Emerging Tech

Facial Recognition Bill Would Ban Companies From Sharing Your Face Without Consent

A bipartisan bill introduced this week would strengthen consumer protections around facial recognition technology.

Digital Government

Your Health Data Are a Gold Mine for Advertisers

In the hospital and at home, illness data can be lucrative.

Emerging Tech

Government Needs An ‘Ethical Framework’ to Tackle Emerging Technology

At SXSW, a beacon of technology idealism, mayors discuss how to deal with the difficult problems that can come with new tech.

Cybersecurity

Phone Scammers Are Impersonating the Social Security Administration, Too

The Federal Trade Commission warns that even if a call doesn’t seem like a scam, it probably is.

Digital Government

Big Tech Claps Back at Warren’s Proposal to Break Up Amazon, Google, Facebook

The tech industry doesn’t think Sen. Warren’s idea to break up big tech companies is a good idea.

Digital Government

What Mark Zuckerberg Thinks People Want

The Facebook CEO had a change of heart that could recast the future of the internet.

Digital Government

Congress Moves to Ban Discriminatory Advertising on Social Media

Lawmakers also introduced bills to help both vets and the larger U.S. workforce navigate an increasingly tech-centric job market.

Modernization

New York's Online Voter Registration Will Become Accessible to Blind Voters

Websites for the board of elections and DMV must be accessible by the end of the year under the terms of a lawsuit settlement.

Emerging Tech

Las Vegas Gambles on a 'Smart City' Technology Makeover

The casino mecca is piloting countless new technologies in public spaces in a bid to boost its smart-city brand. Worrying about the risks will come later.

Ideas

White House’s Race to Maintain AI Dominance Misses Opportunity

The administration supported a race for AI when it could have supported a race for ethical innovation.

Emerging Tech

Lawmakers Demand Answers on Surprise Microphones Inside Google Nest

The group wants Google CEO Sundar Pichai to provide answers—in writing, and in person—on the microphones discovered in Nest products.

Cybersecurity

House Lawmakers Want to Avoid a Patchwork of State Data Privacy Laws

Experts outlined what they would like to see included in a federal data privacy law.

Cybersecurity

Senator to Agencies: What Are You Doing to Secure Health Tech?

Sen. Mark Warner wants to develop a wide-ranging strategy to combat cybersecurity vulnerabilities targeting America’s health care sector.

Emerging Tech

The Microphones That May Be Hidden in Your Home

The controversy around Google’s Nest home-security devices shows that consumers never really know what their personal technology is capable of.

Cybersecurity

Senator Seeks Input on Health Care Cyber Strategy

A Virginia senator sent letters to health sector leaders for preliminary feedback on what a national strategy should entail.

Ideas

The Dangers of a Mandatory DNA Database

A controversy in Arizona is a portent of future public-policy fights.

Emerging Tech

Managing the Risks Inherent to Smart Cities

A new guide for non-technologists aims to help local officials avoid technology and policy pitfalls.

Ideas

The Problem With a ‘Smart’ Border Wall

To resolve Trump’s impasse, many lawmakers have proposed boosting surveillance technology to create a virtual border wall. Is that more humane and effective?

Policy

GAO Urges Congress to Start Moving on a Privacy Law

Researchers recommended lawmakers give regulators more power to write rules and punish the companies that break them.

Digital Government

Should Libraries Be the Keepers of Their Cities’ Public Data?

Public libraries are one of the most trusted institutions, and they want to make sure everyone has access to the information cities are collecting and sharing.