function properly. It also proposes a number of other things such as a requirement for the Federal Trade Commission to keep a database of data brokers.  Amazon may have to pay for work-from-home equipment A federal judge denied Amazon’s motion to dismiss a lawsuit brought by a California engineer who works for the company from home. The employee brought a class-action lawsuit against Amazon for failing to reimburse him for equipment and internet service required to carry out job-related duties. The case now heads to trial in California. Family sues Meta for daughter’s self-harm, eating disorder Remember the Facebook papers? that trove of documents company whistleblo

Most of us probably don’t think about it much, but our cell phones and Wi-Fi connections use something called spectrum to send and receive data. The term “5G” refers to the fifth major version of this standard for transmitting information wirelessly. It’s also known as “millimeter wave technology.” The 5GHz spectrum has long been viewed as a way to get around the crowded radiofrequency (RF) spectrum and its associated problems with Wi-Fi. The widespread adoption of wireless local area networks (WLANs) in the 2.4 GHz ISM band means that there are very few available channels in any given location, which can lead to high interference levels, reduced coverage range, and low throughput. The 5GHz spectrum is not as crowded as the 2.4GHz band, making it a better choice for high-throughput, low-interference deployments like indoor video surveillance networks. In general, this band also provides greater immunity from interference from devices like baby monitors or cordless phones that use frequencies in the 2.4GHz ban

Sheryl Sandberg is leaving Meta (née Facebook) after 14 years with the company   Sheryl Sandberg is leaving Facebook after 14 years with the company.The Wall Street Journal reported that Meta has been reviewing Sheryl Sandberg's personal activities, including a reported allegation from the Journal's sources that she used company funds to plan her wedding. But Meta spokeswoman Caroline Nolan denied Sandberg's departure was related to the review.   The tech sector and civil rights advocates achieve small victory in Supreme Court   The tech sector and civil rights advocates succeeded before the Supreme Court after a 5-4 decision to stop HB20 - a Texas social media bill - from going into effect. The Republican bill would give citizens the right to sue platforms with over 50 million users for censoring their content for political reasons, or based on their “viewpoint.” Many conservatives believe the larger platforms discriminate against conservative speech. Smaller social media companies catering to conservative

Washington Post reports on “light-sensing” technology to identify weapons A company called Evolv uses “active sensing” — a light emission technique also used in radar and lidar—to create images and identify weapons in public and private venues, according to the company. Despite “fundamental   limitations in differentiating benign objects from actual weapons,” existing clients include the New York Mets, Lincoln Center in New York City, the Charlotte-Mecklenburg school system, and Six Flags amusement parks across the U.S. Washington Post questions legitimacy of claims that social media plays outsize role in gun violence Writing for the Washington Post’s Technology 202 newsletter, Cristiano Lima analyzed the legitimacy of arguments being made by government officials like Republican Texas governor Greg Abbott, that place undue focus on social media when it comes to gun violence, detracting from the real issue which is lax gun control laws. Activist’s protest Amazon’s work with police and immigration agencies 

AI is an interdisciplinary field that draws on many fields of study, including computer science, psychology, neuroscience, and mathematics. AI researchers often bring a social science perspective to the field. They want to understand the social implications of AI and to identify ways that humans can best interact with AI systems. Social scientists look at how people interact with AI systems and how these interactions might change over time. Social scientists also want to understand how AI systems learn from human behavior and make predictions about how people will behave in the future. There are two main types of social science approaches to AI. The first is an approach that focuses on the ethical implications of AI. This approach assumes that we cannot build AI without carefully considering its ethical implications for society. The second type of social science approach is an approach that looks at the psychological impact of AI on humans. This approach assumes that humans could feel uncomfortable or threate

NY Attorney General Opens Twitch Probe in Buffalo Shooting Aftermath New York State Attorney General Letitia James opened a new probe in.  to Twitch, 4chan, 8chan, and Discord in the aftermath of the mass hate-motivated shooting at a Buffalo supermarket that left 10 Black people dead. The probe is geared towards determining how the shooter used these platforms to plan, discuss, stream or promote the mass murder to which the defendant, who was apprehended at the scene of the shooting, has pled “not guilty.”  Federal Trade Commission Votes to Hold EdTech Companies Accountable for Kids’ Privacy The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) voted unanimously yesterday to adopt a policy statement cracking down on how EdTech companies use kids’ data beyond enabling their ability to do homework or attend class remotely. The statement warns EdTech Companies that it is against the law for these companies to require parents and schools to give up their childrens’ privacy rights in order for them to access these critical apps. T