Ali Breland

A coalition of 26 organizations, including the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) and Google, signed a letter asking lawmakers to delay a measure that would expand the government’s hacking authority. The letter asks Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) and Minority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV), plus House Speaker Paul Ryan (R-WI), and House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) to further review proposed changes to Rule 41 and delay its implementation until July 1, 2017. The Department of Justice’s alterations to the rule would allow law enforcement to use a single warrant to hack multiple devices beyond the jurisdiction that the warrant was issued in.

Sen Edward Markey (D-MA) blasted GOP calls for Federal Communication Commission Chairman Tom Wheeler to avoid action on “controversial items" until the new administration. "Blind and visually impaired individuals will suffer because Republicans and their allies on the Commission will not allow a vote to expand the amount of video-described programming available,” Sen Markey said. "Small business, universities, hospitals, and public safety organizations will suffer because Republicans and their allies on the Commission won’t allow a vote on business data services. Republican lawmakers should stop their obstruction and support Commission action on those pro-consumer, pro-accessibility measures without delay.”

Members of the Congressional Black Caucus are pressing Facebook to change an advertising feature that allows advertisers to exclude certain racial groups. “We are writing to express our deep concerns with reports that Facebook’s 'Ethnic Affinities' advertising customization feature allows for advertisers to exclude specific racial and ethnic groups when placing housing advertisements,” they wrote in a letter to Facebook on Nov 1. “This is in direct violation of the Fair Housing Act of 1968, and it is our strong desire to see Facebook address this issue immediately."

The letter was signed by Rep Robin Kelly (D-IL), the ranking member of the Oversight Subcommittee on Information Technology, and members from the House Commerce Committee, including CBC Chairman GK Butterfield (D-NC) and Reps Yvette Clarke (D-NY) and Emanuel Cleaver (D-MO). The lawmakers' letter also hammered Facebook on diversity at the Menlo Park (CA) tech giant. “With 2 percent of Facebook’s U.S. employees being African American, and 4 percent Hispanic, we remain convinced that a stronger commitment to diversifying the ranks of your company ... will help in ensuring that innovative and inclusive platforms continue to be promoted by your company,” they wrote.

Fourteen organizations filed a court brief voicing opposition to a lawsuit intended to block the transition of internet domain oversight from the US to an international governing body. The Internet Association — an advocacy group backed by Google and Facebook — and Mozilla were among the groups that filed the brief.

They are opposing a lawsuit from four Republican state attorneys general who want to keep the U.S. from turning over functions of the Internet Assigned Numbers Authority (IANA) to a group representing 162 countries. “The case before the Court is without merit and we request that the Court deny any motions seeking a delay of the IANA transition,” said Michael Beckerman, president and CEO of the Internet Association. “We are confident the transition will keep the internet safe, secure, reliable, and resilient.” A source familiar with the matter expects a decision before midnight Sept 30. Unless US District Judge George Hanks Jr. rules to grant a restraining order before then, the transition is set to start Oct 1.

Senate Commerce Committee Chairman John Thune (R-SD) is calling on Federal Communications Commission Chairman Tom Wheeler to release the FCC’s latest proposal on rules for pay-television set-top boxes.

Thune’s letter was delivered a day after Chairman Wheeler indefinitely delayed a vote on his latest proposal to change the rules for set-top boxes, a market that has been dominated by cable companies. Wheeler’s rule would require companies to make their television feeds available as apps to other companies, such as Apple and Google, that might make set-top boxes. The decision to delay the vote shows Chairman Wheeler does not have support on the FCC for his rule to be approved at this time. Chairman Thune said the public should be able to see the latest version of the rule and be able to comment on it. “Your new proposal is intended to benefit consumers, yet those same consumers are not currently able to read this far-reaching new plan,” Chairman Thune wrote in the letter.

Republican attorneys general in four states are filing a lawsuit to block the transfer of Internet domain systems oversight from the US to an international governing body. Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, Arizona Attorney General Mark Brnovich, Oklahoma Attorney General Scott Pruitt, and Nevada Attorney General Paul Laxalt filed a lawsuit on Sept 28 to stop the White House's proposed transition of Internet Assigned Numbers Authority (IANA) functions.

The state officials cite constitutional concerns in their suit against the National Telecommunications and Information Administration, US government and the Department of Commerce. “The Obama Administration’s decision violates the Property Clause of the US Constitution by giving away government property without congressional authorization, the First Amendment to the US Constitution by chilling speech, and the Administrative Procedure Act by acting beyond statutory authority,” a statement released by Paxton’s office reads. The attorneys generals claim that the US government is ceding government property, pointing to a Government Accountability Office (GAO) review that “concluded that the transition does not involve a transfer of US government property requiring Congressional approval.” AG Paxton also echoed Sen Ted Cruz's (R-TX) warnings that the transition could harm free speech on the Internet by giving Russia, China and Iran a voice on the international governing body that would oversee internet domain systems.

“Trusting authoritarian regimes to ensure the continued freedom of the internet is lunacy,” AG Paxton said. “The president does not have the authority to simply give away America’s pioneering role in ensuring that the Internet remains a place where free expression can flourish.”

Six Democratic Senators are blasting Yahoo CEO Marissa Mayer, saying the delay in reporting a high-profile security breach is "unacceptable." “We are even more disturbed that user information was first compromised in 2014, yet the company only announced the breach last week,” Sens Patrick Leahy (D-VT), Al Franken (D-MN), Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), Ron Wyden (D-OR) and Edward J. Markey (D-MA) wrote in a letter to Mayer on Sept 27. “This is unacceptable,” they added.

Yahoo last week acknowledged that 500 million accounts were compromised. The Sens have six questions for Mayer, including when Yahoo first learned of the compromise, how many users were affected, what protections Yahoo is offering to them and what steps Yahoo is taking to prevent such breaches in the future. The senators also want to know if the U.S. government had warned Yahoo of a possible state-sponsored hack.

Google is throwing its support behind the Obama Administration's controversial plans to hand over management of the Internet domain name system. Google called the Obama Administration’s proposed transition of Internet Assigned Names Authority (IANA) from US oversight to an international governing authority an “important step to protect the Internet for generations to come.”

Google offered three arguments for its stance: The transition will put the Internet in the hands of innovators; protect the Internet from "those who want to break it into pieces"; and honor the US government's promise when the Internet was created that it "be governed by everyone with a stake in its continued growth.” Critics, though, have argued that handing off oversight would put the Internet under the control of countries like Russia, China and Iran, which would be represented in the international authority that includes 162 countries and entities. Supporters though say those worries are overblown and say the greater threat is that autocratic countries get fed up with US management and create their own splintered internet nodes.

Lawmakers announced the creation of a caucus focused on blockchain technologies like Bitcoin. “The blockchain has boundless potential," Rep Jared Polis (D-CO) said in a statement detailing the new Congressional Blockchain Caucus. "From cryptocurrencies to supply chains to banking to property titling, blockchain-based solutions have the ability to decentralize cybersecurity and revolutionize many industries.”

Blockchain systems, most synonymous with Bitcoin, function as digital ledgers of transactions. Transactions are recorded on the ledger and are publicly but anonymously available for verification in the case of Bitcoin. Private banks are experimenting with technology for proprietary use to cut down costs and expedite transactions. Bitcoin and other blockchain-based currencies have been associated with libertarian hopes of anonymous digital payments and criminals on dark websites like the Silk Road, who used the currency to purchase contraband anonymously. Blockchain technologies have been creeping toward the mainstream recently, however.

Escalating tensions between Senate Republicans and the National Telecommunications & Information Administration (NTIA) came to a head at a hearing on transferring management of the Internet domain name system. Senate Oversight Subcommittee Chairman Ted Cruz (R-TX) opened the hearing with a blistering warning that the transition would make the Internet vulnerable to censorship and weaken the First Amendment. Sen Cruz has been fighting against transition of oversight of the domain name system — which is central to how consumers reach websites — since before Congress returned from its summer recess. The change is set to happen at the end of September, unless Congress blocks it. Ranking Member Chris Coons (D-DE) called the hearing unnecessary and challenged Sen Cruz’s opposition the management change.

But Sen Cruz’s aggressive rejection of the transition bled into the witness testimony. He battled top NTIA official Lawrence Strickling, who became visibly frustrated as Sen Cruz suggested that the NTIA may have violated federal law by assessing the transition. Strickling says it is "extreme and wrong" to claim the transition would be a giveaway to China or Russia, saying the contract is too limited to be a tool for protecting Internet freedom, while "failing to follow through on the transition or unilaterally extending the contract will only embolden authoritarian regimes to intensify their advocacy for government-led or intergovernmental management of the Internet via the United Nations." “Senator, if I may finish …,” Strickling said at one point in attempting to clarify the NTIA's responsibilities. “No you may not,” Sen Cruz said. “You may answer my questions.” Sen Cruz warned Commerce Department officials they could face jail time for their efforts to hand control of the Internet's domain name system to an international group, saying they violated congressional funding restrictions.