Top Stories

  • The Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States extended ByteDance Ltd.’s forced sale deadline of TikTok’s U.S. operations by 15 days to Nov. 27, according to a court filing, after the company challenged the original Nov. 12 deadline because it says the government hadn’t been responsive in deal discussions. ByteDance is awaiting approval for a deal to sell stakes in TikTok to Oracle Corp. and Walmart Inc. (Bloomberg)
  • European privacy activist group NOYB filed complaints with data protection authorities in Germany and Spain against Apple Inc. for using software that tracks how iPhone users utilize their devices — which the group said enables the company and third parties to “identify users across applications and even connect online and mobile behaviour.” NOYB founder Max Schrems led the case against Facebook Inc. that prompted the European Union’s top court to invalidate the Privacy Shield data-sharing agreement earlier this year. (The Associated Press)
  • A Qualcomm Inc. spokeswoman said the company has been granted a license to sell 4G mobile phone chips to Huawei Technologies Co. after several American semiconductor companies were forced to stop making such sales in September due to U.S. trade restrictions. The spokeswoman didn’t say which 4G products Qualcomm can sell to the Chinese telecommunications company but did say that Qualcomm has more license applications pending. (Reuters)
  • Parler, the libertarian-leaning social media app that has gained popularity among conservative social media users in the past week, counts a notable Republican voice among its financial backers: Rebekah Mercer, the daughter of hedge-fund investor Robert Mercer. Parler Chief Executive John Matze said Mercer was the lead investor in the app, and Mercer said in a post on Parler that she and Matze started the app to “provide a neutral platform for free speech” and in response to the “ever increasing tyranny and hubris of our tech overlords.” (The Wall Street Journal)

Chart Review

Events Calendar (All Times Local)

11/16/2020
Bloomberg’s 2020 New Economy Forum – virtual
11/17/2020
Bloomberg’s 2020 New Economy Forum – virtual
NYT DealBook virtual conference
Japan Society’s 5G webinar 8:00 am
Brooking Institution’s virtual event on the future of artificial intelligence 9:30 am
Senate Judiciary hearing with Facebook, Twitter CEOs 10:00 am
The Information’s virtual event previewing Airbnb’s IPO 11:00 am
TechCrunch’s Extra Crunch Live with Bessemer’s Byron Deeter 12:00 pm
2020 Forbes CMO Summit Virtual Series – Episode 3 1:00 pm
Software & Information Industry Association’s webinar on the challenges posed by and solutions to address the spread of inauthentic content online and deepfakes 1:00 pm
The Washington Post’s virtual event with Shopify president Harley Finkelstein 3:30 pm
11/18/2020
Bloomberg’s 2020 New Economy Forum – virtual
NYT DealBook virtual conference
FedScoop’s FedTalks 2020 7:30 am
Senate Commerce marks up S. 1166, Internet Exchange Act of 2019 10:00 am
FCC November Open Commission Meeting 10:30 am
FT’s Women at the Top USA digital conference 12:00 pm
Washington Space Business Roundtable’s virtual conversation with OneWeb about satellite constellation issues and challenges 1:00 pm
The Hill’s virtual event focused on technology and diabetes care 1:00 pm
2020 Forbes CIO Next Virtual Series – Episode 2 2:00 pm
NTIA’s monthly BroadbandUSA webinar 2:00 pm
11/19/2020
Bloomberg’s 2020 New Economy Forum – virtual
FT’s Women at the Top USA digital conference 8:35 am
Senate Judiciary’s executive business session about S. 4632, Online Content Policy Modernization Act (Graham) 10:00 am
The Wall Street Journal’s virtual event on the future of transportation 12:30 pm
FCBA’s CLE on the Supreme Court case Facebook, Inc. v. Duguid et al. about the TCPA 3:00 pm
Georgetown Institute for Technology Law & Policy and the United States Copyright Office’s copyright diversity virtual event 5:00 pm
11/20/2020
FCC’s holiday consumer protection webinar with the FTC, BBB 2:00 pm
FTC closed commission meeting 2:30 pm
View full calendar

New White Paper – The Effect of the 2020 Election on the Economy in 2021

Against a backdrop of economic uncertainty, the 2020 U.S. election will be key in shaping economic outcomes throughout 2021.

Our new white paper draws on Morning Consult Political Intelligence and Economic Intelligence data to assess the likely impact of the election on the economy, both in terms of the fundamental drivers of economic growth and Americans’ expectations of the future. Download here.

General

The federal government’s chief information security officer is helping an outside effort to hunt for alleged voter fraud
Jon Swaine and Lisa Rein, The Washington Post

The federal government’s chief information security officer is participating in an effort backed by supporters of President Trump to hunt for evidence of voter fraud in the battleground states where President-elect Joe Biden secured his election victory. Camilo Sandoval said in an interview that he has taken a break from his government duties to work for the Voter Integrity Fund, a newly formed Virginia-based group that is analyzing ballot data and cold-calling voters in an attempt to substantiate the president’s outlandish claims about illicit voting.

Silicon Valley eager for Biden to reverse Trump visa rules
Alex Gangitano, The Hill

Tech advocates in Washington are eager to work with the incoming Biden administration and reverse many of President Trump’s immigration policies, especially those that created barriers for high skilled visa holders. Some of the biggest names in Silicon Valley have clashed with the Trump administration in court, suing over his executive orders restricting immigration for foreign workers.

Biden’s resolve on tech will face early test in U.S. trade talks
Cristiano Lima, Politico

As a presidential candidate, Joe Biden floated making Silicon Valley giants legally responsible for user material on their platforms. His resolution on the issue is poised to face an early test when his administration takes over trade talks with U.S. allies.

Elon Musk says ‘most likely’ has a moderate case of COVID-19
Rama Venkat, Reuters

Tesla Inc Chief Executive Officer Elon Musk said on Saturday he “most likely” has a moderate case of COVID-19, as he continued to question the accuracy of the tests. “Am getting wildly different results from different labs, but most likely I have a moderate case of covid. My symptoms are that of a minor cold, which is no surprise, since a coronavirus is a type of cold,” Musk wrote in a tweet.

After $200 million California brawl, Uber and Lyft’s gig worker fight is far from over
Sara Ashley O’Brien, CNN

Uber and Lyft scored a big win when Californians voted in favor of their ballot measure that allows them to continue treating their drivers as independent contractors rather than employees in the state. But there’s likely a long, turbulent road ahead as the companies confront the issue nationally.

Alphabet’s Google Is Planning a New Campus Near Seattle
Gerrit De Vynck and Noah Buhayar, Bloomberg

Alphabet Inc.’s Google is building a new campus near Seattle, increasing its presence in a region that is home to Amazon.com Inc. and Microsoft Corp. Google bought a 10-acre plot close to its existing campus in Kirkland, Washington, and plans to use it to expand in the area, according to a memo sent to employees earlier this week that was seen by Bloomberg.

Uber in talks to sell ATG self-driving unit to Aurora
Kirsten Korosec, TechCrunch

Eighteen months ago, Uber’s self-driving car unit, Uber Advanced Technologies Group, was valued at $7.25 billion following a $1 billion investment from Toyota, DENSO and SoftBank’s Vision Fund. Now, it’s up for sale and a competing autonomous vehicle technology startup is in talks with Uber to buy it, according to three sources familiar with the deal.

Lyft’s Zimmer talks future of workplace, electric vehicles
Cathy Bussewitz, The Associated Press

Lyft scored a major victory when California voters passed Proposition 22, allowing app-based companies to treat drivers as contractors instead of employees and saving the company from what many anticipated would be crippling expenses. The outcome was viewed as a defeat by labor leaders who hoped to cement a California law which would have given drivers benefits such as overtime and sick days.

SpaceX’s ‘Resilience’ Lifts 4 Astronauts Into New Era of Spaceflight
Kenneth Chang and Allyson Waller, The New York Times

It’s not yet the same as hopping on commuter flight from New York to Washington or renting a car from Avis, but Sunday’s launch of four astronauts to the International Space Station in a capsule built by SpaceX was a momentous step toward making space travel commonplace and mundane.

Intellectual Property and Antitrust

DoorDash Reveals I.P.O. Filing
Erin Griffith and Peter Eavis, The New York Times

DoorDash, the largest food delivery start-up in the United States, revealed on Friday that it was losing money even as the coronavirus pandemic spurred a huge surge in orders, according to financial documents released as the company prepares to go public.

Turkey fines Google $26 million for abusing market position: competition board
Daren Butler and Ece Toksabay, Reuters

The Turkish Competition Board has fined Google 196.7 million lira ($26 million) after ruling it was abusing its market dominance, a statement by the board said on Friday. The company has been found to be violating the terms of fair competition due to unfair access to advertisement space, the statement said, and the California-based tech giant “was abusing its dominant power in the market”.

Google at odds with U.S. over protective order for firms tied to lawsuit
Diane Bartz, Reuters

Alphabet Inc’s Google and the U.S. Justice Department have failed to reach agreement over a protective order for third parties like Microsoft that provided data to the government for its lawsuit against the search and advertising giant. Google is pressing for two in-house attorneys to have access to the confidential data while the Justice Department and state attorneys general involved in the lawsuit have disagreed, Google said in a court filing on Friday.

Telecom, Wireless and TV

Cox, AT&T, T-Mobile Are Qualified C-Band Bidders
John Eggerton, Multichannel News

The FCC said that 57 bidders have qualified for its upcoming C-band spectrum auction (auction 107), which begins Dec. 8. It has some familiar names including AT&T, Cellco Partnership, Cox, T-Mobile, and United States Cellular.

Broadband power users explode, making data caps more profitable for ISPs
Jon Brodkin, Ars Technica

The number of broadband “power users”—people who use 1TB or more per month—has doubled over the past year, ensuring that ISPs will be able to make more money from data caps. In Q3 2020, 8.8 percent of broadband subscribers used at least 1TB per month, up from 4.2 percent in Q3 2019, according to a study released by OpenVault.

These Stanford students are racing to get laptops to kids around the U.S. who most need them
Connie Loizos, TechCrunch

The digital divide is not a new phenomenon. Still, it largely took Americans by surprise when, as the U.S. began to shut down to slow the spread of Covid-19 in March, schools grappled with how to move forward with online classes.

Mobile Technology and Social Media

TikTok Employee Agrees to Drop Suit Against Trump Administration
Tina Davis, Bloomberg

A TikTok employee who sued the Trump administration over its ban of the video-sharing app has agreed to drop his case. Patrick S. Ryan submitted a filing dated Nov. 13, stating that both sides were asking the court to dismiss the case with prejudice. No reason was given.

QAnon’s Dominion voter fraud conspiracy theory reaches the president
Ben Collins, NBC News

For days after the election, adherents to the QAnon conspiracy movement had been trying to get President Donald Trump’s attention with constant false claims about voter fraud connected to a company that makes voting machines. On Thursday, they celebrated.

Biden Won the Battle—but Dems Are Losing the Social Media War
Lachlan Markay et al., The Daily Beast

Insular, impenetrable worlds are developing online that Democrats aren’t reaching or matching. It didn’t doom them in 2020. It could down the road.

Cybersecurity and Privacy

Russia, North Korea trying to hack coronavirus researchers, Microsoft says
Eric Geller, Politico

Russian and North Korean government operatives have attempted to breach seven high-profile companies developing coronavirus vaccines and treatments and have succeeded on several occasions, Microsoft said Friday. “The targets include leading pharmaceutical companies and vaccine researchers in Canada, France, India, South Korea, and the United States,” Tom Burt, Microsoft’s corporate vice president of customer security and trust, wrote in a blog post.

The Hot New Covid Tech Is Wearable and Constantly Tracks You
Natasha Singer, The New York Times

Sports leagues, large employers and colleges are turning to devices that could usher in more invasive forms of surveillance.

The iOS Covid App Ecosystem Has Become a Privacy Minefield
Andy Greenberg, Wired

An analysis of nearly 500 Covid-related apps worldwide shows major differences in how much data they expect you to give up.

Schools Struggling to Stay Open Get Hit by Ransomware Attacks
Tawnell D. Hobbs, The Wall Street Journal

Districts around the U.S. are fighting a wave of increasingly aggressive hackers, who are publicly posting sensitive student information.

Opinions, Editorials and Perspectives

The FCC is trying to govern content moderation: It doesn’t have the authority
Brandie Nonnecke, The Hill

In response to increased content moderation tactics implemented by social media platforms to quell the spread of mis- and disinformation in the 2020 presidential election, the Trump administration continues to pressure the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to move forward on rulemaking to clarify Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act (CDA).

When it comes to Amazon, breaking up is hard to do
John Naughton, The Guardian

Given the problems involved in regulating the tech giants, the EU commission’s targeted investigation seems the smartest way to achieve results.

California, Love It and Leave It
Joe Lonsdale, The Wall Street Journal

I love California, but I had to leave. I grew up in Fremont, attended Stanford, and have spent most of my adult life in the San Francisco Bay Area, founding technology companies like Palantir and Addepar and investing in many others.

Research Reports

Fixed Broadband Deployment Data from FCC Form 477
Federal Communications Commission

The Office of Economics and Analytics (OEA), in conjunction with the Wireline Competition Bureau (WCB) and the Wireless Telecommunications Bureau (WTB), released updated data on fixed broadband deployment, and mobile voice and broadband deployment as of December 31, 2019. These data were collected through FCC Form 477 and are available on the Commission’s website.

Morning Consult