Washington can't stop Silicon Valley's profits - Politico

Washington can't stop Silicon Valley's profits - Politico,



*With help from Leah Nylen*

*Editor's Note: Morning Tech is a free version of POLITICO Pro Technology's
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POLITICO Pro.*

*— Silicon Valley wallets unscathed:* Washington may be going after big
tech companies more than ever before, but you wouldn't know it from their
third quarter earnings.

*— Google heat:* Today is the first hearing in the Justice Department's
antitrust suit against Google, and CEO Sundar Pichai had to answer to
investors' worries about the company's regulatory troubles on Thursday.

*— Attn. Wisconsin, Pennsylvania, Ohio:* More than half of social media
users in these key battleground states have reported seeing ads questioning
the validity of the November election, a new survey shows, illustrating how
those states could be more vulnerable to misinformation.

*4 DAYS TO GO (OMG). IT'S FRIDAY; WELCOME TO MORNING TECH. I'm your host,
Alexandra Levine.*

Got a news tip? Write to Alexandra at [email protected], or follow along
@Ali_Lev and @alexandra.levine. An event for our calendar? Send details to
[email protected]. Anything else? Full team info below. And don't forget:
Add @MorningTech and @PoliticoPro on Twitter.

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*THE SKINNY ON SILICON VALLEY'S THIRD QUARTER EARNINGS —* Apparently
neither a pandemic nor a major congressional investigation can shake the
success of the tech giants. Amazon, Apple, Facebook and Google reported
earnings Thursday, and they all did swimmingly. The quarter kicked off in
July with the four CEOs testifying together (for the first time ever) at an
historic House Judiciary antitrust hearing on the companies' market power.
The executives were put through the wringer, but their businesses came out
the other end worth even more — driving home that no matter how much
Washington goes after big tech, the firms are (at least so far) seemingly
immune to government intervention.

*— Facebook flies:* Facebook saw higher revenue thanks to strong digital-ad
spending, per WSJ — and that's after one month of advertisers boycotting
the platform (the so-called Stop Hate for Profit campaign) and another
month of whiplash over the social network's political ads policies.

*PLUS: GOOGLE TO 'ENGAGE CONSTRUCTIVELY' WITH REGULATORS* *—* A week after
the Justice Department sued Google for antitrust violations, CEO Sundar
Pichai said the company will "engage constructively" with regulators.
"Scrutiny is not new for us and in some ways it is now sector-wide," Pichai
said in response to a question during the investor earnings call Thursday.
"We will engage constructively where possible, as we've shown through some
of the past cases." The first hearing in the U.S. antitrust suit is set for
today.

*—* *DOJ suit*: Investors typically avoid questions about Google's
regulatory troubles, but three analysts quizzed Pichai Thursday on how the
Justice Department's lawsuit or other regulations might affect the search
giant's business. "People choose Google search not because they have to but
because it's helpful," Pichai said. "We believe that our products are
creating significant consumer benefits, and we'll confidently make our
case."

*— Digital Services Act*: The comments come a day after the Financial Times
published an internal document by Google outlining plans to lobby the
European Commission as it finalizes legislation, known as the Digital
Services Act, expected to be introduced in December. The EU's executive
body is considering a list of do's and don'ts for gatekeepers like Google,
which could include bans on platforms using a rival's commercial data to
compete with them and "self-preferencing" — where a platform favors its own
products over those of competitors. Google allegedly preferences its own
services like YouTube and Google Maps in its search results; Google doesn't
deny that it prefers its own products, maintaining that they help consumers
find things they are looking for.

*SEE YOU IN 2021: EPIC GAMES, GOOGLE CASE HEADED FOR TRIAL* *—* The judge
overseeing Fortnite-creator Epic Games' antitrust case against Google said
Thursday that he wants to schedule a trial in the suit for next year. That
would be a blow to Google, who said it needed until October 2022 to put
together its defense, while Epic had suggested February 2022. U.S. District
Judge James Donato said he intends to "move briskly" in the case. "We do
not need to drag this thing out," he said. Google's lawyer Brian Rocca,
however, said Epic's case against the search giant is complicated and may
involve documents and testimony from companies in Asia and Europe, which
would take time. The judge did not set a trial date but said they would
discuss it at the next case hearing in December.

*A NEW FTC APPROACH: HIT THEM IN THE WALLET* *—* FTC Commissioner Rohit
Chopra and an advisor are pushing for the agency to unleash one of its
under-utilized tools to make companies behave: fining them. In an article
published Thursday, Chopra and Samuel A.A. Levine argue that the FTC needs
to use its "penalty offense authority." The power granted to the FTC in
1975 allows the agency to fine companies if they knowingly engage in
behavior the FTC has deemed "unfair or deceptive" in a previous case. Fines
can reach more than $43,000 per violation per day. The FTC has rarely used
its authority, except in a 2013 case where it penalized Amazon, Macy's,
K-Mart and others for labeling products as environmentally-friendly bamboo
when they were, in fact, made from rayon.

*—* *For decades, the FTC has eschewed civil penalties* *when businesses
mislead consumers*, instead entering into settlements where the company
pledges to end its bad behavior. Cases in point: a 2011 order with Google
for misleading users over privacy practices related to the short-lived
Google Buzz and a 2012 order with Facebook after it made public information
it told users would stay private. The tech firms paid nothing in either
case. When it does go to court, the FTC is limited to asking for the amount
directly lost by victims or earned by wrongdoers — and that power is
currently under attack in two cases the Supreme Court will hear next year.

*—* *Pyramid schemes,* *fake reviews and privacy lapses*: After laying out
how the FTC could use its power, Chopra and Levine target five types of
cases where they believe the agency could start imposing penalties. Among
the categories: gig economy companies that mislead workers about how much
money they can make (Uber gets singled out in a footnote); companies that
use online influencers for posts or fake reviews without disclosing they
are sponsored (something the FTC dinged skincare brand Sunday Riley for
last year); and privacy breaches where a firm tells users it is collecting
data for one thing and then uses it for another (Cambridge Analytica).

*2020 WATCH: SOCIAL MEDIA TROUBLE FOR SWING STATE VOTERS —* A little more
than half of social media users in Wisconsin, Pennsylvania and Ohio — key
battleground states in the November elections — say they're seeing ads
questioning the validity of the race. That's a finding in a new survey
commissioned by Global Witness, a group pushing for tighter regulations of
tech companies, my colleague Steven Overly reports in a new dispatch: The
findings "come after months of efforts by President Donald Trump to claim
that the election might be rigged and cast doubt about the validity of
mail-in voting."

*CHINA HAWK TARGETS TIKTOKS OF THE WORLD —* Senate Intel acting Chair Marco
Rubio (R-Fla.) introduced legislation Thursday setting standards that
"high-risk" foreign apps would need to meet in order to operate in the U.S.
The so-called Adversarial Platform Prevention or APP Act would create
guidelines around censorship and data protection in particular, a jab at
Chinese-owned platforms like TikTok and WeChat that the Trump
administration has targeted over national security concerns. Under the
measure, apps deemed high-risk would not be afforded Section 230
protections (a likely blow to TikTok); would be compelled to store all
American user data in the U.S.; and would need to display a detailed
warning label. Parent companies of those apps would also be forced to
disclose certain information to the FTC and Justice Department.

*— Defining 'high risk':* Apps headquartered, operating primarily or
storing user data in China, Russia, Venezuela and Cuba would fall into that
category.

*— Bigger picture:* While prospects for a solo bill introduced so late in
Congress are low, the action is a reminder that government scrutiny on
apps' owners and origins, as a matter of national security, will continue
no matter who wins the presidency. Concerns about TikTok have grown
increasingly bipartisan during the pandemic, and President Trump and Joe
Biden argued at both presidential debates about who's the bigger badder
wolf taking on China and Russia.
[image: Advertisement Image]

*Christina Martin*, former executive vice president of the Corn Refiners
Association, joined the Internet Association as senior vice president of
communications and public affairs. … *Lawrence Duncan III*, a longtime
Democratic government affairs strategist and former defense industry
executive, will on Monday join the consulting firm Monument Advocacy as a
partner. *Gary Bolton*, former vice president of global marketing and
government affairs at ADTRAN, will on Monday become president and CEO of
the Fiber Broadband Association, succeeding *Lisa Youngers*, who is leaving
the group for another role in the industry.

CTIA, the wireless industry association, announced its 2021 officers for
the board of directors. *David Christopher*, executive vice president and
general manager of AT&T, was elected CTIA Chairman; *Slayton Stewart*, CEO
of Carolina West Wireless, as vice Chairman; *Rick Corker*, executive vice
president of Nokia, as secretary; and *Bret Comolli*, Chairman of Asurion,
as Treasurer.

*Ads ban blunder:* Facebook's botched rollout of its ban on new political
ads is costing Biden a half-million dollars in projected donations and
shaking the campaign's ad strategy days out from the election, POLITICO
reports. ("We have implemented changes to fix these issues, and most
political ads are now running without any problems," Facebook said Thursday
in an update.)

*Khanna have it?:* In an interview with Cristiano, Silicon Valley Rep. Ro
Khanna said he'd be interested in filling Kamala Harris' Senate seat in
California if she and Biden win the White House. More here for Pros.

*On algorithmic bias:* "Google algorithms are being blamed for producing
biased excerpts from the state's official election guide when California
voters search for information on ballot measures this fall," POLITICO's
Katy Murphy reports.

A message from Facebook:

Explore Facebook's Voting Information Center

More than 39 million people have visited our Voting Information Center,
which makes it easy to check your registration status, explore voting
options in your state and prepare to vote safely.

*Explore the Voting Information Center now*

*ICYMI:* Lina Khan, who until recently was counsel for House Judiciary's
antitrust subcommittee after joining the panel last year to help with its
probe into major tech platforms, sat down with NYT Opinion's Kara Swisher
on her new podcast. Listen here.

*Another podcast OTD:* The latest episode of Gigi Sohn's "G&T: Tech on the
Rocks" podcast features a conversation with Verified Voting co-director
Mark Lindeman about how local officials are safeguarding the 2020 voting
process and making sure every ballot counts. Listen on Apple, Google and
Spotify.

*In profile:* Republican FCC Commissioner Brendan Carr, "the man who could
lead the GOP's war on platform moderation," via The Verge.

*Tips, comments, suggestions? Send them along via email to our team: Bob
King ([email protected], @bkingdc), Heidi Vogt ([email protected],
@HeidiVogt), Nancy Scola ([email protected], @nancyscola), Steven Overly
([email protected], @stevenoverly), John Hendel ([email protected],
@JohnHendel), Cristiano Lima ([email protected], @viaCristiano), Alexandra
S. Levine ([email protected], @Ali_Lev), and Leah Nylen ([email protected],
@leah_nylen).*

*TTYL.*


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Lori Loughlin surrenders to prison, but COVID-19 will keep daughters away -
Press-Enterprise,



Lori Loughlin is finally facing the hard consequences of her role in the
college admissions scandal by reporting to the Federal Correctional
Institution in Dublin Friday to begin her two-month sentence.

The former "Full House" star surrendered to authorities at the Dublin
facility several weeks early, NBC News reported. A federal judge had
ordered her to report to the prison by November 19.

Loughlin, 56, will serve out her time in the same prison where "Desperate
Housewives" star Felicity Huffman served her 11 days last October. Huffman
also was one of the wealthy parents, including some from the Bay Area, who
have been charged and convicted in the sprawling college admissions scandal.

As Bureau of Prisons inmate no. 77827-112, Loughlin is expected to
surrender all of her personal belongings, including clothing and underwear,
and to don a plain uniform of khaki pants and a brown t-shirt.

Loughlin will have to learn to live with a "Groundhog Day" existence, with
a schedule that dictates when inmates get breakfast, lunch and dinner,
stand for count, go to work assignments and have free time to shower, make
phone calls, read or exercise, according to prison consultant Larry Levine,
who served 10 years in prisons around the country after being convicted on
racketeering, securities fraud and narcotics trafficking charges.

During her brief stint at Dublin, Huffman was able to enjoy visits from her
husband, fellow TV star William H. Macy, and oldest daughter Sophia.

But family visits won't be available to Loughlin due to the coronavirus
pandemic, NBC News reported.

That means, the tabloids shouldn't expect to publish any clandestine photos
of Loughlin receiving visits from her daughters, Olivia Jade and Isabella
Giannulli, as was the case for Huffman and her family.

Meanwhile, Loughlin's husband, Mossimo Giannulli, also was ordered to
surrender to federal prison by Nov. 19. Information about his status was
not immediately available.

Loughlin and Giannulli, 57, pleaded guilty in May to paying $500,000 to
college admissions consultant William "Rick" Singer to get their daughters,
Olivia Jade, 20, and Isabella, 21, fraudulently admitted to the University
of Southern California. Federal prosecutors accused the couple of working
with Singer to create false athletic profiles for the sisters, presenting
them as recruits to the rowing team. Neither girl was a rower.
,

Report: Sox have interviewed La Russa for manager job - Comcast SportsNet
Chicago,



The White Sox have reportedly already conducted multiple interviews as they
search for their next manager, including one with Hall of Fame skipper Tony
La Russa.

The Score's Bruce Levine reported Wednesday that the South Side brain trust
has sat down with La Russa, who's been reported for more than a week now to
be in the mix to replace Rick Renteria, as well as other unnamed
candidates. Levine described La Russa as "a top candidate" in the White Sox
ongoing hunt for a new field leader.

The meeting with La Russa expectedly included conversations with team vice
president Ken Williams and general manager Rick Hahn, who reportedly asked
the 76-year-old La Russa how he would handle managing young players. The
White Sox roster is loaded with uber-talented youngsters, part of the
reason the team is so bullish on the present and long-term future, which
with the right manager could feature an awful lot of winning.

*RELATED: White Sox manager search: Pros and cons of 8 potential candidates*

La Russa's age is certainly not an indication of his managing ability, but
it could influence his approach to running a clubhouse, something important
in a game that is becoming increasingly "new school." La Russa hasn't
managed in the major leagues since he retired following the 2011 season.

While bat flips and home-run selfies don't take much getting used to,
Renteria won ample praise for his approach with his players, allowing them
to be themselves both on and off the field, whether that meant showing
their fun-loving personalities with home-run celebrations or using their
platforms to protest racial injustice and police brutality against Black
Americans in the United States. La Russa has voiced his strong opposition
to athletes protesting during the national anthem.

La Russa's name has been prominently featured since the White Sox announced
they parted ways with Renteria early last week. USA Today's Bob Nightengale
first discussed the possibility of La Russa returning to the South Side,
where he managed from 1979 to 1986, and by week's end told Our Chuck
Garfien that it was "La Russa's job to lose."

La Russa's strong personal relationship with White Sox chairman Jerry
Reinsdorf has been a recurring talking point.

Certainly La Russa has what the White Sox are looking for when it comes to
winning experience, with three World Series wins as a manager, first in
1989 with the Oakland Athletics, then in 2006 and 2011 with the St. Louis
Cardinals. But he's been retired from managing for nearly a decade,
stretching the definition of the "recent" postseason managing experience
Hahn said would apply to the team's ideal candidate.

When Hahn made those comments, it sounded like he was describing free-agent
managers A.J. Hinch and Alex Cora, both currently serving one-year
suspensions for their ties to the Houston Astros' cheating scandal. Those
suspensions end at the conclusion of the World Series.

Hahn said the team's search would potentially stretch past the end of the
postseason, allowing it to interview any potential candidates who are still
working in the World Series. Levine reported the White Sox are looking to
name their manager within the next 10 days to two weeks, allowing the next
skipper to have input on the team's offseason activity.

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