Gigi Sohn, President Biden's pick to serve as the critical fifth vote on the Federal Communications Commission, is withdrawing from her nomination to the telecom regulator. On Tuesday, Sohn said she recently asked President Biden to appoint someone else to the FCC. The Biden administration originally announced Sohn's nomination in October 2021, only for her to go on to face intense resistance from Republicans and moderate Democrats like Senator Joe Manchin of West Virginia. Per The Washington Post, White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said that, as of Tuesday, the Biden administration did not have news to share on a new nominee.       

"Unfortunately, the American people are the real losers here," Sohn said in a statement. " The FCC deadlock, now over two years long, will remain so for a long time. As someone who has advocated for my entire career for affordable, accessible broadband for every American, it is ironic that the 2-2 FCC will remain sidelined at the most consequential opportunity for broadband in our lifetimes."

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Biometric technology may make it easy to unlock your phone, but democratic lawmakers have long cautioned against the use of facial recognition and biometrics by law enforcement. Not only have researchers documented instances of racial and gender bias in such systems, false positives have even led to real instances of wrongful arrest. That's why lawmakers have re-introduced the Facial Recognition and Biometric Technology Act. This actually marks the third time the bill was introduced to the Senate — despite being introduced in 2020 and 2021, the act was never advanced to a vote.

If passed, the Facial Recognition and Biometric Technology Act would outright ban any use of facial recognition or biometric surveillance by the federal government unless that use is explicitly approved by an Act of Congress. That approval itself would be pretty limited: It would need to define who was allowed to use biometric surveillance, the exact type of biometric surveillance they would be using and the specific purpose it would be used for. Approval would also have the burden of further restrictions, such as adhering to minimum accuracy rates that would hopefully avoid false positives in the rare instances when use of the technology is approved.

The bill also hopes to encourage local and state governments to follow its lead, including a clause that would tie some federal funding for local law enforcement to complying with a "substantially similar" ban on facial recognition and biometrics.

While the bill hasn't had much luck making it to the floor of either chamber of congress, some states and local governments have been banning facial recognition technology on their own. In 2020, Portland Oregon put strict guardrails on the use of facial recognition technology. New York State and Massachusetts have also put restrictions on the use of biometrics. Even the IRS walked back plans to use facial recognition for identity verification purposes.

That sounds encouraging for the re-introduced bill, but that momentum isn't universal: Law enforcement still sees biometrics as a useful tool for investigating crime, and the TSA has been testing systems that compare travelers to the photo on their passport or driver's license.

Chipmakers hoping to tap into the Biden administration’s $39 billion semiconductor manufacturing subsidy program will need to sign agreements promising they won’t expand production capacity in China. The requirement was among a handful of funding conditions the US Commerce Department outlined this week after announcing it would begin accepting applications for money from the CHIPS Act in late June. Congress passed the $280 billion measure last July in a rare show of bipartisan cooperation and set aside $52 billion in tax credits and funding for US semiconductor firms to expand domestic production.

“Recipients will be required to enter into an agreement restricting their ability to expand semiconductor manufacturing capacity in foreign countries of concern for a period of 10 years after taking the money,” Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo told reporters, per the Financial Times. Raimondo did not name China by name. However, the superpower is among the nations the US government considers a “foreign country of concern.”

Additionally, Raimondo said CHIPS Act recipients cannot “knowingly engage in any joint research or technology licensing effort with a foreign entity of concern that involves sensitive technologies or products,” a requirement likely designed to discourage domestic firms from signing agreements like the one Ford recently announced with China’s CATL.

“I also want to be clear that no CHIPS dollars can be spent on stock buybacks,” Raimondo said. “This is about investing in our national security, not enabling these companies to use our money to increase their profits.” The Commerce Department will also require companies applying for more than $150 million to outline how they plan to provide affordable childcare to workers, a funding condition Raimondo said reflects the current labor market. In some instances, the agency may require those same recipients to return some of the money they receive from the CHIPS Act to the government if they generate excess profits. 

The White House is relying on more than an executive order to bolster online security. The Biden administration has issued a National Cybersecurity Strategy meant to "rebalance" responsibilities toward the larger companies and organizations best-equipped to handle threats. The initiative will most notably expand the use of minimum security standards for critical infrastructure, and establish a common set of regulations to make it easier to comply with that baseline. 

Accordingly, the administration also wants improved public-private alliances that can more effectively defend infrastructure. The federal government would also modernize its networks and response policies to safeguard against threats.

Companies may also be on the hook for sloppy behavior. The strategy would shift some liability for software and services to developers that ignore recommended cybersecurity practices or ship products with known vulnerabilities. The White House hopes to work with Congress and companies on legislation that bars total liability and sets tougher standards for "specific high-risk scenarios." A safe harbor provision would protect companies that make a sincere effort to develop secure products.

The plan would also invest more in cybersecurity research and workforces. The administration hopes to cut back on "systemic" vulnerabilities at the internet's core, and to adapt to emerging technologies such as postquantum encryption (that is, protection against quantum-based hacks) and digital IDs. Some policies will be largely unchanged. The government will proactively "disrupt and dismantle" threats, including international cooperation on fighting ransomware.

The implementation has already begun, the administration says. As Cyberscooppoints out, though, there's no certainty the strategy will work as promised. The outline largely delegates responsibilities to individual agencies, Congress and in some cases state regulators. The result may not be as harmonious as hoped. It's also unclear if developers will welcome laws that make them liable for security holes. Still, the approach sets expectations for how federal officials will tackle digital threats going forward.

The United States Postal Service isn't pinning all its electrification hopes on next-gen mail delivery vehicles. The service has signed a contract to buy 9,250 Ford E-Transit electric vans, with the first units arriving in December. The handover should be complete by the end of 2024, Ford adds. The USPS is also placing its early orders for over 14,000 charging stations for its facilities across the country.

The USPS already plans to buy at least 60,000 of its Next Generation Delivery Vehicles (NGDV) by 2028, with 75 percent of them being electric. The Ford vans are part of an additional plan to buy 21,000 "off-the-shelf" EVs. Postmaster General Louis DeJoy says this helps the USPS quickly act on a strategy that improves mail service and working conditions while keeping costs down for the self-sufficient agency. The total vehicle investment is expected to cost $9.6 billion, including $3 billion in funding thanks to the Inflation Reduction Act.

The charging network may not grow as quickly. The USPS expects to provide chargers to at least 75 locations within the next year, but doesn't estimate how it will expand in following years.

The overall EV push represents a sharp break from the initial plans. The USPS originally expected that most of its NGDV orders would be for gas-based trucks. The Biden administration fought that approach, claiming that the USPS under DeJoy ignored Environmental Protection Agency advice, rejected public hearings and relied on "biased" estimates. The service challenged the administration before relenting and shifting most of its purchases to electric models.

The transition will play an important part in the government's plan to cut greenhouse gas emissions for itself and the country at large. The USPS represents the largest federal vehicle fleet — its EV purchases will have a significant impact relative to other agencies.

Energy weapons are real. Military and weapons researchers have developed microwave guns and lasers that can be used to disable soldiers or shoot down drones — but a new report from the CIA and other intelligence agencies say that these kinds of weapons probably aren't responsible for the condition known as Havana Syndrome.

When US personnel overseas began suffering from unexplained headaches, nausea and hearing problems in 2016, many were quick to suspect foul play by a foreign adversary. A panel of experts concluded that the anomalous health incidents that came to be known as Havana Syndrome could plausibly have been caused by "pulsed electromagnetic energy," prompting some of those afflicted with the condition to blame their symptoms on a mysterious new energy weapon, possibly wielded by Russian operatives. Now, seven intelligence agencies say that panel got it wrong.

The Washington Post reports that even after reviewing about 1,000 cases across the world, the CIA and half a dozen agencies concluded that it was unlikely that the symptoms were caused by a foreign adversary. Not by energy weapons, not from electronic surveillance, and not from unintentional exposure to radio waves or ultrasonic beams. Analysts simply couldn't find any common pattern that linked the anomalous health incidents together that could suggest an intentional attack, noting that in some cases there wasn't even a direct line of sight from which an energy weapon could have been used.

So, what does cause Havana Syndrome? Officials say that the majority of the cases they reviewed could be linked to pre-existing medical conditions. Environmental factors, like poor building ventilation, could also contribute to some of the symptoms — but the report simply couldn't find a link to an intentional, external factor.

The report seems pretty confident that Russia isn't using an experimental energy weapon to cause nausea, hearing loss and headaches, but officials say that new information could change that assessment: If intelligence reports reveal that a foreign government has developed technology capable of causing these symptoms, they'll take another look and reassess.

The House Foreign Affairs Committee has voted to advance legislation that would give President Joe Biden the power to ban TikTok in the US along with other apps owned by Chinese companies. The panel approved the the Deterring America’s Technological Adversaries (DATA) Act in a 24-16 vote. All Republicans on the panel were in favor while every Democrat voted against the bill.

There are several more steps that the bill needs to go through before it becomes law. The full House and the Senate would have to pass it, and Biden would have to sign the bill. Still, it's a notable step forward for the latest attempt to ban TikTok in the US entirely.

Republican committee chair Michael McCaul introduced the DATA Act (PDF) only last week. McCaul expects the bill to go to a full house vote later this month, according to Reuters.

The legislation would grant the president the power to enact sanctions, including bans, on any company that the Treasury Secretary deems "knowingly provides or may transfer sensitive personal data of persons subject to United States jurisdiction to any foreign person that is subject to the jurisdiction or direction" of China. The same applies to a foreign person or company that "is owned by, directly or indirectly controlled by, or is otherwise subject to the influence of China."

Democratic members of the Foreign Affairs Committee claimed that the legislation was too broad. It would "damage our allegiances across the globe, bring more companies into China's sphere, destroy jobs here in the United States and undercut core American values of free speech and free enterprise," Rep. Gregory Meeks, the ranking Democrat member, said. He suggested that the legislation as is could lead to sanctions against businesses in Korea and Taiwan that supply semiconductors and other parts to Chinese companies.

"A US ban on TikTok is a ban on the export of American culture and values to the billion-plus people who use our service worldwide," TikTok wrote on Twitter. "We're disappointed to see this rushed piece of legislation move forward, despite its considerable negative impact on the free speech rights of millions of Americans who use and love TikTok."

"Congress must not censor entire platforms and strip Americans of their constitutional right to freedom of speech and expression," American Civil Liberties Union senior policy counsel Jenna Leventoff said in a statement. "Whether we’re discussing the news of the day, live streaming protests, or ​​even watching cat videos, we have a right to use TikTok and other platforms to exchange our thoughts, ideas, and opinions with people around the country and around the world." Leventoff called the bill "vague, overbroad and unconstitutional."

TikTok has faced a growing backlash in recent months over concerns that the Chinese government may obtain user data from the app. Owner ByteDance is headquartered in Beijing, but TikTok claims it doesn't share data with the Chinese government. By last summer, TikTok was routing all US data to Oracle servers based in the country. It pledged to delete US users' private data from its own servers.

Nevertheless, the US government has banned the app from federally owned devices, this week giving agencies 30 days to make sure it's gone from phones and tablets they operate. Most US states, the European Union, Canada and Quebec are also preventing their employees from using TikTok on state-owned devices.

TikTok has been trying for years to convince US officials that it's not a threat to national security in an attempt to avert a complete ban. The company's CEO Shou Zi Chew is set to testify before the Energy and Commerce Committee on March 23rd to discuss privacy, as well as TikTok's influence on kids and its links to China.

Federal law enforcement is once again dealing with a cybersecurity breach. The US Marshals Service (USMS) reports that it suffered a serious ransomware attack on February 17th. The perpetrators compromised sensitive data on a stand-alone system, including personally identifiable info for some USMS employees, third parties and the targets of investigations.

We've asked the USMS for comment. The agency tells CNBC that it disconnected the affected system from the network after discovering the attack, and that the Justice Department has launched an investigation. Senior officials briefed on the ransomware determined it was a "major" event on February 22nd.

The service hasn't identified potential culprits or named any impacted divisions or programs. A CNBC source claims the ransomware didn't touch the Witness Security Program. The USMS has reportedly created a workaround to maintain its activities, including hunting fugitives.

Word of the breach comes just over a week after the FBI said it "contained" a security incident on its network. Ransomware has also been problematic for various levels of government and public institutions in the past several months. The city of Oakland went so far as to declare a state of emergency in February following an incursion, while Los Angeles' Unified School District also reeled from a digital heist last fall.

The US government has escalated its fight against ransomware in the past two years. It brought 30 countries together to address ransomware in 2021, and recently succeeded in disrupting a major ransomware group that stole hundreds of millions of dollars from victims. However, the USMS breach suggests that the battle is far from over.

Canada is reportedly the latest jurisdiction to ban TikTok from government-issued devices. The US federal government, multiple states and the European Union have previously prohibited their workers from using the app on official devices.

According to a note sent to Global Affairs Canada employees that was obtained by the National Post, TikTok "will be automatically removed and blocked from use on all government-issued mobile devices." The report suggests that the government will announce the policy, which is expected to be effective March 1st, on Tuesday. Engadget has contacted TikTok and the Canadian government for comment.

"A review of the mobile application’s behavior in relation to the Policy on Service and Digital found that TikTok’s data collection methods may leave users vulnerable to cyber attacks," the note purportedly reads. It may be the case that, similar to their counterparts in the US and EU, officials are concerned about the Chinese government gaining access to the data TikTok holds on Canadian citizens and residents. TikTok parent ByteDance is located in China, which has laws that force companies to share data with authorities when requested.

ByteDance has refuted suggestions that the Chinese government can access such data. It has claimed that Canadian user data is stored in the US and Singapore. However, it said that former employees in China and the US accessed data on American journalists, seemingly in an attempt to detect the sources of leaks from the company.

Canada’s Communications Security Establishment warned earlier this month that “adversary states can influence their domestic vendors to compromise products to advance their national interest, counter to Canadian clients’ interests and the interests of Canada,” but the report didn't explicitly mention TikTok or China. The Canadian government, meanwhile, is facing scrutiny over possible Chinese interference in the 2019 and 2021 federal elections, as the National Post notes.

The chair of the Federal Trade Commission has proposed new rules to tackle the scourge of text message scams. If the agency's commissioners approve the rules at a meeting in March, providers would have to block robotexts that are "highly likely to be illegal," chair Jessica Rosenworcel said in a statement.

The FCC has yet to publish the full text of Rosenworcel's proposal. If adopted, it will force providers to block text messages that appear to be from numbers on a do-not-originate list. They include unused, invalid and unallocated numbers, as well as those that government agencies and "other well-known entities" say they don't send texts from. Messages from these numbers "are highly likely to be illegal and no consumer would want to receive them," an FCC statement reads.

Moreover, providers would have to block texts from entities that the FCC flags for sending illegal robotexts. The proposed rules state that providers would additionally need to expand National Do Not Call Registry protections to include texts to prevent consumers from receiving unwanted marketing messages.

“Missing packages that don’t exist; confirmation of payments that didn’t happen; links to shady websites; and truncated ‘wrong number’ messages from strangers. These scam robotexts are a part of everyday life for too many of us,” Rosenworcel said. “I’m asking my colleagues to join me in adopting the first FCC rules to focus on shutting down scam texts. But we’re not stopping here. Because we are going to keep at it and develop more ways to take on this growing consumer threat.”

The robotext proposal follows measures the FCC has taken to stamp out robocalls. Both issues are on the agenda for the FCC's open meeting next month, along with other items like a proposed framework "for increased collaboration between terrestrial mobile network operators and satellite service providers" to bolster phone service in areas where it is lacking. That could could come in useful for life-or-death situations in remote areas. Certain devices, such as the iPhone 14, now offer satellite connectivity for emergency use.