Acting FTC Chairman Maureen Ohlhausen will speak at an Oct. 17 TEDx event in Wilmington, Delaware, on transportation, she tweeted last week. TEDx Wilmington organizers announced the event's lineup in a YouTube video, saying Ohlhausen helped organize a workshop that focused on privacy and security implications of connected cars (see 1706280031). Other speakers include Lauren Smith, policy counsel who leads the Future of Privacy Forum's Connected Cars Working Group, Delaware Secretary of Transportation Jennifer Cohan and representatives of automakers, tech companies and transportation organizations.

Adoption of connected health devices in U.S. broadband households reached 41 percent in 2017, up 4 percent from a year ago, said Parks Associates Thursday. Nascent technologies including artificial intelligence and voice-activated devices are “creating new opportunities and spurring innovation," said Richard Scarfo, PCHAlliance vice president.

GAO said broadband deployment and competition is limited by cost and other factors, particularly in less-populated areas where carrier investment returns are lower. Stakeholders cited "providers’ costs to deploy antennas, install wires or cables, and obtain permits to access existing infrastructure," including utility poles, said a report Tuesday to Senate Commerce Committee Chairman John Thune, R-S.D. Despite FCC efforts, "about half of Americans have access to only one fixed broadband provider," said GAO, citing December 2015 data. "While most Americans have several choices for a mobile broadband provider, fixed and mobile service do not provide the same experience." It said parties "also identified industry consolidation and increasing similarity of fixed and mobile broadband as factors that are likely to affect broadband competition moving forward." The GAO recommended the FCC "annually solicit and report on stakeholder input regarding (1) its actions to promote broadband competition and (2) how varying levels of broadband deployment affect prices and service quality." It said the FCC concurred with the recommendations.

The FTC scheduled a Twitter chat Wednesday on disclosures that social media influencers must make if they get money from or have some other material relationships with a brand or product they plug, said a notice. The 3:30 p.m. EDT chat will use the hashtag #Influencers101. The FTC noted it recently settled with two such influencers who "deceptively" endorsed the online gambling service CSGO Lotto while failing to inform their followers they jointly own the company. In April, the agency sent out more than 90 letters to influencers and marketers, reminding them they should disclose any relationships to brands when endorsing products on social media sites (see 1704190031).

Six advertising trade associations are "deeply concerned" about Apple's plans to release the Safari 11 browser update because it "overrides and replaces existing user-controlled cookie preferences" with the company's own "opaque and arbitrary standards for cookie handling," said a Thursday open letter. Signers are the American Association of Advertising Agencies, American Advertising Federation, Association of National Advertisers, Data & Marketing Association, Interactive Advertising Bureau and Network Advertising Alliance. "Safari's new 'Intelligent Tracking Prevention' would change the rules by which cookies are set and recognized by browsers," said the coalition, adding the move would create "haphazard rules over the use of first-party cookies (i.e. those set by a domain the user has chosen to visit) that block their functionality or purge them from users' browsers without notice or choice." The coalition contends blocking cookies this way will make ads "more generic and less timely and useful" and wants Apple to rethink its plan. The company didn't comment.

The FTC confirmed Thursday that "in light of the intense public interest and the potential impact of this matter," it's investigating the Equifax data breach of a 143 million Americans, said a spokesman in a statement. The commission typically doesn't comment on current investigations. Meanwhile, Democratic Sens. Richard Blumenthal of Connecticut, Al Franken of Minnesota, Ed Markey of Massachusetts and Sheldon Whitehouse of Rhode Island introduced the Data Broker Accountability and Transparency Act that would require data brokers like Equifax to establish comprehensive data and security programs and provide "reasonable notice" when a data breach occurs. The bill would give consumers the right to access their records and correct inaccuracies and the right to stop data brokers from "using, sharing, or selling their personal information for marketing purposes," said a joint news release. The bill would directs the FTC to enforce the law and promulgate rules within a year, including a centralized website that provides a list of covered entities and consumer rights, the release said. Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., introduced the Free Credit Freeze Act in a news release to let consumers use personal identification numbers to freeze and unfreeze their credit reports for free instead of a typical $15 charge imposed by credit bureaus. Meanwhile, the Apache Software Foundation said Equifax was at fault for not patching a website application vulnerability called Apache Struts CVE-2017-5638 that led to the theft of personal data of 143 million Americans. "This vulnerability was patched on 7 March 2017, the same day it was announced," wrote Sally Khudairi, vice president-marketing and publicity for the all-volunteer Apache, in a Thursday alert. "The Equifax data compromise was due to their failure to install the security updates provided in a timely manner." A day earlier, Equifax said its probe with an unnamed independent cybersecurity firm found hackers exploited the Apache vulnerability that led to breach from mid-May through July. "We continue to work with law enforcement as part of our criminal investigation, and have shared indicators of compromise with law enforcement," said Equifax.

Director of National Security Dan Coats said releasing information about collection of Americans' communications under Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act "would cause serious damage to national security," in a Sept. 1 letter to Ron Wyden, D-Ore., who released it Tuesday. Coats said he provided a "comprehensive classified response on July 24," which discussed why it "is properly classified and cannot be publicly released." Wyden now said he asked Coats a question at a June hearing regarding "a simple, yes-or-no question: Can the government use FISA Act Section 702 to collect communications it knows are entirely domestic?" Wyden said Coats answered the question, but later his press office told reporters the intelligence director was answering a different question. Coats' refusal should "set off alarms. How can Congress reauthorize this surveillance when the administration is playing games with basic questions about this program?" said Wyden. The senator wants the intelligence community to provide data on how many Americans' communications are swept up under 702, which forbids such collection (see 1706070047). The Office of the DNI didn't comment.

Huawei joined the Z-Wave Alliance’s board, said the alliance Tuesday. It joins principal members ADT, Alarm.com, Fibaro, Ingersoll-Rand, Jasco Products, Leedarson, LG Uplus, Nortek Security & Control, SmartThings and Sigma Designs.

Intel sees its road to the smart home through voice-control devices, Miles Kingston, general manager-smart home, told us in San Diego at the CEDIA show last week. After studying behavior in more than 1,000 homes in North America, Western Europe and China, his company determined technology could lessen friction through “emulating the human senses,” he said. Intel is working on having Amazon Alexa listen for “anomalies,” not just a wake word, Kingston said, like glass breaking, a baby crying or a dog barking. Such intelligence is based on edge computing, where devices in the home pack higher brainpower rather than relying on the cloud. Benefits include privacy, he said. Ease of use has been a primary barrier to adoption of smart home technology, the GM said. “You had a dozen applications that managed a dozen purpose-built devices. It wasn’t any quicker to turn your lights on if you had to turn on your phone, go find the right app and press the button,” he said. “Alexa has made it so simple." For voice to take off, he advises: “Invest in new Wi-Fi that’s meant for many, many devices.”

More than 80,000 individual drones were registered for commercial and government uses and more than 60,000 people obtained a pilot certificate to operate unmanned aircraft systems since the small drone rule known as Part 107 (see 1608290049) took effect a year ago, said the FAA in a Wednesday news release. The FAA said up to 1.6 million commercial drones, which weigh under 55 pounds, could be operating by 2021. The release touted drone uses including in response and recovery efforts for Hurricane Harvey.