The FTC Takes a Loss. The Federal Trade Commission has been setting itself up as the regulator of private-sector cybersecurity. That effort took a hit this week when the 11th Circuit ruled that its standards were too indefinite. “In sum . . . the Commission’s cease and desist order is nonetheless unenforceable. It does not enjoin a specific act or practice. Instead, it mandates a complete overhaul of LabMD’s data-security program and says precious little about how this is to be accomplished. Moreover, it effectually charges the district court with managing the overhaul. This is a scheme Congress could not have envisioned.”
Google Takes On AI. Google, in the wake of the Maven controversy, has released a series of principles and a white paper. The blogpost explaining its position begins: “At its heart, AI is computer programming that learns and adapts. It can’t solve every problem, but its potential to improve our lives is profound. At Google, we use AI to make products more useful—from email that’s spam-free and easier to compose, to a digital assistant you can speak to naturally, to photos that pop the fun stuff out for you to enjoy.”