Borrowers in the Rural Utilities Service ReConnect broadband subsidy program should be the only ones eligible to bid on census blocks serving the same territory in the upcoming FCC Rural Digital Opportunity Fund, NTCA and the National Rural Electric Cooperative Association recommended, posted Tuesday in docket 19-126. Borrowers "would by no means" be guaranteed to win USF support for the same area, the associations acknowledged. The groups spoke Monday with Preston Wise, rural broadband adviser to Chairman Ajit Pai.

Digital advertisers should stop “using keyword blocking practices” that jeopardize the journalism industry, the News Media Alliance and Digital Content Next said Friday. Some advertisers have stopped spending ad money because of COVID-19, but others are using blockers to prevent “ads from appearing on COVID-19-related content,” the groups said. Digital Content Next President-CEO Jason Kint urged Google and Oracle to “dedicate urgent resources towards solutions here, including exempting or encouraging trusted news organizations as a default.” The Association of National Advertisers didn’t comment.

At least three state attorneys general raised privacy and security concerns about Zoom video conferencing. Offices for New York's Letitia James (D), Connecticut's William Tong (D) and Florida's Ashley Moody (D) confirmed last week they contacted the company. The U.S. attorney's office for the Eastern District of Michigan raised concerns Friday about “Zoom-bombing” video hacking that shares pornography and hate. James sent a letter to Zoom with questions to ensure the company is protecting privacy and security, her spokesperson confirmed: “With so many businesses and schools relying on Zoom to move their operations forward, it is vital we ensure that appropriate safety and security measures are in place.” Tong is alarmed by the incidents and is “seeking more information from the company about its privacy and security measures in coordination with other state attorneys general,” a spokesperson said. Moody’s office has had contact with Zoom and is “working with other states on this matter,” a spokesperson said. The office for Nevada AG Aaron Ford (D) is “happy” to coordinate with other AGs to ensure that Nevadans’ privacy interests are protected, a spokesperson emailed. “If you interfere with a teleconference or public meeting in Michigan, you could have federal, state, or local law enforcement knocking at your door,” U.S. Attorney for Eastern Michigan Matthew Schneider said. House Commerce Committee Democrats contacted the company Friday about privacy and security protections. They raised questions about company policy and company data collection: “Our new dependency on such solutions raises important questions about the privacy practices of the companies many of us are interacting with for the first time.” Dozens of other AG offices didn’t comment. Zoom is “deeply upset” about the incidents, a spokesperson emailed, noting the company has actively educated users about protection and training since March 20: “We are listening to our community of users to help us evolve our approach.”

Global IT spending will decline 2.7% this year as COVID-19 “forces many organizations" to "respond with contingency planning and spending cuts,” said IDC Thursday. It was forecasting a 4.3% increase in February. IT spending will fall “despite increased demand and usage for some technologies and services by individual companies and consumers," said IDC. “Major spending declines this year are now expected in PCs, tablets, mobile phones, and peripherals, with overall devices spending expected to decline by 8.8%.” Computers previously were expected to decline, it said: “The crisis will significantly disrupt a smartphone market that was projected to post stronger returns this year.”

President Donald Trump doesn’t oppose deferring tariffs on Chinese imports for 90 days during the pandemic, he told a White House briefing Tuesday. “I’m going to have to approve the plan,” said Trump. “I approve everything. And they haven’t presented it to me.” He sees “nothing wrong” with deferring the levies. Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, wrote Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin and U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer Friday to back a 90-day delay because “the response to COVID-19 has now added another layer of pressure as businesses are facing severe cash flow problems” (see 2003300012). The U.S. Chamber of Commerce also came out Wednesday in support of “tariff relief,” saying it would “provide some welcome breathing room for American businesses and consumers.”

A Sept. 22 FTC event will examine data portability's “potential benefits and challenges,” the agency said Tuesday. Comments are due Aug. 21. Portability gives consumers control over data and promotes competition by allowing data access to entrants, the agency said: There are security and privacy concerns, particularly for incidental data from friends.

The Commerce Department and FTC largely fared well in a GAO review of electronic recordkeeping practices, though both agencies have room for improvement. GAO reported to the Senate Homeland Security Investigations Subcommittee Monday that Commerce and the FTC had established records management systems and were largely complying. Commerce hasn’t met a requirement that it manage permanent and temporary email records in electronic format, GAO said. Commerce officials “stated that they use an email management system for email, email preservation, and litigation holds,” the report said. “However, their policies and procedures did not show how the agency managed both permanent and temporary email records in an accessible electronic format. Until Commerce ensures that its systems are capable of managing permanent and temporary email records and have the capability to identify, retrieve, and retain these records, the agency faces an increased risk that its emails are not able to be preserved or accessed when needed.” Commerce complied partially with a requirement it submit a comprehensive list of records and disposition schedules to the National Archives because it submitted a partial list, the report said. The FTC partially addressed a requirement it maintain an inventory of “electronic information systems that documented the information and records produced and maintained by each application,” GAO said. That commission “documented various technical characteristics, such as authorizations, purpose and function of the electronic information systems, and authorized procedures for the disposition of records. However, the agency did not include the characteristics for reading and processing the records contained in the system, inputs and outputs, contents of the files and records, and cycle updates.” Commerce intends to comply with electronic recordkeeping requirements by December. The FTC didn’t comment to GAO.

The owner of three “stalking” apps “failed to secure” data and ensure the apps were used for “legitimate purposes,” the FTC alleged Friday in a 5-0 settlement. Retina-X Studios, which owns MobileSpy, PhoneSheriff and TeenShield, allegedly violated the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act by failing to take “reasonable measures” to secure children’s data. Retina-X and owner James Johns are barred from “promoting, selling or distributing apps that monitor consumers’ mobile devices unless they take certain steps to ensure the apps will only be used for legitimate purposes.” The company didn’t comment.

Deliveries could be disrupted Monday if Instacart contractors walk out over working conditions and sick leave pay during COVID-19. “For the past several weeks, Instacart Shoppers and Gig Workers Collective have been urging Instacart to take proper safety precautions. We have been ignored,” blogged the Gig Workers Collective Friday. Workers said Instacart has “turned this pandemic into a PR campaign, portraying itself the hero of families that are sheltered-in-place, isolated, or quarantined,” while not providing health protections to its shoppers. The company promised to pay its shoppers up to 14 days if they are diagnosed or placed in mandatory quarantine, which so-called gig workers said fell short. That policy was to expire April 8. The food delivery platform updated its policy Friday, extending it to May 8. It’s offering up to 14 days of pay for any hourly employee or full-service shopper diagnosed with COVID-19 or in individual mandatory isolation, it blogged. The company introduced bonus payments.

The FTC and DOJ will resume processing antitrust early termination notices Monday, the commission said Friday. The agencies suspended Hart-Scott-Rodino Act early termination processing March 13 due to COVID-19 (see 2003180013). The processing will resume “as time and resources allow,” the FTC said.