OVERNIGHT TECH: Will FCC comply with congressional probe?

THE LEDE: The White House and the Federal Communications Commission have remained silent as lawmakers expand their probe into the commission’s crafting of net neutrality rules.  

The Senate on Monday followed the House’s lead in sending a letter to FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler asking whether the White House put inappropriate pressure on the independent agency to come out with strong rules favored by President Obama. 

{mosads}Sen. Ron Johnson (R-Wis.), chairman of the panel on governmental affairs, requested all documents and communications between agency staff and the White House related to the Internet rules unveiled last week. House Oversight Committee Chairman Jason Chaffetz (R-Utah) made a broader request for information last Friday. The Senate requested the documents by Feb. 23, while the House set a deadline of Feb. 20 and asked for a staff briefing. The FCC did not comment on whether it would comply, except to say it was reviewing the House letter Friday. The White House would not comment on either letter. 

The deadlines would come just days before the commission is slated to vote on the proposed rules to reclassify broadband Internet under Title II of the Communications Act to enforce stronger rules — a plan that has angered Republicans and Internet Service Providers. 

Both chambers cited a Wall Street Journal article that describes the work by a pair of White House staffers to build the case for Obama’s recommendation for strong rules. FCC aides have previously noted that Wheeler had been leaning toward some version of reclassification before Obama’s recommendations last November, and that the public call actually gave Wheeler cover to go forward with it. 

Twitter sees spike in government requests: Twitter saw a 29 percent rise in U.S. government requests for user information, the company revealed in its latest transparency report that covers the last half of 2014. Overall, the social media company received 2,871 government requests for information from countries around the world, and it complied at least in part with 52 percent. From the United States, Twitter received 1,622 requests and complied with 80 percent. Most were non-emergency requests. Twitter does not reveal the number of national security requests it receives and has sued the government over the issue. In a heavily redacted transparency report last year, Twitter noted it received a “small” number of national security requests that represent “just [redacted] millionths of one percent of our users.”

California eyes ECPA update: Congress hasn’t yet been able to update the 1986 law allowing government officials to obtain people’s emails without a warrant, but lawmakers in California aren’t letting that stop them. State Sens. Mark Leno (D) and Joel Anderson (R) are unveiling a new bill to update the Electronic Communications Privacy Act (ECPA), and getting support from a host of privacy groups and tech companies. Their CalECPA would require police and other officials get a warrant before accessing any digital information stored in the cloud. In many ways, it seems to mirror attempts in Congress to update ECPA which have won the support of more than half the lawmakers in the House, but have yet to make it across the finish line. 

“When it comes to privacy protections, California is in the digital dark ages,” Leno said in a statement. “This bill strikes a perfect balance between safeguarding Californians against improper government intrusion of their electronic data and protecting the ability of law enforcement to use technology when it is needed to protect public safety.”

‘The Imitation Game’ goes to college: The production company behind the Oscar-nominated film about the life of computer pioneer Alan Turing — “The Imitation Game” — wants to bring his story to college campuses. Starting this week, the Weinstein Company will host screenings of the movie at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Stanford and other prestigious universities, in an attempt to inspire future computer scientists. 

Think tank’s patent recommendations: The Heartland Institute, a free-market think tank, will issue a report Tuesday outlining proposed reforms targeting “patent trolls”– some changes extending past legislation aimed at reforming court procedures. The author Steven Titch calls for Congress to pass a bill aimed at helping the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office develop a better understanding of the way software is written. The United States should also use trade negotiations to help cut down on “state-sponsored patent trolling,” the report recommends, along with other changes. Titch also urged the Senate to confirm nominee Michelle Lee as director of the patent office.

Feds increase website security: A number of federal agencies are beefing up security on their websites. Sites from aids.gov to notalone.gov will automatically divert to HTTPS connections to better protect people’s access to the sites, according to an announcement from the General Services Administration’s 18F effort. 

Google grabs copyright help on K Street: Google has hired the Washington Technology Project to help lobby on copyright issues, it revealed in a new disclosure filing. 

Charter turns fierce: Charter Communications is getting some help on video law, retransmission consent net neutrality, taxes and other issues from Fierce Government Relations. 

Sprint hires Raben Group: Sprint has hired the Raben Group to lobby on “telecommunications and the wireless industry.”

ON TAP:

CompTIA is hosting a press conference to release its annual “Cyberstates” report at 9 a.m. on Capitol Hill. 

FCC Commissioner Mignon Clyburn and FTC Commissioner Terrell McSweeny will speak at a daylong conference on Internet safety for older adults. 

Republican FCC Commissioner Ajit Pai is holding a press conference at 10:30 to talk about the agency’s upcoming net neutrality regulations. 

The Cato Institute is holding a noon event to explore how ridesharing should be regulated. 

IN CASE YOU MISSED IT: 

The new chief technology officer for Florida Gov. Jeb Bush’s (R) 2016 political action committee is under fire for past tweets that disparaged women and gay men.

Apple CEO Tim Cook will speak at the White House cybersecurity summit Friday at Stanford University, according to an event invitation.

“House of Cards” is coming to Havana.

The National Security Agency isn’t hurting the Obama administration like it used to.

The Federal Communications Commission will be sending a “clear message” when it votes to override two state laws restricting the expansion of city-run Internet networks, FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler said Monday. 

Please send tips and comments to Julian Hattem, jhattem@digital-staging.thehill.com and Mario Trujillo, mtrujillo@digital-staging.thehill.com

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