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  2. April 2016

April 2016

Poll: Voters trust tech companies ahead of FBI on data security

A majority of voters trust major technology companies to protect customers’ personal information more than the federal government, according to a poll commissioned by The App Association. The results found that when given the choice, 54 percent of voters said they trust companies like Apple, Google and Facebook to do a better job securing their personal information. Another 21 percent chose federal agencies like the FBI ahead of tech companies. A large portion did not choose either.

The survey was commissioned by the technology trade group and conducted by the firm Purple Insights. The poll showed most people are concerned about their private data being breached, and 7 in 10 believe hacking is increasing. The poll is meant to bolster the technology industry’s arguments as it battles the government over encryption.

Lobbyists and Corporations, Arm-in-Arm

Lobbying spending in the United States has stagnated at a little over $3 billion a year ever since the 2008 financial crisis (thanks in part to changes in lobbying rules). But the rankings of lobbying's big spenders have shifted, according to data from the Center for Responsive Politics. For example, Google, now Alphabet, spent just $180,000 on lobbying when it went public in 2004, putting it at 1,892 in the national lobbying rankings. Now it's in twelfth place, with a $16.7 million tab in 2015. Within Corporate America, Internet-related entities, retail and real estate have seen the biggest jumps in lobbying spending over the past five years.

The tech industry, once known for its aversion to government wheel-greasing, now embraces its inner lobbyist. It has nearly tripled its lobbying spending since 2010. Copyright, patent and trademark issues remain top priorities for the tech industry, along with business battles with telecoms. Tech companies’ lobbying efforts also seek to shape public policy on everything from the laws governing Uber's drivers to those affecting Google's driverless cars.

Amanda Bennett to Serve as Director of the Voice of America

Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Amanda Bennett was sworn in as the 29th Director of the Voice of America (VOA). Bennett has had a distinguished career in journalism. Most recently, she has been a contributing columnist for The Washington Post. She served as executive editor for Bloomberg News, where she created and ran a global team of investigative reporters and editors, and also co-founded the Bloomberg News’ Women’s Project. Bennett was editor of The Philadelphia Inquirer and the Lexington Herald-Leader. She also served as managing editor/projects for The Oregonian in Portland (OR).

Bennett was a longtime reporter, correspondent and editor for the Wall Street Journal. In 1997, she shared the Pulitzer Prize for National Reporting with her Wall Street Journal colleagues, and in 2001 led a team from The Oregonian to a Pulitzer Prize for Public Service. She was a member of Pulitzer Prize Board from 2003 to 2010 and served as the Board’s co-chair in 2010. She has also served on the boards of The Gerald Loeb Awards, the American Society of News Editors and the Fund for Investigative Journalism. A graduate of Harvard College, Bennett is the author of six books, including "The Cost of Hope," her memoir of the battle she and Terence Foley, her late husband, fought against his kidney cancer. She is co-founder of TheDream.US, which provides college scholarships to the children of undocumented immigrants in the United States.

Supreme Court won’t hear case against Google Books

The Supreme Court declined to hear an appeal from the Authors Guild alleging that Google Books infringes upon writers' copyrighted works. The high court’s decision not to hear the case means the lower court decision in favor of Google remains in place. Last October, the 2nd Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that Google’s project falls within the limits of fair use. The news could finally shut the door on the case brought by a series of authors who sued over the decade-old project. Google, which makes digital copies of books picked out by major libraries and allows the public to search and view snippets online, estimated it could be out billions if it lost the case. Lower courts had ruled that Google's project falls within the limits of fair use because the works are meaningfully transformed and the project does not offer the public a meaningful substitute to buying the book. The 2nd Circuit Court ruled Google’s search function is a transformative use of the works and it expands the public’s knowledge. The court also ruled that Google’s profit motivations do not exclude it from fair use protections.

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