Kim Hart
Kim Hart
Featured Facts Matter

Got a warrant? It’s not enough for overseas data

Microsoft just scored a major win in a landmark cloud computing case centered on how law enforcement agencies can access data storied outside U.S. borders.

What it means: It sets a key precedent that law enforcement can't rely on U.S. warrants to access data stored internationally—a win for tech companies storing huge amounts of consumer data and a set-back for law enforcement trying to access that data to solve crimes.

The backstory: Law enforcement wanted to access a consumer's emails stored on a Microsoft server in Ireland as part of a drug case. Microsoft argued the data in question was subject to Irish rather than U.S. law and that a U.S. warrant wasn't enough to access that data. Six months ago, the court sided with Microsoft, and the government appealed. Today, a split federal appeals court declined to hear the appeal.

What's next: Both Microsoft and dissenting judges say Congress needs to address the legal gap to keep up with the cloud computing era. The 30-year old law governing data access is no longer relevant to the way consumers access data stored in the cloud today, said Aaron Cooper of BSA, which represents software companies. "Congress needs to step in to create a balance that respects foreign borders and law enforcement as well as consumer privacy," he told Axios.

Featured Facts Matter

Top jobs less likely to be automated

Glassdoor's best jobs of the year include titles like Data Scientist, Data Engineer and Analytics Manager. The rankings were determined by the combination of three factors: number of job openings, salary and overall job satisfaction.

The other quality they all have in common? These jobs are less likely to fall victim to the automation. That's because they require "soft-skills" like creativity, judgement and flexibility, which are all extremely difficult to automate, Glassdoor Chief Economist Andrew Chamberlain told Business Insider. "Having them allows workers to team up with technology to be more productive, rather than simply being replaced by it."

Why it matters: The Trump administration is concerned about jobs — particularly lower-skilled jobs — disappearing as technology advances. It's also pushing companies to hire U.S. workers for highly-skilled jobs rather than relying on temporary visas to bring in foreign workers with advanced degrees. These automation-resistant jobs will help fuel the urgency around creating a stronger pipeline of U.S. workers who have the engineering skills to fill these roles domestically.

Top 10 Jobs in America/ Median Salary

  1. Data Scientist: $110,000
  2. DevOps Engineer: $110,000
  3. Data Engineer: $106,000
  4. Tax Manager: $110,000
  5. Analytics Manager: $112,000
  6. HR Manager: $85,000
  7. Database Administrator: $93,000
  8. Strategy Manager: $130,000
  9. UX Designer: $92,500
  10. Solutions Architect: $125,000
Featured Facts Matter

It's official: Ajit Pai is next FCC chairman

AP Photo/Susan Walsh, File

As the most senior Republican Commissioner on the panel, Ajit Pai had been the front-runner for the chairmanship, and he had the support of key advisors on the Trump transition team.

What it means: Pai has said he wants to take a "weed-wacker" to regulation, and net neutrality is at the top of his list. He'll also likely roll back privacy regulations, loosen media ownership rules and take a relatively hands-off approach to merger reviews. Find a look at his stances on the issues here.

Keep reading Show less ... words
Featured Facts Matter

Protesters chanting outside Uber’s headquarters

Anti-Trump protestors are outside Uber's San Francisco headquarters this morning urging resistance to the new administration. As TechCrunch reports, the protesters are chanting "Donald Trump, go away. Racist, sexist, anti-gay."

Why Uber: The protesters aren't happy that Uber CEO Travis Kalanick is a member Trump's Strategic and Policy forum, which serves as business advisory group to Trump. The forum also includes Disney's Bob Iger, General Motors' Mary Barra and PepsiCo's Indra Nooyi, holding signs saying "Uber collaborates with Trump."

Uber responds: A spokesperson says via email: "As a company we're committed to working with government on issues that affect riders, drivers and the cities where we operate. Just as we worked with the Obama Administration, we'll work with the Trump Administration, too."

Featured Facts Matter

Google exec to lead White House digital group

Longtime Google engineer Matt Cutts has been on loan to the government as a technology fixer. He recently resigned from the search giant and, starting Friday, will serve as acting administrator of the U.S. Digital Service.

The White House-based organization was started by President Obama to tackle short-term government tech issues, usually relying on short stints from private sector talent. USDS is best known for its role in rescuing the healthcare.gov website.

Quick take: The U.S. Digital Service's future has been uncertain in the new administration. The decision of a well-known tech exec to officially join the team suggests the organization won't be dismantled, although its focus and permanent leadership remains unclear.

Featured Facts Matter

Cisco CEO hopeful about Trump's immigration stance

Donald Trump's pow-wow with tech leaders last month was "a very constructive meeting," Cisco CEO Chuck Robbins told Business Insider in Davos.

Why he cares: Cisco filed approximately 2,250 H-1B visa applications since 2012, according to Labor Department data. H1-B visas allow companies to hire high-skilled immigrants to fill specialized jobs if they can't find the talent they need in the U.S. Trump has criticized companies for using the visas to hire entry-level workers at lower salaries to cut costs.

Keep reading Show less ... words
Featured Facts Matter

The reality on Trump's claim about Apple bringing back jobs

Apple CEO Tim Cook will move iPhone production back to the U.S. because he sees it as the right thing to do, the president-elect said in an interview with Axios.

"I really believe he loves this country and I think he'd like to do something major here. And I told him, I said, 'Tim, it's going to be a big achievement the day you start building some of your big plants in this country instead of other countries.' And I think he's got his eyes open to it. I think he's got his eyes open to it." — Donald Trump
Keep reading Show less ... words
Featured Facts Matter

Deadlocked FTC in limbo

FTC Chairwoman Edith Ramirez is stepping down next month, leaving the agency with one Republican Commissioner, Maureen Ohlhausen, and one Democratic Commissioner, Terrell McSweeney.

What it means: The agency won't be acting on major or controversial matters until Trump nominates new members of the panel. That gives the new administration significant power to reshape the agency, but it's unclear which way it will go.

Trump may choose a chairman with a populist stance, or he could go with a traditional pro-business Republican for the job. Joshua Wright, a former Republican FTC Commissioner who has in the past done work for Google, is a transition advisor to Trump and is rumored to be well-positioned for the job.

Featured Facts Matter

Don't kill net neutrality, Wheeler says in farewell

On his way out the door, FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler told Republicans not to take away rules that are working and tols his allies to"stay vigilant" against such efforts.

The speech in a nutshell:

  • Net neutrality rules are critical to artificial intelligence, virtual reality, cloud-based technologies and the Internet of Things.
  • "No company using the internet is safe" if the rules treating broadband providers as so-called common carriers are unraveled.
  • Investment in web-based services is up, as are providers' revenue and stock prices; "So, where's the fire?"

The writing on the wall: The incoming Republican majority on the commission are widely expected to quickly start the process of reversing the rules, particularly the expansion of FCC oversight over broadband providers that comes with Title II. Congressional Republicans are gearing up to reverse Title II as well, and could try to limit FCC oversight powers more generally.

Keep reading Show less ... words
Featured Facts Matter

Trump eyes fixes for H-1B visas

Evan Vucci / AP

Trump wants to modify the temporary visa program used by big companies, including major tech firms like Microsoft and Google, to fill high-skilled jobs.

The big question: How severely will he try to curtail the so-called H1-B visas for foreign workers? The proposals include:

  1. Stephen Miller, a policy advisor to Trump who used to work for Jeff Sessions, has suggested getting rid of the current lottery system used to distribute the visas. A possibility is to replace it with a system that favor visa petitions for jobs that pay the highest salaries, Reuters reports.
  2. Another proposal that was discussed at last month's Trump-Tech meeting in New York, according to Reuters, included raising the cost of visa applications from large companies to discourage huge filing numbers.

What it means for tech: Major tech firms seem open to possible modifications of the program as long as it isn't significantly curtailed of shut down altogether. They also aren't opposed to efforts to address existing fraud of the program. They'll be watching this issue closely.