Wyden's geolocation bill moving ahead - Q & A with Brad Burnham - Is the repatriation holiday really a jackpot? - New coalition forms against LightSquared - IAPP gets underway Presented by Comcast

**With help from Jen Martinez, Eliza Krigman, Brooks Boliek and Dave Hansen

WYDEN: GEOLOCATION BILL MOVING ALONG – The senator told MT he’s “getting close to being able to offer it up,” though he didn’t specify whether his bill governing geolocation and mobile privacy would move as a stand-alone effort or as a component of ECPA reform. “My sense is that we will look at a variety of legislative options,” he said in an interview off the Senate floor this week. “I do think that as the public comes to grips with this, because of the extraordinary number of people who have these devices, that we won’t have any problem getting legislative interest when people see there’s a real proposal that responsibly tackles this issue.”


VC-WASHINGTON BOND GROWING – Both the VC community and the Capitol Hill crowd are still “separate groups,” says Union Square Ventures’ Brad Burnham. But that hasn’t made the VC-D.C. bond any less important, he tells Jen Martinez in today’s Q & A. “What’s happened in the last couple of years is the relationship between VC investing and Washington has become much, much more important. If you think about telecom policy, spectrum policy, patent reform, immigration reform, all of these things are really important if you’re investing in services that get delivered directly to consumers and change the way they live their lives.” MORE, for Pros: http://politico.pro/idVHpa

IS A REPATRIATION HOLIDAY REALLY A JACKPOT? – It depends on whom you ask. Sure, tech companies say it’ll allow them to bring back cash and boost hiring. But Mike Zapler writes today that previous holidays have fared a little differently: “Some firms laid off workers at the same time they shaved hundreds of millions from their tax bills. Now multinational corporations are about to seek another tax break on the estimated $1 trillion they have parked in overseas accounts. But numerous economists told POLITICO that lawmakers should heed the lessons of seven years ago.” MORE HERE: http://politico.pro/hM1vKo

Good Thursday morning, time for your Morning Tech – where we're amused by the Mark Zuckerberg look-alike toy out now by M.I.C. Gadget, the same company that previously made a tiny replica of Steve Jobs. But whereas the company faced legal action for modeling the Apple chief, the NYT reports M.I.C. Gadget is trying a new tack with Zuck – that is, keeping his name off the product. So what're they calling it, you ask? “Poking Inventor Action Figure.” Here's the scoop: http://nyti.ms/gDeDdE

The MT crew needs action-figure toys. Maybe make us some, or just shoot us comments and tips, to the e-mail addresses below today's Speed Read.

*** Need Morning Tech earlier in the morning? POLITICO Pro offers ahead-of-the-curve reporting on technology all day long – plus access to Morning Tech at 6 a.m. For more information, please visit www.politicopro.com or call (703) 341-4600. ***

POLITICAL INTEL: COALITION FORMS AGAINST LIGHTSQUARED – A broad swath of companies in sectors like aviation and manufacturing are announcing today a new group called the Coalition to Save Our GPS, designed to fight off efforts by LightSquared to set up a high-speed network based on satellites and land transmitters. The group argues that the spectrum LightSquared is eyeing – which is adjacent to the same airwaves used by GPS – could interfere with GPS devices and signals and create dead zones across the country.

Participating in the new group are: the Air Transport Association, NAM, American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials, the Association of Equipment Manufacturers, John Deere, Caterpillar, Case New Holland, GPS Industry Council, Edison Electric Institute and the Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association. (Akin Gump is handling gov affairs, and Prism Public Affairs is working the group’s PR effort.) The organization has already met before, but they’ll formally unveil the coalition today.

HAPPENING TODAY: IAPP GETS UNDERWAY – The privacy conference kicks into full swing this a.m., and the session you don’t want to miss – with FTC chair Jon Leibowitz and European Data Protection Supervisor Peter Hustinx – begins around 11. Also to watch around noon: There’s a legislative update with Stu Ingis and congressional staffers, as well as an NSTIC session with national program office leader Jeremy Grant. Your MT-er is covering.

ALSO TODAY: PATENT LAW BEFORE IP PANEL – Bob Goodlatte’s subcommittee delves into recent judicial decisions on patent law at today’s 1 p.m. hearing in Rayburn. Look for testimony this afternoon from Dan L. Burk, chancellor’s professor of law at UC-Irvine; Andrew J. Pincus, partner at Mayer Brown; and Dennis D. Crouch, associate professor of law at University of Missouri School of Law.

** A message from Microsoft: At Microsoft, we're committed to providing the technology people need to live and work creatively and productively. This includes fostering partnerships that create economic opportunities across the United States. www.Microsoft.com/citizenship **

NET NEUTRALITY FROM ACROSS THE POND – The phrase means something far different in Europe, Eliza Krigman writes in today’s paper. “Some Europeans thumb their noses at the American policy of net neutrality. What’s neutral about it? They argue that U.S. regulators have, in fact, sided with Internet content and service companies by giving them a free ride on the backs of broadband providers. It’s a common theme in conversations about why Europe has opted for unregulated competition to guard against anti-competitive behavior on the Internet while, on this side of the pond, the FCC in January adopted open Internet regulations.” MORE: http://politi.co/fA8UZL

CHANGES IN STORE FOR PATENT OFFICE – The common theme underlining both the House and Senate’s debates over patent reform is that USPTO is going to change. But some of those changes involve resources, notes Brooks Boliek in today’s second paper story. “It is unclear how many more administrative law judges would have to be brought on board by the PTO. But patent officials estimate that the office will have to hire about 1,000 new examiners, rebuild its woefully inadequate information technology infrastructure and establish rules to put in effect the new procedures that come about with any complex new law.” MORE: http://politi.co/gEYANh

SO WHO’S ON THE NCTA SHORT LIST? – Kyle McSlarrow bids NCTA adieu next month to join the Comcast/NBCU team in D.C., and that’s only stoking speculation as to who his replacement might be. We have our ear to the ground, and we’ve heard a few names of note. Former FCC Chairman Michael Powell is among the crowd. Some haven’t given up on the possibility Rick Boucher could take the job and we’d be remiss not to toss into our hat NCTA EVP James Assey, who’s managing the association during the transition period. We’re following.

BALLMER TALKS KINECT AND OIL RIGS – The Microsoft CEO stressed last night that technology like the Kinect is the future of communication for operators, engineers and others in the energy industry. The pronouncement Wednesday was part of Ballmer’s hour-long speech at the IHS CERAWeek conference in Houston, where our friend on the energy team, Darren Goode, has been reporting live. Ballmer said he sees the day that Kinect and other tools could allow “engineers in the farthest-flung parts of the world to be able to communicate with one another … and collaborate with the offshore engineering teams with the kind of precision that’s easy with words and hand gestures but perhaps very difficult with a keyboard.” Check back for more later from the Pro Energy team.

FACEBOOK ANNOUNCES TWO NEW SAFETY FEATURES – The social networking site is unveiling new tools ahead of the White House’s conference today on bullying prevention. The first is a social reporting system that lets users flag harassing or bullying behavior on the social network to a parent or a teacher. The feature will be rolled out to some English-speaking Facebook users today and to all users globally in coming weeks, according to Facebook’s Director of Engineering Arturo Bejar. The second is a series of improvements to its Safety Center, which will feature multimedia tools, including educational videos and downloadable materials.

W.H. TAKES TO FACEBOOK TO FIGHT BULLYING – Check out Facebook Live at 12:20 p.m. ET to hear from a panel moderated by the W.H.’s Kal Penn that will include admin officials Melody Barnes and Stephanie Cutter, Facebook Chief Security Officer Joe Sullivan and MTV Networks VP of Public Affairs Jason Rzepka as speakers. (We should note yesterday’s video on FB, recorded by the Obamas, got some decent Web traction – picking up re-posts on the pages of members of Congress as well as Katy Perry, Nicki Minaj and a bunch of others.)

WEDNESDAY WITNESS BLOCKING NETFLIX? – Technically, RapidDSL’s Tom DeReggi, who testified against the FCC’s Open Internet Order on Wednesday, has not blocked Netflix on the network. He has, however, slowed the Internet connection of his customers that were streaming from the popular online video retailer. The online streaming demands were harming other users' ability to use the Internet, he told MT, though he predicts that his company will have to block Netflix in the future. That would be a less “severe” way to handle the congestion problem rather than slowing someone's connection, he said. What's stopping him? Uncertainty that the FCC's open Internet rules would make that action illegal.

ICYMI: FONT SIZE THE LATEST BATTLE IN TRADEMARK FIGHT – Microsoft is asking the PTO to throw out Apple’s latest filing in the battle over the App Store name. Why? Microsoft argues the brief is too long and the print is too small. Microsoft’s filing Wednesday complains the brief is filed in less than 11-point type and around 37 pages long – violating the Trademark Trial and Appeals Board’s requirement 25-page, 11-point-or-larger rules.

PATRIOT ACT FIGHT CONTINUES – Rep. Jim Sensenbrenner plans a second March hearing on extending the lone wolf, roving wiretap and business records provisions of the Patriot Act, he told MT following Wednesday's hearing. Expect more sparks if it's anything like Wednesday's slug fest – a session during which the chairman squabbled with Cato's Julian Sanchez over whether the Patriot Act needed strong civil liberties safeguards. (Sanchez said it did, while Sensenbrenner stressed a court has never found the provisions unconstitutional.)

WHO MET WHOM DURING TECHNET’S FLY-IN? – The coalition so far has met with Aneesh Chopra, Vivek Kundra and Tom Kahil; joined House and Senate leaders from both parties; had brunch with Steven Chu, Austan Goolsbee, Arne Duncan, Gene Sperling and Jack Lew; and met with Julius Genachowski and Jon Leibowitz. The message: The tech execs stressed the importance of trade, broadband growth, research funding and tax reform, among other issues.

SPEED READ, by Elizabeth Wasserman:

FRENCH COMPETITION WATCHDOG URGES PROBE OF new fiber optic telecom services, FT reports: http://on.ft.com/hKeDwG

MEDIA WILL HAVE TO PLAY BY INTERNET RULES, FT writes in opinion column: http://on.ft.com/fuDCcy

TELMEX: RURAL LINES WILL GO IN DIFFERENT COMPANY, according to NYT: http://nyti.ms/i8WmD8

SONY TO JOIN VIDEOGAME-ELECTRONICS, PICK POSSIBLE NEXT CEO, Bloomberg reports: http://bloom.bg/hctJAZ

WSJ’s JULIA ANGWIN ON KERRY-MCCAIN PRIVACY "BILL OF RIGHTS": http://on.wsj.com/gkLWsL

CHINA: CYBER ATTACKS AGAINST GOV’T UP 68 percent, according to Bloomberg: http://bloom.bg/fLeYYe

U.S. INTERNET FREEDOM FUNDING OF TECH COS is controversial with trade partners, WashPost writes: http://wapo.st/fvVSOH

PFIZER CEO, GOOGLE'S SCHMIDT ADDED TO COMMERCE SECY’S possible successors, Bloomberg speculates: http://buswk.co/igaX5q



[Tips, comments, suggestions? Send them along via e-mail to our team: Tony Romm ( [email protected] ), Kim Hart ( [email protected] ), Jen Martinez ( [email protected] ), Eliza Krigman ( [email protected] ), Elizabeth Wasserman ( [email protected] ), Brooks Boliek ( [email protected] ) Mike Zapler ( [email protected] ), Dave Hansen ( [email protected] ) and Michelle Quinn ( [email protected] ).]

** A message from Microsoft: At Microsoft, we’re committed to providing people with the technology and tools they need to live and work creatively and productively. This includes fostering partnerships that create economic opportunities across the United States.

Microsoft products —such as Windows 7 and our new cloud service, Windows Azure—are the foundation for innovative partnerships that generate new products and services and drive growth and investment opportunities.

In fact, for every $1 of Microsoft revenue, our partners in the United States earn nearly $7. In the United States, the Microsoft community of partners and professionals employs more than 3.5 million people and generates about $200 billion in annual revenue that fuels economic growth in local communities throughout the United States.

Because when collaboration and innovation come together, opportunities multiply. www.Microsoft.com/citizenship **

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