Delivery app workers should be reclassified as full-time employees with benefits, Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., wrote DoorDash, Grubhub, Uber Eats and Instacart Wednesday, citing COVID-19. "Delivery workers are experiencing serious health and economic vulnerabilities as a result of their jobs, and your company is failing to provide appropriate and necessary protections.” Grubhub is providing two weeks of sick pay to cover medical expenses and lost income for drivers, as well as free access to sanitizer and protective gear and the option to deliver “contact-free,” a spokesperson emailed. Uber supports strengthening existing benefits and protections for independent workers, a spokesperson emailed, and seeks “updated laws that permit companies like ours to provide new benefits.” The other companies didn’t comment.

The Senate Antitrust Subcommittee scheduled a hearing on tech market competition at 10 a.m. March 10 in 226 Dirksen. Witnesses are: Yelp CEO Jeremy Stoppelman, Public Knowledge Senior Adviser Gene Kimmelman, Open Markets Institute Enforcement Strategy Director Sally Hubbard, Clemson University economist Thomas Hazlett, and ACT|The App Association President Morgan Reed.

Senate passage of the Secure and Trusted Communications Networks Act (HR-4998) got more praise Thursday and Friday (see 2002270070), including from the bill’s original co-sponsors and FCC Commissioner Geoffrey Starks. The bill would allocate at least $1 billion to help U.S. communications providers remove from their networks Chinese equipment deemed to threaten national security. The House passed the measure in December (see 1912160052), meaning it now moves on to President Donald Trump. “The existence of Huawei’s technology in our networks represents an immense threat to America’s national and economic security,” said original bill sponsors House Commerce Committee Chairman Frank Pallone, D-N.J., ranking member Greg Walden, R-Ore., House Communications Subcommittee Vice Chair Doris Matsui, D-Calif., and Rep. Brett Guthrie, R-Ky. "This bipartisan bill will help communities across the country by bolstering efforts to keep our communications supply chain safe from foreign adversaries and other dangerous actors, while helping small and rural providers remove and replace suspect network equipment.” Starks tweeted he’s “very glad to see bipartisan agreement around helping small carriers get untrustworthy equipment out of their networks.” The FCC “needs to work quickly to get these funds to providers,” he said, replying to our tweet reporting the development. “We’ll all be more secure when the replacement is done.” FCC national security supply chain rules barring equipment from Chinese vendors Huawei and ZTE from networks funded by the USF took effect in January (see 2001020027).

The Senate passed the Secure and Trusted Communications Networks Act (HR-4998) by unanimous consent Thursday, as expected (see 2002130054). The House-passed measure would allocate at least $1 billion to help U.S. communications providers remove from their networks Chinese equipment determined to threaten national security (see 1912160052). It now moves on to President Donald Trump. “By establishing a ‘rip and replace’ program, this legislation will provide meaningful safeguards for our communications networks and more secure connections,” said Senate Commerce Committee Chairman Roger Wicker, R-Miss. The committee will hold a hearing Wednesday on 5G supply chain security (see 2002260028). Senate Commerce called HR-4998 a companion to the committee-cleared U.S. 5G Leadership Act (S-1625), but the two measures have different funding language. Those differences led Sen. Mike Lee, R-Utah, to object to moving HR-4998 by UC in December (see 1912190068). HR-4998's passage “is a significant milestone to address security issues identified by Congress” and the Trump administration, said Competitive Carriers Association CEO Steven Berry. It “provides much-needed guidance to all carriers, and importantly, resources.” The Telecommunications Industry Association “applauds this decisive action to support efforts for the replacement of equipment that raises national security risks with equipment from trusted suppliers,” said CEO David Stehlin. “Congress is also sending a clear signal to the global industry that the U.S. will continue to lead the way on 5G security.” The Rural Wireless Association said that “without this crucial funding, rural carriers would lack the financial means to effectuate rapid replacement.”

The Senate Commerce Committee plans a March 4 hearing on 5G supply chain security, which it said will partially examine “efforts to secure networks from exploitation in the transition to 5G” and the federal government’s “role in mitigating risks to telecommunications equipment and services.” Planned witnesses include: Competitive Carriers Association CEO Steven Berry, Ericsson North America Head of Security-Network Product Solutions Jason Boswell, Nokia President-Customer Operations, Americas Rick Corker and Center for Strategic and International Studies Technology Policy Program Director James Lewis. The hearing begins at 10 a.m. in 253 Russell. Senate Commerce Chairman Roger Wicker, R-Miss., has a deal for the chamber to soon pass the Secure and Trusted Communications Networks Act (HR-4998) by unanimous consent (see 2002130054). The House-passed bill would allocate at least $1 billion to help U.S. communications providers remove from their networks Chinese equipment determined to threaten national security. The FCC asked eligible telecom carriers Wednesday whether they use equipment or services from Huawei or fellow Chinese equipment maker ZTE (see 2002260010).

The National Institutes of Health should study the impact of technology use and media consumption on children, wrote Sens. Ed Markey, D-Mass., Roy Blunt, R-Mo., and Ben Sasse, R-Neb. They urged support Tuesday for their Children and Media Research Advancement Act (see 1807260040). S-558 would direct the research. NIH didn’t comment.

Facebook, T-Mobile and CTIA reported increases Tuesday in Q4 lobbying spending, compared with the same period in 2018, while AT&T and NAB expenditures decreased. Google dropped, while Cox, NCTA and Sprint rose (see 2001210073). Facebook spent $4.43 million, up 56 percent. CTIA reported $4.41 million, a 22-plus percent gain. Amazon had $4.21 million, up more than 13 percent. Comcast laid out $3.65 million, down more than 5 percent. NAB and Charter Communications each reported $2.84 million. Charter gained almost 19 percent from 2018, while NAB’s declined 13-plus percent. Verizon expended $2.6 million, up almost 8 percent. AT&T posted $2.44 million, down 25 percent. T-Mobile had $2.41 million, up 24 percent. Apple spent $1.83 million, up more than 19 percent. Disney spent $940,000, up 13 percent. The Internet Association was $800,000, down more than 4 percent. Twitter spent $300,000, down 6 percent. NTCA reported $100,000, down 9 percent.

The House-passed Secure 5G and Beyond Act (HR-2881) isn’t “specifically” targeted against Huawei and ZTE, but it’s important for the U.S. government to “ensure that the American public and American companies recognize the threat” those companies’ products may pose, said lead sponsor Rep. Abigail Spanberger, D-Va. She spoke to C-SPAN’s The Communicators, posted online Friday and to have been televised over the weekend. HR-2881 and Senate version S-893 would require the president to develop a strategy for ensuring security of 5G networks and infrastructure (see 1903270065). The House passed HR-2881 and three other 5G-centric bills earlier this month (see 2001080002). “Significant indicators,” including the Chinese government’s financial relationship with Huawei, show there’s good reason to be concerned that Huawei’s technology “could create back doors” or other ways of accessing consumer data or company data “that from the American perspective we would find unacceptable,” Spanberger said: China’s privacy standards and corporate practices “are different from those that we would find acceptable or even legal.” She supports the Trump administration's efforts to convince its allies, including the U.K., not to allow Huawei or ZTE equipment into their telecom infrastructure as part of fifth-generation wireless. Sen. Tom Cotton, R-Ark., recently filed legislation aimed at barring the U.S. from sharing intelligence “with any country that permits operation within its national borders” of Huawei-produced 5G equipment. The U.S. has a “right to express concern with how that information is being safeguarded,” Spanberger said. She said bids to ensure U.S. communications providers remove from their networks Chinese equipment determined to threaten national security “might perhaps be a step greater than we need to take at this time." Lawmakers are in talks to advance bills to reach consensus between the House-passed Secure and Trusted Communications Networks Act and the similar Senate Commerce-cleared U.S. 5G Leadership Act. HR-4998 and S-1625 would provide funding to help U.S. communications providers remove suspect equipment.

Technology and telecom policy matters were again largely absent during Tuesday night's debate among 2020 Democratic presidential hopefuls, following a pattern set at the candidates’ December bout (see 1912200062) and most previous panels. Former Vice President Joe Biden suggested amid a discussion about the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement on free trade that “we should be putting our money and our effort and our time in preparing American workers to compete in the 21st century on the high-tech side, dealing with artificial intelligence.” The Senate Commerce and Foreign Relations committees advanced USMCA Wednesday on voice votes. The Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee voted 22-1 to clear it, while the chamber’s Appropriations Committee advanced it 29-2. The Senate Public Works and Budget committees advanced USMCA earlier this week (see 2001150080). Sen. Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts pledged at the debate to roll back a Council on Environmental Quality NPRM promoted by President Donald Trump that aims to narrow the timeline of all federal agencies’ National Environmental Policy Act reviews of proposed infrastructure projects (see 2001090058). Warren also twice criticized Amazon for not paying federal income taxes in 2018, saying “we can make them pay.”

Sen. Ron Wyden of Oregon and five other congressional Democrats urged the FCC Thursday to “initiate a rulemaking to protect consumers from SIM card swaps, “port outs and other similar methods of account fraud” aimed at stealing phone numbers and undermining two-factor authentication cybersecurity procedures. They cited reports estimating SIM fraud has resulted in tens of millions of dollars in damages. “Consumers have no choice but to rely on phone companies to protect them against SIM swaps -- and they need to be able to count on the FCC to hold mobile carriers accountable when they fail to secure their systems and thus harm consumers,” the lawmakers wrote to FCC Chairman Ajit Pai. Also signing: Sens. Sherrod Brown of Ohio and Ed Markey of Massachusetts, House Commerce Committee Vice Chair Yvette Clarke of New York and Reps. Anna Eshoo and Ted Lieu, both of California. “Some carriers … have adopted policies that better protect” against SIM fraud like “allowing customers to add optional security protections to their account that prevent SIM swaps unless the customer visits a store and shows ID,” they said. “Implementation of these additional security measures by wireless carriers in the U.S. is still spotty and consumers are unlikely to find out about the availability of these obscure, optional security features until it is too late.” The FCC has the responsibility and authority to secure America’s communication networks and protect consumers who rely on those networks,” the lawmakers said. They sought information by Feb. 14 on current FCC anti-SIM fraud actions. The FCC didn’t comment. It has released information to consumers about SIM fraud practices.