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  2. November 2018

November 2018

Senator-Elect Josh Hawley (R-MO) could be Google’s fiercest critic

Missouri Attorney General Josh Hawley's victory over Sen Claire McCaskill (D-MO) is an ominous sign for one company in particular: Google. Hawley campaigned as an antagonist to big technology companies in general and Google in particular. In 2017, as MO's attorney general, Hawley launched a wide-ranging investigation into Google's business practices. "There is strong reason to believe that Google has not been acting with the best interest of Missourians in mind," Hawley said in a Nov 2017 statement.

Chairman Pai, don’t cut off the Lifeline to your home state

A new proposal spearheaded by Federal Communications Commission Chairman Ajit Pai aims to eliminate the ability of certain carriers to provide Lifeline services, disproportionately affecting rural areas. Kansas would be hit hard by the harsh new Lifeline rules. It is estimated that about 70 percent of the state’s 45,131 Lifeline households would lose service, including veterans and seniors.

New report suggests Latin America will lag in internet growth

A new report from Cisco forecasts an alarmingly slow internet traffic growth rate for Latin America, especially when compared to the other lagging regions, like the Middle East and Africa. When it comes to internet speed, Latin America is far behind all other regions and will continue to lag over the next five years, per the report.

Misinformation bots are smarter than we thought

Bots spreading misinformation are using more sophisticated techniques, like going after specific human influencers and targeting misleading information within the first few seconds of it being posted, according to new studies.

European consumer groups want regulators to act against Google tracking

Consumer agencies in the Netherlands, Poland and five other European Union countries asked privacy regulators to take action against Google for allegedly tracking the movements of millions of users in breach of the bloc’s new privacy law.  Google is already facing a lawsuit in the United States for allegedly tracking phone users regardless of privacy settings. The consumer groups, which included those in the Czech Republic, Greece, Norway, Slovenia and Sweden, filed complaints with their respective national data protection authorities, based on research by their Norwegian counterpart.

Senate Commerce Chairman Thune Names New Committee Deputy Staff Director

Senate Commerce Committee Chairman John Thune (R-SD) announced the promotion of Crystal Tully, who previously served as policy director and counsel for communications and technology, to deputy staff director of the full Commerce Committee. “As we head into the closing days of the current congress, I’ve asked Crystal to play a larger role in helping us finish strong and laying groundwork for the committee’s next chapter,” said Chairman Thune.

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