senate

Shortly after the Pentagon announced the Chinese government has been involved in widespread cyberespionage targeting the U.S. government and businesses, a bipartisan group of senators proposed a new law to fight cyber-theft.

The law, dubbed "Deter Cyber Theft Act," was proposed Tuesday by Democrats Carl Levin and Jay Rockefeller and Republicans John McCain and Tom Coburn, according to Reuters. The goal of the legislation is to protect commercial data from foreign hackers and governments.

Several foreign countries, including Russia, Israel, and France, have been blamed for spying on U.S. government Web sites or American businesses, but … Read more

Leaked from today's 404 episode:

- Today I learned Dave Chappelle was in a "Home Improvement" spinoff that was actually made.

- Twelve things that will get you banned on Xbox.

- You won't remember anything, including this article, unless you print it out.

- Senate passes Internet sales tax bill by 2-to-1 margin.… Read more

Consumers unhappy about the prospect of paying more to shop online aren't alone.

Online retailers are objecting to a proposed federal law to levy sales taxes on Internet shoppers, saying it's unreasonable to expect small businesses to comply with the detailed -- and sometimes conflicting -- regulations of nearly 10,000 government tax collectors.

The U.S. Senate began debate on the tax measure, S.743, Monday afternoon, capping years of lobbying by the National Retail Federation and the Retail Industry Leaders Association, which represent big box stores including including Walmart, Target, AutoZone, Best Buy, Home Depot, OfficeMax, … Read more

The days of shopping online and being able to duck sales taxes may soon come to an end. The U.S. Senate is slated to vote on the Internet sales tax sometime next week, according to Reuters.

Internet tax supporters, with backing from Walmart, Macy's, and Best Buy, are hoping a Senate vote will give them enough political leverage to require Americans to pay sales tax whenever buying goods online. This could usher in the first national Internet sales tax ever.

According to Reuters, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid filed a motion on Thursday supporting the proposal. Since Reid … Read more

Internet tax supporters are hoping that a vote in the U.S. Senate as early as today will finally give them enough political leverage to require Americans to pay sales taxes when shopping online.

Sens. Mike Enzi (R-Wy.) and Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) are expected to offer an amendment to a Democratic budget resolution this week that, by allowing states to "collect taxes on remote sales," is intended to usher in the first national Internet sales tax.

"We're working overtime in pushing this, talking to our members, activating our grassroots," says Stephen Schatz, a spokesman for … Read more

Tech companies may score a victory in their hopes to get immigration reform passed for skilled tech workers.

President Obama urged Congress today to work on immigration policy that would allow foreign-born startup founders to stay in the country. At the same time, several U.S. senators introduced a bill focusing on the same. As U.S. immigration policy currently stands, U.S.-educated computer programmers and engineers could be deported once finishing school.

"Right now in one of those classrooms there's a student wrestling with how to turn their big idea -- their Intel or Instagram -- … Read more

The U.S. Senate has approved legislation to amend a 1988 law that would make it easier for people to share their video-viewing habits online should the Netflix-backed bill win President Obama's signature.

The Senate approved revisions this evening to the Video Privacy Protection Act to allow video rental companies to obtain consent from customers in order to share information about their viewing preferences on social networks. The 24-year-old law was enacted after a newspaper printed the video rental history of Judge Robert H. Bork during his Supreme Court nomination hearings.

Bork died yesterday at age 85, a day … Read more

The U.S. House of Representatives passed a Netflix-backed bill today that would make it easier for people to share their video-viewing habits online, while failing to act on an e-mail privacy measure.

By voice vote, members of the House approved H.R. 6671, which amends the Video Privacy Protection Act to allow video rental companies to obtain consent from customers in order to share information about their viewing preferences on social networks. Originally passed in 1988, the law was enacted after a newspaper printed the video rental history of Judge Robert H. Bork during his Supreme Court nomination hearings. … Read more

AT&T, Verizon Wireless, Sprint, and other wireless providers would be required to record and store information about Americans' private text messages for at least two years, according to a proposal that police have submitted to the U.S. Congress.

CNET has learned a constellation of law enforcement groups has asked the U.S. Senate to require that wireless companies retain that information, warning that the lack of a current federal requirement "can hinder law enforcement investigations."

They want an SMS retention requirement to be "considered" during congressional discussions over updating a 1986 privacy law … Read more