Geithner’s Grift, Paydays, and Democratic Drift

Former U.S. Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner discusses his book Stress Test: Reflections on Financial Crises during the Politico Playbook Lunch at The Hamilton May 19, 2014 in Washington, D.C. What does it mean when Timothy Geithner, Barack Obama's bro-ish and apparently self-satisfied former Secretary of the Treasury, becomes president of a company that hoodwinks the victims of the financial system he helped rescue? If you care about economic justice, or if you want the Democratic Party to win more elections, the answer is: more than you might think.

Lawmakers Call On Amazon and Google To Reconsider Ban On Domain Fronting

An anonymous reader quotes CyberScoop: Amazon and Google face sharp questions from a bipartisan pair of U.S. senators over the tech giants' decisions to ban domain fronting, a technique used to circumvent censorship and surveillance around the world. Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., and Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., sent a letter on Tuesday to Google CEO Larry Page and Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos over decisions by both companies in April to ban domain fronting .

10 Weekend Reads

The weekend is here! Pour yourself a mug of Mocha Java coffee, grab a seat by the pool, and get ready for our longer form weekend reads: a Discuss : The End is Near for the Economic Boom: Growth will slow. The bull market will expire.

Did Putin share stolen election data with Trump?

Data is the energy, the lifeblood, the food and drink of any modern election campaign. From the mundane - names, addresses, voting districts - to the specifics of habits and interest, data matters more than television time, more than space on billboards, more than speeches and debates.

How Comcast is moving beyond the set top box as it rolls out its…

WhatsApp to test limiting the forwarding of messages to 20 chats globally and 5 chats in India in a bid to stop the spread of fake news - The social messaging service has been blamed for its role in spreading dangerous and inaccurate information. - Facebook-owned WhatsApp is making changes Facebook executives struggle to describe a coherent strategy to deal with misinformation on the site; it's a hodgepodge of "exceptions to the exceptions" - Facebook was once the most nimble company of its generation.

Google, Microsoft, Facebook And Twitter Reveal ‘Data Transfer’ Partnership

Google, Microsoft, Twitter and Facebook are teaming up to provide users with the capability of transferring data across platforms and services, the latter two social media giants announced Friday morning. After heightened concerns over data utilization , companies appear to be trying to give users at least a little more say over how their personal information is managed.

State lawmakers ask attorney general to probe disgraced San…

U.S. Rep. Maxine Waters was disparaged with offensive comments by gang prosecutor Michael Selyem in this Facebook post. A comment by San Bernardino County gang prosecutor Michael Selyem on this Breitbart post supports white male immigrants, but not "terrorist - holes."

Florida Congressman Matt Gaetz Gets Facebook to Take Down Violence-Inciting Page

After Gaetz called Facebook out on a page that posted incitements to violence and implied death threats, the company took it down. According to The Hill , during a hearing Tuesday with representatives from Facebook, Twitter and Google, Gaetz asked Facebook's Head of Global Policy Management Monika Bickert why the social media giant hasn't removed the page, "Milkshakes against the Republican Party," for its calls to violence against Republicans.

EU fines Google $5 billion over mobile practices

European regulators came down hard on another U.S. tech giant Wednesday, fining Google a record $5 billion for forcing cellphone makers that use the company's Android operating system to install Google search and browser apps. While Google can easily afford the fine, the ruling could undermine the company's business model, which relies on giving away its operating system in return for opportunities to sell ads and other products.

With Lurking Demand Google Be Broken Up, EU Hits Tech Giant With Record $5 Billion Antitrust Fine

The European Union hit Google with a record-breaking fine for dominating the mobile market. The European Union on Wednesday hit Google with a record-breaking a 4.34 billion antitrust fine and ordered the tech giant to make changes that will scale back its dominance of the mobile phone market.

House committee to grill social media executives on business practices

A House committee plans a second hearing this week on the filtering practices of social media companies, amid concerns that some users have been "shadow banned," blocked or otherwise marginalized. Executives with Facebook , YouTube and Twitter are scheduled to appear before the House Judiciary Committee on Tuesday, according to the committee's announcement.

House Lawmakers To Question Facebook, Alphabet, Twitter Over Political Bias And Censorship

The House Judiciary Committee is set to question the biggest social media companies Tuesday on their social media filtering practices, which will likely lead to accusations of political bias from Republican lawmakers "The advent of social media has made it possible for people to connect across continents, explore vast amounts of information, and share meaningful dialogue with friends and strangers," House Judiciary Committee Chairman Bob Goodlatte said in a statement. "However, this same technology can be used to suppress a particular viewpoint and manipulate public opinion."

Russian hackers methodically targeted Clinton campaign, used standard phishing attacks

The previous week, Katenberg's hacking crew had been bombarding the Hillary Clinton campaign's email accounts with fake Google warnings, trying to get her Brooklyn-based staff to panic, enter their passwords and open their digital lives to Russia's intelligence services. But the going was tough.