Blockchain technology can increase security and transparency in government transactions, State Department officials said Tuesday at a forum of tech and government groups. “Blockchain technology is on the move around the world,” said Deputy Secretary John Sullivan. The rapidly developing technology can increase transparency and accountability across the federal government, particularly in tracking flow of foreign assistance dollars and protecting IT platforms, Sullivan said. State is studying how blockchain can work in countries with developing economies and currencies and with human rights monitoring. The government hopes to build public-private partnerships to use the technology to “advance our diplomacy and development objectives,” Sullivan said. Blockchain is gaining more credibility in financial markets, said Jamie Smith, CEO of the Global Blockchain Business Council, with representatives from 30 countries aimed at encouraging leading business to adopt blockchain technology. Blockchain can be used with any type of record-keeping or transfer of an asset to provide a “global digital notary” with the ability to timestamp transactions. “Walmart is using it to track the meat they buy,” Smith said.

Despite perception that “nothing is really going well in Washington,” CTA had successes this year, said CEO Gary Shapiro, opening the Innovate and Celebrate conference in San Francisco Tuesday. He referenced “major progress” on autonomous driving, citing legislation in the Senate and House that would give states the right to test self-driving cars. CTA gets big and small companies together, Shapiro said. He highlighted drones, robotics, the IoT, artificial intelligence and connected health. Shapiro said “something’s changed in the last year, and that is, we are no longer the angel,” referring to the tech industry. “There’s a story line that’s starting to appear that we’re the bad guys -- especially some of the bigger companies -- and that’s a harsh glare.” The technology industry is in the spotlight, with the U.S. segment "kind of dominating the world,” he said, and that generates resentment. Incumbent industries including “taxi cab drivers, hotels and broadcasters,” Shapiro said, “see these new groups coming on, taking away what they view as their share of the pie that they owned 100 percent of. And tech-bashing in Washington … and in the press and around the world is starting to feel like a sport.” Those storylines don’t mesh with reality as CTA sees it. “The truth is, and we’ve got to get this truth out, is that technology empowers people,” he said, allowing anyone with a broadband connection to have access to education and entertainment, “which equalizes them and puts them above where anybody was 25 years ago.” Technology is a “neutral, fair, equalizer, and it’s not that expensive when it comes down to what it does.”

Google’s launch Wednesday of smart speakers (see 1710040055) gives it “rough parity” with Amazon at the low end, but it’s still at a “competitive disadvantage,” reported IHS analyst Paul Erickson Thursday. To keep its e-commerce rival in check, Walmart on Thursday announced a promotion on Google Home products bought through Google Express. Despite “long-term ecosystem advantages for Google Assistant” in the Android mobile space, penetration of Chromecast built in and its presence across platforms, Assistant is “outgunned by Amazon in growing its footprint in the home,” Erickson said. Google’s target with Home Max, Erickson said, seems to be Sonos, which announced an Alexa-based Sonos speaker Wednesday, with Google Assistant compatibility to come. Pressure is on Apple “to perform with HomePod and Siri,” said Erickson.

Digital advertising industry actions cut ad revenue for piracy sites at least 48 percent, said a Trustworthy Accountability Group news release on a study released Thursday. “We have not won the war against ad-supported piracy, but the battle is joined, and we are making good progress,” said TAG CEO Mike Zaneis. TAG commissioned Ernst & Young to do the study, which analyzed 672 websites that accounted for about 90 percent of pirated media content activity July 2016-17. Without industry's actions, piracy sites would have potentially earned up to $213 million annually from digital ads, the study said. Such sites made only an estimated $111 million, it said. Initiatives, it added, included "appropriate language in insertion orders, use of ad verification vendors, and use of lists to block undesirable sites." TAG was formed by the American Association of Advertising Agencies, Association of National Advertisers and Interactive Advertising Bureau.

Fifteen percent of U.S. internet homes own a home automation device, up from 10 percent in April 2016, said NPD in a Thursday report. “The growth we are seeing in the number of owner homes is an indication that a broader field of available products, wider distribution, and greater awareness are actually adding users.” Ownership of voice-activated wireless speakers “more than tripled” to 10 percent of U.S. internet homes, it said.

Mattel scrapping an artificial intelligence-enabled "Aristotle" baby monitor, which drew privacy concerns from lawmakers (see 1709290034), was praised by children's advocacy groups. In a Thursday news release, the Campaign for a Commercial-Free Childhood and The Story of Stuff Project had sent a 20,000-plus signature petition to the company. "The backlash against Aristotle should send a strong message to other toymakers and tech companies," said CCFC Executive Director Josh Golin. Mattel confirmed the decision Thursday in an email, saying after Chief Technology Officer Sven Gerjets joined in July, he extensively reviewed Aristotle and "decided that it did not fully align with Mattel’s new technology strategy," canceling plans.

TechNet announced four new members: Elevate, FireEye, Philips Lighting and Waymo, bringing full membership to 74.

Amazon’s bid for .amazon won’t be a smooth road, said Daniel Sepulveda, a former deputy assistant secretary of state, in a Council on Foreign Relations blog post. After several years of wrangling at ICANN, Amazon won a favorable ruling in July to move forward. But Brazil, Peru and their allies are again objecting to the .amazon application. “Amazon behaved in accordance with the rules, has a strong interest in acquiring .amazon, and is within its rights to pursue it,” Sepulveda said. Brazil and Peru have strong political and cultural reasons to object to awarding the company .amazon, but the challenge for ICANN leadership is whether this dispute is resolvable without governments feeling disrespected, he said, saying the U.S. “is likely” to support Amazon on procedural grounds but needs "vocal support" from other governments.

Fifty-five percent of respondents in a Parks Associates survey of U.S. broadband households found voice control appealing for managing connected devices or viewing their status, said the researcher Tuesday. “Waking up” a personal assistant by saying a name is a “natural and intrinsic” way to interact with devices, said analyst Dina Abdelrazik.

The Department of Homeland Security is on the "front lines" of federal government efforts to defend critical infrastructure from cyberthreats, terrorism and natural disaster, said officials from the agency's National Protection and Programs Directorate (NPPD) at a House Homeland Cybersecurity Subcommittee hearing Tuesday. "We must ensure that NPPD is appropriately organized to address cybersecurity threats both now and in the future," said Christopher Krebs, senior official performing the duties of the undersecretary, and Jeanette Manfra, assistant secretary for cybersecurity and communications. House Homeland Security Committee Chairman Michael McCaul, R-Texas, hopes the House will advance legislation he introduced to elevate NPPD as a stand-alone agency so it can better support DHS' cybersecurity mission. In a prepared statement, McCaul said he was pleased with President Donald Trump's executive order aimed at strengthening the cybersecurity of federal networks and critical infrastructure: With October designated to raise awareness of cybersecurity (see 1710020057), it's time to "learn more about these threats and offer ideas on how we can best secure ourselves."