Will net neutrality propel a blue wave? Presented by Ericsson

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With help from John Hendel and Ashley Gold


WILL NET NEUTRALITY PROPEL A BLUE WAVE? — While Democratic candidates and left-leaning groups are hoping the push to restore net neutrality nationwide will help drive their supporters to the polls come November, Republican leaders say they are skeptical the issue will play a decisive role in the midterm elections. The context: Earlier this year Democrats passed legislation restoring net neutrality in the Senate, but the push has stalled in the House. While studies commissioned by pro-net neutrality groups like Mozilla and the Internet Freedom Business Alliance suggest voters are watching the issue, top GOP officials aren’t convinced.

— “I think if you go survey on the issues that voters care about, it’s number 38 out of 37,” House Energy and Commerce Chairman Greg Walden (R-Ore.) told reporters recently. “Some voters care about it, yeah, but they didn’t see the end-of-the-world dire predictions come true that the other side said would. What they really want us to do is focus on building out broadband, getting more connectivity, clearing the way for 5G, all those things that will actually connect America.” Senate Commerce Chairman John Thune (R-S.D.) similarly told reporters he doesn’t “think that’s going to have the resonance” Democrats sought. “I don’t see any campaign talking about it,” he said, adding that it just doesn’t register with “the average person.”

— But that hasn’t stopped some of its proponents from throwing cash at the issue. According to a review of political ads on Facebook’s archives, a number of top left-leaning organizations and candidates in recent months have purchased social media advertising calling on supporters to turn out for net neutrality. Most prominent among these are the ACLU and its chapters, which have launched dozens of “vote for net neutrality” ads, and Rep. Beto O'Rourke (D-Texas), who launched ads in May blasting his opponent in the Senate race, Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas), over his opposition to net neutrality. Other progressives like Reps. Ro Khanna (D-Calif.) and Pramila Jayapal (D-Wash.) have also campaigned on their net neutrality support on Facebook, while the Fight for the Future consumer group is leading its own “vote for net neutrality” campaign.

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WAR ON ALL FRONTS FOR GOOGLE — Lawmakers are mounting a full-court press against Google, which is under fire over its Google+ data exposure controversy, its reported pursuit of a censored search engine in China and allegations it is biased against conservatives. Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) told Ashley on Wednesday that a recent Intercept report detailing leaked exchanges between company staffers about the China project “contradicted” their public statements. “Ultimately, at some point one of our committees will have to dig into it deeper, if there’s more substance to it,” he said.

— But that’s not all, folks: Sens. Richard Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.), Ed Markey (D-Mass.) and Tom Udall (D-N.M.) urged the Federal Trade Commission in a letter to “immediately open an investigation into Google’s exposure of private information from Google+ users and this alleged concealment in its handling of consumer data.” They said if “problematic conduct” is unearthed, the agency ought to “act decisively to end this pattern of behavior through substantial financial penalties and strong legal remedies.”

— And the list goes on: Issues of censorship and free speech were front and center in a leaked Google research presentation put together by its employees and unearthed by the far-right Breitbart website. The documents provide an in-depth look at how staffers at one of the world’s top tech firm view their place in the debate over the moderation of free speech. But they also fueled allegations of an anti-GOP bias, with Breitbart superimposing an image of Hillary Clinton over the Google homepage in a subsequent report. Google, for its part, said in a statement, “Giving preference to content of one political ideology over another would fundamentally conflict with our goal of providing services that work for everyone.”

‘DRAGON ENERGY’ AT MUSIC MODERNIZATION ACT SIGNING — The Louis Vuitton Don and The Donald, otherwise known as Kanye West and President Donald Trump, will meet again on Thursday as the president signs into law the landmark Music Modernization Act, according to Variety. The measure ushers in a new age for music licensing and royalties long sought by artists. West famously declared his affinity for Trump on Twitter earlier this year, remarking, “We are both dragon energy.” But he has since pulled back from the platform, deleting his accounts on Twitter and Instagram earlier this week. And the pro-Trump celebrity appearances don’t stop there: Singer Kid Rock is also slated to attend, according to reports.

TODAY: LET’S TALK MONOPOLIES — The Open Markets Institute and Village Capital will hold a conference on monopolies and entrepreneurship that is sure to elicit talk of tech market power and calls to curtail it. Speakers include Sens. Cory Booker (D-N.J.), Shelley Moore Capito (R-W.Va.) and Mark Warner (D-Va.) and SEC Commissioner Rob Jackson. Warner, who earlier this year put forth a policy paper proposing different ways to regulate the tech sector, plans to discuss “the need to increase competition in the social media sphere,” spokeswoman Rachel Cohen told MT. (See more event details here.)

DUE TODAY: DOJ BRIEF ON AT&T MERGER — The deadline for the Department of Justice to reply to a brief from AT&T and Time Warner regarding their merger is today, with final briefs from both sides due this time next week. In August, the DOJ laid out its case for an appeal, arguing there were “fundamental errors of economic logic and reasoning” in the initial ruling. But AT&T has urged the D.C. District Court to uphold the ruling, saying in its own brief that the DOJ failed to land its “narrow and fragile” arguments at trial.

TECH TUMBLES ON WALL STREET — Major tech firms suffered big market losses on Wednesday. The Wall Street Journal breaks it down: “U.S. stocks suffered their biggest decline in more than seven months Wednesday, as investors accelerated their retreat from fast-growing technology stocks in favor of shares that have been overlooked.” As for Silicon Valley leaders, “Among big technology stocks, Apple Inc. declined 4.6% on Wednesday; Amazon.com Inc. slid 6.2% and Netflix Inc. dropped 8.4%. Combined the three companies shed nearly $120 billion in market value,” the report notes.

EU PRIVACY CHIEF COMES TO WASHINGTON — European Data Protection Board chair Andrea Jelinek offered a robust defense Wednesday of EU’s General Data Protection Regulation privacy rules, which went into effect May 25 and attracted a lot of attention from Washington lawmakers as they debate tenets of a potential national privacy law in the U.S. She told lawmakers during a Senate Commerce hearing that the tough EU rules “can perhaps serve as an inspiration” but avoided prescriptive statements on whether, for instance, the FTC needs rulemaking authority to help enforce consumer privacy protections.

— “The board is already working on quite many cases,” Jelinek added, noting there were about 272 GDPR cases as of Oct. 1. She said the top number of consumer complaints involve consent. When asked whether the rules stifle start-ups, she pointed out that start-ups only have to comply with one set of EU rules rather than different regimes in each EU member state — a point that may bolster arguments from U.S. lawmakers who hope a national privacy law pre-empts state efforts like the one recently signed into law in California.

— Sarah Friar, Square's chief financial officer, will be the next CEO of Nextdoor … Sarah Minkel, formerly the communications director for Rep. Chris Collins (R-N.Y.), has joined IBM’s D.C. policy communications team.

— Watch this: An Apple Watch may be the key to solving the disappearance of journalist Jamal Khashoggi, via Wired.

— Did I mention my email is up top? The Atlantic takes you through the recent history of tech employees leaking to the press.

— Fake it till you make it: The Department of Defense said that a purported Pentagon memo asking for a national security review of Broadcom’s deal to acquire CA Technologies is likely a fake, according to Reuters.

— DOJ who? AT&T is gearing up to launch a video streaming service featuring some of the content it acquired from its merger with Time Warner, The Wall Street Journal reports.

— Oh snap! Snap is launching new scripted programming as social media platforms delve further into the original content scene, The Wall Street Journal reports.

— Now that’s what I call investigative journalism: CNBC spoke to a few loyal Google+ users about the social network’s shutdown.



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