Overnight Tech: Tech firms stand with teen suspended over clock

LEDE: Tech firms were quick to voice support for Ahmed Mohamed, the 14-year old Texas teenager suspended and handcuffed after he brought a homemade clock to school. Authorities say they mistook it for a hoax bomb. Twitter offered him an internship, while Mark Zuckerberg invited him to come visit Facebook.

FCC’S THURSDAY AGENDA: The Federal Communications Commission is convening Thursday for its quietest meeting in months, with only two items are on the agenda.

The first is a notice of proposed rulemaking on a requirement for undersea cable operators to report outages in the same way that wireless and wireline networks have to report issues with their networks. Commission Chairman Tom Wheeler has cast the issue as important for public safety.

{mosads}”While submarine cables are vital to America’s economic and national security, licensees currently only report outages on an ad hoc basis, and the information that we receive is too limited to be of use,” he said in a blog post last month. “The FCC needs to get timely information about submarine cable outages, with enough detail to understand the nature and impact of any damage and disruption to communications, help mitigate any impact on emergency services and consumers, and assist in service restoration.”

The second item is a report and order changing the requirements for broadcasters holding contests. Under the proposed rule, they could fulfill their obligation to consumers by posting contest rules online instead of reading them out over the air. They would still be required to broadcast the URL where the rules could be found.

ECPA TALKS ‘JUST BEGINNING’: Senate Judiciary Chairman Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) said his committee is “just beginning discussion” on a bill to update the Electronic Communications Privacy Act. He declined to offer a timeline for a markup but told reporters it “depends on how the discussions go.”

The bill advanced in committee under Democratic control in the past two sessions but went nowhere amid concerns from federal agencies. It appears clear Grassley wants changes to the widely supported bill to update the 1986 law before he schedules a vote. He referred back to comments he made in a staff report in 2013 where he expressed “concerns that the bill did not strike the proper balance” between law enforcement and privacy.

TECH APPLAUDS HOUSE ‘REDRESS’ MARKUP: Trade groups representing the biggest names in technology applauded the House Judiciary Committee for scheduling a Thursday markup of the Judicial Redress Act, which aims to give non-U.S. citizens certain privacy rights when their information is shared with the U.S. government. The bill’s approval is necessary to finalize a key law enforcement sharing agreement between the United States and European countries. The groups said the agreement would go a long way to restore trust in the wake of revelations about secret surveillance programs.

GOOGLE MATCHING DONATIONS FOR REFUGEES: Google will match up to €5 million in donations for refugees who have streamed into Europe in recent months. Some countries have responded to the surge of migrants, many coming from war-torn Syria, by closing their borders or otherwise warily eying those looking for refuge.

UBER LAWSUIT SLOGS FORWARD: Uber has asked a court for permission to appeal the ruling that a group of drivers for the service have a right to sue as a class. The drivers are suing over their status as contractors, but Uber says they are too different to sue collectively. “[D]espite all of these complicating factors, the district court certified a class of thousands of drivers who use the Uber app, in order for a single jury to determine–in one fell swoop–whether they are independent contractors or Uber employees,” the company said in its filing. “The potential ramifications of this closely-watched class-certification order are difficult to overstate.” An appeal, if it is allowed, would go to the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals.

The case is being closely watched because of what it could portend for the future of the “on-demand economy.” Many companies like Uber use workers who are independent contractors, and therefore are not allowed to get the same benefits given to full employees.

BEZOS THROWS THE POST IN AS A PRIME PERK: Amazon Prime now comes with another feature: six months of free digital access to the Washington Post. Customers can then get a discounted subscription if they decide to stay. “Offering free access to new subscribers through Prime allows us to connect with millions of members nationwide who may not have tried The Post in the past,” said Steve Hills, the Post’s president and general manager.

ON TAP:

At 9:00 a.m., the Information Technology and Innovation Foundation hosts a discussion “exploring the ramifications and potential U.S. responses to China’s aggressive, mercantilist strategy of shutting American technology companies out of Chinese markets.”

At 10:30 a.m., the House Judiciary Committee will markup the Judicial Redress Act.

Also at 10:30 a.m., the FCC holds its September open meeting.

IN CASE YOU MISSED IT:

The Justice Department on Wednesday gave the go ahead for the merger of Expedia and Orbitz, concluding that the deal is “unlikely to harm competition and consumers.”

Lyft, the main U.S. competitor to ride-hailing service Uber, is teaming up with Didi Kuaidi, Uber’s primary rival in China.

Google on Wednesday vowed to charge ahead with more encryption of user data even as law enforcement officials warn the technology could hamper their investigations.

And it is steering clear of becoming an automaker, even as the company works to develop a self-driving car, according to a Reuters report.

AT&T is increasing the amount of data that customers on “unlimited” plans can consume before their speeds are slowed, three months after the Federal Communications Commission proposed fining the company $100 million for allegedly not being forthright with customers about its policies

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