Hillicon Valley — Senator raises questions over information offered to US

One senator is asking for a federal investigation into whether or not a tech firm violated privateness legal guidelines when it offered shoppers’ information to the U.S. authorities.

In the meantime, Democrats are asking Amazon to elucidate the way it will hold staff protected one yr after a twister destroyed one in all its warehouses in Illinois.

That is Hillicon Valley, detailing all you want to find out about tech and cyber information from Capitol Hill to Silicon Valley. 

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Wyden requires probe of knowledge gross sales to US companies

Senate Finance Committee Chair Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) is asking on the Federal Commerce Fee (FTC) to examine whether or not a sale of People’ information by a tech firm to taxpayer-funded entities violated privateness legal guidelines.

In his letter, Wyden requested the company to look into whether or not Neustar, the tech agency, violated privateness rights when it offered delicate info from shoppers to a Division of Protection-funded analysis challenge on the Georgia Institute of Know-how.

“For a number of years, Neustar knowingly offered delicate web metadata which it presumably obtained from unwitting shoppers,” the letter mentioned. 

Wyden mentioned that among the shoppers might have been advised their info was not going to be shared with third events.

“Neustar didn’t take ample steps to warn shoppers that it not meant to honor these guarantees, and as such, seems to have engaged in enterprise practices considerably comparable to people who the FTC has beforehand argued violated the FTC Act,” he mentioned.   

Learn extra right here. 

THE HILL EXCLUSIVE

Dems press Amazon on collapsed warehouse rebuild

Three Democrats on Thursday requested Amazon to element the way it plans to maintain staff protected as one in all its warehouses in Illinois that was struck by a twister and collapsed final yr is being rebuilt.

Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), Rep. Cori Bush (D-Mo.) and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.), in a letter shared solely with The Hill, pressed Amazon CEO Andy Jassy to elucidate the “rationale” for Amazon’s “reported failure to enhance structural security” on the facility regardless of six staff dying on the web site throughout final yr’s twister and subsequent collapse.

The Edwardsville, Sick., warehouse is being constructed again to its “pre-loss circumstances,” with out together with a storm shelter, native NBC-affiliate KSDK reported this summer season citing a allow. The Democrats advised Jassy that in doing so he’s “as soon as once more placing your income over staff’ security.”

“As local weather change makes extreme climate occasions more and more prevalent with excessive warmth, tropical storms and hurricanes, and fireplace all posing a big and mounting menace to staff’ security, it’s extra essential than ever that firms take steps to correctly shield their staff in opposition to the hazards they might face within the office – and Amazon appears traditionally to not have completed so,” they added. 

Amazon doesn’t personal the constructing and the duty for reconstructing is on the owner, in line with the corporate.  

Learn extra right here. 

🛩 MUSK THREATENS LEGAL ACTION ON JET TRACKER 

Elon Musk is threatening to pursue authorized motion in opposition to a person who arrange a bot account on Twitter to trace the actions of the billionaire’s non-public jet. 

Musk had vowed to not ban the account final month, however Twitter on Wednesday suspended it and different jet trackers because the platform up to date its doxxing coverage to ban the sharing of people’ stay location info. 

Jack Sweeney, who ran the jet tracker, used publicly obtainable flight information to automate the account, however the brand new coverage bans location info even when it exists within the public area.

Learn extra right here.

🇸🇦 EX-TWITTER EMPLOYEE SENTENCED OVER SAUDI BRIBES 

A former Twitter worker was sentenced to 42 months in jail on Thursday after he was convicted of accepting bribes from a Saudi Arabian official in change for offering the dominion with person info from the platform. 

Ahmad Abouammo, who labored as a media partnership supervisor for Twitter’s Center East and North Africa area, met with an in depth adviser to Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman on a number of events, accepting hundreds of {dollars} price of items as he offered details about Saudi dissidents’ Twitter accounts, in line with courtroom paperwork. 

A jury in August discovered Abouammo responsible of appearing as a overseas agent with out discover, cash laundering and falsifying information in addition to wire fraud and sincere companies fraud. He was discovered not responsible on 5 different counts of wire fraud and sincere companies fraud.

“This case revealed that overseas governments will bribe insiders to acquire the person info that’s collected and saved by our Silicon Valley social media firms,” U.S. Lawyer Stephanie Hinds wrote in an announcement.

“In handing down at present’s sentence, the Court docket emphasised that defendant shared the person info with a overseas authorities identified for not tolerating dissidents, and he did so working together with his much more culpable co-defendant who fled the nation relatively than face trial.” 

Learn extra right here. 

🚫 TRUMP PROPOSES BAN ON GOVERNMENT ‘MISINFORMATION’ LABELS

Former President Trump mentioned Thursday that he’d ban the U.S. authorities from labeling any home speech as “misinformation” or “disinformation” if he returns to the White Home.

“I’ll signal an govt order banning any federal division or company from colluding with any group, enterprise or individual to censor, restrict, categorize or impede the lawful speech of Americans. I’ll then ban federal cash from getting used to label home speech as mis- or disinformation,” Trump mentioned in a pre-taped video shared with the New York Submit.

The previous president additionally mentioned he’d fireplace federal bureaucrats who he perceived to have engaged in home censorship.   

“Immediately or not directly, whether or not they’re the Division of Homeland Safety, the Division of Well being and Human Companies, the FBI, the DOJ, regardless of who they’re,” he mentioned of these he’d search to fireside.  

Learn extra right here.  

Tech teams ask justices to weigh in on Texas legislation

Two tech trade teams requested the U.S. Supreme Court docket on Thursday to weigh in on a Texas legislation that may restrict main social media firms’ skill to average content material on their platforms. 

The Laptop and Communications Affiliation (CCIA) and NetChoice petitioned the Supreme Court docket to evaluation the case over Texas Home Invoice 20, which seeks to ban social media platforms from “censoring” customers based mostly on their political beliefs. 

The legislation was set to enter impact in December 2021 however has remained tied up in courtroom for the final yr over allegations that it violates the First Modification — arguments that CCIA and NetChoice reiterated in Thursday’s petition to the excessive courtroom. 

“HB20 infringes the core First Modification rights of Petitioners’ members by denying them editorial management over their very own web sites, whereas forcing them to publish speech they don’t want to disseminate,” CCIA and NetChoice mentioned within the temporary. 

Learn extra right here.

👾 BITS & PIECES

An op-ed to chew on: PR is the most recent dangerous enterprise for Sam Bankman-Fried 

Notable hyperlinks from across the internet: 

I Suppose I Discovered Kyrsten Sinema’s Facet Hustle (Slate / Christina Cauterucci) 

‘Luddite’ Teenagers Don’t Need Your Likes (The New York Occasions / Alex Vadukul) 

Let’s discuss in regards to the Twitter Recordsdata (Vox / Andrew Prokop)

Yet one more factor: Senate votes for TikTok ban

The Senate on Wednesday unanimously permitted laws that may ban the usage of TikTok on authorities telephones and gadgets as a part of the push to fight safety issues associated to the Chinese language-owned social media firm.

• The “No TikTok on Authorities Gadgets Act,” launched by Sen. Josh Hawley (R-Mo.), was handed through unanimous consent late Wednesday, which means that no member objected to the invoice.
• The proposal would “prohibit sure people from downloading or utilizing TikTok on any machine issued by the US or a authorities company.”

The transfer comes as state governments, particularly these led by Republicans, have taken steps to restrict the usage of the app on state-owned gadgets.

13 states general have taken motion in opposition to TikTok, which is owned by ByteDance, a Beijing-based entity. Eleven of these actions have taken place for the reason that starting of the month.  

Learn extra right here.

That’s it for at present, thanks for studying. Try The Hill’s Know-how and Cybersecurity pages for the most recent information and protection. We’ll see you tomorrow.