[ad_1] A House investigation into tech competition may have testimony from some of the biggest names in the industry — if they agree, at least. Axios understands the Judiciary Committee has asked Apple, Alphabet, Amazon and Facebook to say if their CEOs will testify for the antitrust probe in July. The companies reportedly have until […]
Category: regulation
FCC proposes record-setting $225 million fine against robocallers
[ad_1] The Ajit Pai-era FCC likes to make a big show of punishing robocallers, and that’s truer than ever in 2020. The regulator has proposed a record-setting $225 million fine against Texas-based health insurance telemarketers Jakob Mears and John Spiller for roughly 1 billion spoofed robocalls made between January and May 2019. The duo reportedly […]
Senators ask FTC to investigate Instacart over ‘tip baiting’
[ad_1] Instacart characterized these abuses as rare in a statement to Engadget, saying that tips stay the same or climb higher for “99.5% of orders” and that tip-based earnings have “nearly doubled” since the COVID-19 pandemic started. You can read the full statement below. The company didn’t directly address instances where tip baiting has happened […]
EU says websites can’t hide content behind ‘cookie walls’
[ad_1] Are you frustrated with websites trying to dodge around the EU’s cookie consent laws by forcing you accept cookies just to view anything? So is the EU. The European Data Protection Board has published (via TechCrunch) new guidelines saying that “cookie walls” violate EU data protection law. Consent has to be “freely given,” the […]
California sues Uber and Lyft for allegedly misclassifying drivers
[ad_1] The companies have promised to compensate drivers either infected by COVID-19 or quarantined by health officials out of precaution, but their strategies are exceptions that don’t cover separate health issues or other costs. They also don’t account for payroll taxes. A Lyft spokesperson told Engadget the company was “looking forward” to working with the […]
FCC ordered to provide IP addresses tied to fake net neutrality comments
[ad_1] The NYT reporters filed a Freedom of Information Request for the data after the FCC refused to show logs. In theory, they’ll show both the extent of fake commenting and help trace it back to groups that may have been involved. Investigations have suggested that over half of the comments are fake, and some […]
FCC won’t warn robocallers before fining them
[ad_1] Now that the FCC is no longer required to warn robocallers, it’s taking advantage of that expanded power. The regulator has issued an order ending warnings before it slaps spam callers with penalties. The new measure also extends the statute of limitations for robocall and spoofing from a respective one to two years to […]
Australia will make Facebook and Google pay for news content
[ad_1] Internet giants are about to face more government oversight in Australia. The country has ordered its Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) to create a mandatory code of conduct that would ask Facebook, Google and others to pay news outlets when they use its content. The code would also dictate data sharing, news ranking and […]
Labor regulators look into Amazon’s firings of outspoken critics
[ad_1] Amazon is facing scrutiny for firing employees and otherwise striking back at vocal critics of its workplace practices. The National Labor Relations Board is looking into claims Amazon is retaliating against employees who organize or participate in protests, including firing them or asking illegal questions. The board has declined to take action against Amazon […]
Nuro’s driverless delivery cars are cleared for testing in California
[ad_1] Nuro’s driverless delivery vehicles just got another important approval. California’s DMV has given Nuro a permit to test completely self-driving couriers in specific parts of Santa Clara and San Mateo counties, including Silicon Valley mainstays like Mountain View, Palo Alto and Sunnyvale. The company plans to use this for free deliveries to “select” customers […]