In today’s Bulldog wrapup of technology news:

  • Trade panel: Cheap imports hurt US solar industry
  • Tech companies targeted by sophisticated malware attack
  • Uber to lose its license to operate in London
  • Facebook to release Russia ads, beef up election ‘integrity’

The details:

  • Trade panel: Cheap imports hurt US solar industry

A U.S. trade panel has ruled that low-cost solar panels imported from China and other countries have caused serious injury to American manufacturers, raising the possibility of the Trump administration imposing tariffs that could double the price of solar panels from aboard.

Friday’s vote by the International Trade Commission was unanimous. The trade commission has until mid-November to recommend a remedy to President Donald Trump, with a final decision on tariffs expected in January.

White House spokeswoman Natalie Strom said Friday that Trump “will examine the facts and make a determination that reflects the best interests of the United States. The U.S. solar manufacturing sector contributes to our energy security and economic prosperity.”

Georgia-based Suniva Inc., and Oregon-based SolarWorld Americas brought the case, saying a flood of imports have pushed them to the brink of extinction. Suniva declared bankruptcy, while SolarWorld had to lay off three-quarters of its workforce.

Cheap imports have led to a boom in the U.S. solar industry, where rooftop and other installations have surged tenfold since 2011.

  • Tech companies targeted by sophisticated malware attack

Security researchers say hackers compromised popular computer-cleaning software as part of a sophisticated attack that targeted several high-profile technology companies.

The company that sells CCleaner software, Prague-based Avast Software, says the attack affected more than 2 million computers in late August and early September.

San Jose, California-based Cisco Systems and its Talos cybersecurity group discovered and disclosed the breach after hackers targeted Cisco’s own internal domain, as well as domains of Microsoft, Google, Samsung and other tech companies.

Cisco cybersecurity expert Craig Williams says attackers used an “advanced reconnaissance system” on hundreds of thousands of PCs with the aim of penetrating the tech companies’ domains and extracting valuable intellectual property.

Cisco says at least 20 targeted machines were infected with the secondary malware. It hasn’t disclosed which companies were affected.

  • Uber to lose its license to operate in London

Uber’s license to operate in London won’t be renewed because its practices endanger public safety and security, the local regulator said Friday, in a blow to a company already facing big questions over its corporate culture.

Transport for London says the company, whose app is used by 3.5 million passengers and 40,000 drivers in London, isn’t “fit and proper” to hold a license to operate a private-hire vehicle service.

“TfL considers that Uber’s approach and conduct demonstrate a lack of corporate responsibility in relation to a number of issues which have potential public safety and security implications,” the regulator said in a statement.

Uber was first licensed to operate in the city in 2012 and will see its current license expire on Sept. 30. The company said it plans to appeal the regulator’s decision, and can continue to operate until the appeals process is exhausted.

For its part, Uber accused the city of caving in to special interests “who want to restrict consumer choice.”

“Uber operates in more than 600 cities around the world, including more than 40 towns and cities here in the U.K.,” the company said. “This ban would show the world that, far from being open, London is closed to innovative companies who bring choice to consumers.”

Uber, founded in 2010 in San Francisco, has often faced opposition as it expanded. Taxi drivers complain that Uber drivers don’t have to comply with the same licensing standards, giving the ride-hailing service an unfair advantage and placing the public at risk.

  • Facebook to release Russia ads, beef up election ‘integrity’

Facebook is slowly acknowledging the outsized — if unintended — role it played in the 2016 U.S. presidential elections.

Bowing to pressure from lawmakers and the public, the company said it will provide the contents of 3,000 ads bought by a Russian agency to congressional investigators, while also pledging to make political advertising on its platform more “transparent.”

“I don’t want anyone to use our tools to undermine democracy,” CEO Mark Zuckerberg said in a Facebook video and wrote in an accompanying post . “That’s not what we stand for.”

The moves Thursday come amid growing pressure on the social network from members of Congress, who pushed Facebook to release the ads after the company disclosed their existence in early September. Facebook has already handed over the ads to the special counsel investigating Russian interference in the 2016 U.S. presidential election.

Facebook’s reluctance to be more forthcoming with information that could shed light on possible election interference has prompted the chairman of the Senate intelligence committee to call for the company to testify in its election-meddling probe.

[VIDEO: Watch MSNBC report about what Facebook decision means at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JRTXUPAdsWM. Rick Stengel and Clint Watts discuss Facebook’s plan to hand over Russian-linked ads to Congress. ]