News

• Texas drone bill sparks a battle

  The battle to find a balance between privacy concerns and the beneficial use of drones for commercial and law enforcement purposes is in sharp focus in a bill that's winding its way through the Texas legislature.

• H-1B politics shifts to backroom as vote nears

  High-tech industry's leading advocate in the immigration bill fight, Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-Utah), has bought himself some time, perhaps until Tuesday, to try get the immigration bill changed to the liking of the tech industry.

• Senators begin contentious H-1B battle

  The Senate Judiciary Committee rejected the idea on Tuesday of requiring all H-1B employers to make a "good faith" effort in hiring U.S. workers before taking on an H-1b worker.

• Tech may sink immigration bill if unhappy, Sen. Hatch warns

  The Senate Judiciary Committee on Tuesday began debate on more than 300 amendments to the comprehensive immigration bill, including a number of changes to sections on H-1B visas.

• First California lawsuit over mobile privacy issues crashes

  A California state court has dismissed a closely watched lawsuit charging that Delta Air Lines failed to comply with state privacy laws for mobile applications

• 3D-printable gun maker ordered to take down blueprints

  U.S. Department of Defense Trade Controls has apparently ordered Defense Distributed to removed the blueprints for a 3D printable gun from its website.

• HIPAA rules, outdated tech cost U.S. hospitals $8.3B a year

  HIPAA, along with outmoded communications technology, reduces the time available for patient care, according to a new survey of healthcare professionals

• Florida restricts use of drones by law enforcement officials

  A new Florida law restricts the use of unmanned aerial vehicles, or drones, by state law enforcement officials. It's the first law of its kind in the country.

• U.S. IT services providers heartened by Senate immigration bill

  Domestic IT services providers say the U.S. Senate's immigration bill could benefit them by raising the costs of their competitors that are based overseas.

• Spy court OK'd all U.S. wiretap requests it received in 2012

  A special court established to review government requests for warrants to conduct electronic surveillance of suspected foreign spies received close to 1,900 warrant requests last year -- all of which it approved.

• CISPA appears doomed in Senate

  Key lawmakers are suggesting that the controversial Cyber Intelligence Sharing and Protection Act, better known as CISPA, will soon die in the U.S. Senate -- just like last year.

• Wall Street pushes for exemptions in state social-media monitoring laws

  Even as several states have put in place, or are proposing new laws barring employers from monitoring the social media activities of their employees, one Wall Street regulator is seeking exemptions to such rules for some financial services companies.

• Florida poised to become first state with anti-drone law

  A Florida bill that would restrict the use of airborne drones by state law enforcement officials is one signature away from becoming the first law of its kind in the country.

• Senate's big immigration bill seeks to crackdown on offshore outsourcing

  The U.S. Senate's comprehensive immigration bill would make major changes to the H-1B visa that are certain to upset some and possibly please others.

• Senate immigration bill may push back on globalization

  The long-awaited U.S. Senate comprehensive immigration bill, which could arrive in Congress on Tuesday, will likely contain provisions onerous to offshore outsourcing firms that are dependent on H-1B visas.