Tony Romm

Facebook and Google must answer to new cops on the beat – a group of five fresh Washington regulators at the Federal Trade Commission who have the power to punish Silicon Valley if it misbehaves. But veterans of the 103-year old watchdog say that the agency increasingly runs the risk of being outmatched by the very tech giants it oversees without more cash, cutting-edge staff and stronger legal teeth.

Politics and data are now inextricably linked. Cambridge Analytica was part of a world increasingly fueled by vast troves of personal data that billions of Internet users emit every day. Politicians now have the tools to target us each individually — based on data suggesting our race, religion, income, shopping habits, sexual orientation, medical concerns, personality traits, current location, past locations, pet preference or Zodiac sign if they'd like.

The Justice Department is investigating whether AT&T and Verizon may have colluded to thwart a technology that could allow wireless customers to switch network providers more easily.

Republican Reps have invited “Diamond” and “Silk,” two conservative video bloggers who were deemed “unsafe” by Facebook after becoming online sensations, to testify April 26 about allegations of conservative bias online.

The hearing before the House Judiciary Committee comes as Republican lawmakers accuse Facebook, Google and Twitter of favoring the liberal points of view popular in Silicon Valley and censoring conservative opinions. All three companies have been invited to attend the hearing but have not said whether they will attend.

Technology companies are readying themselves for sweeping new privacy rules that go into effect in May 2018 across the European Union. They could face billion-dollar fines if they fail to give European users far more control over their personal information. Whether the US Congress follows the European model, as some lawmakers floated, or whether big tech companies determine it’s too cumbersome to treat the 500 million people of the EU differently from the rest of the world, Europe is likely to keep setting the global pace for aggressive regulation.

When Mark Zuckerberg testifies to Congress the week of April 9, the Facebook chief executive will face off with lawmakers who have long been itching to confront him – on everything from a privacy mishap involving 87 million users to a litany of issues that have dogged the company for years. Zuckerberg’s scheduled appearance at two congressional hearings marks the first time that the tech leader will submit to questioning at the Capitol.

It was October 2010, and two members of Congress were furious with Facebook. In the eyes of then-Rep. Edward J. Markey and Rep. Joe Barton, the company had failed its users in allowing app developers to take personal data from them and their friends — and transmit it to marketers.

Fretting that those “series of breaches of consumer privacy” had affected millions on the social site, the bipartisan duo then sought to issue Facebook a subtle warning, touting the “comprehensive privacy legislation [that] is currently pending” on Capitol Hill.

The Federal Trade Commission has opened an investigation into Facebook following reports that a data analytics firm that had worked with the Trump campaign had improperly accessed names, “likes” and other personal information about tens of millions of the social site’s users without their knowledge. The FTC probe – confirmed by a source familiar with the agency's thinking and not authorized to speak on the record -- marks the most substantial political and legal threat yet to Facebook as it grapples with the fallout from Cambridge Analytica and its controversial tactics.

More than a year after entering the White House, President Donald Trump still has not selected his top science and technology adviser, leaving unfilled a critical policy post that guides the administration on issues as varied as artificial intelligence,  climate change and cancer research.

Proposed Federal Election Commission rules aimed at preventing foreign influence on US elections through better disclosure of online political ad sponsors may not take effect before the 2018 midterms, Chairwoman Caroline Hunter said.  “The commission has been reluctant to change the rules of the game in the middle of the election season, so that would be something we would want to seriously consider,” she said.