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Biden's spyware order stokes concerns within the industry | The order, which prohibits all U.S. federal agencies from using or buying commercial spyware that could pose a national security risk, is "upsetting the market" as some companies weigh the likely impact on their businesses. |
Biden's executive order has major global implications and essentially closes the market to certain spyware vendors and limits their access to the U.S., experts say, noting that companies will now think twice about who they do business with. "The U.S. is one of the largest and most sought-out after-markets on technology," said Michael De Dora, U.S. senior campaigner at Access Now, a non-profit digital rights advocacy group. "And so spyware companies now have less purchasing power if one of the largest markets for their technologies is essentially closed off," he said. The spyware industry is estimated to be worth $12 billion; its largest vendor, NSO Group, an Israeli firm that manufactures and sells spyware known as Pegasus, is believed to be valued at more than $1 billion. Pegasus has been heavily criticized for its role in multiple high-profile surveillance and international relations cases that have made headlines in recent years. An NSO Group spokesperson told The Hill that the firm's "technologies are only sold to allies of the U.S. and Israel, particularly in Western Europe, and are aligned with the interests of U.S. national security and governmental law enforcement agencies around the world." Last year, the firm announced that it was restructuring, a decision likely tied to the Department of Commerce's decision to blacklist the company when it added it to its entities list in 2021. Read more in a full report at TheHill.com. |
Welcome to The Hill's Technology newsletter, we're Rebecca Klar and Ines Kagubare — tracking the latest moves from Capitol Hill to Silicon Valley. |
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How policy will be impacting the tech sector now and in the future: |
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Ride-sharing service Lyft is the latest company to announce a round of layoffs, CEO David Risher told employees in an email Friday. Risher, who took over as CEO earlier this month, said in the email that Lyft will “significantly reduce the size of the team” and let employees know their employment status by next Thursday. He added the decision to cut jobs is because Lyft needs to be a “faster, flatter company,” … |
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| Twitter’s move to remove thousands of legacy verification check marks Thursday resulted in chaos as users were left scrambling to prove their authenticity in the face of fake impersonation accounts emerging. Twitter began to remove thousands of its iconic legacy verification check marks on Thursday, nearly three weeks after CEO Elon Musk initially planned to do so. Without the verification check mark, impersonators have … |
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Twitter CEO Elon Musk says he gave free Twitter verification to NBA star LeBron James, actor William Shatner and writer Stephen King on Thursday, as the social media company removed thousands of remaining legacy verification check marks. Musk tweeted on Thursday he is "paying for a few personally," later noting that those accounts included "Just Shatner, LeBron and King." Twitter on Thursday went ahead with plans to remove … |
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News we've flagged from the intersection of tech and other topics: |
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Twitter drops 'government-funded' description from news media accounts |
The social media platform removed the labels after media organizations such as NPR protested against it, calling it misleading, our colleague Nick Robertson reported. |
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Planes in Europe continue to fly following cyberattack |
Air traffic officials in Europe said although some operations have been disrupted, they were able to stabilize some systems and that the safety of passengers was never affected, The Wall Street Journal reported. |
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Branch out with other reads on The Hill: |
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Tesla, the electric car manufacturer, has increased its prices for its top-end model vehicles in the U.S. this week shortly after the company's price cuts it made earlier this year.
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Two key stories on The Hill right now: |
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Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas on Friday said Republican comments on his character "are not easy to listen to," but that he is “impervious” … Read more |
| A coalition of more than 60 progressive grassroots groups claiming to represent more than 100,000 Californians sent a letter to Sen. Dianne Feinstein … Read more |
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Opinions related to tech submitted to The Hill: | |
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