Tech Policy Leaders

Sean Perryman: How to Promote Diversity & Inclusion in Tech (Ep. 157)

Prior to joining IA, Sean Perrymanserved as Counsel on the House Oversight Committee, Democratic staff where he advised on technology policy.

How do the internet sector's efforts to improve diversity and inclusion in tech align with its broader policy agenda? Sean Perryman joined us to discuss.

Bio

Sean Perryman (https://www.linkedin.com/in/seanperryman/) is the Director of Diversity and Inclusion Policy and Counsel at the Internet Association. He is responsible for leading IA's advocacy efforts around diversity, inclusion, and workforce-related policies at the local, state, and federal level.

Prior to joining IA, Sean served as Counsel on the House Oversight Committee, Democratic staff where he advised on technology policy including AI, cybersecurity, and privacy issues. Before working on the Oversight Committee, Sean practiced civil litigation both in Texas and D.C.

Sean is passionate about issues of equity and inclusion. In his spare time he serves as Education Chair for the Fairfax County NAACP. He also regularly writes about issues related to race and advocates for a more equitable society.

Sean earned his B.A. from City University of New York- Baruch College. He received his J.D. from Vanderbilt University Law School. A Brooklyn, New York native, he now resides in Fairfax, Virginia with his wife and daughter.

Resources

Internet Association

Stamped from the Beginning: The Definitive History of Racist Ideas in America by Ibram X. Kendi

News Roundup DOJ indicts 7 Russian intelligence officers for conspiracy

The Department of Justice indicted 7 Russian intelligence officers on Thursday on charges that they conspired to conduct malicious cyberattacks against the U.S., Canada, and Europe. Morgan Chalfant reports in the Hill that on that same day, the UK and the Netherlands announced that they had thwarted a Russian-led cyberattack against The Hague's global chemical weapons watchdog. The indicted officials allegedly work for Russian military intelligence GRU. FBI special counsel Robert Mueller indicted 12 GRU officials earlier this year for their alleged role in hacking the 2016 U.S. presidential election.

Google+ bug exposes 500,000 users to potential data breach

Google announced that as many as 500,000 of its users may have had their personal data exposed from a breach in its unpopular social media platform, Google Plus. The company announced that it discovered the bug back in March but that there is no evidence that anyone exploited the bug. The company also announced that it will be shuttering Google Plus by August of next year.

Facebook executive stokes internal conflict at Facebook for supporting Kavanaugh

Joel Kaplan – Facebook's vice president for global public policy is under internal fire at Facebook for supporting Brett Kavanaugh's Supreme Court nomination. Kaplan sat directly behind Kavanaugh at the hearing, then threw a party for him to celebrate his confirmation, which reports say Kavanaugh and his wife attended. Kaplan and his wife hosted the party despite apologizing, in a note to Facebook's staff, in which Kaplan said he recognizes that this moment is a painful one. Kaplan, however, as a private supporter and personal friend of Kavanaugh's, did not break any company rules, according to Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg.

Victim's Fitbit data leads to arrest of 90-year-old murder suspect

A Fitbit has led to the arrest of a 90-year-old San Jose man for allegedly murdering his 67-year-old stepdaughter after dropping off a homemade pizza and biscotti, according to police. The police tied the suspect to the victim's heart rate which, according to her Fitbit device, surged and then rapidly declined while the suspect was still in the house. This was corroborated by surveillance footage, also synced up to internet time, that allegedly shows that his car was still parked outside, thus placing him in the house, when the victim expired.

Amazon announces $15/hour minimum wage but cuts bonuses

Amazon has announced a $15 minimum wage for all of its 250,000 employees, engendering the support of Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders. Amazon also announced that it will begin lobbying Congress to raise the national minimum wage. Target's minimum hourly wage stands at $12 while Walmart's stands at $11.

Ranking Member Pallone questions tech CEOS about Russian influence on Kavanaugh hearing

House Energy and Commerce Committee Ranking Member Frank Pallone sent several questions to the CEOs of Alphabet, Facebook, and Twitter to determine the extent to which Russian trolls impacted debate on the Kavanaugh hearing in ways that resembled Russian interference with the 2016 presidential election. U.S. officials believe that Russians have continued their hacking operations against the U.S. Pallone noted that one Facebook Group that was vocal about supporting Kavanaugh, also advocated for boycotting Nike and Colin Kaepernick. Ali Breland reports in the Hill.

Trump administration relaxes restrictions on driverless trucks

Finally, the Trump administration has decided to relax restrictions on driverless trucks—shifting the onus for safety away from the federal government to companies who develop driverless technologies. But transportation Secretary Elain Chao says that the administration continues to be concerned about the effect that driverless vehicles will have on the workforce.

How do the internet sector's efforts to improve diversity and inclusion in tech align with its broader policy agenda? Sean Perryman joined us to discuss.

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Alex J. Wood -- Liberator or 'Boss from Hell'?: The Gig Economy's Double Edge

Oxford Internet Institute Researcher Alex J. Wood discusses the gig economy's double edge from the perspective of workers themselves.

Bio

Alex J. Wood (@tom_swing) is a Researcher at the Oxford Internet Institute. He is a sociologist of work and employment, focusing on the changing nature of employment relations and labour market transformation.

Alex is currently researching new forms of worker voice and collective action in the online gig economy as part of the iLabour project.

Alex previously researched online labour markets and virtual employment relations in Sub-Saharan Africa and Southeast Asia as part of the "Microwork and Virtual Production Networks in Sub-Saharan Africa and Southeast Asia" project. This project investigates the economic and social implications of new forms of economic activities in the context of ICTs for development.

Alex completed his PhD at the University of Cambridge Department of Sociology where he also worked as Research Associate on an ESRC impact acceleration project to evaluate potential ways of reducing workplace stress resulting from insecure scheduling.

Alex's PhD (2015) is titled the "The insecure worker: workplace control in the 21st Century". His PhD focuses on the changing nature of flexible and insecure forms of work such as zero hour contracts. New patterns of working-time flexibility and how this relates to insecurity, well-being, and issues of workplace control and resistance being central to account developed.

He also has a long standing interest in the relationships between industrial relations, union renewal and emerging forms of workplace representation and new patterns of class and inequality.

Previously he received his MPhil in Sociology from the University of Cambridge (2011) with distinction. He received a first class BSc (hons) degree in Politics and Sociology, from Aston University (2009).

Resources

Oxford Internet Institute

Good Gig, Bad Gig: Autonomy and Algorithmic Control in the Global Gig Economy by Alex J. Wood, Mark Graham and Vili Lehdonvirta

News Roundup New Facebook breach affects 50 million users

Facebook reported a data breach that began to take effect in July of 2017 when Facebook updated its View As feature which allows users to see how their profile looks to specific friends. The company said it didn't discover the breach until September. While the company didn't dislose exactly which user data was stolen or who stole it, it did reveal that the hackers obtained access tokens that enabled them to manipulate user accounts. Facebook says it has notified affected users and required them to log back into their accounts.

Elon Musk steps down as Tesla over tweets/SEC fraud investigation

Elon Musk has stepped down as the Chairman of Tesla and will need to pay a $20 million fine for his tweet last month saying he had "funding secured" for a $420 per share buyout of the company. The SEC had sued Musk for the tweet saying it misled investors. The SEC said that the $420 stock price was a weed reference—intended to impress his girlfriend\, rapper Grimes. He was also smoking up on Joe Rogan's podcast. Obviously he was confused and bewildered—talking in tongues and rapping freestyle.

Federal prosecutors are now probing the ad industry

Federal prosecutors have launched an investigation into ad agencies who buy advertising time on behalf of large corporate brands. A recent Association of National Retailers report found that media outlets have been offering ad agencies rebates—cash back after they meet spending threshholds -- but that the money hasn't been making its way back advertisers. Suzanne Vranica and Nicole Hong report in the Wall Street Journal.

Environmental Protection Agency to dissolve science advisory office

The EPA will be dissolving its science office and ostensibly rolling it into the agency's Office of Research and Development. This is the same agency that has basically censored the terms "climate change" from its website, speeches and all of pr collateral. It has also stopped giving climate change awards and is working to roll back full efficiency standards.

Federal preemption is trending

The doctrine of Federal pre-emption took center-stage this week in three different areas: net neutrality, privacy, and 5G buildout. Remember the Supremacy Clause of the U.S. Constitution makes federal law the supreme law of the land. On the net neutrality front, the state of California passed its own set of net neutrality rules that mirror the ones the FCC passed in 2015 but that Ajit Pai's FCC repealed earlier this year. The Department of Justice is now suing the state of California, claiming the federal preemption doctrine.

On privacy, Amazon, Alphabet, Apple, AT&T, Charter, and Twitter told the Senate Commerce Committee last week that they would support federal privacy regulation that would preempt California's privacy law, set to go into effect in 2020, which would give California consumers more control over their data. But a national privacy framework that would preempt state privacy rules has support from both sides of the aisle.

And on 5G … the FCC passed new rules last week that would minimize the role of local and state authorities in the review process to build out 5G wireless infrastructure, by limiting fees that local and state authorities charge carriers in order to deploy 5G and capping the shot clock to require local authorities to approve 5G applications within 60 to 90 days.

Verizon begins 5G rollout in 4 cities

Five days following the FCC's order to limit local and state oversight of 5G deployment, Verizon announced that it would be deploying 5G in Houston, Indianapolis, Los Angeles and Sacramento. This makes Verizon the first company in the world to offer 5G on a commercial basis to individual consumers. Brian Fung has more in the Washington Post.

Federal court rules against Uber drivers suing as a class

Finally, the federal District Court of the Northern District of California has ruled to de-certify a class of nearly 240,000 Uber drivers who are suing Uber, saying that they should be considered employees rather than independent contractors. This would entitle them to better benefits and things like reimbursement for gas. The decision was long expected since the US Supreme Court ruled back in May – in Epic Systems v. Louis – that courts are required to honor arbitration agreements that gig workers sign up for. All 240, 000 drivers would now have to pursue their claims individually.

Oxford Internet Institute Researcher Alex J. Wood discusses the gig economy's double edge from the perspective of workers themselves.

Naeemah Clark: How to Define 'Viewpoint Diversity' in a Polarized America (Ep. 155)

Are 'viewpoint diversity' and 'ethnic diversity' mutually exclusive? Elon University professor Naeemah Clark helps put 'viewpoint diversity' in perspective.

Bio

Naeemah Clark (@NaeemahC) is an Associate Professor of Communications at Elon University. Noticing a lack of diversity and unfair portrayal of marginalized groups in the media, Naeemah Clark pursues an interest in race and gender, economic status, disabilities, LGBTQIA and ethnicity in the media. She also studies and teaches about economic, programming and diversity issues related in the media and entertainment industries. She has edited the book, "African Americans in the History of U.S. Media," co-authored a textbook, "Diversity in U.S. Mass Media," published work in Journalism History, American Behavioral Scientist and has presented numerous papers at various conferences. She earned a B.A. in education from Florida State University, and her Masters and Ph.D. in Mass Communication from the University of Florida.

Resources

Elon University School of Communications

Diversity in the U.S. Mass Media by Catherine Luther, Carolyn Ringer Lepre, and Naeemah Clark (Wiley Press, 2012)

News Roundup Comcast beat out 21st Century Fox in bid for SkyTV

Comcast beat out Rupert Murdoch's 21st Century Fox in its bid for UK cable provider Sky with a $40 billion offer. At 17.28 pounds per share, it tracks Sky's share price which was trading at about 17.16 pounds per share Monday morning on the London Stock Exchange. This also takes Disney out of the running for Sky. Disney hoped to acquire Sky when it closes on its acquisition of 21st Century Fox's entertainment assets, which it won back in July for $71 billion and which includes 21st Century Fox's 39% stake in Sky.

Feds weigh regulation of social media platforms

Bloomberg News reported that the White House is considering a draft order that would direct the Department of Justice and Federal Trade Commission to investigate Facebook and Google's social media practices. The administration has repeatedly claimed the platforms are biased against conservative viewpoints. However, no similar measures to curtail broadcasters' bias have surfaced, leaving one sector of a broader media ecosystem under attack, while traditional media are free to discriminate against differing viewpoints without restriction. For example, Sinclair Broadcasting's commentators and talk radio hosts hold almost exclusively conservative viewpoints.

The Department of Justice is weighing a discussion with state attorneys general regarding the so-called "shadow banning" of conservative viewpoints at the National Association of Attorneys General meeting from November 27-29th in Charleston, South Carolina. And the Wall Street Journal also reported that, following the Trump administration's Muslim travel ban, Google employees discussed tweaking search results to inform users about how they might contribute to pro-immigration causes and counteract the effects of the ban. Google says it never implemented the changes.

Paypal stops doing business with Infowars

Paypal has stopped doing business with Alex Jones' conspiracy website Infowars.

PayPal ended the relationship in an email saying InfoWars violated PayPal's acceptable use policy by "promoting hate and discriminatory intolerance against certain communities and religions."

Trump administration releases new cyber strategy

The Trump administration announced a new cyber strategy last week that'll prioritize attacks against foreign adversaries. National Security Advisor Josh Bolton made it clear last week that the U.S. will focus on both offense and defense on a cyber front that has grown to be infinitely more complex since the 2016 presidential election.

Google says it allows third parties to share data from Gmail

As the Wall Street Journal reported last week, Google wrote a letter to Senators saying that it allows app developers to scan Gmail accounts for data, even though Google itself says that it no longer uses Gmail data for ad-targeting. App developers have ready access to valuable data about Gmail users' buying preferences, whom they interact with, and other valuable psychometric data. But Google's Vice President of public policy and government affairs wrote that the company only shares data with third parties who agree to be fully transparent.

Sen. Wyden's office discovers targeted Gmail attacks against members of Congress

Foreign hackers are targeting senators' Gmail accounts. That's according to a letter Senate Democrat Ron Wyden wrote to senate leaders last week, which was subsequently confirmed by Google spokesman Aaron Stein who said that his company informed Senator Wyden of the breach attempts. Neither Wyden nor Google confirmed details of which members the hackers are targeting or how. But Wyden is calling for rule changes that would empower the Sergeant-at-Arms to protect members' personal email accounts.

New York Times sues FCC over Russian influence in net neutrality proceeding

The New York Times has sued the Federal Communications Commission in the Southern District of New York to determine the extent of Russian meddling in the net neutrality proceeding. Of the record 22 million commenters in the proceeding to overturn the 2015 net neutrality rules, some 450,000 had Russian email addresses. But the New York Times also wants IP addresses, timestamps, and user-agent headers to gain a fuller understanding of how Russians interfered with the proceeding.

Federal Judge keeps electronic touch screen machines in place in Georgia

A federal judge in Georgia denied a motion that would have required Georgia to switch from electronic touch screens to paper ballots. Judge Amy Totenberg found that switching to paper ballots on such short notice would have a worse effect on the November election than the touch screens would.

Facebook to team with anti-fake news nonprofits

Facebook has announced that it will be teaming up with the International Republican Institute and the National Democratic Institute -- two anti-propaganda nonprofits on the left and right -– as the company continues to battle fake news ahead of Brazilian elections in October and the U.S. November midterms. Facebook announced the partnership as new research found that 3 out of 4 articles being shared about the Brazil election are false. Joseph Menn has the story at Reuters.

Sirius XM to acquire Pandora

Finally, in a $3.5 billion deal, satellite broadcaster Sirius XM will be acquiring internet streaming service Pandora in an all-stock transaction, according to a company announcement on Monday. The deal will combine Sirius XM's 36 million subscribers with Pandora's 70 million, with projected revenue for this year of $7 billion.

Are 'viewpoint diversity' and 'ethnic diversity' mutually exclusive? Elon University professor Naeemah Clark helps put 'viewpoint diversity' in perspective.

Rebekah Tromble: How to Combat Misinformation (Ep. 154)

Leiden University's Rebekah Tromble joined Joe Miller to chat about ways to combat misinformation on social media.

Bio

Rebekah Tromble (@RebekahKTromble) is an assistant professor in the Institute of Political Science at Leiden University in the Netherlands, where she teaches and conducts research on media and politics, digital research methods and ethics, and computational social science.

Dr. Tromble is deeply committed to understanding and promoting responsible and ethical uses of data and technology and has founded the Data in Democracy Initiative at Leiden University to pursue that commitment through teaching, research, and public outreach.

Previously, she conducted extensive fieldwork in former Soviet Central Asia, where she focused on political discourses about Muslims and Islam.

She earned her Ph.D. from the University of Illinois, Bloomington, and graduated magna cum laude and Phi Beta Kappa from Knox College.

Resources

Rebekah Tromble

Leiden University, Institute of Political Science

Uncivil Agreement: How Politics Became Our Identity by Lilliana Mason

News Roundup U.S. sanctions Russian and Chinese firms over North Korea

The U.S. has sanctioned tech firms in Russia and China for funneling money to North Korea in violation of U.S. sanctions, by using fake social media profiles to solicit work from North Koreans. The sanctions target Yanbian Silverstar Network Technology Company, whose CEO is North Korean, and a Russian subsidiary called Volasys Silverstar.

Arizona is investigating Google's location data practices

Arizona's Republican Attorney General Mark Brnovich has initiated an investigation into Google's location data practices, according to The Washington Post. Google was accused recently of recording the location data of Android users even when the location setting was turned off. The company denies the allegation saying that it is transparent with users by giving them the option to toggle what gets collected and delete their location history.

FCC stops review clock on T-Mobile/Sprint merger review

The FCC has stopped the clock on its review of the proposed merger of T-Mobile and Sprint. Traditionally the FCC sets the clock at 180 days. But, citing the transaction's complexity, the FCC paused the T-Mobile/Sprint review 60 days in.

Trump has signed off on election interference sanctions

President Trump has signed off on a set of sanctions against foreign actors who engage in election interference. The executive order gives federal law enforcement officials 90 days to review instances of potential interference and act on them if they determine that doing so would be necessary.

Google under scrutiny for China plans

Reuters reports that Google and its parent company Alphabet are under scrutiny by 16 lawmakers regarding its plans to expand into China. China has banned the company since 2010. In a letter, both liberal and conservative members of Congress asked Google how they would protect its users in light of China's censorship laws. Google said that its ambitions in China are merely exploratory and not close to launching. Some 1,000 Google employees wrote a letter questioning Google about its ambitions in China. At least one research scientist has resigned in protest.

European Union adopts draft copyright bill

The European Union has adopted a draft copyright bill that would require tech companies to pay higher royalties to media companies for the right to host their content. Under the new law, publishers would have the right to negotiate payment for content posted on sites like YouTube. Tech giants would also have to pay "proportionate remuneration" to large media companies for hosting their content. Big tech is pushing back saying that keeping track of every piece of content would be unwieldy.

CBS sets aside $120 million in severance for Les Moonves

Finally, CBS wrote in a Securities and Exchange Commission filing that it is setting aside $120 million in severance for their departing CEO Les Moonves—but the company has a year to decide whether to let him go for cause. If they do, he'll get nothing.

This $120 million is down from an original severance amount of $238 million. Twelve women have accused Moonves of sexual misconduct, sexual assault, or sexual harassment. CBS will also be contributing $20 million to causes that support the #MeToo movement.

Leiden University's Rebekah Tromble joined Joe Miller to chat about ways to combat misinformation on social media.

Francella Ochillo: Latinos and Tech Policy -- The Policy Year Ahead (Ep. 153)

Francella Ochillo joined Joe Miller to talk about the tech policy issues the National Hispanic Media Coalition is most focused on during the policy year ahead.

Bio

Francella Ochillo (@Francella202) is the National Hispanic Media Coalition's (NHMC) Vice President, Policy and General Counsel. Francella brings a unique combination of litigation and community activism experience to NHMC. At the Department of Justice, she worked on securities fraud investigation teams, prosecuting banks for corporate misconduct under the False Claims Act and Financial Institutions Reform Recovery and Enforcement Act. Meanwhile, she maintains her commitment community engagement in various roles at the YMCA, a non-profit devoted to strengthening communities.

Even though Francella has called the District of Columbia home for the past ten years, she is originally from New Orleans and still loves jambalaya. She has a B.S. degree in Marketing from Morgan State University where she graduated with honors from the School of Business. She earned her J.D. from the John Marshall Law School in Chicago, Illinois where she excelled as a moot court competitor and went on to represent the City of Chicago in Administrative Hearings. Francella is currently a member of the District of Columbia Bar.

Resources

National Hispanic Media Coalition

Algorithms of Oppression: How Search Engines Reinforce Racism by Safiya Noble

Human and Machine: Rethinking Work in the Age of AI by Paul Daugherty and H. James Wilson

News Roundup Google under heat

Google is under heat after the company left its seat vacant at a Senate Intelligence Committee hearing on Russian election interference. Donald Trump has led the charge against the tech company, accusing it, Facebook and Twitter of having an anti-conservative bias. Committee Chairman Richard Burr, a Republican, wasn't happy when Google offered to send its General Counsel, Kent Walker to testify. He wanted company founder and Alphabet CEO Larry Page to appear. Although Google's seat was empty at the hearing, it sent written testimony from Mr. Walker.

Outcry against Google's lack of a physical presence at the hearing was bipartisan. The Committee's top Democrat -- Senator Mark Warner – said that he was deeply disappointed that Google didn't appear.

Washington is now abuzz wondering how this will affect how Congress will consider potential regulations that would affect the company. Back in July, Google was the subject of the largest antitrust fine in European Union history -- $5 billion -- for illegally tying Chrome to its Android operating system, among other things—a decision the company is appealing.

Twitter permanently bans Alex Jones

Twitter has decided to permanently ban conspiracy theorist Alex Jones. The company said that Jones violated its abusive behavior policy.

Justice Department investigates whether tech companies stifle conservative viewpoints

The Justice Department has announced that it will be investigating whether platforms like Google, Facebook and Twitter stifle free speech. DOJ spokesman Devin O'Malley made the announcement as Facebook COO Sheryl Sandberg and Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey wrapped up their Senate Intelligence Committee testimony on Wednesday.

Politics sends NASDAQ down 161 points

These political issues sent the NASDAQ composite on a 4 day losing streak, which it recovered from slightly on Monday. Overall, though, the NASDAQ is down about 161 points since the Senate Intelligence Committee hearing.

Google, Facebook, and Twitter bans Myanmar military accounts

Google, Facebook, and Twitter have banned dozens of accounts belonging to Myanmar military officials. The company banned the officials for spreading hate speech and misinformation against Rohingya and other Muslims in Myanmar. Reuters reports that the decision came hours after the United Nation's reported that the Myanmar military carried out mass killings and gang rapes of Muslim Rohingya with "genocidal intent".

President Trump asks Apple to shift production back to U.S.

Finally, President Trump urged Apple on Twitter last week to shift production back to the United States from China. The president threatened tariffs and offered tax incentives, including a zero percent tax rate, if the company moves its production operations to the U.S.

Francella Ochillo joined Joe Miller to talk about the tech policy issues the National Hispanic Media Coalition is most focused on during the policy year ahead.