Tech groups: Not so fast on FOSTA-SESTA Presented by Ericsson

With help from Mark Scott, Nancy Scola, Steven Overly and Margaret Harding McGill

TECH GROUPS: NOT SO FAST ON FOSTA-SESTA: A coalition of tech and other groups is urging House and Senate leadership this morning to slow down before taking up a new version of anti-sex-trafficking legislation. The letter, signed by TechFreedom, Engine, FreedomWorks, Citizens Outreach, R Street Institute and the Committee for Justice, makes a plea to lawmakers: Think this through before it hits the House floor — which it’s slated to do next week. The new measure would combine the Senate’s bill, the Stop Enabling Sex Traffickers Act, S. 1693 (115), with the House version, H.R. 1865 (115), the Allow States and Victims to Fight Online Sex Trafficking Act.

— The groups write: “We do not believe SESTA’s language is workable. We would be happy to help lawmakers parse the differences between the two bills and explore ways to address concerns about FOSTA. But any attempt to simply merge the two bills on the House floor would be an abdication of lawmakers’ responsibility to the victims of sex trafficking. Lawmakers owe it to them to take the time to carefully consider what they are doing. That cannot be done on the House floor, or in conference, or without the expertise of both Judiciary Committees.” Read the full letter here.

— Other tech groups, including NetChoice, are doing what they can to keep SESTA out of FOSTA before it hits the House floor; read Ashley and Steven’s full report on that here. The Center for Democracy and Technology also said “the House bill will actually discourage some platforms from engaging in good-faith moderation efforts” and called for more open deliberation on the topic.

— Of course, others are happy things are moving along: Mary Mazzio, director of the documentary film about online sex trafficking, “I Am Jane Doe,” told us: The House bill with an amendment from Rep. Mimi Walters (R-Calif.) amendment “unlocks the courthouse door for children and victims to hold websites which knowingly facilitate the crime of sex trafficking accountable.” She said groups like TechFreedom, Engine and NetChoice are “clinging to a 1996 law” while dealing with a “21st century problem.”

TIME FOR SOME AMERICAN PAI — Ajit Pai, dubbed the “Courageous Chairman” of the FCC by CPAC, will address the conference at 12:30 p.m. today before joining fellow Republican FCC Commissioners Mike O’Rielly and Brendan Carr for a panel on how the agency is paving the way for innovation. Pai’s speech, scheduled to last about 10 minutes, will come after morning sessions featuring President Donald Trump, former Milwaukee County Sheriff David Clarke, White House counselor Kellyanne Conway and U.S. Small Business Administration head Linda McMahon.

GOOD FRIDAY MORNING and welcome to Morning Tech, where every member of the team is taking a spin as lead writer this week. (Don’t fret: Li will be back from a much deserved vacation next week.) Ashley Gold is in the hot seat today. She’s getting flashbacks to her Morning eHealth days. Interoperability, anyone? Send her tips at [email protected], and catch the rest of the team’s contact info after Quick Downloads.

Got an event for MT’s tech calendar? Email us the details at [email protected].

A message from Ericsson: 5G will accelerate innovation and provide transformative use cases across multiple global sectors. It will also bring new security challenges with broader attack surfaces, more devices and increased traffic loads. We must have networks that are trustworthy, resilient, and secure by design – all on day one. Learn more.

MARK YOUR CALENDAR — Facebook will convene its annual global safety summit in Washington on March 1. The daylong event will include panels centered on keeping children safe online and building products according to "well-being principles." One panel will highlight emerging technologies to help battle child exploitation, human trafficking and revenge porn, among other issues. Facebook's director of research, David Ginsberg; global head of global safety, Antigone Davis; and vice president of product management, Guy Rosen, are slated to attend. They will be joined by academics and researchers from outside the company.

— The summit comes amid increased criticism that technology companies, and social networks in particular, design their products to pull users in frequently and keep them engrossed for as long as possible. At a conference on technology addiction in Washington earlier this month, health researchers and children's advocates cautioned that constant use of technology could come with physical and psychological detriments. They join voices from Silicon Valley, including Facebook's former president, Sean Parker, and early adviser, Roger McNamee, who have raised similar concerns.

BYTE-SIZED Q&A: FORMER GOOGLE ENGINEER JAMES DAMORE — Damore was fired in August after a controversial memo he wrote on the “possible non-bias causes of the gender gap in tech” circulated widely inside the company. His dismissal sparked debate over whether Silicon Valley has grown ideologically rigid. Damore is now suing Google for allegedly discriminating against employees who “deviat[e] from the majority view” at the company, and he sat down with Nancy at this week’s Conservative Political Action Conference.

First things first — can women be software engineers?

"I knew of many. I worked with five women on my team. Yes, women can be great engineers."

As you see it, how would a company like Google go about encouraging what some have taken to calling “viewpoint diversity”?

Assume good intentions from everyone. I think a lot of what happened was people didn't know me. When I had one-on-one conversations, it was civil and ‘Oh, I didn't know that piece of evidence. That's interesting.’ But when it became viral, people just saw me as some avatar — and then they were openly, 'Oh, he's a misogynist, this is horrible.' People felt the need to denounce me without really addressing anything that I said."

You’re looking for work. What sort of company might hire you?

"One thing that contributed to Google being so political is it requires so much user trust [from the public] that they require this orthodoxy from their employees. But if it's some chip processor, nobody actually cares about the politics of that company because they don't have that public image to maintain.”

MORE FROM CPAC — Tech was the subject of other chatter as CPAC rolled along on Thursday. Some quick glimpses:

— Former Trump White House national security aide turned cable news contributor Sebastian Gorka talked about the importance of social media. "I only get recognized as a Fox News figure at events like these by people over the age of 40. People who are younger have no idea who I am. Why is that? Because they don't watch television. They're watching other millennials doing three-minute podcasts."

— Conservative commentator Ben Shapiro, host of a wildly popular podcast of his own, offered a word of caution to attendees, telling them to root what they share on social media in reality. “Memes are great,” said Shapiro, “[but] make sure they are true. There's nothing wrong with poking fun at the left. Just make sure that what you say can be backed up with evidence.”

— Speaking of the big digital platforms, Google was listed on CPAC official signage as a top-billed “presenting sponsor.” Facebook had a presence too, with an exhibit-hall booth complete with a help desk.

— “There's nobody salivating more about the idea of the government going after U.S. tech companies than the three giant Chinese tech companies who would be glad to quickly move into any void that is created,” offered Google’s Max Pappas, a former aide to Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) who joined the company last March. (He’s likely referring to Alibaba, Tencent and Baidu.)

— And speaking of Cruz, he got a rock star’s welcome, bringing down the house by wrapping his on-stage interview with a listing of what “liberty” means to him. “You should be able to choose which school you go to! You should be able to choose what doctor you have! The internet should be free!" he shouted to hoots and applause.

MARKEY MARKS THE CRA CLOCK — Sen. Ed Markey (D-Mass.) is urging Republicans to join his efforts to roll back the repeal of net neutrality rules via the Congressional Review Act now that the order has been officially published by the FCC. “With only 60 legislative days to find one more vote, I call on my Republican colleagues to join us and the vast majority of Americans who want the internet to remain free and open and a level playing field for everyone,” he said in a statement.

— MT analysis: Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine) is currently the only Republican signed onto the Senate’s CRA, and it’s looking unlikely that others will join her, despite activism from pro-net neutrality groups. The CRA also faces an uphill battle in the House and would likely be vetoed by President Donald Trump. Still, now that the clock has started, we might see more Republicans pressured to join the Dems’ efforts.

NO TURNING BACK NOW — Former L.A. resident and patent attorney Andrei Iancu will officially be sworn in as director of the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office today at the agency’s headquarters in Alexandria, Va., at 10 a.m.

NEW CYBER COUNCIL TAKES SHAPE — IBM, Intel, Verizon and AT&T are among the founding members of a new industry council that will propose policy ideas to combat cybersecurity attacks as more devices connect to the internet and transmit sensitive information. The Council to Secure the Digital Economy exists under two associations, USTelecom and the Information Technology Industry Council. Other members include Akamai, CenturyLink, Ericsson, NTT, Oracle, Samsung, SAP and Telefonica.

— It’s not clear if the group will focus on industry self-regulation, government regulation or both. However, a spokesman said partnering with government will be key to the council’s mission, and one Homeland Security official endorsed its formation in a statement. “This is exactly the type of industry collaboration needed to help frame the important issues through a shared digital economy lens,” said Chris Krebs, who oversees cyber and physical infrastructure security matters for the agency.

MEANWHILE, IN EUROPE: KEEPING UP TO DATE AT MOBILE WORLD CONGRESS — On Sunday, more than 80,000 people will descend on Barcelona for Mobile World Congress, a weeklong event that attracts U.S. policymakers like Pai, as well as the latest gadgets and trials for 5G, drones and everything else that’s happening on people’s mobile devices. Mark Scott will be there for POLITICO Europe to keep you up to date on gossip, news and the latest tech through WhatsApp updates sent directly to your smartphone. Sign up here to get the latest.

SILICON VALLEY MUST-READS —

— YouTube can’t escape conspiracy videos: “YouTube’s failure to stop the spread of conspiracy theories related to last week’s school shooting in Florida highlights a problem that has long plagued the platform: It is far better at recommending videos that appeal to users than at staunching the flow of lies,” the Washington Post reports.

— Russia exploited Facebook through doctored photos: “Use of doctored images was a crucial and deceptively simple technique used by Russian propagandists to spread fabricated information during the 2016 election, one that exposes a loophole in tech company defenses,” The Wall Street Journal reports. “Facebook Inc. and Alphabet Inc.’s Google have traps to detect misinformation, but struggle — then and now — to identify falsehoods posted directly on their platforms, in particular through pictures.”

— China winning the AI race, at least according to one study: “The latest comes from technology analysts CB Insights, which reports that China has overtaken the US in the funding of AI startups,” The Verge reports. “The country accounted for 48 percent of the world’s total AI startup funding in 2017, compared to 38 percent for the US.”

— Airbnb launches premium service to compete with hotels: “Airbnb is taking further aim at big chain hotels and online travel agencies, and announced a program Thursday that would expand it further beyond shared accommodations into something like a full-fledged travel company,” CNBC reports.

QUICK DOWNLOADS

Election security leader to be replaced: “The head of a federal agency who has helped U.S. states protect election systems from possible cyber attacks by Russia or others is being removed from his post by Republican House of Representatives Speaker Paul Ryan and the White House,” Reuters reports.

Software issues bungle border patrol efforts: “US border officials have failed to cryptographically verify the passports of visitors to the US for more than a decade -- because the government didn't have the proper software,” ZDNet reports. “The revelation comes from a letter by Sens. Ron Wyden (D-OR) and Claire McCaskill (D-MO), who wrote to US Customs and Border Protection (CPB) acting commissioner Kevin K. McAleenan to demand answers.”

More Amazon Go stores coming: “Amazon’s much-heralded convenience store of the future, Amazon Go, may seem like a crazy experiment. But the company plans to open as many as six more of these storefronts this year, multiple people familiar with the company’s plans have told Recode,” Recode reports.

Snap slowed in single Kardashian tweet: “[Snap Inc.’s] shares sank as much as 7.2 percent Thursday, wiping out $1.3 billion in market value, on the heels of a tweet from Kylie Jenner, who said she doesn’t open the app anymore,” Bloomberg reports.

Tips, comments, suggestions? Send them along via email to our team: Eric Engleman ([email protected], @ericengleman), Nancy Scola ([email protected], @nancyscola), Margaret Harding McGill ([email protected], @margarethmcgill), Ashley Gold ([email protected], @ashleyrgold), Steven Overly ([email protected], @stevenoverly), John Hendel ([email protected], @JohnHendel) and Li Zhou ([email protected], @liszhou)

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