Workforce
A 'Poison Pill' In The Immigration Bill? That big immigration bill working its way through the Senate would let in lots more highly skilled workers on temporary visas. But there's a catch. The bill says all employers who want to hire workers on these H-1B visas: “... would be required to advertise on an Internet website maintained by the Department of Labor and offer the job to any U.S. worker who applies and is equally or better qualified than the immigrants ... sought...” This language could be a "poison pill" for companies that want to hire workers on these visas, according to Ted Rutheizer, an immigration attorney with a big firm that works with companies who want to hire skilled foreign workers. (NPR)
E-Verify technology in immigration crosshairs. Proposed changes to an abstruse electronic employment-verification system known as E-Verify have triggered dissent among an unusual cadre of privacy activists, human rights organizations and enforcement buffs. (Politico Pro)
Tax
Camp, Baucus and a new tax code. Capitol Hill leaders might not be sold yet on rewriting the Tax Code in the next year, but two key tax-writers are trying anyway — building a powerful coalition of players on K Street, in the Capitol and among President Barack Obama’s trusted advisers. (Politico)
French, German politicians to pressure Google on tax. Politicians in Germany and France say they will press for Google Inc to be quizzed on corporate income tax after a Reuters report highlighted how the company employs sales staff in the UK while telling the tax authorities that sales are made from Ireland. (Reuters)
Boehner says he 'probably' can't support online sales tax bill. Boehner says the Senate-approved bill would put a burden on small businesses. (The Hill)
Global Trade
China worries about EU-U.S. plans for free trade pact. China has raised concerns about European Union plans to negotiate an ambitious free trade deal with the United States, fearing it is a protectionist move, a senior EU official said on Tuesday. (Reuters)
Foreign Tech Companies Changing Tune on China. Enthusiasm for coming to China from Western companies has waned to perhaps one of its lowest points in recent years, amid concerns about cyber security, heavy regulation and fierce competition. Despite this reality, there were a few signs that the outlook might be improving at the Global Mobile Internet Conference held in Beijing this week. And that outlook is being driven mostly by businesses looking to grow use of their mobile applications. (WSJ)
Brazil's Azevedo To Become New Head Of World Trade Organization. Roberto Azevedo, Brazil's current ambassador to the World Trade Organization, has been selected to become the next head of the WTO after garnering the most support in a third and final round of consultations with its members, according to informed sources. (CNET)
Azevedo looks to resurrect WTO with patient diplomacy. Roberto Azevedo, picked on Tuesday to head the World Trade Organization, is in every respect the quintessential Brazilian diplomat: a well-spoken, competent and smooth negotiator with a knack for wooing adversaries into his corner. (Reuters)
E-Commerce Soars in China. The explosive growth of electronic shopping in China has led to the country’s emergence as one of the world’s busiest online markets, according to a new report. (NYT)
Cybersecurity & Privacy
U.S. Is Weighing Wide Overhaul of Wiretap Laws. The Obama administration is on the verge of backing an F.B.I. plan for an overhaul of surveillance laws that would make it easier to wiretap people who communicate by Internet rather than phone. (NYT)
Senators to push cyber crime bill. It's been awhile since there was action on cybersecurity in the Senate, but the gears are starting to get moving again. A bipartisan group of senators on Tuesday introduced legislation aimed at cracking down on cyber espionage and the theft of valuable data from American companies. The bill is one of the first pieces of cybersecurity-focused legislation to be introduced in the Senate. (The Hill)
China calls U.S. the "real hacking empire" after Pentagon report. China on Wednesday accused the United States of sowing discord between China and its neighbors after the Pentagon said Beijing is using espionage to fuel its military modernization, branding Washington the "real hacking empire". (Reuters)
Cyberattacks a growing irritant in US-China ties. Signs are growing that the sustained surge in cyberattacks emanating from China is imperiling its relations with the U.S., lending urgency to fledgling efforts by both governments to engage on the issue. (AP)
White House picks Twitter lawyer as Internet privacy officer. Nicole Wong, a respected Silicon Valley attorney with more than a decade of experience in copyright and privacy law, will join the Obama administration. (CNET)
FTC warns data brokers on privacy. Federal officials have warned data brokerage firms they may be violating privacy rules in selling personal data. (Washington Post)
Apple's user data-sharing takes a hit in Germany after court objects to privacy policy. Apple's privacy policy jars with German data protection law, a Berlin court has found. (ZDNet)
Environment & Sustainability
Inside Microsoft's living, breathing building. When Microsoft couldn't find the technology it needed to make its buildings smart and efficient, it built its own. (GreenBiz.com)
Mobility
Yanking Broadband From the Slow Lane. Most Americans are mired in broadband mediocrity, but Google’s networking initiatives could change that. (NYT)
GOP senators push bill to end cellphone subsidy. Three Republican senators introduced legislation on Tuesday to scrap a federal subsidy for cellphone service. The bill, from Sens. David Vitter (R-La.), Jim Inhofe (R-Okla.) and Dan Coats (R-Ind.), would end the cellphone portion of the Federal Communications Commission's Lifeline program, which has been derisively referred to as the "Obama phone" program, although it began long before Obama took office. (The Hill)
Regulation
Are Patent Suits Worth It? Smartphone makers on the offensive in the industry's patent wars are learning a tough lesson as a string of rulings in big cases has left litigants with little to show for their trouble. (WSJ)
Tech Business
A Humbled Kleiner Perkins Adjusts Its Strategy. After big hits in the dot-com boom, Kleiner Perkins has been sideswiped by a series of lackluster bets in green technology and missed chances in social media. (NYT)
Zuckerberg finding opposition — in his tech backyard. Fwd.us’s tactics to align with conservative lawmakers in immigration push have some in industry squeamish. (Politico)
Will Tweaking Windows 8 Be Enough To Revive The PC? When Microsoft introduced Windows 8 last year, the software giant billed the new operating system as one of the most critical releases in its history. The system would bridge the gap between personal computers and the fast-growing mobile world of tablets and smartphones. But this week, the company sent signals that it might soon alter Windows 8 to address some early criticism of the operating system. (NPR)
Microsoft extends search guarantee in Yahoo deal. Microsoft has extended a guarantee that provides Yahoo with financial protection as part of the two companies' Internet search partnership. An arrangement requiring Microsoft to pay Yahoo a minimum amount per search on Yahoo's website expired March 31. That had raised concerns Yahoo might make less money from the Microsoft partnership. (San Jose Mercury News)
Japan's Toshiba sees 34 percent jump in profit in FY 2013/14. Japan's Toshiba Corp forecast a 34 percent jump in operating profit for this fiscal year, boosted by strong sales of its flash memory chips, but the outlook fell short of market expectations as it struggles to turn around its TV division. (Reuters)
Skype, beware: Viber flies past 200M users, lands on desktop. The popular messaging app now lets people make free calls and send texts from a PC or Mac. (CNET)