The FTC should investigate whether Amazon failed to tell consumers that Prime Day endorsers collect commissions from sales they generate, Public Citizen said in a complaint to the agency Tuesday. Social media accounts were inundated with Prime Day recommendations, many of which were paid endorsements, through the July 15-16 event, Public Citizen said. Inadequate disclosure to consumers violates “FTC policies and principles stating that people have a right to know when they are being advertised to,” the group said. The agency confirmed receiving the complaint. "All associates must follow our Associates guidelines, which include obligations to identify as an associate and provide all legally required disclosures," a company spokesperson said. "Those who don’t are subject to action including potential closure of their account.”

Encryption makes online activity more secure, but blocking lawful police access to essential criminal evidence is endangering society, Attorney General William Barr told the International Conference on Cyber Security on Tuesday. Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., in a separate speech on the Senate floor, attacked the Trump administration, warning of what he considers the potential for surveillance abuse. “By enabling dangerous criminals to cloak their communications and activities behind an essentially impenetrable digital shield, the deployment of warrant-proof encryption is already imposing huge costs on society,” Barr said. Cartels are using digital shields to block lawful investigatory access, he said, citing the societal costs of associated drug trafficking. Warrant-proof encryption also hampers investigations of domestic and foreign terrorists, he said, citing an inability to access messages from a 2015 terrorist attack in Garland, Texas. “The status quo is exceptionally dangerous, unacceptable, and only getting worse,” he said. Barr and President Donald Trump can’t be trusted with such “unprecedented power” over data access, Wyden said: “Their record shows they do not feel constrained by the law. They have not been bound by legal or moral precedents.” Barr testified in 2003 that “the president is not restrained when it comes to surveilling” U.S. citizens and claimed the Patriot Act didn’t go far enough, Wyden said: Barr “has contempt for our laws and the Fourth Amendment.” He criticized Barr for relying on “a tired, debunked plan to blow a hole in one of the most important security features protecting digital lives of the American people.” Weakening encryption by creating a back door for government exposes people’s personal data to criminals, hackers and predators as well, Wyden said.

DOJ’s Antitrust Division is examining potential competition and market power concerns about the tech industry, the department announced Tuesday. It will examine “how market-leading online platforms have achieved market power and are engaging in practices that have reduced competition, stifled innovation, or otherwise harmed consumers,” DOJ said. Areas of concern include search, social media and online retailers, suggesting Google, Facebook, Twitter and Amazon could be scrutinized. “Without the discipline of meaningful market-based competition, digital platforms may act in ways that are not responsive to consumer demands,” said Assistant Attorney General Makan Delrahim.

Alibaba’s news that it’s welcoming U.S. sellers to its business-to-business marketplace “shows the Chinese retail giant’s desire to diversify its product offering,” said eMarketer analyst Jillian Ryan Tuesday. About 90 percent of goods sold on the Alibaba marketplace are from China-based factories manufacturing goods to order for buyers across the globe, said Ryan: “Buyers on the platform are from developed nations like the US, Canada, India, Australia, Brazil and the UK, and these buyers want to be able to source goods from the US," said the analyst. The Alibaba website said Tuesday the company is offering “new ways for US businesses to thrive,” via its improved customer experience. It invited businesses to participate in nationwide workshops, special offers and services and receive up to $500 off seller packages. The initiative gives companies access to “millions of buyers,” and allows them to showcase their storefront on Alibaba.com and “start getting traffic” from the site’s “massive global search engine.” Alibaba will provide digital marketing tools and help business optimize campaigns with “in-depth data and analysis,” it said. Ryan noted Alibaba has a few select pilot sellers for the project and “anchor sellers” in Office Depot and Robinson Fresh, but said to be successful against Amazon, Alibaba needs to recruit a meaningful number of small- to medium-size businesses.

Microsoft and OpenAI will jointly build new artificial intelligence “supercomputing technologies” using Microsoft’s Azure cloud-computing service under a multiyear partnership, said the companies Monday. The “resulting enhancements” to the Azure platform will help developers “build the next generation of AI applications,” they said. OpenAI will "port" its services to run on Microsoft Azure, while Microsoft will become OpenAI’s “preferred partner for commercializing new AI technologies,” they said. “The companies will focus on building a computational platform in Azure of unprecedented scale, which will train and run increasingly advanced AI models,” they said.

Sens. Ed Markey, D-Mass., and Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., reintroduced two bills Friday to improve cybersecurity in cars and airplanes. The Security and Privacy in Your Car Act would direct the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration and FTC to “establish federal standards to ensure cybersecurity in increasingly computerized vehicles and to protect drivers’ privacy.” The Cybersecurity Standards for Aircraft to Improve Resilience Act would require disclosure of cyberattack information on aircraft and “standards to identify and address cybersecurity vulnerabilities” of commercial U.S. aircraft operations.

Facebook’s 27 Libra partners should walk away, consumer advocates wrote Thursday, citing money-laundering, privacy and terrorism concerns. Open Markets Institute, Public Citizen, Demand Progress Education Fund and Revolving Door Project signed. “Private currencies endanger sovereign power,” OMI Chief of Staff Laura Hatalsky said. “Unless we want to be pledging allegiance to Mark Zuckerberg, the Libra project needs to be put to an end.” Facebook didn’t comment. This week saw two congressional hearings on Libra (see 1907170058).

Domain registry Neustar will run the .us domain for another 10 years, NTIA said Wednesday. The new contract, which begins Aug. 29, will be at no cost to the government. The .us country-code domain has over 2 million names under management.

Amazon's use of sensitive data from independent sellers may breach EU antitrust rules, the European Commission said Wednesday, opening a formal competition inquiry. In its role as a marketplace for independent sellers to sell directly to consumers, Amazon collects data about activity on its platform. The EC will investigate the standard contracts between the company and marketplace sellers that allow Amazon's retail business to analyze and use third-party seller data, it said. The probe also includes the role played by data in the selection of winners of the buy box, which lets customers add items from a specific retailer into their shopping carts: "Winning the 'Buy Box' seems key for marketplace sellers as a vast majority of transactions are done through it." The launch of the investigation doesn't prejudge its outcome, and there's no specific deadline for the inquiry to end, the EC said. The e-tailer said it will "fully cooperate with the European Commission and continue working hard to support businesses of all sizes and help them grow."

FCC Chairman Ajit Pai warned of the internet-driven assault on minority religious groups in various parts of the world. Pai spoke Wednesday at the State Department Ministerial to Advance Religious Freedom. The suffering of Rohingya Muslims in Myanmar isn’t new, but government there is using Facebook to add to the pain, he said. Government officials and militants have used the platform to “incite a culture of hatred against the Rohingya,” Pai said: “They used Facebook to spread false rumors of attacks. The government’s Information Committee identified more than 1,300 Rohingya Muslims as ‘terrorists’ on its official Facebook page, posting names and photos without any due process.” China is the biggest offender, he said. “To make sure people aren’t sharing religious messages online, or any other messages the government finds objectionable, China has built an army 2 million strong to police the Internet,” he said: “China employs significantly more people to violate the rights of their citizens than the United States employs to militarily defend rights like free expression and freedom of assembly.” Facebook and the Chinese Embassy didn’t comment.