Tech Hearings Thursday: FinTech, Virtual Currency, Comey, NTIA Nominee

Disrupter Series: Improving Consumer's Financial Options With FinTech

Scheduled for Thursday, June 8, 2017, at 10am EDT #SubDCCP -- The U.S. House of Representatives Energy and Commerce Committee hearing on financial technology (FinTech), part of its Disruptors Series on how emerging technologies are disrupting various industries.

Witnesses:

Ms. Jeanne Hogarth
Vice President, Center for Financial Services Innovation
Witness Statement and Truth in Testimony and CV

Mr. Javier Saade
Managing Director, Fenway Summer Ventures
Witness Statement and Truth in Testimony and CV

Ms. Christina Tetreault
Staff Attorney, Consumer Union
Witness Statement

Mr. Peter Van Valkenburgh
Research Director, Coin Center
Witness Statement and Truth in Testimony and CV

Documents: Hearing Notice and Hearing Memo

Also on Thursday, June 8, 2017, at 10:00 a.m. EDT:

• Hearing entitled “Virtual Currency: Financial Innovation and National Security Implications” | House Committee on Financial Services. This will be a one-panel hearing with the following witnesses: • Jerry Brito, Executive Director, Coin Center • Scott Dueweke, President, The Identity and Payments Association • Kathryn Haun, Lecturer, Stanford Law School • Jonathan Levin, Co-Founder, Chainalysis • Luke Wilson, Vice President, Business Development-Investigations, Elliptic. This hearing will explore terrorists and illicit use of financial technology (FinTech), the national security implications of virtual currencies such as Bitcoin, and the use of “blockchain” technologies to record transactions and uncover illicit activities. Witnesses will provide testimony about the exploitation of virtual currency by terrorists and transnational criminal groups, as well as provide risk assessments and policy considerations to mitigate illicit financing but not to impede the development of FinTech innovations.

• US Senate Intelligence Committee hearing
UPDATE June 8, 2017, video--President Trump's lawyer Marc Kasowitz (kasowitz.com) responds to Comey testimony:

Streamed live June 8, 2017: President Trump's lawyer Marc Kasowitz holds a press conference following the testimony of former FBI Director James Comey before the Senate Intelligence Committee.

US Senate Intelligence Committee hearing: Former FBI Director James Comey testifying:

WATCH LIVE: Fired FBI Director James Comey testifies about alleged Russian hacking and interference in the U.S. election--this is the media circus extravaganza upon which all of Washington, D.C. and most of  "liberal media" (e.g.,Washington Post, New York Times, et al) has been obsessed--Comey is a real prima donna with a grudge against President Donald Trump who fired Comey after receiving a recommendation from the U.S. Attorney General that Comey be terminated due to his violations of U.S. Department of Justice protocols and policies in the course of the investigation of Hillary Clinton last year. Expect fireworks! But be prepared for a complete lack of actual evidence on "Russia interfering with the 2016 election" that would stand up in a court of law--actual facts supporting the hysteria, innuendo, anonymous source "leaks," rumors, and other #FakeNews published by the Washington Post, New York Times, et al. [Editor's tip: If you're not obsessed with the "Washington D.C. media circus over Russia and Trump," you might want to skip this and catch the highlights via Twitter]. Here's Comey's opening statement (pdf)(no 'smoking gun' there either).

• Committee Chairman: Richard Burr (R-NC) 
• Vice Chairman: Mark Warner (D-VA)
• Other members of the Senate Intelligence Committee  

• Senate Commerce Committee hearing on nominee David Redl to be Assistant Secretary for Communications and Information at the Department of Commerce. If confirmed, Redl will be in charge of the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA), and serve as President Trump's top telecom adviser, including how to expand the nation's broadband infrastructure. Trump has mentioned broadband buildout in his fiscal 2018 budget proposal, as part of infrastructure spending. Redl is currently chief counsel at House Committee on Energy and Commerce, advisor to Chairman Greg Walden (R-Ore.) and panel Republicans on communications and technology matters, and previously was a registered lobbyist and director of regulatory affairs at CTIA, a trade association representing wireless companies such as AT&T, Dish and Verizon. Redl sees the top three challenges facing the NTIA as maximizing how agencies effectively use spectrum, improving broadband reliability – particularly in rural places, and better addressing the needs of the U.S. digital economy.

feedback & comments via twitter @DomainMondo
Follow @DomainMondo

DISCLAIMER

US vs Apple, House Judiciary Committee Hearing on Encryption, Video

US House Committee on the Judiciary Hearing: The Encryption Tightrope: Balancing Americans’ Security and Privacy, Tuesday, March 1, 2016 at 1:00 p.m. ET (US) time converter

US House Judiciary Committee Hearing on Encryption (press release): On Tuesday, March 1, 2016 at 1:00 p.m., the House Judiciary Committee will hold a hearing titled “The Encryption Tightrope: Balancing Americans’ Security and Privacy.” The House Judiciary Committee previously held member briefings on encryption, which included a briefing from technology companies and a classified briefing from the government.  As encryption has increasingly become much more widespread among consumers, there is an ongoing national debate about the positive and negative implications it poses for consumers’ security and privacy. Encryption is used to strengthen consumers’ privacy but it also has presented new challenges for law enforcement seeking to obtain information during the course of its criminal investigations. For example, following the December 2015 terrorist attack in San Bernardino, California, investigators recovered a cell phone belonging to one of the terrorists responsible for the attack. After the FBI was unable to unlock the phone and recover its contents, a federal judge recently ordered Apple to provide “reasonable technical assistance to assist law enforcement agents in obtaining access to the data” on the device. (emphasis added)

Witnesses for the hearing are:
Panel I
The Honorable James B. Comey, Director, Federal Bureau of Investigation (fbi.gov)
Comey Written Testimony.pdf (65.9 KBs)
Panel II
Mr. Bruce Sewell, Senior Vice President and General Counsel, Apple, Inc. (apple.com)
Sewell Written Testimony.pdf (86.7 KBs)
Ms. Susan Landau, Professor, Worcester Polytechnic Institute
Landau Written Testimony.pdf (259.0 KBs)
Mr. Cyrus R. Vance, Jr., District Attorney, New York County
Vance Written Testimony - updated.pdf (177.4 KBs)

Tweets about Apple, encryption
Tweets about Apple, encryption

Below is a statement from House Judiciary Committee Chairman Bob Goodlatte (R-Va.) and Ranking Member John Conyers (D-Mich.) on this hearing.

“The widespread use of strong encryption has implications both for Americans’ privacy and security. As technology companies have made great strides to enhance the security of Americans’ personal and private information, law enforcement agencies face new challenges when attempting to access encrypted information. Americans have a right to strong privacy protections and Congress should fully examine the issue to be sure those are in place while finding ways to help law enforcement fight crime and keep us safe ... the House Judiciary Committee will continue its examination of encryption and the questions it raises for Americans and lawmakers. As we move forward, our goal is to find a solution that allows law enforcement to effectively enforce the law without harming the competitiveness of U.S. encryption providers or the privacy protections of U.S. citizens.”

This Committee hearing will take place in 2141 Rayburn House Office Building before the Full Committee and will be webcast [see video above].

See also on Domain Mondo: Apple vs US Government: Terrorism, Security, Privacy, Freedom, Liberty:"... The implications of the government’s demands are chilling. If the government can use the All Writs Act to make it easier to unlock your iPhone, it would have the power to reach into anyone’s device to capture their data. The government could extend this breach of privacy and demand that Apple build surveillance software to intercept your messages, access your health records or financial data, track your location, or even access your phone’s microphone or camera without your knowledge..." --Tim Cook, Apple CEO, Customer Letter

Background: "On Tuesday, Apple will face one of the biggest corporate challenges in its history, when it tells a US House of Representatives committee why it has refused to help law enforcement officers break into the iPhone of Syed Farook – one of the gunmen in the San Bernardino shooting in December that left 14 dead and 22 wounded. The technology giant will be represented by its top lawyer, Bruce Sewell; making the case against it will be FBI boss James Comey. Apple, the world’s most valuable private company, has come under fire from many in politics and law enforcement after refusing to comply with the 16 February court order..." --The Guardian.

• Apple's Motion to Vacate Brief and Supporting Declarations
• Apple - Press Info - Amicus Briefs in Support of Apple

See also: New York judge: FBI can't force Apple to unlock iPhones - Business Insider: On Monday, Federal Judge Orenstein ruled in Apple's favor in a case in New York. From the ruling: "I conclude that under the circumstances of this case, the government has failed to establish either that the AWA (All Writs Act) permits the relief it seeks or that, even if such an order is authorized, the discretionary factors I must consider weigh in favor of granting the motion.... As explained below, after reviewing the facts in the record and the parties' arguments, I conclude that none of those factors justifies imposing on Apple the obligation to assist the government's investigation against its will. I therefore deny the motion." --See Order below--


Follow @DomainMondo

DISCLAIMER