David McCabe

San Jose mayor quits FCC's Broadband Deployment Advisory Committee

San Jose Mayor Sam Liccardo resigned from the Federal Communications Commission's Broadband Deployment Advisory Committee, alleging that the committee is dealing internet service providers "a very favorable hand” of policy recommendations. "It has become abundantly clear that despite the good intentions of several participants, the industry-heavy makeup of BDAC will simply relegate the body to being a vehicle for advancing the interests of the telecommunications industry over those of the public,” said Mayor Liccardo.

Forced to Change: Tech Giants Bow to Global Onslaught of Rules

Soon, Google will have changed how it displays certain search results. Microsoft will no longer have Windows customers use its Bing internet search tool by default. And Apple will give iPhone and iPad users access to rival app stores and payment systems for the first time. The tech giants have been preparing ahead of a March 6 deadline to comply with a new European Union law intended to increase competition in the digital economy.

Google Allows More App Payment Options in Antitrust Deal With States

Google will allow developers on its Play app store to offer direct payment options to users in the company’s latest move to navigate increased regulatory scrutiny of its power. Google will allow apps to charge consumers directly rather than having to charge through Google.

Ruling Puts Social Media at Crossroads of Disinformation and Free Speech

Two months after President Biden took office, his top digital adviser emailed officials at Facebook urging them to do more to limit the spread of “vaccine hesitancy” on the social media platform. At the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, officials held “weekly sync” meetings with Facebook, once emailing the company 16 “misinformation” posts. And in the summer of 2021, the surgeon general’s top aide repeatedly urged Google, Facebook and Twitter to do more to combat disinformation.

Federal Judge Limits Biden Officials’ Contacts With Social Media Sites

Judge Terry Doughty of the US District Court for the Western District of Louisiana restricted parts of the Biden administration from communicating with social media platforms about broad swaths of content online.

The Era of Borderless Data Is Ending

The information pings around the world at the speed of a click, becoming a kind of borderless currency that underpins the digital economy. Largely unregulated, the flow of bits and bytes helped fuel the rise of transnational megacompanies like Google and Amazon and reshaped global communications, commerce, entertainment and media. Now the era of open borders for data is ending.

Florida, in a First, Will Fine Social Media Companies That Bar Candidates

Florida became the first state to regulate how companies like Facebook, YouTube and Twitter moderate speech online, by imposing fines on social media companies that permanently bar political candidates for statewide office. The law, signed by Gov. Ron DeSantis (R-FL), is a direct response to Facebook’s and Twitter’s bans of former President Donald Trump in January.

A Global Tipping Point for Reining In Tech Has Arrived

Around the world, governments are moving simultaneously to limit the power of tech companies with an urgency and breadth that no single industry had experienced before. Their motivation varies.

Tech’s Legal Shield Appears Likely to Survive as Congress Focuses on Details

Former President Donald J. Trump called multiple times for repealing the law that shields tech companies from legal responsibility over what people post. President Biden, as a candidate, said the law should be “revoked.” But the lawmakers aiming to weaken the law have started to agree on a different approach. They are increasingly focused on eliminating protections for specific kinds of content rather than making wholesale changes to the law or eliminating it entirely.

Google’s Legal Peril Grows in Face of Third Antitrust Suit

More than 30 states added to Google’s mushrooming legal woes, accusing the company of illegally arranging its search results to push out smaller rivals. The bipartisan group of state prosecutors said in a lawsuit that Google downplayed websites that let users search for information in specialized areas like home repair services and travel reviews. The prosecutors also accused the company of using exclusive deals with phone makers like Apple to prioritize Google’s search service over rivals like Firefox and DuckDuckGo.

Big Tech Was The Enemy of the House Judiciary Committee, Until Partisanship Fractured the Battle Plans

For all the divisions in Washington, one issue that had united Republicans and Democrats in recent years was their animus toward the power of the biggest tech companies. That bipartisanship was supposed to come together soon in a landmark House report that caps a 15-month investigation into the practices of Amazon, Apple, Facebook and Google. The report was set to feature recommendations from lawmakers to rein in the companies, including the most sweeping changes to US antitrust laws in half a century.

Big Tech Makes Inroads With the Biden Campaign

Joseph Biden has been critical of Big Tech, admonishing Facebook for mishandling misinformation and saying internet companies should lose a central legal protection.

Lawmakers, United in Their Ire, Lash Out at Big Tech’s Leaders

The chief executives of Amazon, Apple, Google and Facebook -- four tech giants worth nearly $5 trillion combined -- faced withering questions from Republican and Democratic lawmakers alike for the tactics and market dominance that had made their enterprises successful. For more than five hours, the 15 members of an antitrust panel in the House lobbed questions and repeatedly interrupted and talked over Jeff Bezos of Amazon, Tim Cook of Apple, Mark Zuckerberg of Facebook and Sundar Pichai of

Amazon, Apple, Facebook and Google Prepare for Their ‘Big Tobacco Moment’

After lawmakers collected hundreds of hours of interviews and obtained more than 1.3 million documents about Amazon, Apple, Facebook and Google, their chief executives will testify before Congress on July 29 to defend their powerful businesses from the hammer of government. The captains of the New Gilded Age — Jeff Bezos of Amazon, Tim Cook of Apple, Mark Zuckerberg of Facebook and Sundar Pichai of Google — will appear together before Congress for the first time to justify their business pract

Google’s European Search Menu Draws Interest of US Antitrust Investigators

For the last few months, some people who bought a new smartphone in Europe with Google’s Android software were presented with an extra option while setting up the device: choosing a search engine other than Google. This so-called choice menu started appearing on new smartphones and tablet computers running Google software after March, part of an effort by the internet giant to address a 2018 ruling from European authorities that the company had abused its dominance in smartphone software to unfairly give an advantage to its search engine.

Poor Americans Face Hurdles in Getting Promised Internet

Internet providers like Charter and Comcast have introduced offers of free and low-cost internet with great fanfare in the last several weeks. The companies have said they want to help connect poor Americans during a pandemic that has shifted much of life online. Schools and community organizations have aggressively promoted the offers. Scores of customers have tried to sign up. But people signing up for the programs have encountered unexpected difficulties and roadblocks, according to interviews with people who have tried to sign up or who have helped them.

Lawmakers Urge Aggressive Action From Regulators on Big Tech

The Senate Antitrust Subcommittee pressed top antitrust regulators to aggressively investigate the power of the country’s biggest tech companies, with some lawmakers questioning whether the officials had the will or resources to take on Silicon Valley’s richest businesses. The lawmakers pushed for assurances that the agencies would provide vigorous oversight of the companies. But the regulators — Joe Simons, the chairman of the Federal Trade Commission, and Makan Delrahim, the top antitrust official at the Justice Department — offered few details about their inquiries into the industry.

Tech regulators put to the test

The backlash against giant tech companies is stressing the public institutions tasked with examining their power, as participants, observers and critics question whether regulators have the skill, will and authority to check corporate forces. The machinery of antitrust regulation will process the broader conversation about tech's role in society through the mill of American politics and law — and some wonder whether it's up to the task.

White House convened top officials to combat infighting over 5G

Tensions over 5G have come to a head within the Trump administration, prompting Acting Chief of Staff Mick Mulvaney to convene a high-level White House meeting to hammer out policy disputes between government agencies.

Competitors could arm regulators in Big Tech antitrust probes

A proliferation of antitrust investigations into the tech giants is offering competitors a chance to sound off on claims that their larger rivals are playing dirty. If the Department of Justice or Federal Trade Commission pursue formal investigations into Google, Facebook, Amazon or Apple, they’ll need all the evidence they can get. The companies that compete with them could provide that by the ton. But, speaking up can come at a cost to smaller companies, including angering the powerful corporate giants and signaling to investors that you might go under without government intervention.

Fate of T-Mobile-Sprint deal rests with DoJ

Despite a host of concessions offered by Sprint and T-Mobile that won over Federal Communications Commission Chairman Ajit Pai, the fate of the deal hinges on the competition questions that reportedly continue to dog the deal at the Department of Justice. At the DOJ, deals are approved if they won't hurt competition, which is usually determined by potential impact on consumer prices. Discord between the FCC and DOJ is unusual, as the agencies usually collaborate and share information during merger reviews.

How the past is shaping Big Tech's future

Battles over corporate power that played out over the course of the 20th century may provide the best clues to how companies like Google, Facebook and Amazon might ultimately be reined in. Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg has said that the moderation of malicious content online could be overseen by an industry standards body similar to the Hollywood system for rating movies established in the 1960s. Another potential model is the body with roots in the 1930s that polices the securities industry, according to Zuckerberg’s top US policy executive, Kevin Martin.

Amazon's neighborhood watch app raises discrimination, privacy fears

Advocates and experts are worried that an Amazon-owned mobile app, used by owners of its Ring security cameras to upload videos for neighbors to see, could entrench racial discrimination and violate people's privacy. The app, called Neighbors, is striking deals to partner with police departments across the country. Recently, journalists on Twitter noticed Ring was hiring an editor — prompting concerns that Amazon was stoking community fears to sell security systems, as Amazon bought Ring in 2018. People with and without Ring cameras can download the Neighbors app.

Big Tech's shifting lobbying army

The fast-evolving internet ecosystem is changing how tech companies form alliances to lobby policy-makers in Washington. Lines are blurring or becoming more stark among different tech, media, and telecommunication companies. Telecom companies are producing content, while platform companies are exploring new services like internet connections. That means sectors are no longer staying in their lanes, and regulatory scrutiny is shifting. Comcast and AT&T, both telecom powers, are now the owners of members of the Motion Picture Association of America.