Independent Agencies

How Regulators Are Dealing with Antitrust Laws and Data Privacy

Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg

When people turn over data to "pay" for Facebook's services, are they getting a good deal?

  • By Doug Pollack

Smart TVs Are Tracking Viewers And These Lawmakers Are Concerned

Your TV knows just how many cooking shows you watch.

  • By Caitlin Fairchild

Social Security Wants Help Keeping Tabs on the Software Market

The Social Security Administration wants to know if a small business can provide fast market intelligence reports when the agency is ready to buy.

  • By Aaron Boyd

Americans Say They’re Ready For Robots To Deliver The Mail

A survey conducted by the Postal Service Inspector General polled citizens on how they would feel if a robot delivered the mail with—or instead of—a human.

  • By Aaron Boyd

FEC Gets the Ball Rolling on Online Political Ads Rules

If passed, the rules would require websites to disclose who paid for online political ads urging viewers to vote for or against a specific candidate.

  • By Jack Corrigan
An Indian woman looks at her mobile phone as she carries red chillies on her head at a farm at Shertha village near Gandhinagar, India, Sunday, Feb. 25, 2018. An Indian woman looks at her mobile phone as she carries red chillies on her head at a farm at Shertha village near Gandhinagar, India, Sunday, Feb. 25, 2018.

USAID Launches Program To Bring More Women Online

The WomenConnect Challenge is offering $1 million to projects that address why women in low- and middle-income countries are offline.

  • By Jack Corrigan
Secretary of State Rex Tillerson Secretary of State Rex Tillerson

No, Rex Tillerson Does Not Have $1.85M To Give You

The secretary of state’s name is being used in an email scam, the FTC warns.

  • By Aaron Boyd

FEC Will Take Up Online Political Ad Transparency

The Federal Election Commission may soon require online ads that urge viewers to vote for or against a specific candidate to include a disclaimer about where they originated.

  • By Jack Corrigan

Smart Cars Collect a Lot of Data. FTC Wants to Know How It's Used.

While some types of information may make drivers safer, others are more geared toward selling ads.

  • By Jack Corrigan
Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass. Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass.

If Another Equifax Breach Happens, Lawmakers Want to See Billions in Fines

And they want half of the money to go to victims.

  • By Jack Corrigan

Feds Target Revenge Porn Website

A website is in legal trouble after publishing explicit images and other personal information of subjects without their consent.

  • By Heather Kuldell

National Forecasts Get Supercomputing Boost

Following the worst weather year ever, the federal government is investing heavily in supercomputing to improve forecasting.

  • By Frank Konkel
Steve Robino arranges packages on a conveyor belt at the main post office in Omaha, Neb., Thursday, Dec. 14, 2017. Steve Robino arranges packages on a conveyor belt at the main post office in Omaha, Neb., Thursday, Dec. 14, 2017.

Report: Post Offices Should Automate Pen-and-Paper Safety Checks

Automating compliance checklists could save time and result in better data, the Postal Service inspector general found.

  • By Jack Corrigan

FTC 'Do Not Call' Numbers Get 375,000 Robocalls Every Month

New tech is making it easier for telemarketers to make calls and hide from law enforcement.

  • By Jack Corrigan

Where Were Netflix and Google in the Net-Neutrality Fight?

Big tech firms have gone from pushing for open-internet protections to being powerful enough not to need them.

  • By Joe Pinsker, The Atlantic
Steve Robino arranges packages on a conveyor belt at the main post office in Omaha, Neb., Thursday, Dec. 14, 2017. Steve Robino arranges packages on a conveyor belt at the main post office in Omaha, Neb., Thursday, Dec. 14, 2017.

Online Shopping is Overloading the US Postal Service

USPS expects to ship more than 850 million packages this holiday season.

  • By Dave Gershgorn, Quartz
U.S. Postal Service letter carrier, Jamesa Euler, delivers mail, in Atlanta. U.S. Postal Service letter carrier, Jamesa Euler, delivers mail, in Atlanta.

IG Pushes For Better Customer Experience At Postal Service

One of the first things the service needs to do is to get more feedback from customers.

  • By Frank Konkel

The FCC Plans to Kill the Open Internet; Don’t Count on the FTC to Save It

The FTC does not have specialized expertise in telecommunications.

  • By Terrell McSweeny, Quartz
Budget Director Mick Mulvaney Budget Director Mick Mulvaney

The Next Trump Legal Crisis: Who Is In Charge at the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau?

That’s a problem that will need to be solved by the courts.

  • By Tim Fernholz, Quartz

FTC Cracks Down on Social Media Stars Who Don't Reveal Sponsorships

FTC's truth-in-advertising mission is old but not it's tackling social media.

  • By Jack Corrigan