Germany’s Telecommunication Agency Bans Smartwatches for Kids

Germany’s telecommunication agency, the Bundesnetzagentur, has banned smartwatches for kids, and is asking parents to destroy them. According to Bleeping Computer, (via Gizmodo) the regulators have deemed smartwatches targeted at kids “prohibitive listening devices” and are asking parents to destroy any smartwatches their kids have and advising schools to pay closer attention to kids with them.

FCC Chair Plans Final Vote on Reversing Net Neutrality Order

The head of the Federal Communications Commission is set to unveil plans for a final vote to reverse a landmark 2015 net neutrality order barring the blocking or slowing of web content, two people briefed on the plans said. In May, the FCC voted 2-1 to advance Republican FCC Chairman Ajit Pai’s plan to withdraw the former Obama administration’s order reclassifying internet service providers as if they were utilities.

Amazon Warns Merchants About Changes to Sales Tax Collections

Amazon recently warned its sellers that the company, as of Jan. 1, would be collecting sales tax from merchants who ship orders to its home state, Washington, as it seeks to comply with a state law signed in July. That will be the first time Amazon has collected a state sales tax for the merchants known as marketplace sellers on its site.

White House Releases Rules for When to Disclose Cyber Security Flaws

The Trump administration publicly released its rules for deciding whether to disclose cyber security flaws or keep them secret, in an effort to bring more transparency to a process that has long been cloaked in mystery. The move is an attempt by the U.S. government to address criticism that it too often jeopardizes internet security by stockpiling the cyber vulnerabilities it detects in order to preserve its ability to launch its own attacks on computer systems.

Tech Trade Groups Concerned About Copyright in NAFTA Talks

The technology industry is mobilizing to push the Trump administration over concerns on copyright matters in discussions to renegotiate the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA). Top technology trade associations, which lobby on behalf technology firms’ political interests, say in a letter they’re concerned that NAFTA renegotiation discussions are going in the wrong direction on copyright provisions.

Trump Adviser Insists Tech Companies Engaging with White House

A top adviser to President Trump says that despite appearances, technology firms are actually interacting with the administration more than they let on. Reed Cordish, who advises Trump on tech policy, said that even though the administration has decreased its “photo opportunity ‘council meetings,’” with top firms, businesses are still talking one-on-one meetings to advise the president on specific policy issues.

YouTube Confirms Change in Policy on Removing Extremist Videos

Alphabet Inc’s Google in the last few months has begun removing from YouTube extremist videos that do not depict violence or preach hate, YouTube said, a major policy shift as social media companies face increasing pressure from governments.The new policy affects videos that feature people and groups that have been designated as terrorist by the U.S. or British governments but lack the gory violence or hateful speech that were already barred by YouTube.

Court Limits Justice Dep't in Viewing Data on Facebook Protesters

A court in Washington, D.C., has moved to limit the scope of search warrants obtained by federal investigators for Facebook data in connection with an ongoing investigation into criminal rioting on Inauguration Day. As a result of the order, the Department of Justice will be blocked from viewing identifying information on innocent third-party Facebook users who interacted with a page used to organize protests against President Trump on Jan. 20. 

ADL Launches Center for Technology and Society to Fight Hate Online

The Anti-Defamation League is making another move to enlist the tech industry in its efforts to curb hate online. The civil rights organization said it's opened the Center for Technology and Society, complete with an advisory board stacked with notable names like Reddit CEO Steve Huffman, Facebook Vice President of Product Guy Rosen, and Bumble CEO Whitney Wolfe.

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YouTube Begins Blocking Videos from Extremist Anwar al-Awlaki

Under growing pressure from governments and counterterrorism advocates, YouTube has drastically reduced its video archive of Anwar al-Awlaki, an American cleric who remains the leading English-language jihadist recruiter on the Internet six years after he was killed by a United States drone strike. Using video fingerprinting technology, YouTube now flags his videos automatically and human reviewers block most of them before anyone sees them, company officials say.

Missouri Attorney General Opens Consumer Protection Probe of Google

Missouri’s attorney general has launched a broad investigation into whether Google is violating the state’s consumer-protection and antitrust laws, a new front in the Internet giant’s regulatory battles. Missouri Attorney General Josh Hawley said he issued an investigative subpoena to probe Google’s collection of user data, its use of other sites’ content, and its alleged manipulation of search results to favor its own services.

Google Supports New Disclosure Rules for Online Political Ads

Google said that it would support the Federal Election Commission (FEC) implementing new disclosure rules for online political ads. In a filing submitted to the FEC, the Internet giant argued that advertisers and online platforms could use clearer regulations for what information needs to be disclosed on political ads and what types of ads qualify for the disclosures.

Sex Trafficking Act Could Hurt Wikipedia, Foundation Says

Numerous tech companies have voiced their support for a bill currently working its way through Congress, the Stop Enabling Sex Trafficking Act (or SESTA), which is designed to make it easier for prosecutors to target websites that enable sex work. Wikimedia, the foundation behind Wikipedia, is concerned that the new bill will overreach, and make it difficult for sites built on user-generated content to continue to operate.

NSA Still Evaluating Impact of Hacking by 'Shadow Brokers'

Fifteen months into a wide-ranging investigation by the agency’s counterintelligence arm, known as Q Group, and the FBI, officials still do not know whether the NSA is the victim of a brilliantly executed hack, with Russia as the most likely perpetrator, an insider’s leak, or both. Three employees have been arrested since 2015 for taking classified files, but there is fear that one or more leakers may still be in place. And there is broad agreement that the damage from the Shadow Brokers already far exceeds the harm to American intelligence done by Edward J. Snowden, the former NSA contractor who fled with four laptops of classified material in 2013.

Coding Error Could Let Hackers Intercept Texts, Calls

Up to 180 million smartphone owners are at risk of having some of their text messages and calls intercepted by hackers because of a simple coding error in at least 685 mobile apps, cyber-security firm Appthority warned. Developers mistakenly coded credentials for accessing services provided by Twilio Inc., said Appthority’s director of security research, Seth Hardy. 

Creator of Opera Browser Warns About 'Perfect Storm' of Privacy

People should worry about online data collection by technology companies because it gives them unparalleled insight into users lives, said the creator of one of the biggest web browsers, Opera. Jon von Tetzchner said the situation was already comparable to George Orwell’s dystopian novel ‘1984’, since “everyone is being followed and everyone’s information is being collected.”