Last week the FCC announced several initiatives to help combat SMS spam. But consumer groups say they actually weaken oversight of cell carriers.

By now Ajit Pai has developed a fairly impressive skill: take something that cellular carriers lobbied for, and justify it by insisting it’s essential for overall efficiency and effective consumer protection.

Basically, cell carriers want the FCC to classify text messages as Title I Information Services. This removes certain consumer protections and makes it possible for carriers to censor any speech they think is “controversial.”

A study from researchers at the University of Michigan found that smart speaker buyers tend to brush off privacy concerns.

“What was really concerning to me was this idea that ‘it’s just a little bit more info you give Google or Amazon, and they already know a lot about you, so how is that bad?’” said Florian Schaub, an assistant professor in the University of Michigan School of Information and a co-author of the study. “It’s representative of this constant erosion of what privacy means and what our privacy expectations are.”

It’s too early in the morning and I can’t think of the term for this, but this study seems a bit loaded to me. Do these buyers already not care about privacy, or did buying a smart speaker further erode their concerns?

Seven different countries are accusing Google of GDPR violations. They ask privacy regulators to take action against Google for its location practices.

“These practices are not compliant with the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), as Google lacks a valid legal ground for processing the data in question. In particular, the report shows that users’ consent provided under these circumstances is not freely given,” it said.

Google’s response is that Location History is off by default, and you can edit, delete, or pause it at any time. Further reading: 6 ways Google tricks you into letting it track your location.