Overnight Tech: Dem invites British PM to Silicon Valley | Experts worry Paris exit could hurt clean tech | Uber fires exec who obtained rape victim’s records

AN INVITE: Rep. Ro Khanna (D-Calif.), whose district includes many of the world’s biggest technology companies, invited U.K. Prime Minister Theresa May to visit Silicon Valley following her call to regulate the internet to target terrorism suspects.

After attacks in her country in recent weeks, May accused internet companies of providing a “safe space” for extremist ideologies to spread.

In a letter to May on Wednesday, Khanna asked her to visit Silicon Valley and pointed to efforts from web companies to crack down on terrorist propaganda.

“While I am certain more work to address this issue must be done, technology companies are being responsive and helping lead the effort to combat online sources that threaten our mutual goals for peace and prosperity,” Khanna wrote.

{mosads}Three terrorists killed eight people on and near London Bridge last weekend when they plowed a van into pedestrians then attacked bystanders with knives. The attackers were later shot and killed by police.

The Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS) has claimed credit for the attack, which was the third in the U.K. in as many months.

In a statement on Sunday, May blamed web companies and internet service providers for allowing extremist ideology to spread.

“We cannot allow this ideology the safe space it needs to breed,” she said. “Yet that is precisely what the internet and big companies that provide internet-based services provide. We need to do everything we can at home to reduce the risks of extremism online.”

“I hope Prime Minister May will accept my invitation to visit Silicon Valley, at her convenience, to discuss the role technology companies play in helping combat the ideas that threaten international peace and prosperity,” Khanna countered in his statement on Wednesday.

Read more here.

 

Please send your tips, comments and complaints to Ali Breland (abreland@digital-staging.thehill.com) and Harper Neidig (hneidig@digital-staging.thehill.com) and follow us on Twitter: @alibreland, @hneidig and @HilliconValley. We’re also on Signal. Email or DM us for our numbers.

 

EXPERTS WARN PARIS WITHDRAWAL COULD HURT CLEAN TECH: President Trump’s decision to withdraw from the Paris climate change agreement could exacerbate a decline in the development of clean energy technology in the United States.

Venture capital investment in clean energy projects has declined in recent years, with the number of deals in “cleantech” falling from 412 in 2011 to 267 in 2016, according to the National Venture Capital Association. In that same timespan, venture capital investments in cleantech fell from around $5 billion to roughly $2.5 billion annually.

Experts say that trend could accelerate now that the United States is pulling out of the Paris accord.

“Trump’s withdrawal from Paris could well depress cleantech growth by injecting new uncertainty into the equation, and by beginning to marginalize the U.S. in global diplomatic discussions about the huge global clean energy marketplace,” says Mark Muro, a senior fellow at the left-leaning Brookings Institution.

Read more here.

 

REPORT: UBER FIRES EXEC WHO OBTAINED RAPE VICTIM’S MEDICAL RECORDS: An Uber executive obtained the medical records of a passenger in India who accused one of the company’s drivers of raping her during a ride, according to Recode.

The executive, Eric Alexander, was fired after the news site approached the company about the story.

The move comes one day after Uber fired more than 20 people as the result of an investigation into allegations of sexual harassment at the startup.

Read more here.

 

FACEBOOK WILL SHARE DATA WITH AID GROUPS AFTER DISASTERS: Facebook released a new set of tools on Tuesday to aid relief efforts in the wake of natural disasters.

The company unveiled maps that use anonymized Facebook user data to help organizations respond to natural disasters.

Facebook had previously helped users in dangerous areas, by allowing them to check-in as “safe” and share that with friends and family.

“One of the consistent pieces of feedback we were receiving is that while a tool like safety check is useful for individuals in a disaster, what organizations actually need is a bird’s eye view,” said Molly Jackman public policy research manager at Facebook.

Read more here.

 

…AND UNVEILED NEW TOOLS FOR VOTERS: Facebook on Wednesday released a new set of tools to help facilitate civic engagement and discourse between voters and their representatives.

The new tools give both constituents and lawmakers more targeted means of interacting with another, and are a part of Facebook’s larger push to introduce civically focused features to the platform.

“Election Day reminders for us are just the beginning of the conversation,” said Facebook chief privacy officer Erin Egan, speaking of the company’s earlier prompts for users to show up to the polls.

Read more here.

 

FORTUNE 500 RELEASED: Fortune released its annual list of the nation’s top companies, with Apple coming in at #3 and AT&T at #9. Here’s the top 10:
1. Wal-Mart Stores
2. Berkshire Hathaway
3. Apple
4. Exxon Mobil
5. McKesson
6. UnitedHealth Group
7. CVS Health
8. General Motors
9. AT&T
10. Ford Motor

 

TRUMP SEEKS DEM HELP ON INFRASTRUCTURE: President Trump urged “obstructionist” Democrats on Wednesday to work with him on repairing the country’s infrastructure, a top priority that the White House has so far struggled to bring Democrats on board with.

Infrastructure has long been billed as one of the few areas that could receive broad bipartisan support this Congress, with Trump pledging to send a $1 trillion package to Capitol Hill later this year that he had hoped both parties would eagerly embrace. Tech has high hopes an infrastructure package will also include funds for building out broadband.

But Democrats have increasingly lost their appetite to make a deal with Trump on infrastructure as details about the rebuilding proposal have begun to emerge and as other controversies have besieged the White House.

Read more here.

  

ON TAP:

The Information Technology and Innovation Foundation (ITIF) will hold an event with Dem FCC Commissioner Mignon Clyburn on Thursday at 10:00 a.m.

The House Administration Committee will hold a hearing Thursday on the Library of Congress’s IT management at 10:00 a.m.

A House Energy and Commerce subcommittee will hold a hearing Thursday on financial technology at 10:00 a.m.

The House Agriculture Subcommittee on Nutrition will hold a hearing Thursday on technology and modernization of SNAP, the federal food stamp program, at 10 a.m.

A House Energy & Commerce oversight subcommittee will hold a hearing Thursday on the role of HHS in healthcare cybersecurity at 10:15 a.m.

 

IN CASE YOU MISSED IT:

TechCrunch: Judge denies Uber’s request for stay in lawsuit with Waymo

Dem senators urge SXSW to leave Texas over immigration law

Recode: Twitter hires NSC press secretary

House Republican looks for Dem allies on internet privacy bill

CNN: Tesla joins Fortune 500