The FTC has opened a nonpublic investigation into potential privacy practice violations at Facebook, following allegations that Cambridge Analytica misused personal data of 50 million Americans for political purposes (see 1803200047), acting Director of the FTC Bureau of Consumer Protection Tom Pahl said Monday. Pahl said the FTC enforces against failures to comply with the Privacy Shield, the FTC Act and data security requirements, among other areas of consumer privacy concern. “The FTC takes very seriously recent press reports raising substantial concerns about the privacy practices of Facebook,” Pahl said. The National Association of Attorneys General on Monday sent a letter to Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg asking for answers about the company’s user privacy policies and practices. The group of 37 state and territory AGs also asked Zuckerberg how the company is making it easier for users to control their privacy. “These revelations raise many serious questions concerning Facebook’s policies and practices, and the processes in place to ensure they are followed,” the group wrote.
The Facebook-Cambridge Analytica scandal is further evidence that Congress needs to tighten scrutiny surrounding online political ads, Sens. Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn., and Mark Warner, D-Va., argued last week (see 1803220052).
If the autonomous vehicle that recently struck and killed a pedestrian in Arizona is found to be at fault (see 1803200064), it further underscores the need for swift legislative action, Sen. John Thune, R-S.D., told us. “That is one of the arguments of why we need to get a bill that creates a policy framework and some guardrails around everything’s that’s happened.” Thune is lead sponsor of the American Vision for Safer Transportation Through Advancement of Revolutionary Technologies Act (S-1885).
Privacy groups warned against a surge in human rights abuses after inclusion of the Clarifying Lawful Overseas Use of Data Act (Cloud) (S-2383/HR-4943) in the omnibus spending bill (see 1803210068 and 1803220048). Some within industry praised it as a vital step in freeing tech companies stuck between conflicting, outdated international laws. A congressional opponent told us he won't back down, while a supporter said it would have been better to have regular debate on the bill.
The Senate passed anti-sex trafficking legislation in a 97-2 vote Wednesday, paving the way for the signature of President Donald Trump, who signaled support for the measure (see 1803150039 and 1803080039). The House passed its version of the SESTA-FOSTA (the Stop Enabling Sex Traffickers-Allow States and Victims to Fight Online Sex Trafficking) package in February on a 388-25 vote.
The U.S. government has taken initial steps to secure federal networks and critical infrastructure, but the process of securing the IoT has just begun, said White House tech policy adviser Kelsey Guyselman Tuesday. Speaking at an event hosted by the American Bar Association and the FCBA, Guyselman detailed the goals of President Donald Trump’s executive order from May. Botnets and other automated threats aren't problems that can be solved by a single entity, agency or sector, she said, urging a collaborative approach to securing the IoT. Guyselman spoke in place of NTIA Administrator David Redl, who couldn't attend due to a scheduling conflict. On a separate panel, DOJ Computer Crime-Criminal Division Deputy Chief Michael Stawasz opposed the EU's general data protection regulation potentially impeding criminal investigations abroad. While working full-time to gain legal access to private data, and balancing law enforcement and privacy concerns, Stawasz said he likes the U.S.’ current framework “just fine.” The GDPR could potentially conflict with warrant compliance, he said. Wiley Rein's Megan Brown said, based on discussions with industry and officials in Europe, there has been a “slow awakening” that the GDPR could interfere with surveillance.
With Sens. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., and Rand Paul, R-Ky., opposed, anti-sex trafficking legislation (see 1803150039 and 1803080039) is slated for debate and a vote on the Senate floor Wednesday. The Senate 94-2 Monday approved a motion to invoke cloture on the motion to proceed to SESTA-FOSTA (the Stop Enabling Sex Traffickers-Allow States and Victims to Fight Online Sex Trafficking package). The House version of the bill, which includes Senate bill language and two amendments introduced by Wyden, will be up for Senate debate.
House Judiciary Committee Chairman Bob Goodlatte, R-Va., plans to mark up a music copyright package the week of April 9, a committee aide told us Tuesday (see 1803140061). Rep. Doug Collins, R-Ga., lead sponsor of the Music Modernization Act (MMA) (HR-4706), said he’s looking forward to movement on the bill. Asked during an event hosted by the Technology Policy Institute when Goodlatte plans to unveil the package, Collins said, “That’s up to Chairman Goodlatte, and I think the Classics Act’s always been discussed, the AMP [Allocation for Music Producers HR-881] Act’s always been discussed. We always said that having a good collaborative process, those are things that we could look at.”
Lawmakers are seeking hearings, potentially with executives from Facebook, Google and Twitter, after reports a political data analytics firm connected to the 2016 Trump campaign allegedly misused private information of more than 50 million Americans. Facebook suspended the accounts of Strategic Communication Laboratories and its data firm Cambridge Analytica Friday, citing violations of guidelines for user data collection. The announcement followed reports from The New York Times and The Guardian about the organization’s alleged misrepresentation and harvesting of user data.
Artificial intelligence functions properly through machine learning most of the time, but when it’s wrong, results can be “extraordinarily” bad, and this deserves attention, said Google Legal Director Kenneth Rubenstein Friday. He spoke on a panel at an Association of National Advertisers event about AI and autonomous driving.