Big Tech news and reports on Federal Newswire

TechNet, the national bipartisan network of innovation economy CEOs and senior executives, has issued a letter to the Senate Committee on Rules and Administration. This comes ahead of the committee's markup this week, which will examine several pieces of legislation related to artificial intelligence (AI) and elections.

Concerns mount over new spy powers targeting US data centers

More than 20 organizations have expressed their concerns in a letter to top officials, stating that they believe the new definition of an Electronic Communication Service Provider (ECSP) adopted by Congress might allow the National Security Agency (NSA) to compel almost any US business to assist them. The organizations highlighted that all companies today provide some sort of "service" and have access to equipment on which "communications" are stored.

Vermont legislature passes potent data privacy measure

The Vermont Legislature has passed a bill, considered one of the most robust data privacy measures in the country, prohibiting the sale of sensitive data such as social security and drivers’ license numbers, as well as financial or health information. This legislation also sets substantial limits on the amount of personal data that companies can collect and use, according to the nonprofit Electronic Privacy Information Center (EPIC) based in Washington, D.C.

Expert advises caution on sharing social security numbers

Cyberprivacy expert Alan Butler has expressed concern over the use of Social Security numbers as universal identifiers, stating, "It’s terrible from a security perspective." As the executive director of the Electronic Privacy Information Center, a nonprofit dedicated to defending privacy and identity rights, Butler has highlighted that these numbers are mandatory for any activity that triggers tax reporting. This includes employers reporting wages to the IRS.

ITIF report criticizes BEAD program's fiberoptic infrastructure bias

By Federal Newswire | May 13, 2024

Congress has committed over $42 billion to address the "digital divide." However, a new report from the Information Technology and Innovation Foundation (ITIF) suggests that this endeavor may not reach its full potential due to the federal Broadband Equity, Access and Deployment (BEAD) program's tendency to push states towards high-cost fiberoptic infrastructure, thereby neglecting other digital inclusion initiatives.

CDT Europe releases Spring 2024 Tech Policy Brief

By Federal Newswire | May 13, 2024

The Centre for Democracy & Technology Europe (CDT Europe) has released its Spring 2024 Tech Policy Brief, which covers pressing technology and internet policy issues under debate in Europe, the U.S., and internationally. The report also provides CDT's perspective on the impact of these issues on digital rights.

NVIDIA's new era: Nine global supercomputers powered by Grace Hopper

By Federal Newswire | May 12, 2024

NVIDIA has announced a significant shift in the high-performance computing industry towards AI-powered systems. The company revealed that nine new supercomputers worldwide are utilizing NVIDIA Grace Hopper™ Superchips to expedite scientific research and discovery. Collectively, these systems deliver 200 exaflops, equivalent to 200 quintillion calculations per second, of energy-efficient AI processing power.

NVIDIA boosts global supercomputing centers with CUDA-Q platform

By Federal Newswire | May 12, 2024

NVIDIA, the multinational technology company, has announced its plans to boost quantum computing at global supercomputing centers with the use of its open-source NVIDIA CUDA-Q™ platform. This initiative will be implemented in supercomputing sites located in Germany, Japan, and Poland. These sites will utilize the platform to power the Quantum Processing Units (QPUs) within their NVIDIA-accelerated high-performance computing systems.

EDPB's opinion on "Pay or Okay" models sparks debate

By Federal Newswire | May 10, 2024

Since the inception of the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) in 2018, there has been anticipation from civil society and apprehension from industry that its enforcement could signal the end of surveillance-based advertising and its associated tracking. A recent development occurred on April 17 when the European Data Protection Board (EDPB) issued a nonbinding opinion following Meta's introduction of a subscription option. This was in response to a ruling by the Court of Justice of the European Union, allowing users in the EU, EEA, and Switzerland to access an ad-free...

Quad9 launches human rights advisory council to enhance internet privacy

By Federal Newswire | May 10, 2024

Online actions, no matter how trivial they may seem, can have significant consequences. Clicking on a seemingly harmless link in an email could expose your device to malware. Unbeknownst to many, cellphone plan providers might be tracking all the websites you visit. In certain countries, accessing some websites might not even be possible. This is largely due to the fact that one of the fundamental technologies that power the internet was not initially designed with security, privacy and censorship considerations.

UK government celebrates £2 billion investment in tech industry

By Federal Newswire | May 10, 2024

The UK government has recently announced £2 billion in investments from the tech industry. The significant funding comes from decisions made by AI firm CoreWeave to establish its headquarters in the UK, and Siemens' choice to manufacture superconducting magnets for MRI scanners at a new facility in North Oxfordshire.

Heartbreak High' returns for final season after global success

Netflix's popular series 'Heartbreak High' is set to return for a third and final season. The announcement comes after the successful release of Season 2 on April 11, which premiered as one of the most-watched shows in Australia and globally. The show debuted at #1 in Australia and remained on the Global Top 10 English TV Series list for three consecutive weeks. Furthermore, the hashtag #HeartbreakHigh generated over 2 billion views on TikTok.

Netflix renews 'The Believers' for second season after successful debut

Netflix has officially announced the renewal of 'The Believers' for a second season, following a successful debut that saw the series ascend to the top spot on Netflix Thailand charts in its first week. The series sparked intense discussions across Thai society and benefited from an impactful campaign led by The Believers Ltd., a pioneering charitable company in Thailand.

New book debunks common myths about technology and innovation

In the midst of widespread accusations against new technologies and the tech companies that produce them, a recently published book seeks to debunk these allegations. "Technology Fears and Scapegoats," authored by Robert D. Atkinson and David Moschella, leading experts on technology and innovation, presents an argument that many of these charges are myths, falsehoods, and exaggerations.

The Conversation: Section 702 foreign surveillance law lives on, but privacy fight continues

"Privacy advocates, however, have been far from satisfied with the new amendments to FISA. For instance, the Electronic Privacy Information Center, the Brennan Center for Justice and FreedomWorks issued a paper stating: 'Making 56 ineffective tweaks to a fundamentally broken law is not reforming it.'"

CTA and AdvaMed host policy briefing on remote patient monitoring

The Consumer Technology Association (CTA)® and AdvaMed convened a policy briefing on remote patient monitoring (RPM) today, led by Congressional Digital Health Caucus Chairs Rep. Robin Kelly (D-IL) and Rep. Troy Balderson (R-OH).

CTA backs CREATE AI Act and Artificial Intelligence Research, Innovation, Accountability Act

The Consumer Technology Association (CTA)® has announced its support for two bipartisan bills in Congress, the CREATE AI Act (S.2714/ H.R.5077) and the Artificial Intelligence Research, Innovation, and Accountability Act of 2023 (S.3312). Gary Shapiro, CEO of CTA, expressed his organization's stance on these pieces of legislation.

ServiceNow and Microsoft expand alliance, enhancing AI capabilities

By Federal Newswire | May 8, 2024

ServiceNow (NYSE: NOW) and Microsoft Corp. (NASDAQ: MSFT) announced an expanded strategic alliance at ServiceNow’s annual customer and partner event, Knowledge 2024. The companies are combining their generative AI capabilities to enhance employee choice and flexibility. The integration of ServiceNow's Now Assist and Microsoft's Copilot brings together two generative AI assistants into one seamless enterprise experience, aiming to create value for enterprise workers and unlock new productivity avenues.

CDT and 50 Organizations Call on Meta to Maintain CrowdTangle for Election Cycle

By Federal Newswire | May 8, 2024

On May 7, CDT joined 50 other civil society organizations in a letter to Meta executives urging them to maintain the full functionality of CrowdTangle beyond Inauguration Day through at least January 31, 2025, to ensure this vital tool can be used to ensure the integrity of this important election cycle. CDT previously signed a coalition letter in March immediately after Meta’s announcement that it would shut down this service. CrowdTangle is a critical tool employed by a vast network of journalists, researchers, and election observers to scrutinize the flow of information...