It’s a “significant problem” that consumers lack the ability to opt out of doing business with credit reporting agencies like Equifax, which collect data indirectly, Information Technology and Innovation Foundation Vice President Daniel Castro said during an interview on C-SPAN's The Communicators to be televised Saturday and posted here Friday. There are legitimate questions about government oversight for credit entities, he said. Castro believes policymakers should consider ways to make certain types of consumer data less valuable. Social Security numbers, one of the most valuable pieces of information, shouldn’t be the sole input for verifying identity, he said. Castro was asked about ITIF’s study on the cost of the U.S. adopting a federal privacy law mirroring laws in the EU or California (see 1908050058). The key is to create a privacy law at reasonable cost, he said: Consumers should have enhanced privacy, but they should retain access to innovative products and services. On data breaches, such as those that Capital One, Equifax and Target have suffered, the analyst said that companies could offer customers a "menu of options" such as password-storage or other services rather than frequent credit monitoring at no cost. He noted that such monitoring is often provided for free, anyway. Equifax didn't comment right away Thursday.
The American Civil Liberties Union-California is offering misleading information about accuracy of facial recognition technology, said Information Technology and Innovation Foundation Vice President Daniel Castro Wednesday. The ACLU scanned 26 California legislators, and claimed about one in five incorrectly matched with criminal mugshots. Independent federal government testing shows the top face-scanning technology is more accurate than humans at identifying faces, Castro said. This is the second time the ACLU used questionable testing methods (see 1807260037 and 1807300045), he said: “Claims that are not observable, testable, repeatable, and falsifiable are not science.” The ACLU didn't comment.
The American Civil Liberties Union-California is offering misleading information about accuracy of facial recognition technology, said Information Technology and Innovation Foundation Vice President Daniel Castro Wednesday. The ACLU scanned 26 California legislators, and claimed about one in five incorrectly matched with criminal mugshots. Independent federal government testing shows the top face-scanning technology is more accurate than humans at identifying faces, Castro said. This is the second time the ACLU used questionable testing methods (see 1807260037 and 1807300045), he said: “Claims that are not observable, testable, repeatable, and falsifiable are not science.” The ACLU didn't comment.
About 10 comments from associations and companies that would be affected by France's digital services tax backed U.S. concern, many saying there's a discriminatory DST intent against American companies. Some told the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative in advance testimony that U.S. tariffs on French imports aren't the way to fix the problem. Sixteen filings in USTR-2019-0009 were posted through this week. A USTR hearing is set for Monday (see 1907150037).
About 10 comments from associations and companies that would be affected by France's digital services tax backed U.S. concern, many saying there's a discriminatory DST intent against American companies. Some told the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative in advance testimony that U.S. tariffs on French imports aren't the way to fix the problem. Sixteen filings in USTR-2019-0009 were posted through this week. A USTR hearing is set for Monday (see 1907150037).
Ten comments documents filed by trade groups and companies that would be affected by a digital services tax imposed in France -- as well as one filing by a European think tank -- describe the problems with the tax and the discriminatory intent against U.S. companies. But three of the groups, and one company, told the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative that tariffs on French imports under Section 301 are not the way to fix the problem, while only two individuals called for tariffs as a way to get France to roll back the law.
Federal privacy legislation with key provisions from laws in Europe and California “could cost the U.S. economy about $122 billion per year,” the Information Technology and Innovation Foundation reported Monday. That amount was calculated based on expenses for data protection officers, privacy audits, data infrastructure and other expected line items, ITIF said.
Federal privacy legislation with key provisions from laws in Europe and California “could cost the U.S. economy about $122 billion per year,” the Information Technology and Innovation Foundation reported Monday. That amount was calculated based on expenses for data protection officers, privacy audits, data infrastructure and other expected line items, ITIF said.
The president of the Information Technology and Innovation Foundation praised President Donald Trump’s recent decision to loosen restrictions on exports to Huawei, saying criticism of the announcement “misses the point.” In a blog post, Robert Atkinson said “it does not appear” that Trump agreed to permanently lift the Huawei ban, but only to temporarily allow Huawei to import U.S. products to ease trade tensions in the pursuit of a deal with China. “Presumably he has made it clear to [Chinese President] Xi [Jinping] that if China does not play ball, the ban could and would resume,” Atkinson said. “It is highly unlikely that Xi would have or could have agreed to reopen negotiations without this ‘concession.’” The statement followed Trump’s announcement at the G-20 Summit in Japan that he would be easing restrictions on Huawei, which includes allowing U.S. companies to sell “general merchandise” to the tech giant (see 1907010050).
The growing "internationalization" of supply chains means the success of OEMs “depends greatly on the health and vitality of suppliers in other nations and the ability to pursue trade, ideally on mostly unimpeded terms, with them,” said an Information Technology and Innovation Foundation report on the “trade linkages” between the U.S. and Mexico, South Korea and Taiwan. Understanding trade and economic linkages within the context of “global value chains” (GVCs) can “intrinsically” place “consumer benefit at the focal point of trade discussions,” said the report, which advocates stronger U.S. trade ties with its three “key partner nations.” The increasing use of “trade liberalization,” including reducing tariffs and integrating more nations into the global trading system, has helped spur the expansion of GVCs, it said. “There are now well over 400 regional free trade agreements in place across the world, helping to reduce tariff rates and eliminate other trade barriers.” The report’s policy recommendations for Congress and the Trump administration: (1) Pursue a free trade agreement with Taiwan to make it “a more attractive location for sourcing advanced-technology production as an alternative to China”; (2) Ratify the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement on free trade, which is “well-positioned to play an important role in supporting the flow of goods and services across North American borders”; (3) Continue confronting Chinese “innovation mercantilism,” including by “enrolling like-minded allies to contest” China’s bad trade behavior.