Ryan Lovelace

Tim Wu, Big Tech critic, named to National Economic Council

The Biden White House has recruited a leading Big Tech critic to join the National Economic Council.

March 5, 2021

Senators push for free world to coordinate tech policy to counter China

A bipartisan group of senators wants a new alliance with democratic countries to develop rules of the road in tech to counter China's dominance in artificial intelligence, 5G, and quantum computing.

March 5, 2021

Voting machines using wireless technology increase fears over hacking

A federal elections panel recently adopted new voting equipment standards despite an outcry from cybersecurity professionals who warned that the changes will leave America's digitized ballot boxes more vulnerable to hacks.

March 4, 2021

Facebook lifts political ad ban, amid Democratic Party criticism

Facebook is lifting its political ad ban amid mounting criticism from the Democratic Party. As Democratic lawmakers are considering cracking down on Facebook, their party's leadership attacked Facebook's political ad ban for allegedly hampering Democratic candidates' campaigns.

March 3, 2021

Parler drops lawsuit against Amazon Web Services

The social media platform Parler, which has become a refuge for conservatives, has dropped its antitrust lawsuit against Amazon Web Services for kicking it offline after the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol.

March 3, 2021

Freedom House assessment puts U.S. in bottom half of free countries

Freedom declined in the U.S. and around the globe during the COVID-19 pandemic, resulting in less than 20% of the world's population living in a free country, according to Freedom House's annual assessment of political rights and civil liberties released Wednesday.

March 3, 2021

Microsoft detects China-backed cyberattack targeting U.S.

Chinese cyberattackers preyed on Microsoft Exchange Server vulnerabilities to swipe information from a wide array of U.S. entities, according to Microsoft. Cybersecurity researchers at Volexity that assisted Microsoft assessed that the attacks began "as early as January 6, 2021," the same day of the riot at the U.S. Capitol.

March 2, 2021

Congress-created commission calls for spending billions on artificial intelligence to defeat China

The National Security Commission on Artificial Intelligence's final report to Congress urges the federal government to prioritize artificial intelligence innovation now and spend billions of taxpayer dollars or risk getting left behind in China's dust.

March 2, 2021

Liberal groups pressure Biden to fight for minimum wage hike: ‘Do whatever it takes’

Three liberal advocacy groups are petitioning the White House to 'do whatever it takes' to keep the minimum wage hike in the COVID relief package.

March 2, 2021

Anti-Trump group spending $1 million to confirm Vanita Gupta, Biden nominee to key Justice post

Anti-Trump group Defending Democracy Together is spending $1 million on a new ad campaign urging the confirmation of Vanita Gupta for associate attorney general and touting her support from the political right.

March 1, 2021

Microsoft president criticizes Amazon and Google’s public response to SolarWinds hack

Microsoft president Brad Smith criticized Amazon and Google's public response to the hack of SolarWinds computer network management software that compromised federal and corporate networks.

February 26, 2021

Sudhakar Ramakrishna, SolarWinds CEO: Hackers likely ‘hiding in plain sight’

SolarWinds CEO Sudhakar Ramakrishna revealed Friday three likely routes that he thinks hackers may have taken to first breach his company's network, which led to a massive hack afflicting the federal government.

February 26, 2021

Twitter creating ‘Super Follows,’ a new feature to let users charge their audiences

Twitter is considering a new feature that lets its users charge their audiences for access to certain content on its platform.

February 26, 2021

House panel eyes antitrust crackdown on Big Tech companies

The Democratic chairman of the House antitrust panel promised on Thursday to propose legislation to crack down on Big Tech, a move that has bipartisan support but must surmount disagreements over censoring hate speech and eliminating liability protections for social media companies.

February 25, 2021

Pelosi refers to Sen. Ron Johnson as ‘Miami Vice’ actor in security dispute

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi on Thursday referred to Sen. Ron Johnson, Wisconsin Republican, as the actor Don Johnson from the 1980s television show "Miami Vice" as she feuded with Senate Republicans over Capitol security.

February 25, 2021

Xavier Becerra declines to support any restrictions on abortion, defends battle with nuns

California Attorney General Xavier Becerra, President Biden's pick for health and human services secretary, on Wednesday explained his aggressive pro-choice record and his legal battle with the Little Sisters of the Poor, saying he didn't sue the nuns but sued the federal government.

February 24, 2021

Donald Trump appealed Facebook ban to oversight board reviewing his suspension

Former President Donald Trump wants his access restored to Facebook and Instagram. Mr. Trump's accounts were suspended last month while he was still in office after the Jan. 6 riot at the U.S. Capitol, and he has appealed to Facebook's oversight board that is reviewing his suspension.

February 24, 2021

TikTok tore down 347,000+ videos containing election misinformation in 2020

TikTok said Wednesday it tore down 347,225 videos in the second half of 2020 for U.S. election misinformation, disinformation and manipulated media.

February 24, 2021

SolarWinds unsure how hackers breached their system, months after public disclosure

SolarWinds CEO Sudhakar Ramakrishna told lawmakers on Tuesday that his company has not discovered how hackers breached his company since the intrusion was publicly disclosed late last year.

February 23, 2021

Amazon refused to participate in intel committee hearing on SolarWinds hack: Lawmakers

Amazon refused to participate in the Senate Intelligence Committee's open hearing on the hack of SolarWinds computer network management software roiling the federal government, according to senators on the committee.

February 23, 2021