Bits: It’s G.D.P.R. Day!

Catch up on everything you missed from the world of tech this week. View in [Browser]( | Add nytdirect@nytimes.com to your address book. [The New York Times]( [The New York Times]( Thursday, May 24, 2018 [For the latest updates, go to nytimes.com/bits »]( It’s G.D.P.R. Day! [Mark Zuckerberg of Facebook appeared before lawmakers in Europe this week, and managed to avoid answering several tough questions.] Mark Zuckerberg of Facebook appeared before lawmakers in Europe this week, and managed to avoid answering several tough questions. Yves Herman/Reuters Each week, Kevin Roose, technology columnist at The New York Times, discusses [developments in the tech industry]( offering analysis and maybe a joke or two. Kevin is away this week, so Cecilia Kang, The Times’s Washington tech correspondent, is stepping in. Happy G.D.P.R. Day! The tech newsletter comes to you this week from Washington, where I’m filling in for Kevin, who is allegedly off the grid and on vacation. (Hmmm. If that’s true, why is there a “K-Roo” doing marathon sessions of [Fortnite]( With so much focus on tech about regulation these days, we’re dedicating this edition to the intersection of Silicon Valley and government. There is a lot of action on that front in Europe — and, [as Adam Satariano writes]( the effects of Europe’s aggressive stance toward tech are rippling across the globe. On Friday, Europe’s strict new privacy rules, known as the General Data Protection Regulation, went into effect. This is somewhat complicated stuff, so do yourself a favor and read this [simple explainer]( on the new rules. Next, be smart and make sure to read the many notices you are getting from companies, [as our tech columnist Brian X. Chen suggests](. The emails say different things: Some explicitly ask for permission to keep collecting data, while others are more quietly saying they that if you keep using their app, consider your data collected. Natasha Singer and Prashant Rao [show how hard it is]( for Americans to know what data is collected on them compared with British citizens. Also this past week, Facebook’s chief executive, Mark Zuckerberg, [appeared before European lawmakers]( in Brussels. He managed again to avoid answering several tough questions, to [the irritation]( of several government officials. Facebook is now following a tight script in public, apologizing for past mistakes and promising to do better on privacy. But the most interesting part of Mr. Zuckerberg’s appearance was how European lawmakers were talking about the social media site. One German official called it a monopoly, and another official wondered if the company needed to be broken up. While many officials, especially in the United States, have focused on Facebook’s privacy violations and foreign interference on the platform during the 2016 presidential election, there is a growing spotlight on antitrust. Consumer groups in the United States and lawmakers in Europe have called into question the [company’s power and size](. There is another potential problem for the company, too. The critique that Facebook isn’t a neutral platform and [is looking more like a media company]( is not going away. If viewed as a media company, Facebook would be subject to a greater risk of liability. Here in the United States, there was interesting news on Wednesday in a case involving President Trump and his favorite communications platform, Twitter. A federal judge ruled that the president [can no longer block]( Twitter users, saying that doing so violates the First Amendment. (Speaking of Twitter, here is a tip on people to follow: the [new]( [members]( of the Federal Trade Commission, including the chairman, [Joseph J. Simons]( who have set up [accounts](. The commission will decide on pivotal Silicon Valley’s cases, including an [investigation into Facebook’s violation of privacy policies]( and antitrust concerns about Google and other big tech companies. Just don’t expect them to [tweet-rant]( like Elon Musk, the founder of SpaceX and chief executive of Tesla, who had a 19-hour tear [against the media]( Also in the United States, tech and media mergers are again in the spotlight, with Comcast making public its [intention to buy Fox](. This sets Comcast up for a battle royale against Disney, which is also trying to bulk up by merging with Fox. How this all turns out may well be influenced by a court decision on June 12 over the Justice Department’s lawsuit to block AT&T’s purchase of Time Warner. That merger looks, in many ways, like Comcast’s bid for Fox — a merger of a telecom giant with a media giant. My Los Angeles-based colleague, Brooks Barnes, [explains how these things are all connected]( and the deeply fascinating and bloody battle ahead in Disney and Comcast’s war over Fox. Here are two other news developments worth watching: ■ Tech companies and law enforcement are notoriously at odds over data, but Amazon doesn’t appear to feel the friction. It has been offering its facial recognition software to police agencies, according [to an article by Nick Wingfield](. Privacy and civil liberties groups are angry. ■ It appears that the police have been inflating their problem with getting into iPhones. According to [The Washington Post]( the F.B.I. had been telling Congress and other government officials that it was unable to get into about 7,800 encrypted iPhones that may have held evidence in criminal investigations. The real number appears to be fewer than 2,000 phones. Cecilia Kang is the Washington technology correspondent for The Times. You can follow her on Twitter here: [@ceciliakang](. ADVERTISEMENT In Case You Missed It [Amazon Pushes Facial Recognition to Police. Critics See Surveillance Risk.]( By NICK WINGFIELD More than two dozen civil rights organizations asked the tech giant to stop selling its image recognition system to law enforcement agencies. [Apple, Spurned by Others, Signs Deal With Volkswagen for Driverless Cars]( By JACK NICAS BMW and Mercedes-Benz rebuffed Apple’s overtures for a self-driving car partnership, according to people familiar with the talks. [U.K. vs. U.S.: How Much of Your Personal Data Can You Get?]( By NATASHA SINGER AND PRASHANT S. RAO We decided to test how easy it soon might be for people in Europe to access their personal data compared with users in the United States. Tech Fix [Getting a Flood of G.D.P.R.-Related Privacy Policy Updates? Read Them]( By BRIAN X. CHEN To comply with Europe’s General Data Protection Regulation, which goes into effect on May 25, internet companies have been updating their data policies. Here’s how you can benefit. [Instagram (Finally) Adds a Mute Feature]( By JONAH ENGEL BROMWICH So desperately needed. [Macron Vowed to Make France a ‘Start-Up Nation.’ Is It Getting There?]( By LIZ ALDERMAN France has quickly become one of the hottest destinations in Europe for technology investment, but it faces big challenges in its mission to become a leader. [Hundreds of Apps Can Empower Stalkers to Track Their Victims]( By JENNIFER VALENTINO-DEVRIES Widely available services offer a range of spying abilities, including tracking people’s phones and harvesting their texts. As survivors seek help, the legal and technical hurdles are many. [Facebook and Twitter Plan New Ways to Regulate Political Ads]( By NELLIE BOWLES AND SHEERA FRENKEL Facebook said it would add a “paid for” label and give information on costs and target audiences. Twitter’s changes include restrictions on who can run the ads and rules for campaign accounts. HOW ARE WE DOING? We’d love your feedback on this newsletter. Please email thoughts and suggestions to [bits_newsletter@nytimes.com](mailto:bits_newsletter@nytimes.com?subject=Bits%20Newsletter%20Feedback%20223). ADVERTISEMENT LIKE THIS EMAIL? Forward it to your friends, and let them know they can sign up [here](. [The All-New DealBook Newsletter]( Our columnist Andrew Ross Sorkin and his Times colleagues help you make sense of major business and policy headlines — and the power-brokers who shape them. [( FOLLOW BITS [Twitter] [@nytimesbits]( Get more [NYTimes.com newsletters »]( | Get unlimited access to NYTimes.com and our NYTimes apps. [Subscribe »]( ABOUT THIS EMAIL You received this message because you signed up for NYTimes.com's Bits newsletter. [Unsubscribe]( | [Manage Subscriptions]( | [Change Your Email]( | [Privacy Policy]( | [Contact]( | [Advertise]( Copyright 2018 The New York Times Company 620 Eighth Avenue New York, NY 10018