The Federal Election Commission should make sure that new online political ad disclosure rules adopted Thursday have "teeth," Common Cause President Karen Hobert Flynn blogged. "Americans expect and deserve to know who is bankrolling the political ads that follow them around the internet," Flynn said. The group said it's urging members to file more comments in the proceeding.

Internet companies and good government groups support the Federal Election Commission online political advertising disclosure proceeding (see 17110900590), with many offering some detailed suggestions, according to the 29 comments the commission posted Wednesday. Google, Twitter and Facebook filings supported increased transparency, citing steps the companies already made to let users know the source of paid political ads. The Electronic Frontier Foundation urged forging "balanced" rules that preserve the "critical role of anonymous speech in our online political discourse."

Sonos wireless music system owners can now control Sonos speakers directly through the Pandora mobile app -- a feature that’s been available to Spotify users through Spotify Connect -- and they can control Pandora stations with voice commands via Amazon’s Alexa, said the companies Tuesday.

Missouri Attorney General Josh Hawley subpoenaed Google Monday seeking details on how the company collects and uses consumer information data, manages competitors' search results, and provides user disclosures, he said in a Facebook video. “Consumers have a right to know what information Google is gathering,” said the Republican who announced last month he’s challenging Sen. Claire McCaskill, D-Mo. Hawley said he’s investigating whether Google violated Missouri’s consumer protection laws, and will look at complaints the company improperly used online content from rivals' websites. Hawley referenced the European Commission's $2.7 billion fine (see 1706270001) for search engine discrimination practices as impetus for his interest. Google hasn't received the subpoena but a spokesman said the company has "strong privacy protections" and continues "to operate in a highly competitive and dynamic environment."

Amazon will demonstrate devices in its newly bought Whole Foods stores, including the Echo family of products, Kindle e-readers and Fire tablets, it said Thursday.

DomainTools encouraged the 92 percent of U.S. consumers planning to shop on Cyber Monday -- Nov. 27 -- to be aware of phishing and counterfeiting. Forty percent of U.S. consumers have been victims of a phishing attack, even though 91 percent are aware of spoofed websites or phishing emails from trusted brands, the cybersecurity firm said. The amount of cybercrime increased with popularity of Cyber Monday, said CEO Tim Chen. Various techniques are used to trick shoppers into visiting a fake website or clicking on a malicious link, Chen said, which could result in a shopper unintentionally sharing information or downloading ransomware. Some 119,000 unique phishing sites were detected in November 2016, targeting more than 300 brands, said Chen, citing Anti-Phishing Working Group data. The brands most likely to be spoofed this month likely correspond with the most popular online retailers, which according to the survey include Amazon (82 percent), Walmart (36 percent), and Target (20 percent), he said. Tips: be paranoid; first assume links are dangerous; navigate directly to a company's site instead of clicking on links in emails or social media; and examine URLs and email senders for typos. The shopping plan survey was Oct. 5-7 with 1,000 respondents.

U.S. employers posted 285,681 cybersecurity job openings during the 12-month period that ended in September, according to CyberSeek, a career resource developed jointly by CompTIA and labor analytics firm Burning Glass Technologies. Washington, New York and Chicago have the most job openings, the firms reported Tuesday.

Slightly more than four in 10 U.S. broadband homes plan to buy a smart home product in the next 12 months, including 27 percent with high purchase intentions, said Parks Associates Tuesday. The most popular devices are smart smoke and carbon dioxide detectors, thermostats and light bulbs, it said.

President Donald Trump’s blocking of Twitter followers is unconstitutional, the Electronic Frontier Foundation said in an amicus brief filed Monday supporting the Knight First Amendment Institute’s July 11 suit against Trump and his communications team in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York. The suit complains that Trump and his team violated the First Amendment rights of seven followers of @realDonaldTrump who posted criticisms. Denying certain users access to policy announcements and debates that are widely disseminated on social media hinders the public’s ability to monitor the performance of government officials, EFF said.

Massachusetts, California, Washington, Virginia and Delaware lead states in a globalized economy, the Information Technology and Innovation Foundation said. The lowest-scoring was Mississippi, preceded by Arkansas, West Virginia, Wyoming and Louisiana. Massachusetts ranked first in every ITIF index since 1999; Mississippi got last place in every one except 2007 when it was 49th. Nebraska and Tennessee each climbed eight places -- to 28th and 32nd -- since the last ranking in 2014, while Alaska dropped 10 to 42. States should invest in big firms that invest heavily in research and development, while rolling back policies that “stack preferences in favor of small businesses,” ITIF President Robert Atkinson said Monday.