Colin Lecher | Vox

House approves bill requiring warrants for email searches

2019-03-06T05:15:13-05:00

The House of Representatives today unanimously approved the Email Privacy Act, which requires law enforcement officials to obtain a warrant before accessing stored electronic communications, such as emails.

The act updates the Electronic Communications Privacy Act, which has been in place since 1986. Although that law provides some protections, digital privacy activists have long criticized a part of it that ends warrant requirements for stored electronic communications after 180 days. The Email Privacy Act does away with that provision, and unlike ECPA, the Privacy Act also makes it clear that a warrant is required even if an email is already opened — an occasional point of contention between privacy groups and the government.

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This article originally appeared on Recode.net.

Apple says FBI has not ‘exhausted’ options to access data on New York iPhone

2019-03-06T05:09:21-05:00

In a new filing entered today by Apple in its legal dispute with the FBI over a locked iPhone in New York, the company says the agency “has made no showing that it has exhausted alternative means for extracting data from the iPhone at issue here.” The company points to the San Bernardino case, where “the government ultimately abandoned its request after claiming that a third party could bypass [security] features without Apple’s assistance.”

The fact that the FBI has not demonstrated that it “attempted the method that worked on the iPhone running iOS 9, consulted the third party that assisted with that phone, or consulted other third parties” should be enough to dismiss a new court submission from the FBI, Apple argues, as the agency still hasn’t proven that it needs the company’s assistance to access data on the phone.

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This article originally appeared on Recode.net.

Extra Credit and Updogs: One Year in FCC Documents

2019-03-06T05:16:14-05:00

As part of the newsgathering process, The Verge sends Freedom of Information Act requests, asking for documents maintained under federal law. On a good day, we get something noteworthy; it’s how we got the Federal Communications Commission’s emails about John Oliver, for one example.

But here’s a secret: The majority of requests go exactly nowhere. For every story you read, there were a handful that never reached escape velocity — requests that were denied, where records didn’t exist, or where the documents handed over weren’t all that interesting.

That’s where it gets weird. The FCC closed at least 800 FOIA requests in 2015, according to a log of requests turned over as part of a FOIA request for FOIA requests. Here are a few highlights from that log.

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This article originally appeared on Recode.net.

Google to Apply ‘Right to Be Forgotten’ to All EU Searches Next Week

2019-03-06T05:10:14-05:00

Google today confirmed that it will remove some search results from all of its sites starting next week, if those searches are made within the European Union.

In 2014, an EU court decided that Google must comply with requests to remove some search results, in a decision that became known as “the right to be forgotten.” As part of that decision, European users can submit a request to Google, asking the company to delist results that are “no longer relevant” or otherwise outdated. Until now, however, Google would only delist results for its European sites, such as google.co.uk and google.fr. Presumably, then, EU users could still find the delisted results by visiting google.com.

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This article originally appeared on Recode.net.

FCC Takes First Big Step Toward Changing Cable Box Business

2019-03-06T05:17:36-05:00

In a three-to-two vote, the FCC decided today to move ahead with a proposal that could drastically change the cable set-top box industry. The decision may have far-reaching consequences for how cable customers watch TV — ultimately allowing them to go through third parties for their set-top systems, rather than being tied to the same company they use for cable service.

The proposed rule changes will now move into a comment period — where businesses and customers will be able to weigh in — ahead of revisions and a final vote, still some months away. FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler first announced the proposed rule changes last month, and it’s been met by criticism from a cable industry that has long kept the keys to the castle. Cable companies have argued that the future may leave the cable box behind entirely — focused, instead, on apps — and that the FCC is driving innovation from the wrong direction.

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Watch ESPN president John Skipper explain ESPN’s digital future at Code/Media 2016

This article originally appeared on Recode.net.

The White House Wants $19 Billion to Prevent the Next Big Hack

2019-03-06T05:17:07-05:00

President Barack Obama today unveiled the White House’s proposal for the next fiscal year’s cyber security budget. The administration is asking for billions in increases to improve cyber security and overhaul federal IT systems, as it plans on establishing new programs for both the government and general public.

The budget, according to a statement from the White House, requests $19 billion for federal cyber security initiatives, a 35 percent increase over the previous fiscal year.

Specifically, the plan lays out a path to create a Commission on Enhancing National Cybersecurity. The commission, which the White House says will be composed of experts from outside the government, will offer recommendations on how best to improve cyber security for both the government and the public.

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This article originally appeared on Recode.net.

Inside Nevada’s $1.3 Billion Gamble on Tesla

2019-03-06T05:11:40-05:00

In June of 2014, Texas Governor Rick Perry pulled into Sacramento behind the wheel of a Tesla Model S. Unseasonably dressed in a black jacket, Perry was in California for fundraising, but nonetheless took time to address reporters in front of a local hotel. He told them that he enjoyed driving a Tesla, the Los Angeles Times wrote, and would happily make one addition: “A made-in-Texas bumper sticker.”

Tesla had been shopping for a site to place its Gigafactory, promising to create thousands of jobs wherever the massive battery plant landed. But the company, and CEO Elon Musk, wouldn’t go just anywhere. Tesla bargained its way through lucrative deals, asking local governments for millions in tax incentives to grease the company’s wheels.

Nevada ultimately won the factory deal, but at a cost that has proven controversial: The state offered an incentives package that was the largest in Nevada history and became one of the 15 largest nationally. Over the next 20 years, Tesla could take in nearly $1.3 billion in tax benefits for building its Gigafactory in Nevada, according to projections from the state, as hires are made for the factory locally and from around the country. Assuming Tesla meets its obligations under the deal, it will spend 20 years free from sales tax and 10 years free from property tax, while it receives millions of dollars more in tax credits.

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This article originally appeared on Recode.net.

Amazon Is Pulling Hoverboards From Its Store Pending Safety Review

2019-03-06T06:06:54-05:00

After a series of hoverboard-related fires grabbed headlines, it looks like Amazon is taking action. According to Swagway, a major seller of hoverboards, Amazon has started questioning makers about their safety standards — and appears to be removing some boards from its store.

A spokesperson for Swagway provided this statement to The Verge:

Amazon just sent out a notice to all “hoverboard” sellers to “provide documentation demonstrating that all hoverboards you list are compliant with applicable safety standards, including UN 38.3 (battery), UL 1642 (battery), and UL 60950-1 (charger).”

Swagway already meets all those certifications and is happy that Amazon has decided to take steps to weed out the low quality boards. As safety is always on the forefront for Swagway, we’re glad that this is taking place, especially in light of recent concerns with the fires with the poor quality batteries.

On that note, we’re also in the process of working on measures, to help consumers identify between an authenic Swagway and the many imitation boards that are adding our branded logo to their unauthorized boards. Meanwhile, we ask that consumers only purchase from authorized retailers as an added precaution.

As first noted by Best Reviews, links to some hoverboards have apparently disappeared, including listings for Swagway boards and those of other companies like the popular Phunkeeduck. Models from Razor and Jetson appear to still be available, as well as some cheaper models, but it’s currently unclear why that’s the case.

There have been at least 10 reports of hoverboard fires in nine states in recent weeks, and the United States Consumer Product Safety Commission is actively investigating the situation. The issue has escalated so quickly that major airlines have announced they will ban the boards from flights. Prior to Amazon’s move, Overstock.com announced this week that it would stop selling the boards amid safety concerns.

Amazon has not yet responded to request for comment.

This article originally appeared on Recode.net.

FTC Settles Data Breach Lawsuit With Wyndham Hotel Chain

2019-03-06T06:06:44-05:00

The FTC has settled a lawsuit with the hotel company Wyndham over a series of data breaches that turned into a major test of the agency’s regulatory power. Under the agreement, Wyndham will not have to pay a fine or admit that it broke the law, but will have to institute “a comprehensive information security program” to stop future data breaches.

The agency first sued Wyndham in 2012, saying that lax security standards had paved the way for three data breaches that exposed information on hundreds of thousands of customers. Wyndham argued that the FTC didn’t have the authority to regulate cyber security standards. That claim led to a lengthy court battle, which eventually concluded with an appeals court ruling this year that the FTC did, in fact, have that authority — a decision the FTC will likely point to as it makes similar cases in the future.

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This article originally appeared on Recode.net.

Qualcomm Just Got Hit With Antitrust Charges in Europe

2019-03-06T05:38:53-05:00

Earlier this year, European regulators filed antitrust charges against Google, but it wasn’t the only American tech company being scrutinized by officials: The European Commission has now filed charges against chip maker Qualcomm.

In a statement, the regulators said they had reached the preliminary conclusion that Qualcomm “illegally paid a major customer for exclusively using Qualcomm chipsets and sold chipsets below cost with the aim of forcing its competitor Icera out of the market, in potential breach of EU antitrust rules.” The “major customer” is not named.

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This article originally appeared on Recode.net.