Good Morning Tech: FCC November meeting, GOP to hear from E&C hopefuls

Driving the day: The competitors for the House Energy and Commerce gavel will make presentations before the Republican Steering Committee on Tuesday, which will put one of them on top of the panel that oversees telecom and technology policy. GOP Reps. Joe Barton (Texas), John Shimkus (Ill.), Cliff Stearns (Fla.), and Fred Upton (Mich.) are all campaigning for the top job. The eventual chairman will help decide the telecom subcommittee chairman.

Today: FCC monthly meeting focusing on spectrum issues; Deadline for FCC chairman to circulate an agenda for December's meeting, meaning it may become clearer today whether a net neutrality vote will be scheduled for December (however, he may blow the deadline). 

Verizon, AT&T split on approach to FCC deal-making

After weeks of discussions with the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), the nation's two largest phone companies disagree on what kinds of net-neutrality rules they can swallow.

With FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski preparing to reveal his net-neutrality plans possibly as early as Tuesday, AT&T and Verizon have been split in their approaches to agency deliberations this month. Read more in The Hill: http://bit.ly/gMABDg

Technology exports down 16 percent in 2009

A new report released Tuesday by the industry group TechAmerica shows U.S. hi-tech exports fell by 16 percent in 2009 to $188 billlion. That represented 18 percent of all U.S. exports, making tech the largest export sector in the U.S. economy. Hi-tech imports were also down 11 percent to $299 billion resulting in a hi-tech trade deficit of $111 billion.

“After several years of rising exports, the tech industry saw a 16 percent dip in 2009 largely resulting from the global economic downturn. These high-tech exports support nearly one million American jobs, and when exports decline, American jobs are threatened," said Josh James, vice president, research and industry analysis, TechAmerica Foundation.

"We believe it is critical to resist the urge to put up new barriers to trade and to pass the pending Free Trade Agreements with Colombia, Panama, and South Korea,” he added.

Hi-tech exports accounted for 944,300 jobs in the U.S. last year, with Europe, Mexico and Canada purchasing the most U.S. goods followed by China and Japan. Only four states saw hi-tech exports rise last year: Alaska, Wyoming, Louisiana and Arkansas. California led with $41.3 billlion in 2009, down 16 percent from a year earlier.

Can't-miss news.

Government's Internet crackdown was timed to thwart 'Cyber Monday' crimes. Attorney General Eric Holder said Monday the government crackdown on websites facilitating copyright infringement was timed to coincide with the holiday shopping season. http://bit.ly/dQIi0K

Level 3 accuses Comcast of unfairly using its clout as the dominant U.S. cable provider. "An online networking company that carries video feeds for Netflix has accused cable giant Comcast of demanding unfair fees to provide that video to home subscribers, raising questions about Comcast’s power to control consumers’ access to the Internet. Level 3, a Colorado-based Internet company whose main client is the video giant Netflix, on Monday said Comcast’s action amounts to setting up a “toll booth” on the Internet. " http://wapo.st/hXp02J

Google’s Groupon Offer: $5.3 Billion, With $700 Million Earnout. "According to sources close to the situation, Google has offered $5.3 billion for Groupon, in what would be its largest acquisition yet if completed. Sources said the deal for the Chicago-based social buying site seemed likely to be struck, even as early as tomorrow, although it certainly could fall apart right up to the end." http://bit.ly/i7mEmJ

Wikileaks evades hackers with shift to Amazon. "Wikileaks, the site that has infuriated the US government by releasing thousands of US diplomatic cables, is being hosted by one of the symbols of that country's internet success - Amazon. The site came under a "Distributed Denial of Service" (DDOS) attack on Sunday night from an unidentified hacker, forcing it to seek a new location for its computer files." http://bit.ly/iiQ9PX

E.U. Opens Antitrust Investigation Into Google. "The top European regulator opened an antitrust investigation into Google on Tuesday, following allegations that the Internet giant has abused its dominance in online search. The move follows complaints by specialized search-related companies about “unfavorable treatment of their services in Google’s unpaid and sponsored search results,” the European Commission said in a statement. " http://nyti.ms/i6iO1a

'Cyber Monday' Sales Come in Strong. "Online retailers experienced a sales surge Monday, capping off a holiday shopping week in which more Americans than ever decided to skip the mall and buy on the Web. Early estimates indicated overall sales gains of about 20% from a year earlier for "Cyber Monday," the nickname for the Monday after Thanksgiving." http://on.wsj.com/hb7w67

Internet Privacy: Firefox Makers Look at Hiding Online Footprints. "The makers of the popular Firefox Web browser are exploring ways to create a do-not-track mechanism that could offer Internet users a way to avoid being monitored online. The effort comes just months after Firefox's creator, Mozilla Corp., killed a powerful and new tool to limit tracking under pressure from an ad-industry executive, The Wall Street Journal has learned." http://on.wsj.com/fix9i6

Countering WikiLeaks could stifle information sharing. "The government can't do much, from a technical standpoint, to thwart the inappropriate interception of classified information by internal personnel -- without imposing controls that would stifle information sharing, former Justice Department officials say. " http://bit.ly/g5MSNp

SAID

"Because you've got a lot of people paying attention to us, and I'm trying to sell books."

-Former President George W. Bush on why he chose to visit Facebook for an interview on his book "Decision Points." Facebook chief executive Mark Zuckerberg hosted the interview.