Monthly Archives: July 2021

Big Tech watch: Dons Censorship Suit Has Legs

Not so fast, counters Vivek Ramaswamy in The Wall Street Journal to the prestige press predictable dismissals offormer President Donald Trumps lawsuit against Big Tech censors: Theres a strong case to be made that social-media censorship violates the Constitution. Yes, the First Amendment doesnt ordinarily bind private companies such asFacebook and Twitter. But their censorship constitutes state action, because the government granted them immunity from legal liability via Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act and in addition threatened to punish them if they allow disfavored speechand colluded with them in choosing targets for censorship. In other words, Trump has a colorable claim that he has beenthe victim of effective government, rather than private, censorship.

City Journals Charles Fain Lehman & Rafael A. Mangual squarely refute progressives claims, in the voice of Eric Levitz in New York magazine, that their criminal-justice reforms will curb the homicide spike. Indeed, progressives argue, the30 percent year-over-year increase is actually cause to back their agenda which reduces the footprints of incarceration and policing. Levitz claims such left-leaning policies have a track record of controlling violent crime, while the social costs of law-and-order approaches may be too high. Yet he overstates the effectiveness of progressive alternatives and understates the evidence behind traditional crime control, Lehman and Mangual argue. To his claim that safety and compassion have been deemed competing goods, they counter that safety and compassion for victims are perfectly compatible. Its misplaced compassion for perpetrators that undermines safety for everyone else.

Thanks to the slowly rising courage of a few members of the almost totalitarian solidarity of the anti-Trump hallelujah chorus, the nations Trump-haters are tentatively dropping out of lockstep with the Biden administration, celebrates Conrad Black at The Hill. Comedian Jon Stewarts recognition of objective facts that the coronavirus likely escaped from the Wuhan lab effectively destroyed the charge of Trumps xenophobia, hostility to proven science and scapegoating. And liberal wise-cracker Bill Mahers warning about the dangers of continuing with the piercingly monotonous fictions that have propelled progressives thus far is now ricocheting in the ears of the Trump-hate coalition. With the ex-prez still retaining the support of more than 40 percent of Americans, Trump-haters are realizing that they may have squeezed all the juice there is out of that lemon.

Critical race theory undermines military effectiveness, declares Mackubin Owens at the Washington Examiner. Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Mark Milley, whom Owens taught at the Naval War College, is a fine officer but simply wrong about CRT. It isnt a benign academic theory in support of the advancement of civil rights for African-Americans but a species of Marxism that divides Americans by race into oppressors and victims. CRT encourages distrust among racial groups, which is fatal for the unit cohesion upon which military effectiveness depends. Decades ago, a sociologist observed the Army was the only institution in America in which black men routinely gave orders to white men. But the perception of favoritism kills trust and morale, and CRT would increase racial conflict by keeping the military from holding all to equal standards.

Catholic churches have been torched in Canada these past two weeks afterthe discovery of the remains of hundreds of indigenous youths, buried near the residential schools run, sometimes badly, by the church, Douglas Farrow reports at First Things. Yet activists arewrong to characterize the remains as mass graves, the result of a 19th-century Christian genocide: For there was here no genocide, though there was no shortage of negligence, cruelty, disaster and untimely death. Compiled by The Post Editorial Board

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Trumps Big Tech lawsuit has legs and other commentary - New York Post

On Friday, the White House announced a potentially important, if modest, effort to further tamp down the power of the technology industry. This time the instrument is an executive orderthe kind of wide-ranging declaration that often gets called sweeping or major, though its efficacy may take years to gaugethat covers everything from competition in the economy to drug prices to reforming a tech sector that is defined by a handful of seemingly unstoppable titans. Offering a mix of general recommendations, requests for action from other government agencies, and new administration policies, the Executive Order on Promoting Competition in the American Economy may be just what our overconsolidated economic system needs. But in tackling the power of a tech sector that has not only wrested control of the economy but remade it in its own data-hungry image, the Biden administration is still throwing pebbles at its enemys parapets. The tech industry has had 20 years to establish a stranglehold over our personal data, attention, and consumer choice. To tackle these problems, we need more, much more.

Despite promising to take on the power of Big Tech, President Joe Biden and his administration have so far taken a cautiously incrementalist approach. Hes appointed tough industry critics like Lina Khan to be commissioner of the Federal Trade Commission, but he has yet to name a head of the Justice Departments antitrust division, a key role for any future enforcement action. In Congress, Democrats have introduced six smallish antitrust bills, but their path out of the House is murky, as ongoing disputes between Republicans and Democrats over how to fight this legislative battle mean that the final bills could look much different than they did in committeeif they make it to a floor vote at all. (It doesnt help that some Silicon Valleyadjacent Democratic politicians, like Representative Ted Lieu and Representative Ro Khanna, have been less than supportive of the bills.)

As federal and congressional leadership lag, states have forged ahead, with dozens of attorneys general coming together in lawsuits like one, filed this week, accusing Google of anti-competitive practices. Other ongoing antitrust suits include one against Amazon over pricing issues; another lawsuit (this one with DOJ participation) against Google; and two others against Facebook that a judge recently threw out. In this proliferating legal war against Big Techpremised on a lack of competition and companies abusing their monopoly statusany of these cases could yield billion-dollar fines for one of the tech giants. But fines are easily paid. Whether these suits can lead to meaningful reform, to breaking up companies and redirecting business practices away from the current dominant model of user surveillance and bulk data collectionthat is far less clear. As with proposed legislation in the House, bipartisan legal efforts may be sundered on the altar of competing partisan priorities, with Republicans focusing on alleged censorship and Democrats more focused on economic competition and user rights.

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Biden Executive Order Takes on Big Tech Monopolies. Will It Be Enough? - The New Republic

Money managers began moving into tech stocks as a hedge against inflation and Fed rate hikes, CNBC's Jim Cramer said Tuesday.

Rising raw costs led to a 5.4% increase in inflation last month, the biggest jump in consumer prices in more than a decade.

That triggered concern among some investors that the Federal Reserve could move to raise interest rates sooner than planned to address inflation, Cramer said.

"If you want one industry that's immune to both inflation and a Fed-induced slowdown, well it's big-cap tech," the "Mad Money" host said after the market closed.

"Hyper-growth tech stocks are actually what works best during a slowdown."

Despite the inflation number, the market barely reacted because Wall Street expected to see a jump in the consumer price index, Cramer said. The major U.S. averages all pulled back from record closes the day prior, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average falling more than 100 points.

Investors are also keeping an eye on the start of earnings season.

Many companies can't afford to pass their higher costs onto the consumer because people will rebel.By the same token, not everyone can handle a sudden rise in interest rates, which is what many money managers are betting on. Cramer argued that's unlikely.

"I don't think [Fed Chair Jerome] Powell's going to change his stance, but there are a lot of money managers who disagree," he said. "When we see an [inflation] number like this, they sell a lot of other things and they buy tech."

It explains a breakout in trading in big tech names like Google-parent Alphabet and Microsoft, the software giant. Their businesses aren't tailored to changes in inflation, including the rise in gas, plastics, packaging and other prices, Cramer said.

Alphabet shares advanced 0.29% to close at $2,546.83, while Microsoft settled at $280.98, up 1.3% in the session.

Apple, which makes a range of devices, can be negatively affected by higher material costs. But the brand sells and those costs can be assumed by its customers, Cramer said. Apple stock moved 0.8% to $145.64 Tuesday.

Cramer said a stock like PepsiCo is an exception to the rule in the consumer packaged goods space. While the company will be saddled with higher input costs, including packaging and shipping, it can pass it on to consumers in the form of higher prices for drinks, chips and other products, he said.

Pepsi shares rallied 2.3% to close at $152.96 after the company posted a strong earnings report and raised its outlook.

Disclosure: Cramer's charitable trust owns shares of Microsoft, Apple and Alphabet.

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Investors buy tech stocks to hedge inflation, Fed rate hike, Jim Cramer says - CNBC

Former President Donald Trump delivered a blistering rebuke of President Biden, Big Tech, critical race theory, the media and othertargets during a fiery keynote speech at theConservative Political Action Conference on Sunday.

From the stage in Dallas, he called Texas conservatives some of his staunchest and fiercest supporters, and vowed to continue fighting for the GOP.

Im thrilled to be back in the heart of Texas, Trump told the crowd. For a year before the election, the fake news media said Texas was in play. Its in play. You know what in play means, like its close.

And they were right, except it was only in play for me, he said. For me and you, actually.

Trump was interrupted at the start by chants of USA from the packed conference, which was titledAmerica Uncanceled 2021.

He wasted no time jumping on the key themes of his post-presidency immigration, the media and the election he deems fraudulent.

This is a very, very special place and were going to keep it the way it is, he said. With the help of everyone here today, we will defeat the radical left, the socialist, Marxist and the critical race theorists.

We will secure our borders, we will stop left-wing cancel culture, we will restore free speech and fair elections, and we will make American great again, he said. Very simple.

Trump lambasted the fake news media and tech companies, saying they conspired to stifle him while ignoring stories critical of Biden.

Look at all these stories that came up and they were wiped out, he said. Anything negative for Biden or the radical left Democrats they just suppress.

The most horrendous example, the oldest newspaper in America and one of my favorites, its a great one, he said.

The New York Post wrote one of the biggest scandals ever to emerge in a presidential election, providing extraordinary, detailed evidence of the corruption of Joe Biden and, wheres Hunter?

In October, The Post reported on emails linked to Hunter Biden that were found on a laptop left at a Delaware repair shop.

The speech atthe CPAC eventis the former presidents second address to the group since he left office he spoke atCPAC in Orlandoin February.

Then, without any basis whatsoever, Twitter and Facebook banned the New York Post account of this terrible story, Trump said. After the election, one poll showed that at least 10 percent of Joe Bidens voters would have switched their vote if they had known about Joe and Hunter Bidens scandal.

Trump has remained a potent force in the GOP since exiting the White House and has repeatedly railed against the 2020 election results as fraudulent.

Last week, the former president also took aim at tech companies, filinga class-action lawsuitagainst Facebook, Twitter and YouTube for what he called the illegal and shameful censorship of the American people.

The tech giants shut down Trumps accounts, including on Twitter, once his main digital pulpit with 88.6 million followers and nearly 60,000 tweets.

Trump has also stressed the importance of the 2022 midterm elections, touting favorable candidates and vowing to oust GOP candidates he deems disloyal.

He has also not ruled out another run for the White House in 2024.

And he has also continued to slam Biden, particularly regarding the immigrationcrisis at the US borderwith Mexico, where Biden halted his predecessors highly touted project to build a new border wall.

The ex-presidents speech atCPACs Dallas gatheringcomes two days after his son Donald Trump Jr. addressed the gathering on Friday.

Other noteworthy speakers at the three-day conference were Florida Sen. Rick Scott, Texas Rep. Louie Gohmert, Oklahoma Gov. Kevin Stitt, South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem and Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee.

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Trump rips Biden, Big Tech and critical race theory at CPAC - New York Post

Law360 (July 12, 2021, 6:50 PM EDT) -- A Florida federal judge on Monday certified that a lawsuit former President Donald Trump filed last week against YouTube over alleged illegal censorship poses a constitutional question and gave U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland 60 days to decide whether to intervene on behalf of the federal government.

U.S. District Judge K. Michael Moore took the action after Trump's counsel on Friday filed a notice in the suit, one of three proposed class actions that accuse YouTube, Twitter and Facebook of applying "a misguided reliance upon Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act" to censor free speech.

"The court respectfully requests that...

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AG Invited To Rebut Challenge To Law In Trump Big Tech Suit - Law360

The lack of uniform terminology and information standards in listing data has long plagued those who advocate for technology adoption and greater transaction efficiency.

Real estate tour and showings management app TourZazz announced in a press release the formal adoption of an open platform approach, meaning it has designed its iOS and Android apps for widespread industry interoperability.

As part of that mission, the showing app company is among a slew of other industry technology organizations that have unionized under RESO membership on the mission of data uniformity.

The team includes multiple listing services (MLS), technology and lockbox companies, all firms that are directly involved in the sharing and marketing of property data. The list includes TourZazz, InstaShowing, Homesnap, Tribus, SentriLock, ShowingTime, Delta Group Media, BrightMLS and CRMLS, among others.

Interoperability is a term derived from an ongoing effort to standardize data across the nations network of MLSs, and its primarily why RESO exists. The group will look to establish data standards for API interoperability, showing schedule ownership and lockbox data sharing, among other industry concerns.

The lack of uniform terminology and information standards in listing data has long plagued those who advocate for technology adoption and greater transaction efficiency.

Its logical for showing software companies such as TourZazz to adopt such a cause, as its success will augment user adoption of products, as well as allow for easier exchange of data across national markets and create a foundation for a national property data platform.

In 2019, officeless brokerage eXp Realty became the first brokerage to become certified by RESO for openly adopting its interoperability mission. In a statement, eXp said the company embraces RESOs data standards to create a solid foundation for a streamlined enterprise to facilitate growth in the industry.

Sam DeBord

In an email to Inman, Sam DeBord, CEO of RESO, said the collective effort is all about helping showing entities communicate clearly in the process of serving the industry.

RESOs members have exhibited great interest in coming together to ensure showing services can talk to each other in an interoperable way, DeBord said. Well be meeting soon to coalesce around the common data fields needed to share showing information between vendors, brokers, and MLSs.

Such a democratization of data benefits both homebuyers and sellers alike, giving them (and their agents) the ability to choose the best tools that work for them, according to TourZazz spokesperson Jeff Salzgeber. Protection of consumer privacy is another benefit, he said in an email to Inman.

The acquisition of ShowingTime by Zillow ignited a renewed interest in how agents coordinate home tours and handle listing data, as much of the discontent about the consolidation revolves around Zillows access to consumer and brokerage data.

Whether a common method of transporting data [such as a standard API] is also needed will be discussed in further meetings, DeBord said.

Have a technology product you would like to discuss? Email Craig Rowe

Craig C. Rowe started in commercial real estate at the dawn of the dot-com boom, helping an array of commercial real estate companies fortify their online presence and analyze internal software decisions. He now helps agents with technology decisions and marketing through reviewing software and tech for Inman.

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Showing apps, portals, big tech partner with RESO on data standardization - Inman

Written by Pranav Mukul, Anil Sasi, Edited by Explained Desk | New Delhi | Updated: July 13, 2021 8:52:22 am

Capitalism without competition isnt capitalism. Its exploitation, President Joe Biden said Friday as he signed an executive order aimed at cracking the dominance of big tech firms and fostering competition across a number of sectors. This new order is being seen as a decisive policy step in the Biden administrations stated mission of targeting Big Tech, coming close on the heels of the appointment of two vocal Big Tech baiters in Washington DC Lina Khan at the helm of the FTC and Tim Wu as his Special Assistant for Technology and Competition Policy.

The new order and its remit

Fridays executive order includes 72 actions and suggestions involving multiple federal agencies.

The problems that it specifically flags include that of big tech firms collecting massive volumes of personal information, acquiring fledgling competitors and holding a competitive advantage against small businesses and corporate consolidation. The line of actions proposed include a set of new rules to be issued by the FTC on data collection, increased scrutiny of fresh mergers in the technology sector, scrutiny of the anti-competitive moves in the internet marketplaces. Other sectors under the scanner include travel, healthcare and agriculture.

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Amazon, others in the cross-hairs

A fact sheet released by the government lists out transgressions, without naming companies and entities. But it does not make any pretense about the intended targets. For instance, the document talks about how companies that run dominant online retail marketplaces can see how sellers are doing on the platform and then use the data to launch their own competing products. This is aimed at Amazon and has a discernible Khan imprint on it, resonating with what she had flagged in a 2017 paper titled Amazons Antitrust Paradox where she had critically examined the online selling platforms dual role. This dual role, Khan had then said, also enables a platform to exploit information collected on companies using its services to undermine them as competitors. She had then proposed two potential regimes to address the sort of power that Amazon wielded: restoring traditional antitrust and competition policy principles or applying common carrier obligations and duties.

The executive order by the US federal govt comes weeks after the House Judiciary Committee also voted to approve a series of antitrust bills, which could force big tech firms to transform or even break up their businesses

Scrutiny of tech mergers, sectoral surges in prices

While on the one hand the order calls for changes to how tech mergers and other anti-competitive behaviour by big-tech is scrutinised, the order also aims to bring down prices of goods and services that have risen over time with companies in various sectors such as airlines, pharmaceuticals, mobile phones, internet connections, etc gaining control of their respective segments. However, in calling for sweeping actions that look at lowering prices across sectors, the order does not address the conflict between the dogma that lower prices are considered in favour of consumer good and that technology companies often provide services for free but make consumers pay for with their data.

Potential impact beyond the US, India included

The move could have resonance outside of the US, coming at a time when there is increasing consensus across geographies on the issue. In India, there have been a number of antitrust cases against big-tech companies like Amazon and Google being investigated by the Competition Commission of India, but none so far with a significant impact on the behaviour of the companies operations. In 2018, the CCI fined Google Rs 136 crore for search bias. However, this fine was set aside by the National Company Law Appellate Tribunal (NCLAT) just months later.

Specific antitrust cases notwithstanding, New Delhi has also ratcheted up the heat on big-tech companies on the policy front with the IT Intermediary Rules that impact social media companies like Facebook and Twitter, and the imminent amendments to Consumer Protection (E-commerce) Rules that increase compliance burden for Amazon and Walmart-owned Flipkart. So, while the development in the US sends signals across the board about a greater consensus on preventing accumulation of too much power with a handful of companies, it does so from an antitrust point of view that aims at having a level-playing field.

Consumers dependence on a few large platforms

The Indian antitrust regulator is learnt to be studying the dependence of consumers and enterprises on a few large digital platforms. A previous government-instituted review of the Competition Law conducted in 2018, while finding the existent provisions largely adequate and fit-for-purpose, has recommended overarching amendments for additional enforcement mechanisms in the interest of speedier resolution of cases, which is particularly critical in the context of fast changing digital markets.

More importantly, how the US manages to rein in big-tech firms through the executive order and whether these companies are forced to make changes to how they operate could set precedence for other antitrust regulators to ask the same of these firms in their jurisdictions. This could also be an step toward alignment of policy outlook on both sides of the Atlantic. This could mean an affirmation in Washington of the anti-trust actions taken by the European Union, which has so far waged a lone battle against Big Tech.

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Explained: How US anti-trust order could impact big tech elsewhere - The Indian Express