Earlier this week, Voices for Innovation alerted our members about the progress of the bipartisan Non-Disclosure Order (NDO) Fairness Act, which passed the House by a unanimous vote and awaits Senate action. If enacted, this legislation will help protect the fundamental privacy rights of technology users.
The NDO Fairness Act addresses the overuse of NDOs, also known as secrecy orders, which prevent technology companies from fairly protecting their customers when law enforcement wants to access their personal information stored in the cloud, such as emails, texts, photos, and other files. The misuse of NDOs for data searches represents a significant disparity between search rules in the physical vs. the digital world. For secret physical searches, law enforcement must meet strict standards, which are not being applied for secret searches of consumer data stored by cloud companies.
You can learn more about the issue in this VFI blog. We encourage Executive Briefing readers to visit the VFI Action Center to email your U.S. Senators, urging them to pass the NDO Fairness Act. It takes just a few minutes to complete this action!
Thank you for reading. You’ll find more tech policy news and a featured highlight below.
This Week in Washington
- Nextgov: On Monday, the new Bipartisan Science and Innovation Caucus launched in the Senate, which will focus on advancing policies supporting science and guiding the progress of AI.
- CyberScoop: The Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) has released unconventional new guidance to deter cyberattacks: deception. The agency is advising critical infrastructure owners and operators on how to set up decoy systems, accounts and data to deceive would-be hackers into being distracted and discovered.
- FedScoop: On Tuesday, the House passed the bipartisan Fostering the Use of Technology to Uphold Regulatory Effectiveness in Supervision (FUTURES) Act with a 417-7 vote. If enacted, the bill would direct financial agencies to provide Congress with a comprehensive assessment of their technical arsenals. Lawmakers would then work to break down procurement barriers and close any obvious technological gaps.
- Broadband Breakfast: The House Energy and Commerce Committee is set to advance two major telecommunications bills to require a national broadband strategy and accelerate FCC approval timelines for satellite licenses.
- Bloomberg: U.S. government agencies are tracking cyber threats against nearly 20 shipping vessels around the world, and the Coast Guard asked for advance notice if any of those ships plan to come into a US port.
Article Summary
- Reuters: This week, Microsoft unveiled its Humanist AI Code of Conduct, which applies to all the company’s AI products and services. The Code is part of a growing industry focus on developing policies and safeguards to ensure AI remains under human control as the technology’s capabilities continue to advance.
- Technology Networks: AI tools are helping physicians predict treatment and survival outcomes in patients with advanced non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) treated with immunotherapy, according to a new study published in Nature Medicine.
Featured Podcast
Voter Registration Day was Tuesday, September 15
Casting your ballot is the most fundamental way to be part of our nation’s political process. To coincide with National Voter Registration Day, Microsoft on the Issues published a blog announcing a program focused on enhancing AI literacy for voters, called Check. Recheck. Vote. Here are the fundamental principles:
- Check the sources and citations behind an AI-generated answer. Look for where the information came from, who published it, and when it was last updated. Be cautious when an answer provides no sources.
- Recheck important details by visiting the original sources and comparing what other credible sources say. This is especially important for fast-changing or location-specific information.
- Vote based on current information from your state or local election website, including official guidance on registration, voting options, deadlines, and polling locations.
Watch and share this helpful video for guidance. (1 minute and 26 seconds)