Marketplace Tech

Lies and unfounded allegations about the U.S. election are not going anywhere. And though we talk about Facebook and Twitter a lot, critics say YouTube hasn’t been doing nearly enough to prevent the sharing of videos that make false or misleading claims. It’s hard to overestimate just how big YouTube is. Over a quarter of U.S. adults get news from it. Amy Scott speaks with Rebecca Heilweil, a reporter for Vox’s “Open Sourced” project.

The incoming Biden administration promises a more open approach to immigration, including the H-1B visa program for highly skilled foreign workers employed by U.S. companies. The Trump administration has moved to restrict foreign work visas. This summer, an executive order temporarily halted new H-1B visas, and last month the Labor Department announced new rules making them more difficult to qualify for. This matters to tech, of course, because the industry employs a huge portion of H-1B visa holders in jobs companies say there aren’t enough skilled American workers to fill. Amy Scott speaks with Britta Glennon, an assistant professor at the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School.

Recent antitrust investigations into Facebook, Google, Apple and Amazon have garnered rare bipartisan support, but there are differences of opinion when it comes to enforcement, even within the Democratic Party. Some progressives have called for breaking up tech giants, while others favor a more moderate approach. So how might President-elect Joe Biden move forward? Amy Scott speaks with Rebecca Allensworth, a law professor at Vanderbilt University.

The Federal Communications Commission will confront a number of issues in the coming years, from the digital divide to social media policy to 5G infrastructure. So what could the FCC’s priorities look like under President-elect Joe Biden? Amy Scott speaks with Tom Wheeler, chairman of the FCC from 2013 to 2017. He says one priority will likely be restoring Obama-era net neutrality rules that required internet service providers to offer equal access to content on the web.

The incoming Biden administration will have a long list of policy initiatives, but since the last time Joe Biden was in the White House, tech policy has taken on a much bigger role. Back in 2017, President Trump’s FCC overturned net neutrality regulations. In the years since, the administration has made tech a huge part of its China trade policy, launched antitrust investigations and crafted executive orders on immigration that severely restricted the flow of tech talent. And then there’s the whole social media thing. So what will a Biden administration tackle? Molly speaks with Tom Merritt, host of the “Daily Tech News Show” podcast.

The incoming Biden administration will have a long list of policy initiatives, but since the last time Joe Biden was in the White House, tech policy has taken on a much bigger role. Back in 2017, President Trump’s FCC overturned net neutrality regulations. In the years since, the administration has made tech a huge part of its China trade policy, launched antitrust investigations and crafted executive orders on immigration that severely restricted the flow of tech talent. And then there’s the whole social media thing. So what will a Biden administration tackle? Molly speaks with Tom Merritt, host of the “Daily Tech News Show” podcast.

In other voting news, Californians this week passed Proposition 24, a new law designed to improve on one passed in 2018, the California Consumer Privacy Act, or CCPA. The updated version lets people request that companies not share their data, in addition to not selling it. It also creates an enforcement agency for compliance to be set up by 2023. Like Europe’s General Data Protection Regulation, California’s privacy law has the potential to set rules of the road throughout the U.S. But a number of surprising groups opposed it, including the ACLU of Northern California and the advocacy group Color of Change, because they said it could create data privacy inequality. Molly speaks with Jessica Lee, a partner with the law firm Loeb & Loeb.

In other voting news, Californians this week passed Proposition 24, a new law designed to improve on one passed in 2018, the California Consumer Privacy Act, or CCPA. The updated version lets people request that companies not share their data, in addition to not selling it. It also creates an enforcement agency for compliance to be set up by 2023. Like Europe’s General Data Protection Regulation, California’s privacy law has the potential to set rules of the road throughout the U.S. But a number of surprising groups opposed it, including the ACLU of Northern California and the advocacy group Color of Change, because they said it could create data privacy inequality. Molly speaks with Jessica Lee, a partner with the law firm Loeb & Loeb.

Votes in the presidential election are still being counted. The legal challenges have started, and the disinformation efforts that have defined 2020 are still ongoing. For example, there are no credible accounts of ballots suspiciously going missing or turning up or being destroyed. But influencers on various social media networks were spreading false narratives about just that on Election Day and beyond. Marketplace’s Molly Wood speaks with Renée DiResta, the technical research manager at the Stanford Internet Observatory and part of the Election Integrity Partnership, which tracked misinformation and disinformation efforts in real time this week. For the most part, she told her the big platforms — Twitter, Facebook and YouTube — did all right, but there will always be work to be done.

Votes in the presidential election are still being counted. The legal challenges have started, and the disinformation efforts that have defined 2020 are still ongoing. For example, there are no credible accounts of ballots suspiciously going missing or turning up or being destroyed. But influencers on various social media networks were spreading false narratives about just that on Election Day and beyond. Marketplace’s Molly Wood speaks with Renée DiResta, the technical research manager at the Stanford Internet Observatory and part of the Election Integrity Partnership, which tracked misinformation and disinformation efforts in real time this week. For the most part, she told her the big platforms — Twitter, Facebook and YouTube — did all right, but there will always be work to be done.