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Presented by American Edge Project: Delivered daily by 10 a.m., Morning Tech examines the latest news in technology politics and policy. | | | | | |  | | By Benjamin Din | Presented by American Edge Project | With help from Gavin Bade and Leah Nylen Editor’s Note: Morning Tech is a free version of POLITICO Pro Technology's morning newsletter, which is delivered to our s each morning at 6 a.m. The POLITICO Pro platform combines the news you need with tools you can use to take action on the day’s biggest stories. Act on the news with POLITICO Pro. | | | — Broadband brouhaha: Congressional Democrats and the White House are making big moves in broadband land. — Tech nominee to watch: President Joe Biden named an experienced patent litigator to head the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, a role that has gained new powers in recent months. — Staying put: Some had suggested lawmakers should pass federal funding to boost U.S. production of semiconductors as part of annual defense legislation. Not so, Senate Republicans say. IT’S WEDNESDAY, OCT. 27. WELCOME TO MORNING TECH. I’m your host, Benjamin Din. From here on out, we will forever be divided into two camps: those who saw the (legless) metaverse and those who did not. IYKYK. (Just kidding. As we all know, nothing is truly erased from the internet.) Got a news tip? Email me at bdin@politico.com and find me on Twitter @benjamindin. Got an event for our calendar? Send details to techcalendar@politicopro.com. Anything else? Team info below. And don't forget: Add @MorningTech and @PoliticoPro on Twitter. | | A message from American Edge Project: Nine-in-Ten Voters in Key Frontline Districts Support Candidates Who Ensure U.S. Tech Remains Globally Competitive. A new survey released by Ipsos in partnership with the American Edge Project (AEP) shows that voters in frontline districts want their elected officials to focus on issues of national security, jobs, and health care as opposed to breaking up tech companies. See the poll here. | | | | | | A BIG WEEK FOR BROADBAND — Democrats are racing to wrap up talks on their social spending bill before Halloween. While the timing is still in flux, party leaders are projecting confidence that the separate bipartisan infrastructure package could soon receive final passage — and with it, $65 billion in broadband funding. Progressives, led by Rep. Pramila Jayapal (D-Wash.), were not as bullish on Tuesday. They only agreed to back the bipartisan infrastructure bill as long as it was tied to the partisan social spending package, and the details of that latter bill are still being hammered out. — One win for progressives: Biden nominated Gigi Sohn to the open seat at the FCC, a prominent liberal voice on telecom policy. Although some progressives would likely have preferred that Sohn also be named chair of the agency (a la Lina Khan at the FTC) rather than Jessica Rosenworcel, the commission will be fully staffed once she is confirmed and able to move forward on Democrat priorities like restoring net neutrality rules. — Top priority: With few legislative days left on the calendar, lawmakers have no time to waste in confirming Sohn and Rosenworcel, whose current lapsed term is mere months away from ending. Senate Commerce Chair Maria Cantwell (D-Wash.) said she hoped to consider their nominations “before the end of the year” — an ambitious timeline, considering the Senate’s other legislative priorities. The nominations were met with widespread industry praise on Tuesday, with some advocacy groups heralding a new progressive “dream team” at the FCC. But if lawmakers are as close to wrapping up a social spending deal as they claim, the timing of Biden’s nominations come at a pivotal moment. Biden also nominated Alan Davidson to head the National Telecommunications and Information Administration, the other agency that plays an important role in distributing money for broadband programs. NTIA is expected to take on the bulk of responsibility in parceling out the broadband buildout funding in the infrastructure package. THE OTHER KEY BIDEN NOMINATION — In addition to the telecom picks, Biden tapped Kathi Vidal to lead the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, which had languished for several months without a permanent chief. Vidal, a long-time patent litigator, is a managing partner in the Silicon Valley office of law firm Winston & Strawn and has represented various tech and telecom clients, including Microsoft, Dell, Cisco, DoorDash, Tesla, T-Mobile, Spotify and Uber. — New responsibilities: If confirmed by the Senate, Vidal would take on added powers granted to the USPTO director by the Supreme Court in June. The court decided that the USPTO director should have the authority to review rulings by the agency's Patent Trial and Appeal Board, which hears cases brought against questionable patents. Vidal has experience arguing for clients on both sides of the patent eligibility issue, and would step into the role following court decisions that have caused confusion over what exactly is patentable. (That issue is currently being studied by the USPTO, especially as it relates to high-tech areas like artificial intelligence.) — Positive response: Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.), who chairs the Senate Judiciary intellectual property subcommittee, congratulated Vidal on her nomination and said he looked forward to speaking with her “about her goals for the agency, including her ideas for continuing to improve patent quality while curbing abuse of the patent system.” Matt Schruers, president of the Computer and Communications Industry Association, said the tech trade group appreciated the administration’s decision to pick “an experienced patent attorney.” (The tech industry had clashed with then-President Donald Trump’s director, Andrei Iancu, who implemented a number of changes that were viewed as more favorable to patent owners.) — Wait and see: Sen. Thom Tillis (R-N.C.), the ranking member of the subcommittee, will review Vidal’s record before making a decision on her nomination, his office said. “Any nominee for PTO Director will have to commit to continuing the reforms of the last Administration and to being a strong voice for innovation and inventors,” spokesperson Adam Webb said in a statement. “Anyone who fails to do that won’t get his vote.” DOJ BACK ON THE HILL — Attorney General Merrick Garland is set to testify before the Senate Judiciary Committee today, where he will likely mention antitrust matters in his remarks. Today’s hearing follows his appearance before the House Judiciary Committee last week, where he told lawmakers that he generally supports updating the antitrust laws. | | | | STEP INSIDE THE WEST WING: What's really happening in West Wing offices? Find out who's up, who's down, and who really has the president’s ear in our West Wing Playbook newsletter, the insider's guide to the Biden White House and Cabinet. For buzzy nuggets and details that you won't find anywhere else, subscribe today. | | | | | NO PLANS TO MOVE CHIPS FUNDING, GOP SENATORS SAY — Billions of dollars to fund domestic chip production will remain in a Senate bill aimed at making the U.S. more competitive with China, according to key Republicans, who rebuffed the suggestion that the money could be moved to the year-end national defense authorization package. — Get up to speed: Last week, some Senate Democrats floated moving the $52 billion in semiconductor manufacturing incentives from the U.S. Innovation and Competition Act, which the Senate approved in May, to the annual National Defense Authorization Act. Shifting the funding to the must-pass defense bill would ensure Congress approves the semiconductor money before year’s end, as it’s not yet clear when the House will proceed with its own version of USICA. It would also give the White House a win, as the administration grapples with its response to global semiconductor shortage. — No can do: But Sen. Todd Young of Indiana, the lead GOP sponsor of USICA, said that would put the overall China competitiveness package at unnecessary risk. “It’s a narrow constituency of legislators who have contemplated that and it’s a position that’s not embraced by [Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer] or me,” Young said. Schumer, the other main sponsor of the bill, did not respond to a request to confirm that, but other key USICA supporters also objected to moving funding for computer chip manufacturing to the NDAA bill. “That’s a non-starter,” said Sen. Roger Wicker (R-Miss.), adding that the package attracted plenty of yes votes. “We got a very healthy, bipartisan vote approaching 70 based on a delicate compromise. And to me it would be a betrayal of people who, in good faith, did those negotiations.” FTC WARNS AMAZON, UBER ON WORKER WAGE CLAIMS — The FTC sent letters to 1,100 companies Tuesday warning them it will fine companies that mislead would-be workers about their potential earnings. Gig-based companies including Uber, Lyft, DoorDash, Grubhub, Postmates and Instacart received the notice, as well as multi-level marketing companies like LuLaRoe, Avon and Mary Kay. Online retail giant Amazon and its logistics arm also got warnings . The FTC dinged Amazon in February for withholding customer tips and misrepresenting potential earnings for drivers in its Amazon Flex program, where people use their own cars to deliver packages. The company agreed to pay $61.7 million to reimburse drivers. “As the pandemic has left many in dire financial straits, money-making pitches have proliferated,” Khan tweeted . “From ‘gig’ firms that promise a steady income to multi-level marketing firms that offer the chance to own a business, Americans are bombarded with offers that can prove deceptive or misleading.” Tuesday’s notice is part of a new FTC initiative to make greater use of its authority to penalize companies if they knew or should have known one of their business practices was illegal. Earlier this month, the agency also sent out notices to more than 700 businesses about using fake online reviews. | | | | A message from American Edge Project:   | | | | | | Salvador Malo joins Fragomen as chief people officer. He was most recently global head of HR strategy at Microsoft. … Alka Patel, the former head of artificial intelligence ethics policy at the Pentagon, has joined Comcast to work on digital equity issues. Stephen Benjamin, mayor of Columbia, S.C., has been named board chair of the First Responder Network Authority within NTIA. Other additions to the board: Alexandra Fernandez Navarro, Kristin Graziano, Peter Koutoujian, Warren Mickens, Sylvia Moir and Jocelyn Moore. | | | | BECOME A GLOBAL INSIDER: The world is more connected than ever. It has never been more essential to identify, unpack and analyze important news, trends and decisions shaping our future — and we’ve got you covered! Every Monday, Wednesday and Friday, Global Insider author Ryan Heath navigates the global news maze and connects you to power players and events changing our world. Don’t miss out on this influential global community. Subscribe now. | | | | | | | Silicon Valley Must-Reads | | $2.5M up for grabs: “Big-Name Democrats Say ‘No Thanks’ to Facebook’s Top Lobbyist Job,” WSJ reports. Not cool: Scammers are posting fake job ads on platforms like Facebook and LinkedIn to steal people’s identities, via ProPublica. | | | Behind the scenes: “They left Facebook’s integrity team. Now they want the world to know how it works.” Protocol has more. Money moves: “Democratic Rep. Suzan DelBene's husband just sold up to $25 million in Microsoft stock. Whether she violated a federal conflict-of-interest law is up for dispute,” via Insider. | | A message from American Edge Project: Ipsos + AEP frontline district poll across 32 districts found that:
There is virtually no constituency for breaking up U.S. tech companies. Despite recent efforts to break up U.S. tech companies, just 14% support such a move, including just 15% of Democrats, 12% of independents, and 12% of Republicans.
Voters believe breaking up tech companies will harm the economy, national security, and small businesses.
The poll results make it clear that policymakers who are pushing misguided tech regulation are out of touch with voters. See the poll here. | | | Tips, comments, suggestions? Send them along via email to our team: Bob King (bking@politico.com), Heidi Vogt (hvogt@politico.com), John Hendel (jhendel@politico.com), Alexandra S. Levine (alevine@politico.com), Leah Nylen ( lnylen@politico.com), Emily Birnbaum (ebirnbaum@politico.com), and Benjamin Din (bdin@politico.com). Got an event for our calendar? Send details to techcalendar@politicopro.com. And don't forget: Add @MorningTech and @PoliticoPro on Twitter. SEE YOU TOMORROW! | | | | Follow us on Twitter | | | | Follow us | | | | |  |
