US Has ‘Moral Imperative’ to Develop AI Weapons, Says Panel
By: The Guardian January 26, 2021 The US should not agree to ban the use or development of autonomous weapons powered by artificial intelligence (AI) software, a government-appointed panel has said in a draft report for Congress. The panel, led by former Google chief executive Eric Schmidt, on Tuesday concluded two days of public […]
Moon’s Party Seeks to Force Korean Tech Giants to Share Profits
By: Nikkei Asia January 17, 2021 SEOUL– South Korea’s ruling Democratic Party has launched a task force aimed at putting the country’s tech sector under pressure to share profit in a bid to reduce pandemic-induced economic inequalities. The Post-corona Inequality Relief task force, suggested by party chairman Lee Nak-yon, hopes to divert the […]
Google Says it Will Shut Search Engine in Australia if Forced to Pay For News
By: Fox Business January 21, 2021 Alphabet Inc’s Google said on Friday it would block its search engine in Australia if the government proceeds with a new code that would force it and Facebook Inc to pay media companies for the right to use their content. Google’s threat escalates a battle with publishers such as News Corp […]
Twitter’s Trump Ban Could Lead to Regulation Rethink, Says Hancock
By: The Guardian January 10, 2021 The decision by Twitter to permanently suspend Donald Trump from its platform could justify tightening the regulation for social media companies, a cabinet minister has suggested. Matt Hancock said the move showed Twitter “taking editorial decisions” and by implication accepting that social media companies are not just platforms. […]
House Democrats Reintroduce Bill to Reduce Lobbyist Influence
By: The Hill January 13, 2023 Rep. Jimmy Gomez (D-Calif.) and Carolyn Maloney (D-N.Y.), the chairwoman of the House Oversight and Reform Committee, have reintroduced a bill to reduce the influence of lobbyists and to close the so-called revolving door. The bill, the Executive Branch Conflict of Interest Act, was first introduced by the late Rep. Elijah Cummings (D-Md.) […]
Scoop: Google Pausing all Political Ads Following Capitol Siege
By: Axios January 13, 2021 Google informed its advertising partners Wednesday that beginning Jan. 14, its platforms will block all political ads, as well as any related to the Capitol insurrection, “following the unprecedented events of the past week and ahead of the upcoming presidential inauguration,” according to an email obtained by Axios. […]
Facebook’s Top Democrat Leaves Lobbying Post
By: The Hill January 13, 2021 The top Democrat on Facebook’s policy team, who is a former chief of staff to Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.), has left the social media company. Catlin O’Neill left her post as director of public policy, a Facebook spokesperson confirmed. She had worked at the company since May 2013 after […]
Airbnb Cancels all Inauguration Week Reservations in D.C.
By: The Guardian January 13, 2021 Airbnb will block and cancel all reservations in the Washington DC area during the week of the presidential inauguration. The decision, announced by the San Francisco-based short-term rental site on Wednesday, comes amid concerns over renewed violence during the 20 January event following the attack on the US Capitol last week. […]
Watchdog: Corporations, Trade Groups Gave $170M to Republicans who Objected to Election Results
By: The Hill January 13, 2021 Corporations and industry trade associations have contributed $170 million collectively to the campaigns of the 147 GOP lawmakers who voted to challenge the 2020 election results, according to a new report from progressive watchdog group Public Citizen. Nineteen political action committees (PACs) of corporations and trade groups have […]