United States

In yet another recent example of Apple's increasing role in Washington politics, CEO Tim Cook reportedly plans to propose a "dramatic simplification" of corporate tax laws before Congress next week -- and is taking to the D.C. press to argue his case.

At a hearing on May 21 before the Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigation, which CNET learned about last night, Cook says he will present proposals aimed at "encouraging companies to bring back foreign earnings to the United States and invest that money into creating jobs, as well as research and development," according … Read more

The U.S. Department of Justice and the FBI believe they don't need a search warrant to review Americans' e-mails, Facebook chats, Twitter direct messages, and other private files, internal documents reveal.

Government documents obtained by the American Civil Liberties Union and provided to CNET show a split over electronic privacy rights within the Obama administration, with Justice Department prosecutors and investigators privately insisting they're not legally required to obtain search warrants for e-mail. The IRS, on the other hand, publicly said last month that it would abandon a controversial policy that claimed it could get warrantless access … Read more

The Senate will almost certainly kill a controversial cybersecurity bill, recently passed by the House, according to a U.S. Senate Committee member.

The comments were first reported by U.S. News on Thursday.

Sen. Jay Rockefeller, D-W.Va., the chairman of the U.S. Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation, said in a statement on April 18 that CISPA's privacy protections are "insufficient."

A committee aide told CNET on Thursday that Rockefeller believes the Senate will not take up CISPA. The White House has also said the president won't sign the House bill.

Staff … Read more

One of the runners in yesterday's Boston Marathon captured some sobering video footage from a head-mounted cam as the first of two bombs went off.

In their search for suspects, authorities looking into what is now being described as a terrorist act have appealed to the public to share any photos and videos they may have taken in Downtown Boston yesterday. The attack took three lives and injured more than 100 people.… Read more

Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg has launched a new political action group, FWD.us, to focus on immigration reform.

Zuckerberg, who announced the move through an editorial in The Washington Post, called U.S. immigration policy "strange" for a nation of immigrants and "unfit for today's world."

As a result, a deep roster of tech executives have banded to together to push a bipartisan policy agenda to change how the U.S. approaches immigration. The group has vowed to work with members of Congress from both parties, the administration, and state and local officials. It plans … Read more

The European Union has long championed its citizens' right to submit requests for data that companies hold on them in order to ensure the information is up to date and correct. In recent years, an Austrian law student brought this "habeas data" right into the public spotlight by demanding his Facebook data from the social network.

Americans don't have this right -- and generally, relative to the EU, they have little legal protection from the state or federal government against data theft, unauthorized disclosures, and other privacy-related matters.

Though the EU and the U.S. have never … Read more

The United States' top arms control official thinks the public can play a vital role in helping to combat international arms control violations and threats.

At South by Southwest (SXSW) in Austin, Texas, this Friday, Acting Undersecretary of State for Arms Control and International Security Rose Gottemoeller will take part in a session, to be moderated by CNET reporter Daniel Terdiman, in which she will talk about the U.S. State Department's plans to develop initiatives that utilize technology and public participation in tackling some of the thorniest security problems the United States and its allies face today.

During … Read more

Silicon Valley firms aren't going to get the immigration changes they want, at least not right away.

Straightforward fixes to a legal framework that just about everyone agrees is broken -- the fixes would let foreign engineers and scientists remain in the United States post-graduation -- have run aground on the usual shoals of special interest politicking and partisan bickering.

Technology companies were hoping for prompt action on a pair of bills introduced this year that would ease a shortage of skilled workers, in part by expanding the H-1B visa program. It's a bipartisan idea backed by Microsoft, … Read more

The State Department today unveiled three winners in its inaugural Innovation in Arms Control Challenge, a contest that tasked the public with coming up with new ideas for how to tackle arms control issues around the world.

During a Google Hangout moderated by CNET's Daniel Terdiman, Acting Undersecretary of State for Arms Control and International Security Rose Gottemoeller introduced the winners and unveiled their three projects (see video below).

In August, the State Department launched the challenge, asking the public to answer the question, "How Can the Crowd Support Arms Control Transparency Efforts?" The competition was the … Read more