|
Presented by Facebook: Delivered daily by 10 a.m., Morning Tech examines the latest news in technology politics and policy. | | | | | |  | | By Alexandra S. Levine | Presented by Facebook | With help from John Hendel, Leah Nylen and Leonie Cater 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. | | | — Big day for broadband: What is our government doing beyond simply saying it wants to close the digital divide? Senate Commerce will look today at whether subsidies are achieving that goal. — Google hole gets deeper: The pile-on against Google is not letting up. Now, the search giant faces allegations that it misled Android users by not disclosing it could sell ads based on their communications on Facebook’s WhatsApp if backed up to Google Drive. — Workforce wins on both sides of the Atlantic? As Uber drivers in the U.K. celebrate their new worker status, the victory could embolden U.S. Amazon workers pushing to get their first union and seeing signs of encouragement from President Joe Biden. GREETINGS, TECHLINGS: IT’S WEDNESDAY. WELCOME TO MORNING TECH! I’m your host, Alexandra Levine. Got a news tip? Write me at alevine@politico.com, and follow @Ali_Lev on Twitter and @alexandra.levine on Instagram. 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 Facebook: It’s time to update internet regulations
The internet has changed a lot in the 25 years since lawmakers last passed comprehensive internet regulations. It’s time for an update.
See how we’re making progress on key issues and why we support updated regulations to set clear rules for addressing today’s toughest challenges. | | | | | | TODAY: SENATE COMMERCE TACKLES BROADBAND — The Senate Commerce Committee will hold a full committee session this morning on how best to coordinate recent federal government actions to boost broadband, particularly in light of the pandemic. — View from the leader of the Senate telecom subcommittee: In a POLITICO Q&A out this morning, new Communications, Media and Broadband Chair Ben Ray Luján (D-N.M.) told John that holding this hearing at the full committee level “shows the significance of the priority” for lawmakers. “It’s not good enough to say anymore that we want to close the broadband divide,” Luján said. “We need to get to 100 percent coverage.” Doing this requires coordinated focus across the federal government, which means filling out agencies like the FCC, added Luján, who hailed the “strong credentials” of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus recommendations for a fifth commissioner spot. (They include Jessica González, co-CEO of advocacy group Free Press; Felix Sánchez, who chairs the National Hispanic Foundation for the Arts and just received a separate slate of endorsements on Tuesday; and Anna Gomez, telecom attorney at Wiley Rein.) — Reading the digital tea leaves: Although the committee says it’ll focus on coordinating existing efforts, we’ll be watching for clues as to how Senate leaders may tackle broadband as part of an infrastructure package with Biden. Several members led by Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.) are pushing for a $94 billion boost in broadband spending, stoking GOP questions about how to pay for all that. Luján, meanwhile, told John he appreciates the “openness” of Senate GOP leaders , like ranking member Roger Wicker (Miss.), to “looking at innovative ways to identify dollars.” (Luján said he hopes to discuss with his Republican colleagues their idea to tap revenue from the C-band airwave auction for broadband.) MEANWHILE: FCC CONVENES TO TALK 5G — Next-gen 5G wireless will take center stage at the FCC's open meeting this morning. Watch for commission votes on setting up the 5G airwaves auction of 3.45-3.55 GHz spectrum (scheduled for October) as well as one launching a proceeding to promote deployment of 5G Open RAN. — De-wonk that, please: “Open RAN” refers to a new way of building wireless networks that separates the hardware from the software — which is seen as a long-term way to challenge the dominance of Chinese 5G giants like Huawei. Ahead of today’s vote, acting FCC Chair Jessica Rosenworcel has been courting some of the traditional 5G hardware suppliers (see: recent meetings with executives from Ericsson and Nokia). The agency chief has offered bullish support for opening 5G radio access network protocols, saying that this notice of inquiry — which would solicit feedback on the technology — could pave the way for future changes to FCC rules and determine what partnerships should be formed. — About that planned 5G auction: FCC commissioners are proposing a traditional auction of 5G airwaves for October, but several industry tech and cable heavyweights including Google and Comcast have suggested a system that awards licenses in tiers, which would allow for more participants. Traditional wireless carriers favor the FCC’s current approach. — Coming soon: a broadband mapping tool? Rosenworcel is also defending her steps to fix broken broadband mapping, mentioning the issue in a blog post Tuesday and in remarks before the Senate Broadband Caucus. Keep an eye out for a “new tool” coming soon that will let consumers alert the FCC to their local internet availability (or lack thereof). During today’s Senate hearing, Wicker will lament that it’ll soon be one year since the enactment of a law calling for better broadband mapping, according to prepared remarks shared with John, with perhaps as much as another year before better data arrives. RETURN OF THE PACT ACT — Sens. Brian Schatz (D-Hawaii) and John Thune (R-S.D.) are today reintroducing the PACT Act, one of several bipartisan bills unveiled last Congress to revamp Section 230. The incoming measure, which last session was one of the biggest congressional threats to the tech industry’s legal liability shield, is now expected to be slightly modified. Thune called the new bill “a common-sense legislative approach to preserve user-generated content and free speech on the internet, while increasing consumer transparency and the accountability of big internet platforms.” — The bill, as originally written, would have given federal regulators and state attorneys general the ability to sue online platforms over user-posted content that violates federal civil law. | | | | JOIN THE CONVERSATION, SUBSCRIBE TO “THE RECAST”: Power dynamics are shifting in Washington, and more people are demanding a seat at the table, insisting that all politics is personal and not all policy is equitable. “The Recast” is a new twice-weekly newsletter that breaks down how race and identity are recasting politics, policy and power in America. Get fresh insights, scoops and dispatches on this crucial intersection from across the country, and hear from new voices that challenge business as usual. Don’t miss out on this new newsletter, SUBSCRIBE NOW. Thank you to our sponsor, Intel. | | | | | | | | TEXAS SAYS GOOGLE DECEIVED WHATSAPP USERS TO SELL ADS — Texas updated its antitrust suit against Google on Tuesday, adding five more states as plaintiffs and several additional claims about the search giant’s conduct. Leah has the full story here. — The most interesting add: The states allege that Google deceived Android users of Facebook’s WhatsApp about what it does with chats backed up to Google Drive. Because while WhatsApp messages are protected by end-to-end encryption within the app itself, the same is not true if they are backed up to Google Drive or Apple’s iCloud. (The backups allow users to import old WhatsApp messages when switching phones.) Media reports on the Facebook-Google partnership incorrectly portrayed the WhatsApp messages as encrypted within Google Drive , and the company didn’t correct that misunderstanding, Texas said. By May 2017, 750 million WhatsApp users had backed up their accounts to Google Drive. Google Drive’s website, mobile app and privacy policy “all failed to disclose to users that Google as a third party had access to their WhatsApp communications,” the states alleged. “The Google Drive terms of service at the time even permitted Google the ability to use its access to users’ private WhatsApp communications in Google Drive to sell advertising.” (Google didn’t respond to a request for comment on the WhatsApp allegations.) In a statement, Google called the claims “meritless” and said the allegation that they used the backups for advertising was a “false insinuation.” — Plus: Republican and Democratic lawmakers alike called Tuesday for new scrutiny of a nearly decade-old decision by the FTC not to sue Google. | | | |   | | | | | | UBER SET TO TREAT U.K. DRIVERS AS EMPLOYEES — Following last month’s supreme court ruling in Britain, Uber will grant its drivers in the U.K. workers’ rights including a minimum wage, holiday pay and a pension, my colleague Leonie Cater reports from Brussels. The company has been under pressure to do so since the ruling on Feb. 19, which ended a five-year legal battle between a group of former Uber drivers and the platform, but the giant originally pushed back that the ruling was specific only to the group of Uber drivers involved. Now, however, Uber has changed tack. “This is an important day for drivers in the UK,” Jamie Heywood, regional general manager for Northern and Eastern Europe, said in an email, adding that the workers will “retain the flexibility they currently value.” — Gig workers’ victory in the U.K. comes as broader tech workforce organizing sees fresh momentum in the United States. A labor reckoning at Amazon could soon give way to the first Amazon workers’ union in the country, where Alabama warehouse workers are pushing to unionize. (Biden has offered them a quasi-endorsement.) Jennifer Bates, a staffer at the Amazon fulfillment center in Bessemer, where the unionization drive is taking place, is testifying before the Senate this morning. | | | Biden’s digital guru Megan Clasen is launching the digital ad firm Gambit Strategies. … Nokia plans to cut up to 10,000 jobs to better compete in the 5G arena, per WSJ . … Columbia Journalism School’s Tow Center for Digital Journalism announced its newest cohort of Knight News Innovation Fellows. | | | | HAPPENING THURSDAY - PLAYBOOK INTERVIEW WITH CONGRESSMAN LEE ZELDIN : The GOP has not won a statewide election in New York in nearly two decades. Rep. Lee Zeldin (R-N.Y.), an ally of former President Donald Trump, is one of several Republicans considering a challenge against embattled New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo. Join Playbook co-authors Tara Palmeri and Ryan Lizza for a conversation with Rep. Zeldin to discuss a potential gubernatorial run and how he is working with Democrats in Congress. REGISTER HERE. | | | | | | | Silicon Valley Must Reads | | Google concession: “Google is reducing the commission it charges developers that sell digital goods and services through its Play store,” WSJ reports, “a move that comes amid increased regulatory scrutiny.” Going to the Chokey: “The young hacker accused of being the mastermind behind a breach last year of high-profile Twitter accounts pleaded guilty on Tuesday in a Florida court, agreeing to serve three years in juvenile prison,” NYT reports. | | | Wiki wars: “Wikipedia is finally asking Big Tech to pay up,” WIRED reports. Social media and the elections: A new report out this morning from the nonprofit Global Project Against Hate and Extremism examines how tech platforms like Facebook and Twitter have allowed far-right politicians and extremists to flourish online, often at the expense of countries’ democratic institutions, and traces how that trend spread globally — from Donald Trump in the U.S. to the rise of Jair Bolsonaro in Brazil and Geert Wilders in the Netherlands. (h/t Mark Scott) Catfishers, beware: Tinder users may soon be able to run criminal background checks on potential dates, WaPo reports — a feature that could then be rolled out more broadly to other Match-owned dating platforms like OkCupid and Hinge. Tips, comments, suggestions? Send them along via email to our team: Bob King (bking@politico.com, @bkingdc), Heidi Vogt (hvogt@politico.com, @HeidiVogt), John Hendel (jhendel@politico.com, @JohnHendel), Cristiano Lima (clima@politico.com, @viaCristiano), Alexandra S. Levine (alevine@politico.com, @Ali_Lev), and Leah Nylen ( lnylen@politico.com, @leah_nylen). TTYL. | | A message from Facebook: Facebook supports updated internet regulations
It’s been 25 years since comprehensive internet regulations passed. But a lot has changed since 1996.
See how we’re taking action and why we support updated regulations to address today’s challenges —protecting privacy, fighting misinformation, reforming Section 230, and more. | | | | | | | Follow us on Twitter | | | | Follow us | | | | |  |
