Progressive Caucus leaders call for reclassification — Pressure on Wheeler mounts — Keith Alexander’s next act Presented by CTIA

with help from Brooks Boliek and Erin Mershon

SCOOP: PROGRESSIVE CAUCUS LEADERS CALL FOR RECLASSIFICATION — The leaders of the Congressional Progressive Caucus are drafting a letter asking the FCC to reclassify broadband as a telecommunications service, a move that would give the agency more flexibility on net neutrality but may be legally or politically difficult. Reps. Raul Grijalva and Keith Ellison plan to send the letter to the agency next week, and plan to send a dear colleague letter to fellow lawmakers in hopes of garnering more signatories. Their backing of reclassification is significant, since it endorses an alternative to Chairman Tom Wheeler’s proposal in addition to just criticizing the plan.


“Recognizing our nation’s communications providers as common carriers under the law is common sense,” the lawmakers write. “Reclassification would also complement the Commission’s efforts to promote innovation, competition and investment in universally available, reliable and affordable broadband infrastructure.” Rep. Anna Eshoo said Wednesday reclassification was worth looking at, though she stopped short of explicitly recommending it. Full Grijalva and Ellison letter here: http://bit.ly/1nmHyix

—PRESSURE ON WHEELER MOUNTS: Tony’s got the state of play: “Another FCC commissioner called for a delay of the agency’s fast-approaching net neutrality vote, while top Internet companies and venture capitalists took even more shots Thursday at Chairman Tom Wheeler’s controversial plan. Wheeler’s proposal, which isn’t final, already has sparked a firestorm of criticism because it could allow Internet service providers like AT&T and Verizon to charge companies for faster delivery of their content.”

“The FCC only plans next week to vote on an order that opens the debate — not the actual, final rules. Still, the politics already seem precarious for Wheeler. For now, Wheeler has pledged to forge ahead with his May 15 vote, though the commission announced Thursday it would waive its traditional sunshine period. That means companies and consumers can continue to weigh in on the matter with the FCC in the week leading up to the open meeting.” MORE: http://politi.co/1nmJ2tg

KEITH AL EXANDER’S NEXT ACT — POLITICO’s Darren Samuelsohn and Joseph Marks report: “Former National Security Agency chief Gen. Keith Alexander is launching a consulting firm for financial institutions looking to address cybersecurity threats, POLITICO has learned. Less than two months since his retirement from the embattled agency at the center of the Edward Snowden leak storm, the retired four-star general is setting up a Washington-based operation that will try to attract clients based on his four decades of experience in the military and intelligence — and the continued levels of access to senior decision-makers that affords.” http://politi.co/1nmIOSP

GOOD FRIDAY MORNING and welcome to Morning Tech, where we’re scratching our way to the end of the week. Let us know what you’re closing things out with, and what you’ve got on tap this weekend. And of course, hit us up at [email protected] and @ byersalex, and catch the rest of the team’s contact info after speed read.

BUZZ: HART HEADS TO FCC AS PRESS SECRETARY — Kim Hart, a former tech journalist and spokesperson for Neustar, will be named press secretary for FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler today, commission officials tell POLITICO. “Kim’s years of experience covering technology and telecommunications issues make her an outstanding fit to serve as Chairman Wheeler’s spokesperson,” said Communications Director Shannon Gilson. “She is well-versed in Commission issues and well-regarded among her peers.” Before taking over as director of corporate communications for Neustar, Hart did stints as a journalist at POLITICO, The Hill and The Washington Post. She succeeds Justin Cole who left earlier this year became director of the public affairs director for the Federal Trade Commission.

HOUSE INTEL PANEL SURPRISES ON SURVEILLANCE — ICYMI, here’s how Thursday unfolded: “The House Intelligence Committee passed a version of the USA Freedom Act on Thursday, unexpectedly approving that measure while electing not to hold a vote on its own competing bill to reform National Security Agency surveillance...Lawmakers did not consider the committee’s own reform bill — the FISA Transparency and Modernization Act backed Chairman Mike Rogers and ranking member Dutch Ruppersberger — even though they were scheduled to do so.”

“The Intelligence committee passage of the USA Freedom Act indicates that it will be the legislative vehicle for further activity in the House on surveillance reform. However, it does not rule out that members, including those on the Intelligence committee, may seek to amend the bill later in the legislative process...Several lawmakers said they expected the last-minute switch by the intelligence panel, but also said they were surprised by the willingness intel committee leaders showed in recent days to move towards the Judiciary Committee plan...Asked if the bill the two committees approved could be watered down on the floor, [Rep. Jerry] Nadler said that was unlikely.” http://politi.co/1nmJBDn

SNAPCHAT SAYS IT’S ‘DEVOTED’ TO PRIVACY — The big data privacy news Thursday was an FTC settlement with photo-messaging service Snapchat over allegations it misled users about its privacy policies, but the company is already trying to reaffirm its commitments to consumers. "Even before today’s consent decree was announced, we had resolved most of those concerns over the past year by improving the wording of our privacy policy, app description, and in-app just-in-time notifications," the company said in a blog post today. "And we continue to invest heavily in security and countermeasures to prevent abuse." The FTC said the popular mobile app deceived consumers by telling them that messages would “disappear forever” when in fact they can be captured by recipients and other apps. The company also violated its own privacy policies when it tracked and transmitted users’ location information and collected data from their address books without notice or consent, the agency said. Erin’s story: http://politi.co/1ix2sUk

** A long-time investor in America, SoftBank has invested billions of dollars in American companies over more than 20 years. In fact, our $22 billion investment in Sprint is the largest ever Japanese investment in the U.S. With SoftBank, you should always expect the unexpected. Learn why at http://softbankusa.com/.

INTERNET ASSOCIATION WARNS AGAINST BLOCKING FUNDS FOR ICANN TRANSITION — The internet trade group is warning congressional appropriators not to prohibit NTIA from using its FY15 funds to move toward the planned transition of ICANN, according to a letter the group sent to House approps panel leaders ahead of yesterday’s markup. The committee report, approved Thursday, doesn’t prohibit such spending outright — though as MT has reported, it does state that “the recommendation for NTIA does not include any funds to carry out a transition of these functions.” Still, the worry was that an amendment could be introduced to block the spending explicitly — and while it never came, it’s not out of the realm of possibility that Republicans could try to attach it during floor activity. “There could be floor activity, so for our purpose the letter was for the committee to know where the Internet industry is coming from on this issue,” Internet Association VP Gina Woodworth told MT. Full letter here from Thursday morning here: http://bit.ly/Qjp5VA

—PLUS: FUNDING BILL GIVES DOJ CASH FOR MLAT REFORM — The CJS approps bill boosts the DOJ’s criminal division funding to $195 million, according to the committee report. That boost — which is around $21 million compared to FY14, according to to the department’s budget request — is at least partly designed to help DOJ streamline its ability to handle foreign data requests, a fix that tech companies have been clamoring for. (Pros should catch your MT-er’s previous explainer here: http://politico.pro/1jw1xul) It’s a bit less than the DOJ was hoping for, but appropriators say it should cover at least a large chunk of what the department wants to do. “The Committee understands this funding will support additional positions and one-time costs associated with upgrading the case management system for MLAT processing,” the report states.

CONSERVATIVE GROUPS ORGANIZE ON IP — A handful of conservative and libertarian outside groups are coming together to hammer out principles for how to approach a growing number of intellectual property issues. The groups, led by Americans For Tax Reform affiliate group Digital Liberty, has agreed so far upon pillars that assert that IP rights “must be respected and protected online” and “are integral to consumer protection and national security,” according to Digital Liberty’s Katie McAuliffe. In addition, the principles include support for voluntary initiatives regarding how to handle IP issues, given the difficulty of passing legislation on IP issues — such initiatives, like Copyright Alert System, have become an oft-discussed option on IP questions. The nonprofit groups participating include Americans for Prosperity, Taxpayer Protection Alliance, Center for Individual Freedom, and more. The groups have not yet unveiled the principles in full, but plan to at some point, McAuliffe said.

HOUSE R&D TAX CREDIT VOTE SLATED FOR TODAY — Pro’s Brian Faler: “The House is poised to approve legislation Friday permanently extending a tax break subsidizing corporate research programs amid mounting questions over Republican plans to clean up one corner of the tax code. Democrats are balking at the cost of permanently renewing a few select tax “extenders,” even if they are breaks they’ve long supported, like the research and development credit set for a vote.” politico.pro/SH2ep3

SPEED READ

APPLE IN TALKS TO BUY BEATS ELECTRONICS: The move would bolster its music streaming business, the WSJ reports: http://on.wsj.com/1ix0vqY

COMCAST HEARING TAKEAWAYS: Catch Bloomberg’s report from the House Judiciary Committee’s consideration of the merger: http://bloom.bg/1ix197S

WIRETAP CLAIMS FAIL AGAINST FACEBOOK: The lawsuit, also against Zynga, revolved around the disclosure of information advertisers, Reuters reports: http://reut.rs/1ix1Pue

ROUTER COMPANY THAT THREATENED REVIEWER LOSES AMAZON LICENSE: Mediabridge products threatened a libel suit against an Amazon reviewer, Ars Technica reports: http://bit.ly/1ix2ewy

OMNICOM, PUBLICIS CALL OFF MERGER: The $35 billion deal would have created the world’s largest advertising firm, the New York Times reports: http://nyti.ms/1ix8F2R

Tips, comments, suggestions? Send them along via email to our team: Alex Byers ( [email protected], @ byersalex), Eric Nelson ( [email protected]), Eric Engleman ( [email protected], @ ericengleman), Brooks Boliek ( [email protected], @ technocowboy), Jessica Meyers ( [email protected], @ jessicameyers), Tony Romm ( [email protected], @ tonyromm) and Erin Mershon ( [email protected], @ eemershon).

** SoftBank loves America. We have invested billions of dollars in American companies over more than 20 years and our recent $22 billion investment in Sprint is the largest ever Japanese investment in the U.S. Following this investment, we are looking forward to bringing the competitive and innovative approach that has thrived in Japan to the U.S. wireless market. Our goal is to connect Americans to the full promise of the mobile Internet and to improve people’s lives by bringing faster, more reliable wireless services to the U.S. in an age when access to high-speed mobile connectivity is critical. Those who know SoftBank know to expect the unexpected. Learn why at http://softbankusa.com/.

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