Washington Post

Sen. Edward J. Markey (D-MA) threatened to crack down on Elon Musk’s companies after the billionaire took a cheeky swipe at him on Twitter, showing how Democrats might engage with the billionaire now that they have retained control of the congressional chamber. “One of your companies is under [a Federal Trade Commission] consent decree,” Sen Markey said, referring to the mogul’s new acquisition. “Auto safety watchdog NHTSA is investigating another for killing people. And you’re spending your time picking fights online. Fix your companies.

An offshore company that is trusted by the major web browsers and other tech companies to vouch for the legitimacy of websites has connections to contractors for US intelligence agencies and law enforcement, according to security researchers, documents, and interviews. Google’s Chrome, Apple’s Safari, nonprofit Firefox, and others allow the company, TrustCor Systems, to act as what’s known as a root certificate authority, a powerful spot in the internet’s infrastructure that guarantees websites are not fake, guiding users to them seamlessly. The company’s Panamanian registration records sho