Technology

Rep. Cantor walked a fine line at a jobs forum, telling a prominent business leader that bipartisanship is elusive.

Telecom behemoth AT&T has begun shedding lobbyists in the wake of its failed merger with T-Mobile.

Lamar Smith vowed to push forward with his controversial anti-piracy bill as popular websites prepared to go dark in protest.

The Senate begins work this week on a spending bill that would set up a new $10 million grant program aimed at helping states combat "distracted driving," which focuses on texting behind the wheel.

"While there is no definitive data as to how many distracted driving deaths and injuries are caused by cell phone use and texting, 20 percent of the drivers involved in fatal accidents in 2009 were either using or in the presence of a cell phone at the time of the crash, and there is reason to be concerned about whether the recent rise in distracted driving fatalities is linked to the increasing use of electronic devices," according to report language for S. 1596, the 2012 spending bill for the Department of Transportation and other agencies.

The high court will decide whether warrant-less GPS tracking by law enforcement is a violation of Fourth Amendment protections.

Downloading content illegally online is no different from buying bootleg movies on the street, says ICE Director John Morton.

Google Executive Chairman Eric Schmidt will likely face harsh questioning at a hearing on his company's influence.

Telecommunications startup LightSquared announced Thursday that former Sen. Byron Dorgan (D-N.D.) and other retired lawmakers will serve on the advisory board of a new initiative to resolve problems with Global Positioning System (GPS) technology in rural areas.

Dorgan will serve on the board with former Reps. George Nethercutt (R-Wash.) and Charlie Stenholm (D-Texas). Dorgan retired last year after serving three terms in the Senate.

LightSquared is building a nationwide satellite and wireless broadband network and plans to sell services wholesale to other companies. The company has come under fire because its network may interfere with GPS devices, including those used by first-responders, the military and agricultural businesses.

The company’s new campaign, the Empower Rural America Initiative, aims to partner with small cities and rural communities to reduce the risk of GPS interference.

“There is an overwhelming need for reliable wireless broadband for public safety, education, healthcare and economic development in rural America,” Dorgan said in a statement.

Republican Federal Communications Commission member Robert McDowell took his agency to task for issuing too many burdensome regulations in testimony before a House subcommittee on Thursday.

The commissioner called for a “thorough review of every FCC rule” and said that “all future regulatory proceedings should start with a thorough market analysis” to ensure that regulations do not hamper business growth.

His testimony came in a hearing before the Energy and Commerce’s Oversight subcommittee. McDowell was one of seven officials from federal regulatory agencies called to testify about easing government regulations.

“Removing unneeded rules can liberate capital currently spent on lawyers and filing fees — capital that would be better spent on powerful innovations,” McDowell said.

A Republican lawmaker is urging the FCC to release information about its investigation of Google's so-called "Wi-Spy" breach.