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Watch This Space: Something Brews at the SEC

Robert Cohen, the head of the SEC's cyber unit in fact, a lot is happening added a warning DAO Report Munchee ICO enforcement action probably the remedies will go up It was as clear an indication as any that the SEC is likely to bring the hammer down again in the crypto space in the coming months action against Theranos Steven Buckholz, an enforcement official in the SEC's San Francisco office Michael Dicke of Fenwick & West $6 billion, by one estimate “tried to think about how to be efficient” >> Takeaway: Photo of Robert Cohen. Credit: Jason Doiy/ALM

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The Other ICO You Should Know About

Information Commissioner's Office Cambridge Analytica hand over the data one of the data regulators Information Commissioner Elizabeth Denham Denham took a strong line must have clear evidence to demonstrate that the use of FRT in public spaces is effective in resolving the problem she wrote in a blog assess the risks of using new and intrusive technologies, particularly involving biometric data Big Brother Watch Electronic Frontier Foundation wait a tick says in a tweet

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On the Radar: 3 Things to Know

  1. This case could test whether you can have a “common law” trademark claim for the name of a digital asset that doesn't exist yet.
  • Telegram, the encrypted messenger app, has sued a blockchain commerce company called Lantau that filed a trademark for the term “gram” to use as the name for the cryptocurrency it's developing. Telegram says it's developing its own digital tokens that it calls “GRAMs.”
  • Neither digital token actually exists yet, though, raising the question of whether Telegram can claim a common law trademark for using a name “in commerce.” Telegram's lawyers say the company's massive fundraising for the token mean that the answer is yes.

>> Context: shunning the offering

  1. This service can sell your location data. It did just that to a Missouri sheriff, who used the tracking information without a warrant.
  • A bombshell story in The New York Times last week turned up court filings against a former sheriff in Missouri who allegedly used a private service called Securus Technologies to get location information on a judge and members of the state Highway Patrol.
  • ZDNet reports that Sen. Ron Wyden of Oregon is now demanding an investigation into how the company got the location information from cell phone carriers. “The company boasts coverage of 95 percent of the country, thanks to its access to all the major US carriers, including US Cellular, Virgin, Boost, and MetroPCS, as well as Canadian carriers,” it says.

>> Think Ahead:

  1. Tesla is under the microscope of federal auto safety authorities. Now, its lead technical contact with safety and regulatory agencies has gone to Waymo.
  • The Wall Street Journalreports that Matthew Schwall joined Google self-driving car unit Waymo amid multiple investigations by the National Transportation Safety Board into crashes involving Tesla vehicles. Some, but not all, of those crashes involved autopilot.
  • A source told the Journalthe move was “unrelated to issues Tesla is dealing with regarding Autopilot.” It's another instance of a high-profile move in the autonomous car space, in an area with a lot of competition for talentand a lot of open questions about legal liability.

>> Context: kicked company officials off an investigation |

IRL: 'The Coachella of Bitcoin'

But you've probably never been to something quite like Consensus Mashable offers some scenes One attendee tweeted #Consensus2018

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Dose of Dystopia

The New York Times terrifying deep dive hacks that Siri and Alexa can hear, but you can't Times the technology could be used to unlock doors, wire money or buy stuff online My assumption is that the malicious people already employ people to do what I do.”

That's it for this week. Keep plugged in with What's Next!