Privacy

Watchdog Cracks Down On Lobbyist Shell Games

January 22, 2016  ·  Mark Reback

<p>SACRAMENTO, Calif. (CN) - California lobbyists will no longer be allowed to conceal millions in expenditures after state regulators voted Thursday to force interest groups to itemize expenses in quarterly state reports.</p> <p><br />      The Fair Political Practices Commission unanimously approved stricter reporting rules that require interest groups to breakdown the specifics of "shadow payments" listed under a category known as "other payments to influence."</p>

EDITORIAL: A Long-Due Change To Educate The Public On Political Spending

January 22, 2016  ·  Mark Reback

<p>California’s Fair Political Practices Commission, the state’s political ethics watchdog, made a small but significant change to its lobbying rules last week. It adopted a rule that requires trade groups, corporations, unions and other special interests that hire lobbyists to separate and publicly itemize their expenses in the “other payments to influence” category in their required quarterly state reports.</p> <p>The change sounds technical, and it is. But the commission’s action closes an important loophole that should have ended decades ago.</p>

Groups Ask FCC To Protect Consumer Privacy From Prying Broadband Eyes

January 21, 2016  ·  Mark Reback

<div class="article-content rich-text"> <p>The Federal Communications Commission <a href="http://motherboard.vice.com/read/net-neutrality-passes-but-the-fight-isnt-over" target="_blank" rel="noopener">acted decisively last year</a> to protect the internet’s open, freewheeling nature, in a landmark victory for public interest groups.</p> <p>Now, consumer advocates want the agency to use its newly-strengthened power to safeguard internet users' privacy as well.</p>

Amazon Increased The Money It Spent On Lobbying By More Than 90% Last Year

January 21, 2016  ·  Mark Reback

<p>Amazon dramatically increased the amount of resources it dedicated to trying to influence federal regulations last year.</p> <p>The company spent $9.07 million on lobbying in 2015, an incredible 91.4% surge from its 2014 spend, <a href="http://www.consumerwatchdog.org/newsrelease/google%E2%80%99s-2015-spending-lobbying-tops-16-million-second-year-leading-16-tech-and-communic">Consumer Watchdog reports. </a></p> <p>That's a corporate record for the company. </p>

Consumer Watchdog: Google, Comcast Top List of Tracked Techies in Lobbying Spending

January 21, 2016  ·  Mark Reback

<p><strong><span class="brief">Amazon almost doubles its spending from 2014; Facebook 'friends' D.C.</span></strong></p> <div class="content clearfix"> <div class="field field-name-body field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden"> <div class="field-items"> <div class="field-item even"> <p>Google and Comcast were one and two in federal lobbying spending in 2015 among 16 tech and communications firms monitored by Consumer Watchdog, according to <a href="http://disclosures.house.gov/ld/ldsearch.aspx" target="_blank" rel="noopener">records filed with Congress</a>.</p>

Coalition Urges FCC To Set Strong Broadband Privacy Rules

January 20, 2016  ·  Mark Reback

<p><span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 32px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">Under the Open Internet order issued last year by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), broadband service providers can't block or throttle content or create priority "fast lanes" for higher-paying customers. However, now a coalition of consumer advocacy groups is also calling on the agency to adopt strong privacy protections for broadband customers. </span></p>

FCC Pressed To Start Drafting Internet Privacy Rules

January 20, 2016  ·  Mark Reback

<p style="margin-top: 15px; margin-bottom: 15px; font-size: 15px; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">More than 50 digital rights and consumer groups are pressing the Federal Communications Commission to start drafting Internet privacy rules “as quickly as possible.”</p>

Broadband CPNI Could Be New Privacy Battleground; Groups Press FCC to Be ‘Brawny’ Privacy Cop

January 20, 2016  ·  Mark Reback

<p style="font-size: medium; line-height: 1.5em; word-wrap: break-word; font-family: Georgia, serif;">Nearly 60 privacy and activist groups and others have signed on to a letter to FCC chairman Tom Wheeler petitioning the FCC to "quickly" open a rulemaking on broadband privacy oversight that ensures it is a "brawny cop" on the privacy enforcement beat.</p> <p style="font-size: medium; line-height: 1.5em; word-wrap: break-word; font-family: Georgia, serif;"> </p>

Groups Want U.S. To Adopt Strong Broadband Privacy Rules

January 20, 2016  ·  Mark Reback

<p id="yui_3_18_1_1_1453324030253_2202" style="margin-bottom: 1.1em; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24.000001907348633px;">WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A coalition of U.S. groups on Wednesday urged the Federal Communications Commission to write sweeping privacy protections for the nation's broadband users.</p>

More Self-Driving Car Safety Questions Arise; Consumer Groups Want Auto Braking Gear

January 14, 2016  ·  Mark Reback

<div class="copy-paste-block"> <p><span class="dateline">Los Angeles — </span>While self-driving cars already are being tested on public roads, newly released safety data support the cautionary view that the technology has many miles to go before people can sleep at the wheel. Meanwhile, three consumer groups on Wednesday petitioned the federal government to require a set of safety technology on autonomous cars.</p>

Self-Driving Cars Aren’t Ready Yet: Here’s How Often Human Drivers Need To Grab The Wheel

January 14, 2016  ·  Mark Reback

<p>As automakers develop their self-driving car technologies, human test drivers still sometimes have to take the wheel.</p> <p>The California Department of Motor Vehicles released the first reports from seven automakers working on autonomous vehicle prototypes that describe the number of "disengagements" from self-driving mode from fall 2014 through November.</p> <p>This is defined by the DMV as when a "failure of the autonomous technology is detected" or when the human driver needs to take manual control for safety reasons.</p>

Why Self-Driving Cars Are Still Being Driven By Humans

January 14, 2016  ·  Mark Reback

<p><b>The California DMV released reports from seven carmakers on Tuesday on how often a human driver had to take control.</b></p> <p>Self-driving cars, heralded as the wave of the future by carmakers and technology companies, are making progress, with seven companies currently testing the cars on public roads in a range of road conditions in California.</p>