The FTC should seek an en banc rehearing of the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals’ decision in FTC v. Qualcomm (see 2008190043), “which undermines longstanding U.S. law and policy and wrongly applies competition law,” some 20 groups and companies wrote the agency Monday. ACT|The App Association, Center for Democracy & Technology, Computer & Communications Industry Association, Engine, Ford, Honda, HP, Intel, MediaTek, Open Markets Institute, Public Knowledge, R Street Institute, the Software & Information Industry Association and Tesla signed. The decision “misapplies competition law to the facts of the case, was particularly misguided in asserting that Qualcomm’s breach of its [fair, reasonable, and nondiscriminatory] FRAND commitments did not impair rivals, controverts existing Ninth Circuit precedent, and undermines the critical role standards play in facilitating competition and innovation,” they wrote. The agency didn’t comment.

DOJ asked the Supreme Court to review the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals’ decision that President Donald Trump violated the First Amendment in 2017 when he blocked users from his Twitter account (see 2003230060). DOJ’s petition for a writ of certiorari was filed Aug. 20 to docket 20-197. The court acknowledged receipt Monday.

Congress should create a new Digital Platform Agency to oversee the digital marketplace, said ex-FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler and Public Knowledge Senior Adviser Gene Kimmelman in a paper released Thursday. Phil Verveer, lead counsel in U.S. v. AT&T, also co-wrote the paper. Dominant tech companies followed their own rules to the detriment of consumers, they wrote. The group recommended an agency “with a new, agile approach to oversight built on risk management rather than micromanagement.” The group envisions an enforceable code of conduct for digital activities: “These markets are so wide ranging and self-reinforcing that our existing powers are not sufficient to address them.”

Google’s entry into car infotainment as a “full-stack” platform provider is intensifying competition in the navigation market, reported Strategy Analytics Wednesday. “Once reserved only for flagship luxury models and brands, navigation has now become a common and desired feature in mainstream brands and models,” said SA. “There’s no one-size-fits-all formula,” it said. “The challenge for OEMs going forward will be on combining the different data layers in a compelling package to the consumer. It’s not an overstatement to say Google’s emergence in this space is a game-changer and wake-up call for the segment.”

Facebook removed nearly 800 groups, 100 pages and 1,500 ads tied to conspiracy theorist group QAnon, the platform said Wednesday. Facebook announced it as part of a crackdown against “accounts tied to offline anarchist groups that support violent acts amidst protests” and U.S.-based militia organizations across Facebook and Instagram. The platform cited growing movements “that, while not directly organizing violence, have celebrated violent acts, shown that they have weapons and suggest they will use them, or have individual followers with patterns of violent behavior.” Content supporting these groups and movements is allowed as long as it doesn’t violate content policies, the company said.

Amazon’s unannounced hardware sale put consumer tech sites into a frenzy Tuesday as Prime Day watchers wondered what was up. Nearly every Amazon device -- Kindles, Fire tablets, Echo smart devices and the Fire TV Stick -- were discounted. Echo Dot settled into its usual $29 sale price from $49, Fire TV Stick hit $35 at 30% off and the Echo Studio reached its lowest price yet, said CNET, at $169. The Fire HD 10 tablet, took a $50 cut to $139. In a bundle offer, Amazon discounted its smart oven by $60 to $259 and gave shoppers the choice of a free Dot or an Echo Show 5 for $10. Amazon didn’t comment.

The FTC is sending more than $700,000 in refunds to small-business owners “deceived by a robocall scheme,” the agency said Tuesday. The agency alleged Pointbreak Media, Modern Spotlight, National Business Listings and Modern Source Media claimed “to be acting on Google’s behalf, and threatened [the small-business owners] that Google would label their businesses ‘permanently closed’ unless they spoke with a ‘Google specialist.’” The defendants requested $300-$700 fees to verify listings, the agency alleged. The FTC is sending refunds to “4,467 small business owners with an average refund amount of $158.32,” the agency said. An attorney for the defendants didn’t comment.

Some 54% of Americans opted for virtual medical visits during the coronavirus pandemic, and 70% plan to continue them, but privacy and data protection are major concerns, said a Tuesday report from CynergisTek. Telehealth was the preferred alternative to in-person visits and elective care during the pandemic, but half of survey respondents said they would limit use if a telehealth data breach occurred. “Major vulnerabilities are emerging around privacy and security standards for video conferencing and messaging apps when used for telehealth (such as consumer technologies like Zoom), which can be easily infiltrated -- providing hackers with additional opportunities to breach highly-sensitive information,” said CynergisTek CEO Caleb Barlow. Of those who have used telehealth during the COVID-19 pandemic, 73 percent report they'll continue virtual visits after the pandemic passes, said the cybersecurity firm. Nearly 80% of men who have used a telehealth solution during the pandemic will continue using them post-COVID-19 vs. 67% of women. Among age groups, 81% of millennials plan to continue using telehealth options post-pandemic, 79% of Gen Xers.

The National Institute of Standards and Technology on Tuesday requested comment for developing principles for explainable artificial intelligence. NIST is accepting public comment on its draft document, Four Principles of Explainable Artificial Intelligence, until Oct. 15. The principles are: AI systems should include evidence or reasons for outputs; include meaningful explanations; explanations should correctly reflect system process for generating output; and systems should only operate “under conditions for which it was designed or when the system reaches a sufficient confidence in its output.”

Contractors should provide the Department of Homeland Security with unique identifiers for hardware on select agency networks, the GAO recommended Tuesday. GAO issued a report on “shortcomings in implementation of network monitoring” for improving cybersecurity tools. The identifiers will allow agencies to more accurately track hardware on networks, it said. Hardware inventories for the FAA, Indian Health Service and Small Business Administration “were missing information and contained duplicates,” GAO said. It recommended agencies “compare configurations to benchmarks.” DHS and the three agencies “concurred with the recommendations,” GAO said.