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.
The FTC extended comments for review of endorsement guides (see 2001300058) Friday until June 22: The 60-day delay responded to “requests from potential commenters for additional time” due to COVID-19.
The FTC should compel information from technology, media and educational tech companies collecting children’s data, the Campaign for a Commercial-Free Childhood and Center for Digital Democracy wrote the agency Thursday. Citing increased video streaming due to COVID-19, the groups said the agency should target AT&T, Comcast, Google, Zoom, Disney, Viacom and edtech companies Edmodo and Prodigy. The groups suggested the agency use 6(b) authority to do a study. A 6(b) study carries subpoena authority, allowing the commission to request nonpublic information. The letter, sent by the Institute for Public Representation at Georgetown Law, pertains to the agency’s review of the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (see 1912120062). The commission should avoid actions “that could undermine strong protections for children’s privacy without full information about a complex data collection ecosystem,” the groups wrote. An FTC spokesperson confirmed the agency received the request.
Akamai is working with the Xbox and PlayStation platforms to avert COVID-19 online gridlock, CEO Tom Leighton blogged Tuesday. "Where demand is creating bottlenecks for customers, we will be reducing gaming software downloads at peak times, completing downloads at the normal fast speeds late at night," he wrote. The move "will help ensure healthcare workers and first responders ... have continual access to the vital digital services."
As social distancing and self-isolating increase across the U.S., demand for broadband could spike among households, said Parks Associates Tuesday. “Many people working at home and entertaining-in-place" puts "more stress on the home’s broadband capacity, so service providers need to step up their efforts to help customers better understand their throughput needs,” said Steve Nason. Customers will be more willing to upgrade speeds to match their increased consumption habits if providers give them information on what they need, said the analyst. Consumers have little understanding of how much speed they need and use at home, said Nason, noting demand for 1 Gbps and higher services is most prevalent among younger consumers who are heavy users of connected platforms and services. Meanwhile, 60% of U.S. households would cancel a pay-TV subscription before canceling broadband service, a portion that has likely increased amid COVID-19, said the research firm. Consumers with over-the-top video subscriptions are shifting away from internet bundles, said Nason, and are more likely to have stand-alone internet service than nonsubscribers.