Posts Tagged: bill

House passes bill that could ban TikTok

A bill that could force a sale or outright ban on TikTok passed the House just days after it was first introduced. The House of Representatives approved the measure Wednesday, in a vote of 352 – 65, in a rare showing of bipartisan support. It now goes to the Senate.

If passed into law, the legislation would give parent company ByteDance a six-month window to sell TikTok or face a ban from US app stores and web hosting services. While the “Protecting Americans from Foreign Adversary Controlled Applications Act” is far from the first effort to force a ban or sale of TikTok, it’s been able to draw more support far more quickly than previous bills.

The measure cleared its first procedural vote in the House last week, just two days after it was introduced. The bill will now move onto the Senate, where its future is less certain. Senator Rand Paul has said he would block the bill, while other lawmakers have also been hesitant to publicly back the bill.

TikTok has called the bill unconstitutional, saying it would “strip 170 million Americans of their Constitutional right to free expression” and hurt creators and businesses that rely on the service. Last week, the company sent a wave of push notifications to users, urging them to ask their representatives to oppose the bill. Congressional staffers reported that offices were overwhelmed with calls, many of which came from confused teenagers. Lawmakers later accused the company of trying to “interfere” with the legislative process.

Free speech and digital rights groups also oppose the bill, with many noting that comprehensive privacy laws would be more effective at protecting Americans’ user data rather than a measure that primarily targets one app. Former President Donald Trump, who once also tried to force ByteDance to sell TikTok, has also said he is against the bill, claiming it would strengthen Meta.

In a letter to lawmakers, the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF), American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), Fight for the Future and the Center for Democracy and Technology argued that the bill would “set an alarming global precedent for excessive government control over social media platforms” and would likely “invite copycat measures by other countries … with significant consequences for free expression globally.”

If the bill were to muster enough votes to pass the Senate, President Joe Biden says he would sign the bill into law. His administration has previously pressured ByteDance to sell TikTok. Officials maintain the app poses a national security risk due to its ties to ByteDance, a Chinese company. TikTok has repeatedly refuted these claims.

If the law was passed, the company would likely mount a legal challenge like it did in Montana, which passed a statewide ban last year. A federal judge temporarily blocked the ban in November before it could go into effect.

Developing…

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/house-passes-bill-that-could-ban-tiktok-144805114.html?src=rss
Engadget is a web magazine with obsessive daily coverage of everything new in gadgets and consumer electronics

Twitter has supposedly started paying its Google Cloud bill again

Twitter has resumed paying its Google Cloud contract, according to Bloomberg. If you missed the initial news of the impending showdown, Platformer reported on June 10th that Twitter had been refusing to pay Google for its cloud services ahead of their contract’s June 30th renewal date. The possibility of losing access to Google’s infrastructure led to a frantic rush at Twitter to migrate as many of its services off of Google’s servers. However, that effort was reportedly “running behind schedule,” opening the door for some of the company’s in-house tools to go offline come the end of the month.

Now it appears Twitter has found a way to avoid that scenario. Bloomberg reports Linda Yaccarino, the company’s newly appointed CEO, “helped get the relationship back on track.” In fact, the two companies are reportedly negotiating a broader partnership that could include advertising and Google’s use of Twitter’s paid API. Twitter does not operate a public relations department Engadget could contact for comment.

Twitter’s Google Cloud contract dates back to 2018. According to Bloomberg, the contract has cost the company between $ 200 million and $ 300 million annually and was one of the early targets of Elon Musk’s cost-cutting. Google reportedly “struggled” to get in touch with the billionaire to talk about Twitter’s unpaid bills, and at one point attempted to reach him through SpaceX, which also does business with the tech giant.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/twitter-has-supposedly-started-paying-its-google-cloud-bill-again-213824844.html?src=rss
Engadget is a web magazine with obsessive daily coverage of everything new in gadgets and consumer electronics

Senate bill would hold AI companies liable for harmful content

Politicians think they have a way to hold companies accountable for troublesome generative AI: take away their legal protection. Senators Richard Blumenthal and Josh Hawley have introduced a No Section 230 Immunity for AI Act that, as the name suggests, would prevent OpenAI, Google and similar firms from using the Communications Decency Act's Section 230 to waive liability for harmful content and avoid lawsuits. If someone created a deepfake image or sound bite to ruin a reputation, for instance, the tool developer could be held responsible alongside the person who used it.

Hawley characterizes the bill as forcing AI creators to "take responsibility for business decisions" as they're developing products. He also casts the legislation as a "first step" toward creating rules for AI and establishing safety measures. In a hearing this week on AI's effect on human rights, Blumenthal urged Congress to deny AI the broad Section 230 safeguards that have shielded social networks from legal consequences.

In May, Blumenthal and Hawley held a hearing where speakers like OpenAI chief Sam Altman called for the government to act on AI. Industry leaders have already urged a pause on AI experimentation, and more recently compared the threat of unchecked AI to that of nuclear war.

Congress has pushed for Section 230 reforms for years in a bid to rein in tech companies, particularly over concerns that internet giants might knowingly allow hurtful content. A 2021 House bill would have held businesses liable if they knowingly used algorithms that cause emotional or physical harm. These bills have stalled, though, and Section 230 has remained intact. Legislators have had more success in setting age verification requirements that theoretically reduce mental health issues for younger users.

It's not clear this bill stands a greater chance of success. Blumenthal and Hawley are known for introducing online content bills that fail to gain traction, such as the child safety-oriented EARN IT Act and Hawley's anti-addiction SMART Act. On top of persuading fellow senators, they'll need an equivalent House bill that also survives a vote.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/senate-bill-would-hold-ai-companies-liable-for-harmful-content-212340911.html?src=rss
Engadget is a web magazine with obsessive daily coverage of everything new in gadgets and consumer electronics

Montana’s governor signs bill banning TikTok

Montana’s TikTok ban is now official. Governor Greg Gianforte signed a bill banning the app in the state, one month after it was passed by the state’s legislature. The law is scheduled to take effect in 2024, though legal challenges could potentially delay that timeline.

The law prohibits the company from operating in the state and requires app stores to block users in Montana from downloading TikTok. The app’s users won’t face repercussions for using the service, but app stores and TikTok face daily fines of $ 10,000 for violating the law.

The statewide ban, and the expected legal challenge to it, offers a preview into how future attempts to ban the app could play out around the country. In a statement, a TikTok spokesperson said the Montana law “unlawfully” violates the First Amendment rights of its users.

“Governor Gianforte has signed a bill that infringes on the First Amendment rights of the people of Montana by unlawfully banning TikTok, a platform that empowers hundreds of thousands of people across the state,” the spokesperson said. “We want to reassure Montanans that they can continue using TikTok to express themselves, earn a living, and find community as we continue working to defend the rights of our users inside and outside of Montana.”

Like other officials who have proposed bans or restrictions on TikTok, Montana lawmakers have claimed that TikTok’s ties to ByteDance, a Chinese company, puts the personal data of US users at risk. The company has long denied that it would turn over such data to the Chinese government, and has invested more than $ 1 billion into Project Texas to address data security concerns raised by US regulators.

But officials have reportedly said those efforts don’t go far enough, and the US government is now trying to force ByteDance to sell TikTok. If it doesn’t, TikTok will face a nationwide ban and, likely, another massive legal fight.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/montanas-governor-signs-bill-banning-tiktok-225326086.html?src=rss
Engadget is a web magazine with obsessive daily coverage of everything new in gadgets and consumer electronics

Amazon VP tries to convince sellers to oppose antitrust bill

Amazon made an appeal to its third-party sellers to oppose a Senate antitrust reform bill aimed at helping their businesses. In a post on Amazon’s internal forum for third-party merchants, the company’s vice president of worldwide selling partner services Dharmesh Mehta urged sellers to oppose The American Innovation and Choice Online Act (S.2992), and asked them to contact their senators.

"As we have noted in previous communications to you throughout the past year, Congress is considering legislation, including S. 2992, the American Innovation and Choice Online Act, that could jeopardize Amazon’s ability to operate a marketplace service and, as a result, your business’s ability to sell in our store," wrote Mehta. 

Just under 500 sellers have responded to Mehta’s post since Thursday, many of them unconvinced by Amazon’s claim that the Senate bill will harm their businesses. “The bill jeopardizes the way Amazon wants to operate. It would not jeopardize marketplaces. Amazon, get your own house in order before asking us as sellers to defend you,” wrote one seller.

“I am personally sick of the condescending posts by Amazon management directed at us. We are not morons and know how to read and think for ourselves,” wrote another seller.

Mehta’s attempt to recruit Amazon’s third-party sellers into unpaid lobbyists follows a wider push by the company against The American Innovation and Choice Online Act. Last week, a public-facing post by Amazon’s VP of Public Policy Brian Huseman warned of potentially degraded Prime membership benefits for customers if the bill passes into law; similar to Mehta, Huseman also suggested anti-trust action might "make it difficult to justify the risk of Amazon offering a marketplace in which selling partners can participate."

The Senate bill contains provisions intended to prevent tech giants like Amazon and Google from giving their own services preferential treatment, thus putting other businesses at a disadvantage. Amazon over the years has been accused of using a number of tactics to put third-party merchants at a disadvantage, including using sales data on third-party products to develop its own competing products and prioritizing products that use Prime shipping in search results.

Trade groups funded by Big Tech have spent millions in ads that frame the bill as an “innovation killer” and harmful to small businesses, reported the Washington Post. The ads run primarily in states represented by vulnerable Senate Democrats, in an effort to amp up pressure from their own constituents. The Senate is expected to vote on the S.2992 sometime this summer. The House Judiciary Committee passed a similar bill last year, but it has yet to be scheduled for a floor vote.

Engadget is a web magazine with obsessive daily coverage of everything new in gadgets and consumer electronics

Your Verizon bill will be more expensive from June 16th onwards

Verizon must have heard you saying that you had way too much disposable cash the other day (well someone must have said it) and has responded by announcing that it’s going to increase your bill starting from June 16th onwards. Why? Well, it’s because the carrier is following the trend or its execs can’t afford […]

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Bill Simmons tapped to head Spotify’s global sports division

Spotify has promoted The Ringer’s Bill Simmons to a new role as head of global sports strategy, reported Deadline. Simmons has worked under the streaming service’s umbrella since it bought his sports and culture podcast network The Ringer back in 2020. In his new role, we’ll likely see Simmons expand upon the current lineup of NBA, MLB and NFL-focused podcasts and dive into international territory. We’ve already gotten a hint of that with shows like The Rugby Pod with Andy Goode, Big Jim Hamilton and host Andy Rowe.

Spotify’s non-US audience is getting larger — the service is currently available in 178 countries. Its number of subscribers actually grew by 2 million in the first quarter of 2022 (despite losing all of its Russian subscribers), which it pinned on "outperformance in Latin America and Europe". Last year, the streaming service expanded to 86 new countries, with the goal of eventually streaming to over 1 billion users. Earlier this year, Spotify announced it was going to become the main partner of FC Barcelona, as well as its official audio streaming partner. Given the fact that no global sports coverage would be complete without soccer, we’re likely to see even more from this space. There’s no doubt an appetite amongst Spotify’s global audience for shows focused on the Premier League, FIFA and the World Cup, as well as other international sports topics.

The promotion of Simmons is a part of a broader shake-up in Spotify’s exec structure. Parcast founder Max Cutler will become Spotify’s head of creator content and partnerships, overseeing originals and heading an entirely new division of “creator-focused” content. Julie McNamara will oversee studio partnerships and Hollywood-produced works.

In Spotify’s latest earnings call, it announced it reached a record 422 million global monthly active users. But despite its strong growth, the initial concerns that Spotify may have bitten off more than it can chew with its $ 1 billion investment in podcasts hasn’t faded. While podcast listening hours skyrocketed during the pandemic, there’s no guarantee that Spotify will be able to hold on to that momentum in the future. 

Engadget is a web magazine with obsessive daily coverage of everything new in gadgets and consumer electronics

NYC bill would ban grocery apps from promising 15-minute deliveries

Grocery apps in New York City might have to tone down promises of ultra-fast deliveries. The New York Postreports city Councilman Christopher Marte plans to introduce a bill that will ban these apps from advertising 15-minute delivery times. The estimates encourage couriers to violate traffic laws and put people at risk, Marte said.

The bill should be ready within the next few weeks. It would be part of a larger legislation bundle tackling grocery apps. Marte said he was pressing for bills that would provide more benefits and protections to delivery workers, but hasn't shared more details.

The potential law comes as competition for fast deliveries heats up in New York. Services like Gorillas, Fridge No More and Jokr already boast of 15-minute delivery times, and DoorDash is piloting a similarly quick service in Manhattan. In many cases, the services manage speedy deliveries by shopping within a small radius and using full-time employees instead of gig workers.

However, they also follow a small but growing string of e-bike accidents in NYC. At least 20 people died in collisions linked to e-bikes in 2020. The bill won't guarantee the safety of delivery workers, but it might reduce the chances that they'll gamble with their health to arrive on time.

Engadget is a web magazine with obsessive daily coverage of everything new in gadgets and consumer electronics

NYC bill bans AI recruiting tools that fail bias checks

New York City could soon reduce the chances of AI bias in the job market. The Associated Pressnotes the city's council has passed a bill barring AI hiring systems that don't pass yearly audits checking for race- or gender-based discrimination. Developers would also need greater transparency (including disclosures of automated systems), and provide alternatives like human reviews. Fines would reach up to $ 1,500 per incident.

The bill was passed November 10th. Departing Mayor Bill de Blasio has a month to sign it into law, but hasn't said whether or not he will. If the measure goes forward, it would take effect in 2023.

A signed law could reduce the chances that AI hiring technology skews candidate pools and the demographics of the resulting employees. Pro-business organizations like the Greater New York Chamber of Commerce are already in favor, suggesting the disclosures are vital for both employers and their talent.

However, there are already concerns an enacted law wouldn't help as much as promised. The Center for Democracy & Technology's Alexandra Givens told the AP the bill doesn't account for other biases, such as ableism or ageism. This also assumes the audits are effective — New York University's Julia Stoyanovich argued the requirements were "very easy to meet." There's a concern the legislation might inadvertently shield employers whose AI platforms have different or harder-to-detect biases.

Engadget is a web magazine with obsessive daily coverage of everything new in gadgets and consumer electronics

Congress approves COVID-19 spending bill with contentious copyright measures

US Congress has finally passed a new spending bill with COVID-19 relief measures, which on the one hand is good news for many Americans. As often happens with crucial legislation, however, lawmakers tacked on some extra legislation, including a contr…
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Bill Nye is pissed

Bill Nye is pissed. In an energetic interview with Engadget this week, he covered everything from the pandemic, to climate change, to the vice presidential debates and QAnon. But ostensibly, he was here to promote his newly launched VR Science Kit. 
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Senate bill would set privacy requirements for COVID-19 tracking

Now that COVID-19 lockdowns are slowly starting to lift in the US, a group of senators want to set privacy expectations for the contact tracing apps that could help keep the virus in check. Senators Marsha Blackburn, Jerry Moran, John Thune and Roger…
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Android beat Windows Phone, and Bill Gates really regrets it

If you go back a few years and checked out the most dominant operating system on the planet, it was Windows with absolutely no competition. Microsoft steamrolled literally everyone else in the PC space, including Apple. But then the smartphone happened, and Microsoft kinda sorta didn’t really live up to the name that they had […]

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California advances bill offering protections to gig economy workers

Gig economy companies like Uber and Lyft have fought hard to avoid treating workers as full-fledged employees, but they might not have much choice in California before long. The state Assembly has passed a bill, AB5, that would require businesses to…
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House Democrats will introduce bill to reinstate net neutrality rules

Now that the Democrats have the majority in the US House of Representatives, net neutrality is back on the table. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi has revealed that Democrats will introduce a bill to restore Obama-era net neutrality rules on March 6th. T…
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Texas bill would make it illegal to throttle data in disaster areas

The revelation that Verizon (Engadget's parent company) throttled California firefighters' data is prompting new legislation… in Texas. State Representative Bobby Guerra has submitted a bill that would make it illegal for wireless carriers to "imp…
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US senators propose new bill to keep ZTE on a leash

Last year, the US Senate abandoned its attempts to block the President's deal with ZTE that effectively ended trade sanctions against the Chinese firm. That doesn't mean American lawmakers stopped keeping a close eye on the company, though. A group o…
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Bill Gates remembers Paul Allen: ‘I will miss him tremendously’

Yesterday, Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen passed away at the age of 65 following a battle with non-Hodgkin's lymphoma, and today, Bill Gates shared a few thoughts on the man he says changed his life. "When I think about Paul, I remember a passionate…
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California’s net neutrality bill is a step closer to becoming law

Now that the FCC has undone net neutrality protections implemented under the Obama Administration, one response has been to implement tight regulation at the state level. Tonight in California's State Assembly lawmakers passed SB 822 by a vote of 61…
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NYC bill could force Airbnb to turn over its hosts’ info

The New York City Council voted in support of regulation that would force Airbnb, HomeAway and other short-term rental services to hand over about hosts using their sites. State law already prohibits rentals of most apartments for less than 30 days u…
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‘Right to repair’ bill introduced in California

An all-too-common occurrence for smartphone owners, or any electronic device for that matter, is breakage. This is why we see so many cases made available to protect items that cost several hundred dollars. Despite efforts to avoid damage it seems inevitable and when it happens, device owners are not left with many choices when it […]

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House passes contentious anti-online sex trafficking bill

Sex-trafficking victims, prosecutors and state attorneys will be able to sue websites that host ads and content linked to the sex trade under the bill the House has just approved. The bill called "Allow States and Victims to Fight Online Sex Traffick…
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NSA surveillance expansion bill moves to House for a vote

Intelligence officials might not get the permanent surveillance powers they're looking for, but they could get some key concessions all the same. The House Intelligence Committee has passed the FISA Amendments Reauthorization Act of 2017 in a partis…
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The U.K.’s first-ever ‘plastic’ £5 bill has really upset vegans

When the Bank of England released its first-ever “plastic” bill in September, it proudly highlighted its many security measures aimed at deterring counterfeiters. But this week a revelation about the new bill appears to have upset a number of vegans….

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Cool Tech–Digital Trends

Sprint customers can now pay for Napster with through their Sprint bill

Sprint is making it easier for customers to pay for Napster — now customers of both can pay for Napster through their Sprint bill. The change will be a much bigger deal for Napster than Spotify or Sprint.

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Mobile–Digital Trends

A new bill will force companies to place a backdoor in their devices to undermine their own encryption

The Feinstein-Burr anti-encryption bill, also known as the Compliance with Court Orders Act of 2016, has officially surfaced. Here’s everything you need to know about the bill, which is still a draft at the moment.

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Mobile–Digital Trends

Senators behind encryption bill know how the FBI hacked the iPhone

The FBI isn’t ready to tell Apple or the general public how it cracked the San Bernardino shooter’s iPhone, but it’s disclosing that information to Senators — notably two behind an bill that would force companies to comply with court orders.

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Mobile–Digital Trends

Pay your credit card bill using the Amazon Echo

Too busy whipping up a soufflé to check your bank balance online? You can now ask Amazon's Echo devices to give you the info, thanks to a partnership with Capital One. You just need to say "Alexa, ask Capital One for my Quicksilver card balanc…
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Weekly Rewind: iPhone sales slow, Google beats Go, Bill Nye wants electric NASCAR

In the tech world, a lot happens in a week. So much news goes on, in fact, that it’s almost impossible for mere mortals with real lives to keep track of everything. That’s why we’ve compiled a quick and dirty list of the top 10 tech stories.

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Wearables–Digital Trends

Senate blocks NSA reform bill and Patriot Act extensions

The USA Freedom Act aimed at addressing the NSA’s bulk collecting of phone call metadata was approved by the House of Representatives ten days ago, but blocked by the Senate tonight (live video stream here). The Section 215 provisions of the Patriot …
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