Senators Want Trump to Suspend Approvals of Tech Sales to Huawei

A bipartisan group of senators wants President Trump’s administration to suspend its approval of U.S. technology sales to China’s Huawei, saying the manufacturer of cellphones and 5G network equipment poses risks to national security. In a letter to Trump, 15 senators expressed concern about the Commerce Department’s move to begin issuing licenses allowing some sales of semiconductors and other parts, despite Huawei’s remaining on a U.S. trade blacklist.

Facebook Agrees to Turn Over More Documents in Calif. Privacy Probe

Facebook Inc. has agreed to turn over additional documents after the California state attorney general’s office went to court earlier this month to compel the social media firm to comply with requests for information in its privacy investigation. Under a joint stipulation filed in San Francisco Superior Court, the company agreed by Nov. 26 to respond some of the document requests.

Senate Democrats Question Amazon About 'Sensitive' Video Footage

A group of Senate Democrats raised concerns around the data security practices of Amazon's home security company, Ring. In a letter to Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos, Democratic Sens. Ron Wyden (Ore.), Chris Van Hollen (Md.), Chris Coons (Del.), Gary Peters (Mich.), and Edward Markey (Mass.) questioned Amazon having access to the personal data of millions of Americans who use the Ring system in their homes.

Trump Campaign Criticizes Facebook for Possible Changes to Political Ads

The Trump campaign lashed out at Facebook after company executives said they were considering changes to rules around political ads that could affect the campaign’s ability to target its supporters on the platform. The outcry came as Trump’s reelection team has undertaken a massive spending blitz on Facebook aimed at countering the House’s impeachment inquiry.

Commerce Dep't Gives Companies More Time to Export Goods to Huawei

The Commerce Department said it would extend for 90 days the license that allows companies to export goods to Huawei, despite its placement on a government blacklist that bans it from doing business with American partners. But the Federal Communications Commission will vote on whether to ban wireless providers from buying Huawei equipment with federal subsidies meant to expand broadband access to underserved areas.

Senators Want Google to Answer Questions About Health Records

U.S. Presidential candidate Elizabeth Warren along with fellow Senators Richard Blumenthal and Bill Cassidy wrote a letter to Alphabet’s Google to raise questions about its access to the health records of tens of millions of Americans. Warren and Blumenthal, who are Democrats, along with Cassidy, a Republican, were focused on a business partnership that Google formed with Ascension Health.

U.S. Auto Industry's Computer Systems Targeted by Hackers, FBI Warns

The American automotive industry has been the target of malicious cyber actors since at least late 2018, according to an FBI report obtained by CNN. In the bulletin disseminated to a select group of private companies, the FBI warned of efforts by hackers to successfully compromise auto industry computer systems using sophisticated techniques and by taking advantage of network vulnerabilities.

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Senators Demand Tech Companies Prevent Spread of Child Sexual Abuse

A bipartisan group of senators is demanding information from 36 technology companies about their efforts to prevent the spread of material depicting child sexual abuse on their platforms. “Technology companies have a vital and irreplaceable role in stemming this flood of child exploitation and abuse,” Sens. Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.), Josh Hawley (R-Mo.), John Cornyn (R-Texas), Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) and Mazie Hirono (D-Hawaii) wrote in letters to the firms.

Tech Companies Answer Senate Committee's Questions in Antitrust Probe

Four top U.S. tech companies, Alphabet’s Google, Facebook, Amazon.com and Apple, responded to questions from a congressional committee by defending their practices and declining to answer some questions. The House of Representatives Judiciary Committee, which released the answers, had sent the queries as part of its antitrust probe of the four giants, which face a long list of other antitrust probes.

Amazon Tells Lawmaker Police Officers Can Keep Ring Doorbell Videos

Police officers who download videos captured by homeowners’ Ring doorbell cameras can keep them forever and share them with whomever they’d like without providing evidence of a crime, the Amazon-owned firm told a lawmaker earlier this month. More than 600 police forces across the country have entered into partnerships with the camera giant, allowing them to quickly request and download video recorded by Ring’s motion-detecting, Internet-connected cameras inside and around Americans’ homes.

Senate Bill Would Limit Flow of Sensitive Info from Tech Companies to China

Sen. Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) introduced a bill that would curtail the flow of sensitive information about people in the U.S. to China through large tech companies like Apple and TikTok. Hawley's legislation would place new and wide-reaching limitations on companies with ties to China such as TikTok, the mega-popular social media platform owned by a Chinese firm, and Apple, an American company that builds many of its components in mainland China.

Apple Removes All Vaping-Related Apps from App Store

Apple removed all vaping-related apps from its App Store, siding with experts who call vaping “a public health crisis” and “a youth epidemic.” Erika Sward, assistant vice president of national advocacy for the American Lung Association, said apps like the ones removed by Apple are an important marketing tool for vaping companies and can be appealing to children and young adults.

FTC Chairman Discloses 'Multiple' Investigations of Major Tech Platforms

The chairman of the Federal Trade Commission said that his agency had multiple investigations of tech platforms, in addition to its known probe of Facebook, but did not identify them. Big tech companies like Facebook, Alphabet’s Google, Amazon.com and Apple face a slew of antitrust probes by the federal government, state attorneys general and congress.

Twitter to Put Limits on Advertisements About Some Political Issues

Twitter announced that it is going to restrict, but not outright ban, advertisements that raise awareness about particular issues like climate change and abortion as part of a broader effort to rein in political advertisements. The social media platform, which has about 330 million monthly active users and raked in an ad revenue of $2.61 billion last year, said it is placing significant limitations around advertisements that touch on topics like "environmental stewardship" or "social equity causes."

EU Antitrust Regulators Ask U.S. to Share Merchant's Complaint Against Amazon

Amazon.com Inc.’s big push into logistics is getting scrutiny from European Union antitrust regulators who asked the U.S. to share an online merchant’s complaint against the retail giant, according to documents reviewed by Bloomberg and two people familiar with the matter. The merchant accused Amazon of rewarding those who pay for the company’s warehousing, packing and delivery services with better visibility on Amazon’s e-commerce website.

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