March 2019

What Makes Sen Warren’s Platform Proposal So Potentially Important.

March 8, the Presidential campaign of Elizabeth Warren, not to be confused with the actual office of Sen Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), announced Warren’s plan for addressing the tech giants. What makes Warren’s contribution a potential game changer is that she goes well beyond the standard “break ’em up” rhetoric that has dominated most of the conversation to date, and focuses on sustainable sector specific regulation. What makes it so important and smart structurally is that the proposal: 

Sens Markey, Hawley Introduce Bipartisan Legislation to Update Children’s Online Privacy Rules

With increased tracking of children and teens online and the collection their personal data a widespread practice, Sens Ed Markey (D-MA) and Josh Hawley (R-MO) introduced legislation to update children’s online privacy rules for the 21st century. The legislation updates the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA) by prohibiting internet companies from collecting personal and location information from anyone under 13 without parental consent and from anyone 13- to 15-years old without the user’s consent.

For tech, antitrust is a fatal distraction

When leaders in Silicon Valley assess the new antitrust fever among candidates and policymakers, the prospect of corporate breakups isn't their biggest worry. Instead, insiders fear missing the next cycle of industry change if they're distracted and hobbled by antitrust conflicts. If executives are busy answering lawmaker inquiries and defending regulator lawsuits, they're less likely to be protecting their businesses from upstart challengers.