Uber to pay $20 million to settle claims it misled drivers about pay, financing

by @andyjayhawk Jan 19, 2017, 5:36pm EST

Uber claimed NYC drivers could earn as much as $90K

Mark Zuckerberg is suing Hawaiian land owners to secure his 700-acre island getaway

by @nickstatt Jan 19, 2017, 3:28pm EST

Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg is going to great lengths to protect his privacy on the Hawaiian island of Kauai, where he purchased a 700-acre plot of land in 2014 for more than $100 million. Starting last month, Zuckerberg began filing lawsuits...

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Policy & Law

Fatal Tesla Autopilot accident investigation ends with no recall ordered

by @andyjayhawk Jan 19, 2017, 11:08am EST

The federal investigation into the fatal accident involving a Tesla Model S in Autopilot mode has ended, with no vehicle recalls being ordered. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, which had been investigating the crash for over six...

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How the White House will hand over social media accounts to President Trump

by Chris Welch Jan 19, 2017, 11:00am EST

The White House this week published an overview explaining its plans for a "digital transition" between the departing Obama administration and the incoming 45th president of the United States, Donald Trump. It details how each White House social...

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French minors will soon be able to watch real sex scenes in cinemas

by @amartoo Jan 19, 2017, 7:46am EST

Minors in France will no longer be automatically prohibited from watching movies with non-simulated sex scenes, under new regulations that are set to be announced next month. As French television station BFM TV reports, the forthcoming changes...

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Germany grapples with fake news ahead of elections

by @amartoo Jan 19, 2017, 3:09am EST

Facebook faced withering criticism in the US for allowing fake news to spread during the 2016 presidential election. Now, the social network has come under similar scrutiny in Germany, amid concerns that widespread disinformation campaigns could...

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Palmer Luckey defends the early days of Oculus in VR trade secrets trial

by @nickstatt Jan 18, 2017, 7:18pm EST

Palmer Luckey became tech industry royalty at age 21, when he sold his burgeoning virtual reality company Oculus VR to Facebook in 2014 for $2 billion. That fateful decision, while a milestone for virtual reality, is now causing headaches for...

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Julian Assange’s lawyer says Obama still hasn’t met standards for extradition promise

by @thedextriarchy Jan 18, 2017, 12:19pm EST

A lawyer for WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange says that President Barack Obama hasn’t met Assange’s standards for a promise to face extradition, something WikiLeaks claimed he would do if Obama granted whistleblower Chelsea Manning clemency....

Julian Assange remains silent on extradition promise

by @amartoo Jan 18, 2017, 4:10am EST

WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange welcomed President Obama’s decision to commute the prison sentence of Chelsea Manning on Thursday, but it is not clear whether he will agree to extradition to the US, as WikiLeaks previously said. "Ms. Manning is a...

Qualcomm sued by US regulators for anti-competitive practices

by Jacob Kastrenakes Jan 17, 2017, 5:34pm EST

Qualcomm is being sued by the United States Federal Trade Commission for anti-competitive practices relating to the way it sells modems for devices like smartphones. According to the FTC, Qualcomm used its dominant position as a modem supplier to...

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Lyft envisions a future where you either carpool or pay to drive

by @andyjayhawk Jan 17, 2017, 2:31pm EST

Logan Green and John Zimmer, the co-founders of Lyft, have an idea for ending traffic, but you may not like it. They published an op-ed today on Medium called “The End of Traffic,” in which they propose encouraging more people to carpool by...

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From Recode

The FAA just issued the largest fine ever against a company for flying drones illegally

by Recode Staff Jan 17, 2017, 2:29pm EST

In October, the FAA proposed a $1.9 million fine, but today announced the fine would only be $200,000

Facebook rolls out fake news filter in Germany

by @amartoo Jan 15, 2017, 9:34am EST

Facebook will begin rolling out its fake news filter in Germany, the Financial Times reports, where lawmakers have expressed growing concern over the spread of fabricated news stories and Russian interference ahead of national elections later this...

Fiat Chrysler reportedly facing US criminal probe in emission scandal

by @andyjayhawk Jan 13, 2017, 2:26pm EST

A few days after being accused by the Environmental Protection Agency of cheating on its emissions tests, Fiat Chrysler is now being investigated by the Justice Department for failing to disclose secret software that allegedly facilitated the...

Outgoing FCC chief Tom Wheeler offers final defense of net neutrality

by Jacob Kastrenakes Jan 13, 2017, 2:24pm EST

The outgoing head of the Federal Communications Commission, Tom Wheeler, used his final public speech to make a closing argument for maintaining net neutrality, the signature achievement of his time at the agency. “The overarching goal of the new...

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A lot more people will now have access to the NSA’s raw surveillance data

by @russellbrandom Jan 12, 2017, 12:46pm EST

The Obama administration has greatly expanded the NSA’s power to share raw intelligence within the US government, as reported by The New York Times. The new rules were signed by the attorney general on January 3rd, putting them into effect less...

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US Department of Transportation sets up new committee to steer automated tech

by @jjvincent Jan 12, 2017, 5:49am EST

The US Department of Transportation (DOT) has announced the formation a new committee dedicated to guiding policy on automated tech. The group will cover everything from autonomous drones to self-driving trucks, cars, and buses, and is comprised...

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Former child porn moderators claim Microsoft failed to treat their PTSD

by @amartoo Jan 12, 2017, 4:45am EST

Two former Microsoft employees who were responsible for monitoring child pornography and other criminal material have filed a lawsuit against the company, The Daily Beast reports, alleging that they were not provided with psychological support to...

New FCC report says AT&T and Verizon zero-rating violates net neutrality

by @russellbrandom Jan 11, 2017, 5:37pm EST

Just a week and a half before he is set to leave office, FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler has issued a new report stating that the zero-rated video services offered by AT&T and Verizon may violate the FCC’s Open Internet Order. Assembled by the FCC’s...

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Proposed EU law could kill cookie banners that no one reads

by @nattgarun Jan 11, 2017, 12:45pm EST

The European Commission has proposed new regulations that would curb the way companies track users on the internet. Part of that plan would be to remove website banners that provide disclaimers on cookie policies and have the user’s browser...

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France’s ‘right to disconnect’ is a nice idea, but it’s also pretty vague

by @amartoo Jan 11, 2017, 8:53am EST

New law aims to combat employee burnout, but it’s short on specifics

Legal challenge against UK’s sweeping surveillance laws quickly crowdfunded

by @jjvincent Jan 10, 2017, 8:44am EST

Human rights campaign Liberty is launching a legal challenge against the UK’s recently passed surveillance legislation, and have reached an initial crowdfunding goal to pay for the fight this morning. The group raised £10,000 ($12,200) overnight,...

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Germany investigates fake news after bogus Breitbart story

by @amartoo Jan 10, 2017, 5:10am EST

The German government is investigating a recent surge in fake news, Reuters reports, following claims that Russia is attempting to meddle in the country’s parliamentary elections later this year. The investigation comes after police in the city of...

Far-right blogger Chuck C. Johnson is reportedly helping vet Trump administration candidates

by @thedextriarchy Jan 9, 2017, 7:12pm EST

Far-right blogger Chuck C. Johnson is reportedly helping pick members of President-elect Donald Trump’s administration. According to Forbes, multiple anonymous sources say Johnson is working with Trump transition team members — including Facebook...

The FTC has sued D-Link over unsecure routers and webcams

by @AndrewLiptak Jan 7, 2017, 1:00pm EST

The Federal Trade Commission has filed a lawsuit against the Taiwan-based D-Link Corporation and its US subsidiary, D-Link Systems, Inc., for not taking steps to secure their devices, which left them vulnerable to hackers. In the complaint, filed...

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Star Trek fan film isn't protected by fair use, rules US judge

by @AndrewLiptak Jan 5, 2017, 4:49pm EST

A US District Court Judge has sided with Paramount and CBS in a copyright lawsuit involving the Star Trek fan film Axanar, which had raised over a million dollars via crowdfunding. The filmmakers had argued that Paramount’s lawsuit was premature...

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Donald Trump asked Rupert Murdoch to name picks for FCC chair

by @russellbrandom Jan 4, 2017, 1:27pm EST

Newscorp CEO Rupert Murdoch may have a significant influence in the next four years of American telecom policy. According to a new report from New York Magazine’s Gabriel Sherman, President-elect Trump has asked the conservative Australian...

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Finland launches two-year experiment in basic income for the unemployed

by @jjvincent Jan 3, 2017, 5:11am EST

The centuries-old concept of universal basic income (in which states provide citizens with money regardless of how much they work) continues to spark interest around the world, with Finland the latest country to experiment with a limited form of...

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Republican proposal would fine Congress members who live stream from House floor

by @thedextriarchy Dec 28, 2016, 10:26am EST

Republican lawmakers have proposed fining Congressional representatives who stream live video or post photos from the House floor, in an apparent attempt to stop a repeat of last year’s Democratic live-streamed sit-in protest. NBC News reports...

At least SOMEBODY cares about net neutrality

by @Trixxy Dec 28, 2016, 8:40am EST

Last week, Dutch regulators ordered T-Mobile to stop its Data-free Music service because the "zero rating" offering violates net neutrality rules in The Netherlands. The service is similar to T-Mobile's Binge On plan offered in the US where the...

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Police want an Echo's data to prove a murder case, but how much does it really know?

by @ashleyrcarman Dec 27, 2016, 1:08pm EST

Police in Bentonville, Arkansas are turning to Amazon to help prosecute a suspected murderer. The case, which was first spotted by The Information and goes back to 2015, shines a light on how smart home devices might start playing a larger role in...

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Russian hackers linked to DNC attack also targeted Ukrainian military, says report

by @jjvincent Dec 23, 2016, 9:07am EST

The cybersecurity firm tasked with investigating the hack of the Democratic National Committee has published a new report claiming that the group that hit the DNC also targeted Ukrainian military units. This connection increases the likelihood...

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New emails reveal how Marc Andreessen courted Rahm Emanuel on Airbnb’s behalf

by @colinlecher Dec 22, 2016, 4:24pm EST

Lawsuits from the Chicago Tribune and Better Government Association have forced Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel to release thousands of pages of email correspondence from a private account, and the documents are providing an unusual glimpse at how...

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Obama ending program that tracked Muslim travelers before Trump can use it

by @colinlecher Dec 22, 2016, 12:14pm EST

President Obama will officially end a controversial Bush-era registration program that largely affected travelers from Muslim-majority nations, the Department of Homeland Security has announced. Donald Trump’s advisers have suggested the program...

Canada declares ‘high-speed’ internet essential for quality of life

by @jjvincent Dec 22, 2016, 6:44am EST

Canada has recognized the obvious and declared high-speed broadband internet access a “basic telecommunications service” that every citizen should be able to access. Previously, only landline telephone services had received this designation from...

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Apple and Nokia are fighting about patents again

by @ashleyrcarman Dec 21, 2016, 5:47pm EST

Apple and Nokia settled a patent lawsuit back in 2011, but now, they’re back at it again. This time, Apple is filing an antitrust lawsuit, not against Nokia but instead against third-party companies known as patent assertion entities, or PAEs,...

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EU says UK surveillance laws are illegal and not ‘justified within a democratic society’

by @jjvincent Dec 21, 2016, 6:06am EST

The European Union has ruled that the “general and and indiscriminate” collection of computer data by governments is only permitted when used to fight serious crime. The decision, handed down today by the European Court of Justice, directly...

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A Google employee is suing the company for being too confidential

by @nickstatt Dec 20, 2016, 6:35pm EST

A Google product manager has filed a lawsuit against the company for its confidentiality policies on the grounds they violate California labor laws, according to a report from The Information. The suit, filed today in California Superior Court in...

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