Overnight Tech: Senators look to free online reviews from ‘gag orders’

LEDE: The Senate Commerce Committee on Wednesday will probe so-called gag clauses, which critics say can intimidate and prevent people from writing critical online reviews of products and services.

The panel will discuss legislation that would guard against online terms of service agreements that restrict customers from making critical reviews of the products or services they purchase. The bill would give authority to states and the Federal Trade Commission to prevent these clauses, which companies can use to sue individuals.

“These gag provisions are egregious from a consumer protection standpoint, but they’re also doing harm to our Internet ecosystem,” Chairman John Thune (R-S.D.) will say in prepared remarks.

{mosads}Trip Advisor, advocates, as well as an individual who has been the subject of legal action will testify.

Rep. Darrell Issa (R-Calif.) has introduced companion legislation in the House. A separate proposal in the lower chamber would give more authority to judges to shut down the lawsuits against online reviewers. Twenty-eight states have set up similar laws. A federal law has been supported by major trade associations, as well as tech companies like Yelp and Trip Advisor.

CHARTER FIGHTS OPPOSITION: Charter Communications and Time Warner Cable submitted a 95-page rebuttal to opponents of their proposed merger. In a filing to the FCC, the companies touted the expected benefits of the deal and denied it could harm online video, among other businesses. The companies said even most critics saw the public interest benefit of the deal, because “almost all of them seek conditions rather than outright denial.”

PLOUFFE DOESN’T SEEN AN UBER ELECTION: Uber’s David Plouffe, who managed President Obama’s 2008 campaign, said Tuesday he doesn’t think the on-demand economy will be a big faultline in the presidential race. “Do I think this is going to be a big debate in the presidential election? I do not,” he said during an event at startup space 1776. “I think there’ll be big differences around the Iran deal, obviously around healthcare, around tax policy. I don’t think this will be a huge debate in the presidential election, is my suspicion.”

WHAT TECH CAN LEARN FROM WASHINGTON: Vox’s Ezra Klein asked Plouffe what tech can learn from government, and vice versa. He said Washington doesn’t understand the pace at which innovation moves in the tech world. “I think what the technology industry [can learn] is that most government officials aren’t making a decision because they’re corrupt, or they’re shortsighted,” he said. “It’s just sometimes, being in government’s hard.” He said that “sometimes you need to get in the shoes of the government official and understand the political pressures they’re facing” as well as their priorities.

IF YOU WANT TO HEAR MORE: A video of the whole event featuring Plouffe is available here.

MEANWHILE, IN EUROPE: BuzzFeed News reports that Uber is facing a complaint from drivers in the U.K. that it has misclassified them as contractors, rather than employees. The drivers are claiming that the company controls the way they do their job — which they say undercuts their contractor status. Interestingly, they are hoping to be classified using a third status. That is not currently an option in the United States, though some would like to change that.

GOOGLE’S ANTITRUST RESPONSE: The Wall Street Journal obtained a redacted version of Google’s response to European antitrust regulators who are taking action against the tech giant over its shopping feature in search. The newspaper reported the 130-page document accused regulators of going back on a proposed settlement offer last year without explanation. It also continued to claim there is “no basis” for the charges.

AND THEIR PHILANTHROPIC EFFORTS: Google.org, the company’s foundation, is donating millions of dollars to organizations involved in the racial justice movement, USA Today reports. The $2.35 million in grants will go to community groups in the Bay Area who are focusing on criminal justice and educational reforms. The foundation’s Justin Steele told the paper that it was part of a “larger giving effort over the course of the next year.”

RYAN DOESN’T RULE OUT BUDGET RIDERS: New Speaker Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) on Tuesday refused to rule out attaching legislative policy riders to the omnibus spending bill that must pass before Dec. 11. Republicans have proposed a host of riders during the committee appropriations process this year. High profile issues like defunding Planned Parenthood have been on the front burner, but some Democrats have previously warned against attaching any net neutrality related provisions.

ON TAP:

At 10 a.m., the Senate Commerce Committee will hold a hearing on the effects of “gagging honest reviews.”

IN CASE YOU MISSED IT:

Imprisoned government leaker Chelsea Manning spent months behind bars writing draft legislation to overhaul the nation’s spying powers, she revealed on Tuesday.

David Plouffe, the Obama confidant turned top strategist and board member at Uber, delivered a lengthy defense of the company’s role in the economy before an audience in Washington on Tuesday.

Another lawmaker is taking a crack at a bill to set nationwide data security standards.

Google and Apple are among the companies in a new coalition dedicated to advocating policies to aid the financial tech space.

The Washington Redskins football team is arguing that a section of law used to cancel many of its trademarks is unconstitutional.

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