TikTok ramps up lobbying push
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TikTok is a new technology, but it’s using an old playbook to make inroads in Washington. The social media network has launched a massive advertising campaign and an army of lobbyists to win friends and influence people as it races to block federal efforts to force its divestment from its Chinese parent company.
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The company has spent more than $4.8 million on advertisements touting the benefits its app brings to users. It is backing a lawsuit brought by content creators seeking to block the law President Biden signed that would force its divestiture, and it’s brought on a heavyweight Supreme Court litigator in anticipation of a showdown before the justices.
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TikTok’s troubles have been a golden opportunity for K Street. The firm spent $6 million on 47 outside lobbyists in the first half of 2024, including former U.S. Reps. Joe Crowley (D-N.Y.), Jeff Denham (R-Calif.) and Rodney Davis (R-Ill.). After all, billions are at stake, so what’s a few million spent on a good old fashioned lobbying fight? Read more at Bloomberg.
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Welcome to Tech Friday, a joint project of The Hill and Pluribus News covering tech policy across government.
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Online safety bill headed for Senate vote
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The U.S. Senate voted 86-1 on Thursday to end debate on the Kids Online Safety Act and the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act. The bills appear likely to win passage next week, despite opposition from the tech industry. Read more at The Hill.
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Vice President Kamala Harris launched her own TikTok account on Thursday, attracting more than 1.6 million followers in her first 16 hours on the platform. TikTok has been awash in Harris-related memes since she became the Democratic presidential nominee-in-waiting earlier this week. Read more at Variety.
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FCC advances AI disclosure rule
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The Federal Communications Commission is advancing a proposal to require makers of political ads to disclose the use of artificial intelligence. The proposal faces a 45-day public comment period before FCC commissioners give it a final approval. Read more at The Hill.
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OpenAI chief wants U.S. to lead on AI
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OpenAI CEO Sam Altman called for the United States to take a leadership role on artificial intelligence to ensure “open access” to the technology’s benefits. Altman pointed to international agencies like the IAEA as potential models for a global governing body. Read more at The Hill.
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Apple adopts Biden-backed AI safeguards
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Apple is the latest company to agree to AI safeguards laid out by the Biden administration, alongside competitors OpenAI, Google, Microsoft, Amazon and Meta. The move comes as the company prepares to roll out Apple Intelligence across its platforms in September. Read more at Mashable.
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CrowdStrike offers gift cards
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The cybersecurity firm CrowdStrike is offering partners a $10 UberEats gift card to apologize for last week’s massive outage. The company did not extend an offer to clients or customers. Read more at The Hill.
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Magnificent Seven performance this week
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AAPL -4.2%. MSFT -4.1%. NVDA -6.2%. TSLA -11.3%. GOOG -7.9%. META -4.7%. AMZN -1.9%. NASDAQ-100 Tech Sector index: -4.4%.
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California court upholds gig worker law
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California’s highest court ruled Thursday that a 2020 law characterizing gig workers as independent contractors is constitutional, a major win for Uber, Lyft and other firms that funded the ballot measure. That law gives drivers and delivery workers a guaranteed minimum wage and access to benefits. Read more at Pluribus News.
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States extend booze delivery
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Six states have enacted laws this year allowing restaurants to serve alcoholic drinks through delivery services, permanently adopting a pandemic-era relaxation of booze-laws. To date, 29 states and the District of Columbia have adopted permanent delivery laws, though only 16 of those states allow third party delivery services to provide drinks. Read more at Pluribus News.
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July 30: Microsoft, PayPal and Electronic Arts announce second quarter earnings. A Senate Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs subcommittee hears testimony on noncompete clauses.
July 31: Meta, Samsung and eBay announce second quarter earnings.
August 1: Apple, Amazon, DoorDash, SnapChat and Roku announce second quarter earnings.
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The James Webb Space Telescope celebrates its second birthday this month. Scientists have used the groundbreaking telescope to find the most distant galaxies ever, discover the formation of black holes and solar systems that have three major belts, one more than our solar system’s two belts. Read more at BigThink.
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NASA is warning it may have to permanent mothball its Chandra X-Ray Observatory after 25 years as the agency faces a billion-dollar budget shortfall. A budget deal between Congress and the Biden administration means dozens of NASA scientists on the project will lose their jobs by the end of September if Washington can’t reach a solution. Read more at Ars Technica.
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You’re all caught up! See you next week.
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