A weekly digest of the latest news and research related to the work of the Technology, Economics, and Governance Working Group. Topics covered in the digest include cybersecurity, domestic regulation, innovation, international competition, social media disinformation, and the California exodus.
Industrial Policy, International Competition and Cooperation
China Plans to Ban U.S. IPOs for Data-Heavy Tech Firms | The Wall Street Journal
In a blow to Chinese tech companies’ global ambitions, the Chinese government has announced that companies that hold significant amounts of Chinese user data will not be allowed to file for IPOs in the U.S. The move exempts some firms in less sensitive areas, like pharmaceuticals, but likely prevents giants like Alibaba and Tencent from filing for IPOs in foreign markets. The move also sets the stage for China to require domestic companies to file for approval for overseas IPOs in the future.
WhatsApp is fined $267 million for breaching EU privacy rules | CNBC
On Thursday Ireland’s Data Protection Commission announced a €225 million fine against the messaging app WhatsApp for failure to adequately disclose to EU citizens what it does with user data. The commission ordered WhatsApp to make changes to its privacy policy and how it communicates policy changes with users. This is the largest fine the Irish regulator has handed out for violations of the GDPR. WhatsApp plans to appeal the fine.
Domestic Regulation
House adds $4.2B in cyber, innovation funding to NDAA | FedScoop
The House Armed Services Committee passed its version of the 2022 NDAA, adding $4.2 billion in “cyber and innovation” funding. As part of the increase, the Pentagon’s Joint Artificial Intelligence Center would get $57 million to fund a new AI and Data Acceleration initiative, an idea proposed by the National Security Commission on Artificial Intelligence. Another provision would require DoD to hire a team of software acquisition experts by January 2022.
Fall antitrust forecast: Biden raises hammer on big tech | Axios
This article summarizes the various antitrust efforts from Congress, the FTC, and the European Commission currently in play against Facebook, Google, Apple and Amazon, as things are expected to heat up this fall.
Apple will let video and music apps—but not games—link to other payment options | Ars Technica
In a clarification of last week’s announcement that Apple would allow developers to include their own payment options instead of using Apple’s proprietary payment methods, the company has announced that video and music apps will be allowed to use third-party payment options by early 2022. The move likely means that the lawsuit filed by Epic Games over Apple’s App Store practices, will continue to dog the tech giant.
Cyber
The first national cyber director has big plans to toughen U.S. digital defenses | Politico
In an interview with Politico this Monday, the inaugural national cyber director, Chris Inglis, discussed the challenges of taking a job whose creation the Biden administration opposed and which has limited practical power. Inglis aims to approach the position with the goal of building what he calls “federal coherence” on the topic of cybersecurity and aims to standardize and smooth processes across agencies. Inglis faces a large and complex infrastructure which in the past has failed to adapt to developments in cybersecurity and critical infrastructure.
Air Force chief software officer knocks DoD as he departs | Defense News
The Air Force’s chief software officer Nic Chaillan attacked the branch in an online post announcing his departure on Thursday. Chaillan criticized senior leaders within the force for not taking IT modernization seriously enough and preventing senior IT leaders from making necessary changes. Chaillan especially objected to the bureaucratic nature of the Air Force’s IT programs, and that those without IT experience were in positions making significant cybersecurity decisions.
Silicon Valley/California
Texas? Idaho? Where Californians Are Moving. | The New York Times
This piece analyzes the movement of people out of California and finds most Californians who leave the state are either staying on the West Coast, by moving to Washington or Oregon, or staying somewhat close in Nevada or Arizona. However, Texas was the largest beneficiary of this movement, with over 80,000 Californians moving to Texas in 2019.
Freedom of Speech, Domestic Democracy, and Extremism
Facebook will reduce political content in the News Feed starting today | Engadget
Starting Tuesday Facebook began to reduce the amount of political content appearing on News Feeds. The move comes as Facebook has received increasing pressure to curb the spread of misinformation on the platform. This will have significant ramifications for political campaigns and news organizations, both of which will need to adapt to reduced exposure on the platform. Critics say the reduction will do little to curb misinformation because of its spread through other features like Facebook Groups.
Amazon to remove more content that violates rules from cloud service, sources say | Reuters
Amazon announced Thursday that it would take a more proactive approach to policing content which violates its terms of service agreement. Amazon is also establishing a group within the company aimed at monitoring for future threats which could pose a risk of violence. The group will aim to prevent extremists groups from utilizing Amazon Web Services and stave off potential public relations and legal risks for the company.
Google Dragnets Gave Cops Data On Phones Located At Kenosha Riot Arsons | Forbes
Google handed over geofence data to authorities to help identify arsonists at two locations in the Kenosha riots in 2020. The warrants issued risked collecting bystander data, as the area surveyed included public sidewalks and covered a two hour period. Digital dragnets have been a recent source of legal controversy. In August 2020 a judge in Illinois declared them unconstitutional and legal challenges have been frequent in other jurisdictions.
