The Justice Department issued a federal indictment, which was unsealed in the Eastern District of New York, accusing Huawei Technologies and its affiliates of a “pattern of racketeering activity” as well as stealing trade secrets from six U.S. firms. The six firms were not named, but a source identified them as Cisco Systems, CNEX Labs, Fujitsu, Motorola Solutions, Quintel Technology and T-Mobile. Among the reportedly stolen information were source code and manuals for wireless technology. Continue reading Justice Department Charges Huawei with Racketeering, Theft

The Trump administration is working with U.S. tech companies, including AT&T, Dell and Microsoft, to develop common engineering standards for 5G telecom networks that would allow software to run on hardware from any manufacturer. In doing so, the U.S. would be able to advance 5G networks without relying on gear from China’s Huawei. White House economic advisor Larry Kudlow said, “the big picture concept is to have all the U.S. 5G architecture and infrastructure done by American firms, principally,” although it could also include technology from Ericsson and Nokia. Continue reading White House Pushes For 5G Standards and U.S. Networks

The U.S. House Committee on Oversight and Reform held its third hearing in less than a year on facial recognition, planning to introduce legislation to regulate its use by the federal government, law enforcement and the private sector. Committee chair Carolyn Maloney (D-New York) stated the draft legislation will appear in the “very near future” and noted the need to “explore” the privacy protections already in place. Facial recognition is already in use with smartphones, job interviews and in airports. Continue reading Bipartisan Law Regulating Facial Recognition Being Planned

CTA director of regulatory affairs Rachel Nemeth, who moderated a CES panel on innovation and privacy, asked Baker Botts co-chair, antitrust group Maureen Ohlhausen to put the topic in historic context. “The Congressional debate on the Fair Credit Reporting Act (1970) brought forward many of the same issues we’re discussing today,” said Ohlhausen, who also served as a commissioner and acting chair of the FTC. “People were worried about computers and the use of their data. The FTC has long enforced privacy statutes, and began to apply them to the Internet once it became consumer-oriented.” Continue reading CES 2020: The High-Wire Tension of Innovation and Privacy

Carriers in Japan, Taiwan and the United Kingdom have stopped accepting pre-orders for Huawei’s newest 5G-enabled smartphones, fearful that the U.S.-China trade war could impact the functioning of the phones. Google has stated it would not permit Huawei to use its latest Android operating system and future phones will lose access to popular Google services. ARM, Huawei’s chip supplier, confirmed it has ceased doing business with the Shenzhen-based Huawei. If the U.S. Commerce Department does not issue a waiver, Huawei could be in serious trouble. Continue reading Multiple Carriers and ARM Are the Latest to Cut Off Huawei

Several U.S. senators have proposed the Artificial Intelligence Initiative Act to create a national AI strategy and fund federal R&D in this growing area to the tune of $2.2 billion. The initiative’s $2.2 billion would be awarded over a five-year period to multiple federal agencies. At the same time, although the European Commission put out guidelines for artificial intelligence technology, some experts are saying that the tech companies that participated in drafting guidelines compromised them to protect their own interests. Continue reading Senators Press For National Artificial Intelligence Strategy

Cyberattacks could potentially disrupt U.S. infrastructure, from the electric grid to the financial system. In July, the Department of Homeland Security reported that Russian hackers gained access to the control rooms of electric utilities. Now, analysts and policymakers are debating the best way to protect our critical infrastructure. While many believe that federal and state government regulation, funding and oversight are necessary, others argue this tack may actually cause harm and we should consider alternative approaches. Continue reading A Debate Over Most Effective Strategy to Fight Cyberattacks

Samsung Electronics reported an approximately 20 percent increase in operating profit for the latest quarter from a year earlier, resulting in a record high profit of about $15 billion. But that sudden lift may not last. According to industry experts, the higher numbers are due to increased demand for memory chips for use in data centers and smartphones. Samsung and other chipmakers invested to expand production, but now demand for smartphones (and other consumer electronics) is reaching a plateau. Continue reading Amid Record Profits, Samsung Faces a Slowing Chip Market

At CES 2017, Honda’s theme will be a “cooperative mobility ecosystem,” a confluence of last year’s two showstoppers: autonomous driving and the rise of artificial intelligence. These arenas could foster mass adoption of differential privacy. Data aggregation is critical to the success of autonomous driving, and the AI-centric, newly coined notion of autonomous living, but this collection requires user buy-in. With nearly half of all Internet users expressing that privacy and security concerns are limiting their use of the Internet, new means of protecting user data will be a key theme throughout CES. Continue reading CES Will Showcase Differential Privacy for Autonomous Living

Amazon accounts for 15 percent of U.S. consumer online shares, according to the Department of Commerce. But Amazon’s actual reach in the retail market may be as much as double that due to an undetermined volume of sales transacted with third parties. Just as Walmart destroyed many smaller retailers, so may Amazon’s massive reach have an even greater disruptive impact. The comparison is apt because Amazon is now building pickup locations for groceries in Seattle that could open by the end of 2016. Continue reading Amazon’s Reach in Online Retail Much Bigger Than Estimated

Consumer taste, technology development are two of the forces impacting the growth and direction of the Internet of Things. A group of experts focused on policy issues surrounding IoT’s evolution at CES. Moderator Alan Davidson, director of digital economy for the Department of Commerce, reports that, about seven years ago, the number of Internet-connected things surpassed the number of people on the planet. “By 2025, this is an area that will have an economic impact of $4 to $11 trillion on the global economy,” he said. Continue reading The Internet of Things Brings Benefits, Risks and Public Policy

The Department of Commerce announced that it would renew its contract with the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) for one year (with options to extend it another three years), delaying its plans to relinquish oversight of one aspect of Internet governance. Commerce has overseen ICANN’s management of the Internet’s domain-name system since 1998. But last year, the Obama administration proposed transferring the oversight to international stakeholders, a plan that has met criticism regarding the potential impact to free expression. Continue reading U.S. Renews Contract with ICANN, Delays Giving Up Oversight