Tag: proposes
FCC proposes satellite-to-phone rules to eliminate ‘no signal’ once and for all
The FCC has officially proposed, and voted unanimously to move forward with, a framework under which satellites can communicate directly with smartphones in a structured and useful way. The Notice of Proposed Rulemaking, circulated earlier this month and formally voted on today, is essentially a complete first public draft of what the FCC hopes to […]
FCC proposes satellite-to-phone rules to eliminate ‘no signal’ once and for all by Devin Coldewey originally published on TechCrunch
Wall Street Regulator Proposes New Hacking, Data and Market Resiliency Rules
Read more of this story at Slashdot.
EV battery-swapping developer U Power proposes terms for $18M IPO
FCC chair proposes rules to reduce scam robotexts
The chair of the Federal Trade Commission has proposed new rules to tackle the scourge of text message scams. If the agency’s commissioners approve the rules at a meeting in March, providers would have to block robotexts that are “highly likely to be illegal,” chair Jessica Rosenworcel said in a statement.
The FCC has yet to publish the full text of Rosenworcel’s proposal. If adopted, it will force providers to block text messages that appear to be from numbers on a do-not-originate list. They include unused, invalid and unallocated numbers, as well as those that government agencies and “other well-known entities” say they don’t send texts from. Messages from these numbers “are highly likely to be illegal and no consumer would want to receive them,” an FCC statement reads.
Moreover, providers would have to block texts from entities that the FCC flags for sending illegal robotexts. The proposed rules state that providers would additionally need to expand National Do Not Call Registry protections to include texts to prevent consumers from receiving unwanted marketing messages.
“Missing packages that don’t exist; confirmation of payments that didn’t happen; links to shady websites; and truncated ‘wrong number’ messages from strangers. These scam robotexts are a part of everyday life for too many of us,” Rosenworcel said. “I’m asking my colleagues to join me in adopting the first FCC rules to focus on shutting down scam texts. But we’re not stopping here. Because we are going to keep at it and develop more ways to take on this growing consumer threat.”
The robotext proposal follows measures the FCC has taken to stamp out robocalls. Both issues are on the agenda for the FCC’s open meeting next month, along with other items like a proposed framework “for increased collaboration between terrestrial mobile network operators and satellite service providers” to bolster phone service in areas where it is lacking. That could could come in useful for life-or-death situations in remote areas. Certain devices, such as the iPhone 14, now offer satellite connectivity for emergency use.
Microsoft Proposes AI Ads In Bing
Read more of this story at Slashdot.
UK government provides update on economics of streaming work – and publishes algorithms report that proposes more transparency from streaming services
UK Proposes Making the Sale and Possession of Encrypted Phones Illegal
The proposal is included in a document published by the Home Office (PDF). In that document, the Home Office proposes two legislative measures that it says could be used to improve law enforcement’s response to serious and organized crime, and is seeking input from law enforcement, businesses, lawyers, civil liberties NGOs, and the wider public. […] The first measure looks to create new criminal offenses on the “making, modifying, supply, offering to supply and possession of articles for use in serious crime.” The document points to several specific items: vehicle concealments used to hide illicit goods; digital templates for 3D-printing firearms; pill presses used in the drug trade; and “sophisticated encrypted communication devices used to facilitate organized crime.” In other words, this change would criminalize owning an encrypted phone, selling one, or making one for use in crime, a crime in itself. […]
With encrypted phones, the Home Office writes that both the encryption itself and modifications made to the phones are creating “considerable barriers” to law enforcement. Typically, phones from this industry use end-to-end encryption, meaning that messages are encrypted before leaving the device, rendering any interception by law enforcement ineffective. (Multiple agencies have instead found misconfigurations in how companies’ encryption works, or hacked into firms, to circumvent this protection). Encrypted phone companies sometimes physically remove the microphone, camera, and GPS functionality from handsets too. Often distributors sell these phones for thousands of dollars for yearly subscriptions. Given that price, the Home Office says it is “harder to foresee a need for anyone to use them for legitimate, legal reasons.” The Home Office adds that under one option for legislation, laws could still criminalize people who did not suspect the technology would be used for serious crime, simply because the technology is so “closely associated with serious crime.” Potential signs could include someone paying for a phone “through means which disguise the identity of the payer,” the document reads. Often distributors sell phones for Bitcoin or cash, according to multiple encrypted phone sellers that spoke to Motherboard. The document says “the provisions will not apply to commercially available mobile phones nor the encrypted messaging apps available on them.” But the Home Office does not yet have a settled definition of what encompasses “sophisticated encrypted communication devices,” leaving open the question of what exactly the UK would be prepared to charge a person for possessing or selling.
Read more of this story at Slashdot.