Overnight Tech: House GOP launches probe into phone, internet subsidies

LEDE: House Republicans have launched an investigation into the federal government’s phone subsidy program for low-income Americans, which was recently expanded to include internet service as well.

The investigation by the House Energy and Commerce Committee will look into waste, fraud and abuse in the $1.5 billion per year program known as Lifeline. Committee Chairman Fred Upton (R-Mich.) pointed to a $51 million proposed fine against one telecom company for fraud as raising questions.

{mosads}The Federal Communications Commission, which manages the program, recently expanded it to include subsidies to help low-income Americans pay for internet service. The expansion also came with reforms to the verification process.

The program came under fire early in President Obama’s presidency amid abuse that followed the expansion to cover cellphone service. A Government Accountability Office report released last year found that FCC reforms helped cut down on that abuse but highlighted other concerns about the efficiency of the program.

MICROSOFT, FACEBOOK TEAM UP FOR UNDERSEA CABLE: Microsoft and Facebook on Thursday announced an agreement to build an underwater fiber optic cable to span the Atlantic to help meet the growing demand for their cloud services and high-speed internet. The cable will run from Northern Virginia to Spain. According to a press release, the cable will lead to “faster growth in bandwidth rates since the system can evolve at the pace of optical technology innovation.”

ACLU WANTS TO JOINT LAWSUIT AGAINST FEDS: The American Civil Liberties Union on Thursday filed a petition to join a lawsuit that alleges the federal government is violating the Fourth Amendment. The suit claims the government is consistently preventing technology companies from informing their customers that their emails have been turned over to the government with a warrant. Microsoft brought the case last month, but the ACLU wants to join, saying that the “government’s practice of searching and seizing individuals’ electronic communications without providing notice is unconstitutional.”

EMAIL PRIVACY DELAYED: A popular bill to ensure law enforcement gets a warrant before forcing technology companies to hand over a customer’s emails got tangled up Tuesday in a related fight about the use of national security letters, which are special government orders in investigations. Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas) is pushing an amendment that would allow the government to use those orders to obtain people’s email logs, cell site data, or browser history — which is currently not allowed. A markup in the Senate Judiciary Committee on the email privacy bill was delayed after Cornyn’s amendment and others were filed. Privacy advocates have objected to the amendments.

WHEELER SAYS NO TO REPUBLICANS ON EXTENSION: The FCC has formally declined Republican Sens. Jeff Flake (Ariz.) and John Boozman’s (Ark.) request for an extension on the comment deadline for the broadband privacy proposal. “That public discussion will continue over the months to come, as interested parties file comments, reply comments and other written submissions,” Wheeler wrote to the senators on Wednesday. “So while I appreciate your concerns, I do not believe a comment extension deadline is warranted at this time.” The comment deadline is tomorrow. The FCC is pushing new privacy rules for internet service providers.

BUT WALDEN ISN’T HAPPY ABOUT THE BACKLOG: House E&C Communications and Technology Subcommittee Chair Greg Walden (R-Ore.) said he wasn’t pleased with the (now supposedly resolved) comment backlog at the commission. “We’ll try and hold them accountable. I mean, it’s important that the public has a say,” he said. “And so yes, we will talk to them, we will cajole them, we will try to hold them accountable. If we have to, we’ll do it through the appropriations process.”

POLITICAL TECH COMPANIES GO (MORE) CORPORATE: The Wall Street Journal reports on how political technology companies are turning to more corporate clients to flesh out their businesses. “It’s really tough to come up with a business model that allows you to just do political campaigns,” Michael Slaby, a former Obama campaign hand and the founder of Timshel, told the paper. “The campaign world is actually pretty small when you think about it from a startup perspective.” Read the whole thing here.

IN CASE YOU MISSED IT:

A jury ruled Thursday that Google was within its legal rights to copy parts of a programming language owned by Oracle in a case many called critical to the future of software development.

Apple’s effort to build stores — and its brand — in India reportedly has hit a snag.

The Internal Revenue Service’s in-house watchdog called on the IRS and Congress to take steps to help workers in the on-demand economy meet their tax obligations.

Nearly half of adults in the United States get news on Facebook, according to a Pew Research survey. A total of 44 percent of the voting-aged public get news on Facebook, making it the most popular social media site for information.

Peter Thiel, a high-profile tech entrepreneur and investor, admitted late Wednesday that he’s been funding a lawsuit against Gawker Media that threatens to cripple the company.

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