An anonymous reader quotes a report from Bloomberg Law: The Federal Communications Commission is poised to delay $9 billion in rural 5G subsidies for 18 to 24 months so it can fix mapping flaws that bar the agency from determining which areas need the service. The holdup is the most recent delay in the FCC’s nine-year effort to pay wireless carriers…
Tag: bills
Google Contractors Allege Company Prevents Them From Whistleblowing, Writing Silicon Valley Novels
Google contract employees are alleging the company’s confidentiality agreements prevent them from a range of legal rights from whistleblowing to telling their parents how much they make, according to a recent court filing. From a report: A California appeals court recently discussed a lawsuit accusing Google and one of its staffing firms, Adecco, of violating a number of California labor laws,…
Swiss Region To Take Cryptocurrency For Tax Payments In 2021
A Swiss region that has billed itself as a hub for high-tech finance said Thursday that it plans to accept cryptocurrencies Bitcoin and Ether for tax payments starting next year. ABC News reports: Switzerland’s Zug canton joins its eponymous main city and several Swiss towns in agreeing to take tax payments in cryptocurrency. Zug is thought to be the first region…
Hackers Could Use IoT Botnets To Manipulate Energy Markets
An anonymous reader quotes a report from Wired: At the Black Hat security conference on Wednesday, [researchers at the Georgia Institute of Technology] will present their findings, which suggest that high-wattage IoT botnets — made up of power-guzzling devices like air conditioners, car chargers, and smart thermostats — could be deployed strategically to increase demand at certain times in any of…
The Gig Economy Is Failing. Say Hello to the Hustle Economy.
An anonymous reader shares a report: “We have nothing to sell besides physical touch.” The thought jarred Amber Briggle awake some nights. It kept her from eating in the first week of the Covid-19 shutdown when she lost six pounds fretting over the sudden collapse of the business she’d built up her “entire adult life.” For seven years, Briggle has owned…
Is It Time To Kill the Penny?
COVID-19 has constipated the economy and prompted the U.S. Mint to cut back on coin production to keep its workers safe. As NPR’s Greg Rosalsky writes, this could be a rallying cry for a long-running movement that has lost steam in recent years: Kill the penny! “With the closure of the economy, the flow of coins through the economy has ……
Germany is First Major Economy To Phase Out Coal and Nuclear
German lawmakers have finalized the country’s long-awaited phase-out of coal as an energy source, backing a plan that environmental groups say isn’t ambitious enough and free marketeers criticize as a waste of taxpayers’ money. From a report: Bills approved by both houses of parliament Friday envision shutting down the last coal-fired power plant by 2038 and spending some $45 billion to…
New Free Speech Site Gets in a Tangle Over … Free Speech
The social network bills itself as a ‘no censorship’ bastion — but it’s already had to remind users what is and isn’t allowed. From a report: In recent weeks, Donald Trump has started having his tweets factchecked and published with disclaimers when they contain misleading information. Katie Hopkins, the woman who once compared migrants to cockroaches and called for a “final…
Universities and Tech Giants Back National Cloud Computing Project
Leading universities and major technology companies agreed on Tuesday to back a new project intended to give academics and other scientists access to the computing resources now available mainly to a few tech giants. From a report: The initiative, the National Research Cloud, has received bipartisan support in both the House and the Senate. Lawmakers in both houses have proposed bills…
Data Caps On AT&T, Comcast, T-Mobile Will Return June 30
An anonymous reader quotes a report from PCWorld: Major Internet service providers are scheduled to end their quarantine benefits soon, once again subjecting Americans to data caps and removing protections if they are unable to pay their bills. The FCC’s Keep Americans Connected Pledge is set to expire on June 30. Companies initially agreed to the pledge and rushed to add…