October 2015

A panel of federal judges decided that the National Security Agency can continue its phone-surveillance program in the period before a formal ban enacted by Congress takes effect. The decision from the Second US Court of Appeals, a small victory for the government, allows the NSA to maintain its bulk-surveillance program throughout a 180-day transition period. The transition was enacted in the USA Freedom Act, which President Barack Obama signed on June 2, 2015. The decision came in a case brought by the American Civil Liberties Union against a group of national security officials -- including Director of National Intelligence James Clapper and NSA Director Mike Rogers -- in an attempt to stop the bulk-surveillance program in its tracks. The case was filed June 213.

The ACLU scored a win in May when the court declared the NSA's bulk surveillance illegal, deeming the program unsanctioned by the Patriot Act. After that decision, ACLU filed for an injunction to immediately stop the spying. Oct 29's decision, however, acknowledges that although the USA Freedom Act shuts down the program in question, it expressly allows them to continue throughout the transition period, before a new, less intrusive system must be in place.

Of all the Republican presidential debates so far, Oct 28's event on CNBC had the most mentions of tech policy issues -- ranging from the sharing economy to network neutrality. Here's what you may have missed:

Internet Sales Tax: Should state governments levy new sales taxes on Internet shopping transactions? That's the question CNBC's Carl Quintanilla put to Carly Fiorina, who largely avoided answering with a long diatribe against crony capitalism and socialism.

Net Neutrality: "The [Federal Communications Commission] jumping in now and saying, 'we're going to put 400 pages of regulation over the Internet,' is going to create massive problems," Fiorina said. Sharp readers will recognize that line as a shot at the FCC's net neutrality rules, which aim to keep Internet providers from slowing down Web sites for financial gain.

Do H1-B visas encourage the outsourcing of jobs?: Sen Marco Rubio (R-FL) was asked to defend his stance on immigration, an issue that's near and dear to Silicon Valley. Sen Rubio wants to expand the number of H1-B visas given out to high-skilled foreign workers, but CNBC's John Harwood pointed out that that plan could lead employers to "undercut hiring and wages for highly qualified Americans."

Who had the bigger gaffe on immigration, Trump or CNBC?: CNBC's Becky Quick tried to nail Donald Trump for criticizing Mark Zuckerberg's call for more H1-B visa. At the debate, though, Trump said he was in favor of "people coming into this country legally. You can call it visas, you can call it work permits, you can call it anything you want."

Worker benefits and the sharing economy: Part-time workers often lack the same workplace benefits that full-time employees get. So, asked CNBC, should the government encourage retirement saving among "workers at small businesses, and the growing ranks of Uber drivers and other part-timers in the freelance economy"? This was a question that virtually set up the answer before it was done. Fiorina leapt to say that the government should play no role in setting up 401k-type plans for part-time workers.

Jeb Bush's insta-shutdown on daily fantasy sports: Daily fantasy sports leagues have recently come under scrutiny for basically being a form of gambling. Asked whether the situation requires government intervention, former Florida governor Jeb Bush gave a surprisingly fluid answer, bragging about his own fantasy league record and rattling off the names of a few football players before saying, essentially, yes.