The first venture capital investments in green companies from Amazon’s $2 billion Climate Pledge Fund, announced Thursday, are “our first round” of cash infusions, Head-Worldwide Sustainability Kara Hurst told an Axios webinar Thursday. “We’re going to continue to look at what kinds of companies and technologies will have a direct impact on Amazon." Amazon and green group Global Optimism co-founded the fund to support sustainable businesses and technologies that will help meet the company's commitment of becoming “net-zero carbon” by 2040. AT&T, meanwhile, targets carbon neutrality by 2035 (see 2009170025). Amazon recently revised its forecast of becoming 100% reliant on renewable energy by 2025, five years earlier than the previous projection, because “where we can go faster, we can accelerate,” said Hurst. “We’re going very big in wind and solar. We’ve done over 91 projects to date. We’ll just continue to ramp up." The e-tailer also has studied ways of making packaging more climate-friendly for more than a decade, she said.

The Economics Bureau is expanding its merger retrospective program, the FTC announced Thursday. The bureau will address antitrust questions not “extensively studied in previous retrospective merger analyses” and will expand to analyze industries “not already studied,” it said. Initiatives include an annual report on lessons from retrospective studies, the agency said. It will evaluate price pressure “measures that have been proposed for evaluating horizontal mergers, vertical mergers, and full-fledged merger simulation.” It plans to devote major conference sessions to the topic.

Monoprice recalled Category 6 Ethernet bulk CMR communications cable used in home and office networks for not meeting UL 1666 voluntary safety standards, posing a fire hazard when exposed to a flame, said the Consumer Product Safety Commission Wednesday. Consumers should stop using the recalled cables and contact Monoprice to schedule a free visit to inspect and replace the cable. It was sold at the Monoprice website, Amazon and through installation companies December 2018-February 2020 for $20-$130.

COVID-19 is vastly accelerating the growth of e-commerce, said Brie Carere, FedEx chief marketing and communications officer, on a fiscal Q1 investor call Tuesday evening. Pre-pandemic, FedEx projected the U.S. would surpass 100 million daily packages by 2026, she said. “We now project that the U.S. domestic parcel market will hit this mark by calendar year 2023, pulling volume projections forward by three years.” E-commerce activity “remains elevated,” though it has declined as a share of total retail from its “apex” in April, said Carere. FedEx is “working hard to set expectations with our e-commerce merchants” for the holiday selling season, she said. “I think they are very well aware that this is going to be a peak like no other.” The stock closed 5.8% higher Wednesday at $250.30.

The Senate should reject the Earn It Act, which would result in online censorship, jeopardize encryption and potentially undermine child abuse cases, 26 advocacy groups wrote Tuesday (see 2007080061). Access Now, the Center for Democracy & Technology, Electronic Frontier Foundation, Fight for the Future, Internet Society, New America's Open Technology Institute and R Street Institute were signers. The bill is “a blunt tool that will result in platforms taking down a lot of First Amendment-protected content, particularly content created by people whose voices are already marginalized in society,” said CDT Free Expression Project Director Emma Llanso.

Panasonic is committing $150 million to a second Conductive Ventures fund for investing in tech startups in artificial intelligence, digital health, future of work, autonomous vehicles and other fields, said the company Monday. "Uncertainty is rife in today's global economy," said Conductive Ventures Managing Director Carey Lai. "We're committed to helping expansion stage companies build on their foundation, leverage their talent and innovation, and weather the storm to bring to market ideas and technologies that will have a positive impact on their respective industries.” The first $100 million fund went to at least a dozen tech startups, one of which, 3D printing company Desktop Metal, has announced its intention to go public, said Panasonic.

Comments on NTIA’s internet use survey questions are due Thursday (see 2009110051), a spokesperson said. The additional 30-day comment period is to OMB for the Paperwork Reduction Act.

Fifty-six of 90 agencies use IoT technology, but some don’t because of cybersecurity concerns and lack of return on investment, GAO reported Monday. Forty-two use it to control or monitor equipment and systems. Nearly 40 said they use it to control devices and facilities, and 28 to track physical assets.

NTIA extended by 30 days its comment deadline for its internet use survey, says a notice in Monday's Federal Register. NTIA originally opened a 60-day comment period July 7.

Tech innovation will benefit most from a hands-off approach from the federal government, the Competitive Enterprise Institute said Thursday, criticizing “interventionist tech policies” from Congress. CEI targeted Senate bills: the Ending Support for Internet Censorship Act (see 1906190047) from Josh Hawley, R-Mo.; Protecting Children from Abusive Games Act (see 1908220057) from Hawley, Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., and Ed Markey, D-Mass.; and the Deceptive Experiences to Online Users Reduction Act (see 1904090084) from Mark Warner, D-Va., and Deb Fischer, R-Neb. “Policy makers, including Republicans, should stop pursuing laws and regulations that expand the influence of powerful agencies like the FTC and FCC,” said CEI Vice President-Policy Wayne Crews. Vice President-Strategy Iain Murray said market solutions will better “address the myriad problems that inevitably arise in a free, competitive economy.”