Découvrez la nouvelle bande-annonce de “Lucy” de Luc Besson avec Scarlett Johansson dans le rôle-titre. Le film sortira sur nos écrans le 6 août prochain.

La nouvelle bande-annonce de Lucy de Luc Besson, a été dévoilée.

Dans le film d’action, Scarlett Johansson tient le rôle-titre, celui d’une jeune femme enlevée afin de servir de mule. Mais le paquet inseré dans son ventre fuit… Celle-ci voit alors ses capacités intellectuelles se développer à l’infini et acquiert alors des pouvoirs illimités…

Lucy sort sur nos écrans le 6 août prochain.

L’affiche française

Ils se sont rencontrés en 1993 dans des conditions romanesques puis mariés en 2007, dix ans plus tard les voilà sous les ors de l’Elysée ; le couple formé par Emmanuel et Brigitte Macron est insubmersible, c’est tout du moins ce que pensent leurs proches.

« Je ne me projette pas, j’ouvre les portes les unes après les autres », confiait cet hiver Brigitte Macron à nos confrères du Parisien. Quelques mots fort de sens quand on sait à quel point la nouvelle Première dame de France a dû regarder sa vie au jour le jour quand, au milieu des années 90, percluse par la passion, elle brûlait d’envie de tout plaquer pour rejoindre Emmanuel Macron.

D’âpres années durant lesquelles elle aura eu à accuser le regard torve de certains notables d’Amiens mis au courant que la professeure de Lettres du lycée de la Providence à succomber au charme dévastateur de son élève après que ce dernier a crevé les planches en jouant le rôle principal d’une adaptation de Jacques et son Maître de Milan Kundera.

Car ce fut-là le déclic pour l’enseignante, au point comme l’avait rapporté Le Parisien – après avoir interrogé d’anciens camarades de classe d’Emmanuel Macron – qu’«en classe, elle le citait tout le temps en exemple. Elle était totalement subjuguée par ses talents d’écriture. […] Il écrivait tout le temps des poèmes et elle les lisait devant tout le monde ».

Mais comme l’indique le livre Les Macron (Ed. Fayard) signé par Caroline Derrien et Candice Nedelec, jamais Brigitte Trogneux n’eut de relation charnelle lorsque son futur mari était mineur. Une pratique philosophique et spirituelle des sentiments qui n’ont fait que les rasséréner d’où cette phrase prononcée par Emmanuel Macron, le soir du premier tour de l’élection présidentielle : « Brigitte sans laquelle je ne serais pas moi ».

Un hommage pour justifier aussi l’omniprésence du couple dans les médias. Ce dernier qui tout au long de la campagne a préféré montrer que cacher, assumer que nier. « Ce que l’on voit sur les photos, c’est le reflet de la réalité. Ils ont toujours été comme ça. Ils sont à deux en permanence », défend ainsi leur amie Juliette Bernard à nos confrères du Parisien. Au journal de rappeler qu’au Touquet (leur lieu de villégiature) tous parlent d’un couple «fusionnel», d’un «duo» inséparable. « C’est du ciment. C’est superbe, comme couple! » s’enthousiasme, quant à elle, leur amie Line Renaud.

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The American Petroleum Institute (API) is launching an advertising campaign portraying oil and gas energy as a way to combat climate change, despite many environmental groups arguing that the industry hurts such efforts.

In a seven-figure ad buy, API will call for “common ground” on the energy debate in 2020 and beyond, according to a spokesperson. The campaign touts oil and gas energy as a way to reduce climate change by lowering carbon levels.

“The innovators in America’s natural gas and oil companies have teamed up with the country’s brightest minds and reduced carbon emissions levels to the lowest in a generation,” one ad says.

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During an event in Washington on Tuesday, API President and CEO Mike Sommers similarly stressed the industry’s commitment to fighting climate change while expressing opposition to a fracking ban endorsed by some Democratic presidential candidates. 

“The size and scope of the climate challenge requires a tremendous response and it requires innovation from everyone, including our members,” he said. 

Mitch Jones, the policy director at the environmental group Food & Water Watch, slammed the API campaign as “laughable.”

“This is just more of the oil and gas industry’s attempt to greenwash their dirty, climate-change-forcing industry,” Jones told The Hill.

“The science says very clearly we have to stop extracting fossil fuels and we have to stop burning fossil fuels and that includes not only coal, but also oil and fracked natural gas,” he added.

He also stressed the need to shift to an economy based on green jobs, saying, “What we’re talking about is transitioning from a dirty energy sector to a clean energy sector.”

Sommers, meanwhile, touted his support for carbon capture legislation and API’s environmental partnerships aimed at reducing methane emissions.

He argued, however, that a ban on fracking would threaten millions of jobs and potentially invite a recession for the U.S. economy.

The White House announced Tuesday that President TrumpDonald John TrumpIranian diplomat after strike: ‘We do not seek escalation or war’ Graham: Iran missile attack ‘an act of war’ ‘All is well’ Trump tweets after Iran hits Iraq bases housing US troops MORE would likely veto legislation designed to manage a class of cancer-linked chemicals leaching into the water supply.

The chemicals, known by the abbreviation PFAS, are used in a variety of nonstick products such as raincoats, cookware and packaging and have been found in nearly every state in the country.

They are considered “forever chemicals” because of their persistence in the environment and in the human body, with 99 percent of those tested having PFAS traces in their body.

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After failing to include a measure to broadly regulate PFAS in the annual defense policy bill late last year, House lawmakers introduced sweeping legislation in November that would force the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to set a drinking water standard for PFAS.

The EPA said it would determine whether to regulate PFAS by the end of 2019, a self-imposed deadline the agency missed.

A vote on the House bill is slated for Thursday, and the measure is widely expected to pass the Democratic-controlled chamber. The bill was expected to face resistance in the GOP-led Senate, with the administration’s statement Tuesday further diminishing the legislation’s prospects. 

The White House argued in a statement that the bill would “bypass well-established processes, procedures, and legal requirements of the Nation’s most fundamental environmental laws, including the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act; the Safe Drinking Water Act; the Toxic Substances Control Act; the Clean Air Act; and the Solid Waste Disposal Act” while stressing that the EPA should take the reins in developing a drinking water standard.

“The regulatory process works best when EPA and other agencies are free to devise regulations based on the best available science and careful consideration of all the relevant facts. By truncating the rulemaking process, this legislation risks undermining public confidence in the EPA’s decisions, and also risks the imposition of unnecessary costs on States, public water systems, and others responsible for complying with its prescriptive mandates,” the statement added.

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The EPA currently recommends water contain no more than 70 parts per trillion of PFAS, but Democrats and public health groups say the agency needs an actual requirement — one that will likely need to be below that level to protect public health.

The statement from the White House largely mirrors previous concerns expressed by Republicans, who wanted to ensure utilities would not be saddled with meeting a standard that requires expensive technology far beyond their means.

“We don’t want a standard that’s infeasible to be required of drinking water utilities, and the last thing is we don’t want the cost benefits that are part of the law right now to be disregarded,” a Republican aide told The Hill last year. “We wanted the practicalities to be considered.”

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Lawmakers originally included provisions to deal with PFAS chemicals in an early version of the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), the must-pass defense spending bill that Trump signed last month.

That early legislation targeted PFAS through the military, which has at least 425 sites that have been contaminated after exercises involving the heavy use of firefighting foam.

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The possibility of including PFAS provisions in the NDAA were squandered last month, however, as some lawmakers questioned whether the matter was beyond the scope of the bill. 

The PFAS legislation currently in the House combines 11 previous PFAS bills and targets a wide range of issues, including requiring PFAS to be covered under the hazardous waste cleanup law, and imposes a five-year moratorium on the development of new PFAS chemicals. 

The bill also spells out new regulations for production and cleanup of such toxic chemicals, requiring the EPA to regulate PFAS air pollution under the Clean Air Act, as well as another portion outlining proper disposal for PFAS chemicals.

Juicy tax breaks intended to lure in companies and boost local economies may not be worth it, according to a new working paper published by the National Bureau of Economic Research.

“While we find some evidence of direct employment gains from attracting a firm, we do not find strong evidence that firm-specific tax incentives increase broader economic growth at the state and local level,” Cailin R. Slattery and Owen M. Zidar wrote in their paper, which specifically looked at subsidies that targeted individual companies for local investment.

The issue of offering firm-specific subsidies most recently came to national attention when Amazon ran a contest for which city would house its second headquarters, dubbed HQ2.

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In the end, it split the prize between New York and a Virginia suburb of Washington, D.C.

Following an outcry over the extent of the tax breaks offered to the company, including harsh criticism from Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-CortezAlexandria Ocasio-CortezHill.TV’s Krystal Ball says Ocasio-Cortez has become a force in Democratic Party Local tax breaks to lure firms don’t boost economies: Study Democratic socialist group: Voters lost faith in Democratic Party after 2016 MORE (D-N.Y.), Amazon withdrew its plans for New York, but continued to expand its existing offices there.

The study found that attracting firms through tax breaks did create jobs — as many as 1,500 — but that the new jobs did little to boost the local economy.

The average subsidy required to attract a firm creating 1,500 jobs was $178 million, amounting to a cost of $118,667 per job, with little spillover for the rest of the community.

“Collectively, these incentives amounted to nearly 40% of state corporate tax revenues for the typical state, but some states’ incentive spending exceeded their corporate tax revenues,” the paper found.

Poorer communities, in general, had to pay more than rich ones to attract firms, which preferred “richer, larger, and more urban” locales.

Worse, states and cities often have to raise other taxes to cover the costs of the subsidies. As a result, the authors concluded, “providing additional incentives may not always lead to higher welfare in the state, especially at high levels of incentives.”

Lowering the overall tax rate, the authors noted, could be more effective at boosting growth, though that approach could also cut into beneficial public services.

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Health officials in Massachusetts on Wednesday reported the state’s fourth death from a vaping-related illness.

According to state officials, the patient was a man in his 70s who reported vaping THC, the psychoactive ingredient in marijuana. 

The case is among the 36 confirmed cases of vaping-associated lung injury that the state health department has reported to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) since Sept. 11, 2019.

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“Today’s news is a tragic reminder that we must remain vigilant about the dangers of vaping,” Public Health Commissioner Monica Bharel said in a statement. “There are resources available to help people quit and we encourage anyone to use these resources.”

The death is the first reported since Gov. Charlie Baker (R) in November signed into law a sweeping ban on the sale of e-cigarettes. 

Massachusetts has reported 36 confirmed cases of vaping-related illness to the CDC, and 73 probable cases. The majority of confirmed and probable cases have involved vaping THC in some form, including six probable cases linked to state-regulated marijuana products.

As of Wednesday, of the 109 confirmed and probable cases, 40 percent said they vaped only THC, 35 percent said they vaped only nicotine, and 27 percent said they vaped both.

The CDC has identified vitamin E acetate, mostly found in illegal THC vaping products, as one of the main causes of the illness. However, Massachusetts officials said independent testing has not found any detectable levels of the chemical in products manufactured by licensed state facilities.

In November, the state reported the death of a man in his 50s who reported vaping both nicotine and THC. In October, the state reported the vaping-associated lung injury deaths of a woman in her 40s and a woman in her 60s, both of whom vaped nicotine.

Nationally, the number of deaths and injuries linked to a vaping disease have declined from their peak and appear to be leveling off. As of Dec. 31, there were 55 deaths confirmed in 27 states and the District of Columbia, the CDC said.

The agency said its data seemed to show that the outbreak began in June and peaked in September, when cases were skyrocketing each week.  

The Trump administration on Wednesday revealed its latest series of guidelines for autonomous vehicle makers to ensure better safety and consistency as the technology grows.

Transportation Secretary Elaine ChaoElaine Lan ChaoHillicon Valley: Lawmakers say Facebook deepfake ban falls short | House passes bills to win 5G race | Feds sound alarm on cyberthreat from Iran | Ivanka Trump appearance at tech show sparks backlash Trump administration unveils latest guidelines for autonomous vehicle makers Ivanka Trump’s talk at tech conference ignites backlash MORE unveiled the proposed guidelines, “Automated Vehicles 4.0” (AV 4.0), in a speech at CES gadget show in Las Vegas.

“The goals are simple. … Improve safety, security and quality of life for all Americans,” she said.

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The purpose of the guidelines is to ensure a constant government approach to the technology and ensure that the United States will continue to lead AV technology development, research and integration.

“America is known throughout the world for our innovation, for our creative spirit and it is part of our inter-competitiveness, and so we want to foster innovation,” Chao stated. “But there are also legitimate public concerns expressed about safety, security and privacy.”

According to the document, the government will impose existing laws to ensure companies don’t make misleading claims about the capabilities or limitations of autonomous vehicle technology. The guide also builds on previous versions of document to coordinate efforts across the federal government and provide high-level advice to federal agencies, innovators and the public on the U.S. position toward automated vehicles.

“AV 4.0 will ensure American leadership in AV technology development and integration by providing unified guidance for the first time across the federal government for innovators and stakeholders,” Chao said.

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Welcome to Hillicon Valley, The Hill’s newsletter detailing all you need to know about the tech and cyber news from Capitol Hill to Silicon Valley. If you don’t already, be sure to sign up for our newsletter with this LINK.

Welcome! Follow the cyber team, Maggie Miller (@magmill95), and the tech team, Emily Birnbaum (@birnbaum_e) and Chris Mills Rodrigo (@chrisismills).

 

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A ROUGH HEARING FOR FACEBOOK: Facebook’s global policy chief faced tough questions before a House panel on Wednesday as lawmakers voiced skepticism over the company’s efforts to crack down on manipulated videos known as deepfakes ahead of the 2020 elections.

The social media platform unveiled plans to ban such videos late Monday night, but critics quickly condemned the policy for not going far enough.

The issue: Facebook’s new policy bans videos that have been “edited or synthesized” by technology like artificial intelligence in a way that is not “apparent to an average person.”

But under those new guidelines, the video of Speaker Nancy PelosiNancy PelosiGraham predicts Senate will take up impeachment trial next week Pressure building on Pelosi over articles of impeachment Trump trade deal faces uncertain Senate timeline MORE (D-Calif.) edited to make her appear intoxicated that went viral last year and the video of former Vice President Joe BidenJoe Biden Former Bush official blasts Buttigieg: ‘He is not ready’ Ex-Trump campaign adviser: Biden would be able to ‘sit down and get some things done’ with Republicans Hillicon Valley: Lawmakers say Facebook deepfake ban falls short | House passes bills to win 5G race | Feds sound alarm on cyberthreat from Iran | Ivanka Trump appearance at tech show sparks backlash MORE cut to show him touting white nationalist views would not be covered under the ban.

What Democrats are saying: Rep. Jan SchakowskyJanice (Jan) Danoff SchakowskyHillicon Valley: Lawmakers say Facebook deepfake ban falls short | House passes bills to win 5G race | Feds sound alarm on cyberthreat from Iran | Ivanka Trump appearance at tech show sparks backlash Lawmakers voice skepticism over Facebook’s deepfake ban Global health is the last bastion of bipartisan foreign policy MORE (D-Ill.) opened the hearing of the House Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Consumer Protection and Commerce by slamming Facebook’s new policy.

“Big Tech failed to respond to the grave threats posed by deepfakes, as evidenced by Facebook scrambling to announce a new policy that strikes me as wholly inadequate,” Schakowsky, the subcommittee chairwoman, said, noting that the video of Pelosi has already been viewed millions of times.

Facebook’s response: The social media giant’s vice president of global policy management, Monika Bickert, stressed during Wednesday’s testimony that the new rule is an addition to a broad set of existing community standards intended to target disinformation.

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Schakowsky pressed Bickert on whether the new policy would cover the edited Pelosi video.

“It would not fall under that policy, but it would still be subject to our other policies that address misinformation,” Bickert explained.

Rep. Darren SotoDarren Michael SotoDemocrats demand FCC act over leak of phone location data Overnight Health Care — Presented by National Taxpayers Union — Buttigieg targets Warren, Sanders on health care ahead of debate | Judge overturns ObamaCare transgender protections | Poll sees support drop for ‘Medicare for All’ Hispanic voters push campaigns to address gun violence MORE (D-Fla.) pressed Facebook about its approach to manipulated videos that don’t qualify as deepfakes during the hearing.

“Why wouldn’t Facebook simply take down the fake Pelosi video?” he asked.

“Our approach is to give people more information, so that if something’s going to be in the public discourse they will know how to assess it, how to contextualize it,” Bickert responded.

“[The Pelosi video] was labeled false at the time, we think we could have gotten that to fact-checkers quicker and we think the label could have been clearer. We now have the label for something that has been rated false [so] you have to click through it, it actually obscures the image.”

Lawmakers want more: Lawmakers pressed Bickert to better clarify the rules, with one Republican, Rep. Larry BucshonLarry Dean Bucshon Trump unveils plan to help kidney patients in push to lower health costs House Republican: Disclosing drug prices in TV ads ‘doesn’t help the consumer very much’ GOP lawmaker has ‘a lot of concerns’ over coverage if ObamaCare is overturned MORE (Ind.), asking her how the company identified an “average person” under their guidelines for detecting deepfakes.

Bickert said the company was working with experts to detail the best approach.

“Congressman, these are exactly the questions we’ve been discussing with more than 50 experts as we’ve tried to write this policy,” Bickert replied, adding that Facebook is focused on making more information available to the public.

 

Read more on the hearing here.

 

5G BILLS PASS HOUSE: The House on Wednesday passed a slew of bills aimed at giving the U.S. a leg up over China in the race to implement the super-fast next-generation wireless networks known as 5G. 

The trio of bipartisan bills, which passed the House near-unanimously, would funnel U.S. government resources into steering international wireless policy while securing the burgeoning networks against cyberattacks and foreign influence.  

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Why it matters: The legislation comes as the U.S. works to win the “race to 5G,” which will enable a generation of Internet-connected devices and offer mobile data speeds up to 100 times what is currently possible. Congress and the Trump administration have been working to diminish the power of Chinese telecommunications companies currently dominating the 5G industry while pouring more money into efforts to build out the networks in the U.S. 

“All three of these bills are important for securing America’s wireless future, and we hope they won’t languish in the Senate,” Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman Frank Pallone, Jr. (D-N.J.) and communications subcommittee Chairman Mike DoyleMichael (Mike) F. DoyleHillicon Valley: Lawmakers say Facebook deepfake ban falls short | House passes bills to win 5G race | Feds sound alarm on cyberthreat from Iran | Ivanka Trump appearance at tech show sparks backlash House passes bills to gain upper hand in race to 5G Hillicon Valley: Senate sends anti-robocall bill to Trump | Federal study finds bias in facial recognition | Tech cash flows to Dems despite scrutiny | Facebook to ban misleading census content MORE (D-Pa.) said in a statement.

The House on Wednesday also passed a resolution calling on the U.S. to follow a set of international cybersecurity standards as it develops 5G capabilities. 

“The next generation of next-generation telecommunications systems is going to revolutionize our economy,” Rep. Tom O’Halleran (D-Ariz.) said on the House floor ahead of the vote. “With the rapid expansion of new technology infrastructure, it is critical that these systems are secure, and the privacy of all Americans is protected.” 

Two of the bills – the Promoting United States International Leadership in 5G Act and Promoting United States Wireless Leadership Act – would require the U.S. to become more involved in international standard-setting bodies around wireless networks, which have seen increased involvement from China in recent years. Together, the bills would direct the Secretary of State and a key telecom adviser to boost America’s presence on communications panels around the world.

Meanwhile, the Secure 5G and Beyond Act, which passed 413-3, would draw up a “whole-of-government” strategy to protect U.S. telecommunications networks from national security threats posed by Chinese telecommunications companies like Huawei and ZTE, which are currently leading the rollout of 5G networks worldwide. 

Read more about the bills here.

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NEW BILL ON HUAWEI: Sen. Tom CottonThomas (Tom) Bryant CottonHillicon Valley: Lawmakers say Facebook deepfake ban falls short | House passes bills to win 5G race | Feds sound alarm on cyberthreat from Iran | Ivanka Trump appearance at tech show sparks backlash Cotton introduces bill blocking intel sharing with countries relying on Huawei for 5G GOP senators introduce resolution to change rules, dismiss impeachment without articles MORE (R-Ark.) on Wednesday introduced legislation that would block the U.S. from sharing intelligence with countries that use technology from Chinese telecommunications giant Huawei in their fifth-generation (5G) networks.

“The United States shouldn’t be sharing valuable intelligence information with countries that allow an intelligence-gathering arm of the Chinese Communist Party to operate freely within their borders,” the senator said in a statement after introducing the less-than-two-page bill.

“I urge our allies around the world to carefully consider the consequences of dealing with Huawei to their national interests.”

The bill comes as the Trump administration has stepped up efforts get Huawei out the U.S. and to dissuade allies from relying on hardware and software from the company, which it has called a national security threat because of ties to the Beijing ruling party.

The Department of Commerce placed Huawei on its blacklist in May, preventing U.S. firms from conducting business with the telecommunications giant unless they obtain a specific license.

Read more.

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IRANIAN CYBER THREAT WARNINGS: The FBI and Department of Homeland Security (DHS) issued a bulletin to law enforcement groups on Wednesday warning of the potential for Iran to target the U.S. with cyber and physical attacks amid heightened tensions following the death of Iranian general Qassem Soleimani. 

According to CNN, the FBI and DHS wrote in the bulletin that in the case of an attack by Iran they believed a physical attack on the U.S. would first occur overseas, and a cyberattack on the U.S. would also happen in the immediate aftermath of the targeting and killing of Soleimani. 

The bulletin was issued the day after Iran launched missiles at two bases in Iraq housing U.S. personnel. 

A spokesperson for the FBI told The Hill that “while our standard practice is to not comment on intelligence products, the FBI is aware of the continued possibility that retaliatory actions could be taken against the United States and its interests abroad.” 

The spokesperson noted that “while there is no specific or credible threat to the Homeland at this time, we urge the public to be vigilant and report any suspicious activity to law enforcement. As always, we will work with our intelligence and law enforcement partners to gather, share, and act upon threat information.”

Read more here.

 

DEMS WANT TREASURY TO STEP UP DEFENSES: Two House Democrats pushed top financial regulators including the Treasury Department this week to step up their defenses against potential Iranian cyberattacks, with the risk of Iran attacking U.S. critical infrastructure increasing this week following the death of top Iranian Gen. Qassem Soleimani.

Reps. Emanuel Cleaver (D-Mo.) and Gregory MeeksGregory Weldon MeeksHillicon Valley: Lawmakers say Facebook deepfake ban falls short | House passes bills to win 5G race | Feds sound alarm on cyberthreat from Iran | Ivanka Trump appearance at tech show sparks backlash House Democrats urge financial regulators to defend against Iranian cyberattacks Trump and Pelosi clash over Iran, impeachment MORE (D-N.Y.), both of whom serve on the House Financial Services Committee, sent letters to Treasury Secretary Steven MnuchinSteven Terner MnuchinMnuchin aims to wait until end of 2020 to disclose Secret Service costs for Trump’s travel: report Hillicon Valley: Lawmakers say Facebook deepfake ban falls short | House passes bills to win 5G race | Feds sound alarm on cyberthreat from Iran | Ivanka Trump appearance at tech show sparks backlash Trump takes off-ramp in Iran crisis MORE and to agencies including the Federal Reserve and the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency asking that they give attention to potential debilitating Iranian cyber threats to the finance sector.

“We urge you, our nation’s financial regulators, to work in coordination with law enforcement and regulated entities to increase sharing of appropriate cyber threat information,” Cleaver and Meeks wrote. “We request that your institutions communicate a strategy to further mitigate existing cyber vulnerabilities within our financial institutions by March 2020.”

The two House Democrats pointed to past Iranian cyberattacks in 2012, when Iran targeted denial of service attacks at Wells Fargo, JPMorgan Chase and Bank of America, which involved overwhelming the companies’ systems by flooding them with internet traffic requests.

Read more here.

 

IVANKA AT CES: White House adviser Ivanka TrumpIvana (Ivanka) Marie TrumpHillicon Valley: Lawmakers say Facebook deepfake ban falls short | House passes bills to win 5G race | Feds sound alarm on cyberthreat from Iran | Ivanka Trump appearance at tech show sparks backlash Ivanka Trump’s talk at tech conference ignites backlash Trump Jr., Ivanka garner support in hypothetical 2024 poll MORE on Tuesday was met with a friendly reception from the crowd while delivering a keynote address at the CES tech gathering in Las Vegas, the nation’s biggest consumer electronics trade show. 

But her appearance ignited intense backlash from women and other tech workers who argued that her background did not align with what the annual tech conference is meant to represent.

Hundreds of Twitter users tweeted the hashtag #BoycottCES to voice frustration with President TrumpDonald John TrumpPence: Intelligence shows Iran directing militias not to attack U.S. targets Mnuchin aims to wait until end of 2020 to disclose Secret Service costs for Trump’s travel: report Pressure building on Pelosi over articles of impeachment MORE‘s daughter’s appearance. 

Brianna Wu, a video game developer who is running for Congress in Massachusetts, tweeted before the event that Ivanka Trump “is not a woman in tech” and that her invitation to CES was a “lazy attempt to emulate diversity.” 

“This is an insult to women in technology, we did hard times in University, engineering, math, and applied sciences,” technology investor Elisabeth Fullerton wrote on Facebook. “This is what extreme privilege and entitlement get you. It’s not what you know it’s who you know I guess.”

Trump spoke with CTA President Gary Shapiro for about 40 minutes during a discussion on the “path to the future of work.”

Among other things, she touted the administration’s efforts to work with tech companies to train Americans to learn new skills and develop apprenticeships. The conversation touched on areas that Trump, the president’s eldest daughter, has focused on in her role in the White House. 

“We appreciate Ivanka Trump coming to CES 2020 and speaking before a full-capacity audience on the critical issue of the future of jobs because of advancements in technology,” Shapiro said in a statement to The Hill. “Developing our future workforce has bipartisan support, and the discussion reflected the importance of and need for a strategic government-industry approach on the future American workforce.” 

Read more here.

 

BLOCKING REPLY GUYS: Twitter executives revealed that the company plans to allow users to control who can reply to their tweets in order to make them feel safer on the social media platform.

Twitter executives said at the 2020 Consumer Electronics Show that users will have four options for who can reply to their tweets — anyone on Twitter, a group of people a user follows or mentions, people the user knows, or no Twitter users — Venture Beat reported.

Suzanne Xie, director of product management at Twitter, explained, “We’re really excited about this, because not only does it help people feel … more comfortable as a … community, but also [because it] allows us to create a whole new format of conversation,” the outlet reported.

Last year, Twitter began testing a feature that would allow users to hide replies to their tweets.

“Public conversation is only valuable if it’s healthy enough that people would want to participate in the first place,” Twitter product lead Kayvon Beykpour said, Venture Beat reported. “[We need to] ensure the integrity of the information that people are consuming on the platform is high.”

Read more on the CES announcement here.

 

I’M A BIG KID NOW: The hugely popular social media app TikTok on Wednesday tightened its rules around what kind of content it permits, clarifying that it will take down videos that contain misinformation, promote terrorism or incite hatred against minorities.

In a blog post, the company said the guidelines are intended to foster a “rewarding and fun” community that can also grapple with “serious or controversial content.”

TikTok, which burst into Western markets over the last few years, is widely known for its never-ending stream of wacky videos and its very young user base. In 2019, TikTok quickly became one of the most downloaded apps on both Apple and Google, surpassing 1.5 billion downloads and edging out popular American social media apps such as Instagram. 

The company says it has lagged behind other social media companies in areas such as content moderation and community standards as it has gathered hundreds of millions of users. Now, it is seeking to prove its maturity as it formalizes 10 categories of videos that it will not allow on its burgeoning platform. 

Though TikTok says it tailors its content moderation policies to each region that it operates in, the guidelines released Wednesday are intended to form the “basis” for all of its policies.

“Today, we’re releasing a comprehensive, expanded publication of the Community Guidelines that help maintain a supportive and welcoming environment on TikTok,” wrote Lavanya Mahendran and Nasser Alsherif, who work on TikTok’s global trust and safety team. 

The categories of videos that TikTok will not allow include those that promote terrorist ideologies, encourage criminal behavior, depict gratuitous violence, glorify self-harm and encourage hate speech.

“These guidelines reflect our driving philosophy — providing a platform for creative self-expression while remaining safe, diverse, and authentic — and define a common code of conduct on our platform,” Mahendran and Alsherif wrote.

Read more here.

 

SOMETHING TO SEE ON AV’S: The Trump administration on Wednesday revealed its latest series of guidelines for autonomous vehicle makers to ensure better safety and consistency as the technology grows.

Transportation Secretary Elaine ChaoElaine Lan ChaoHillicon Valley: Lawmakers say Facebook deepfake ban falls short | House passes bills to win 5G race | Feds sound alarm on cyberthreat from Iran | Ivanka Trump appearance at tech show sparks backlash Trump administration unveils latest guidelines for autonomous vehicle makers Ivanka Trump’s talk at tech conference ignites backlash MORE unveiled the proposed guidelines entitled “Automated Vehicles 4.0,” or, AV 4.0 in a speech at CES gadget show in Las Vegas.

“The goals are simple … Improve safety, security and quality of life for all Americans,” she said.

The purpose of the guidelines is to ensure constant United States Government (USG) approaches to AV technologies and ensure that the United States will continue to lead AV technology development, research and integration.

“America is known throughout the world for our innovation, for our creative spirit and it is part of our inter-competitiveness, and so we want to foster innovation,” Chao stated. “But there are also legitimate public concerns expressed about safety, security and privacy.”

According to the document, the government will impose existing laws to ensure companies don’t make misleading claims about the capabilities or limitations of autonomous vehicle technology.

Read more here.

 

A LIGHTER CLICK: Bat quarter

 

AN OP-ED TO CHEW ON: Office of Technology Assessment: It’s time for a second coming

 

NOTABLE LINKS FROM AROUND THE WEB:

Sonos CEO will testify to lawmakers after suing Google (Verge / Makena Kelly)

Facebook Is Running Anti-Vax Ads, Despite Its Ban On Anti-Vax Ads (BuzzFeed News / Caroline Haskins)

The U.S. Government’s Mass Collection of Immigrant DNA Hints at Surveillance Future (OneZero / Emily Mullin)

Inside the Billion-Dollar Battle Over .Org (New York Times / Steve Lohr)

Auto parts company Takata is reportedly recalling 10 million more airbag inflators in vehicles from multiple automakers due to the risk of explosions and shrapnel injuries.

Vehicles made by Audi, BMW, Honda, Daimler Vans, Fiat Chrysler, Ferrari, Ford, General Motors, Mazda, Mitsubishi, Nissan, Subaru, Toyota and Volkswagen are affected, The Associated Press reports.

This recall builds off of the bankrupt company’s 2015 settlement with U.S. safety regulators, according to the news service, which added that Takata has had to recall roughly 70 million airbags in America under its agreement with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA).

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Ammonium nitrate was used inside of the airbags to create a small explosion that would cause the bag to inflate. However, the chemical compound can deteriorate over time if exposed to high heat and humidity. As a result, it burns too fast, causing the metal canisters to blow up, and hurling shrapnel in the process.

Takata inflators have injured hundreds of people around the globe and killed at least 25 people, the AP noted.

The company’s inflators began being recalled in 2001 in what became the largest auto parts recall in U.S. history.

Takata will have to recall millions more inflators if it cannot prove that ones using ammonium nitrate with a moisture-absorbing chemical are safe by the end of 2020, the AP reports.

Auto owners who want to know if their vehicle’s airbags have been recalled can check by entering their 17-digit vehicle identification number on the NHTSA’s website.

Senate Environment and Public Works Committee Chairman John BarrassoJohn Anthony BarrassoOvernight Energy: Dems outline legislation to make US carbon neutral by 2050 | 2019 was second warmest year on record | Top Republican says ‘forever chemical’ bill won’t move in Senate Top Republican: ‘Forever chemical’ bill has ‘no prospects’ in Senate GOP senators introduce resolution to change rules, dismiss impeachment without articles MORE (R-Wyo.) told Bloomberg News a House bill addressing so-called “forever chemicals” has “no prospects in the Senate.”

The bill, HR-535, would both force the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to set nationwide drinking water standards for per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances often abbreviated PFAS and require the EPA to place such chemicals on its hazardous substance list. This could potentially mean designating any contaminated location as a Superfund site, Bloomberg reported on Wednesday.

The chemicals, which derive their “forever” nickname from their resistance to breaking down in the environment, are frequently used in nonstick consumer goods and have been linked to health problems by the EPA. One study linked PFAS with kidney and thyroid cancer along with high cholesterol and other illnesses.

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Barrasso said he specifically objected to the bill’s Superfund provisions, which he said go “way beyond” a bipartisan PFAS-related bill his Senate committee passed over the summer as an amendment to a defense spending bill.

The bill ultimately became law in December, but by that point language requiring an enforceable PFAS drinking-water standard had been removed due to objections by House Energy & Commerce Committee Chair Frank Pallone (D-N.J.).

Barrasso was not the only Republican to express skepticism about whether the bill could pass the GOP-led Senate Wednesday. 

“We’re back now with a partisan bill that stands no chance,” Rep. Greg WaldenGregory (Greg) Paul WaldenOvernight Energy: Dems outline legislation to make US carbon neutral by 2050 | 2019 was second warmest year on record | Top Republican says ‘forever chemical’ bill won’t move in Senate Democrats outline sweeping legislation to make U.S. carbon neutral by 2050 Top Republican: ‘Forever chemical’ bill has ‘no prospects’ in Senate MORE (R-Ore.) told reporters.

Rep. John ShimkusJohn Mondy ShimkusKoch campaign touts bipartisan group behind ag labor immigration bill House to vote on resolution opposing Russia’s inclusion in G-7 Shimkus announces he will stick with plan to retire after reconsidering MORE (R-Ill.) also expressed doubts.

“There’s some Republican amendments that have been accepted,” said Shimkus. “It’s not enough to turn the tide on the vast majority of Republicans.”

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“The Superfund provision is really problematic and that’s really what stopped the Senate in the final negotiation,” Shimkus added. 

The White House has also threatened to veto the House bill, saying it would constrain the EPA from keeping up to date on the latest scientific understanding of the chemicals.

The bill passed the House Rules Committee on Tuesday and is expected to come before the full house as early as Thursday.

— Additional reporting by Rachel Frazin