OVERNIGHT TECH: Wyden unveils data cap bill

THE LEDE: Sen. Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) introduced a bill on Thursday that would require the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to establish standards that Internet service providers, such as AT&T and Comcast, will use to accurately measure the amount of data their subscribers use.

The bill, called the Data Cap Integrity Act, would also require the FCC to review whether an Internet provider's data cap is designed to limit congestion on their network, rather than attempt to monetize that data. The measure also bars Internet providers from giving preferential treatment to certain types of content when measuring consumers' data usage. 

Wyden's bill would provide consumers with tools they can use to monitor their data usage.

"Future innovation will undoubtedly require consumers to use more and more data — data caps should not impede this innovation and the jobs it creates," Wyden said in a statement. "This bill is intended to help consumers manage their data more effectively and ensure that data caps are used only to serve the legitimate purpose of addressing congestion.”

The bill is not expected to see any action given the limited number of legislative days left this year.

Digital advocacy group Public Knowledge lauded the introduction of the bill and said it looks forward to seeing more conversation about data caps in the next Congress.

Christopher Lewis, vice president of government affairs at Public Knowledge, said in a statement that the group "supports Sen. Wyden's effort to provide consumers with transparency on their data usage and to ensure that these caps do not limit innovative products and uses on the Internet."

Senate Commerce moves FTC, FCC picks out of committee via procedural move: Senate Commerce Chairman Jay Rockefeller (D-W.Va.) and Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison (R-Texas) agreed to request consent to discharge President Obama's nominees for the Federal Trade Commission and the Federal Communications Commission out of committee on Thursday — a procedural move used to approve the nominees without having a formal committee vote. Rockefeller and Hutchison agreed on the move because scheduling conflicts prevented a vote from happening this week, a Commerce aide said.

Cyber order update: The clock is ticking until the end of 2012 and the White House has yet to issue its cybersecurity executive order. So when will it be coming down the pike? Check Hillicon Valley tomorrow.

Dodd: Film studios ready to do 'our part' after shooting: Former Sen. Chris Dodd (D-Conn.), now the chief of the Motion Picture Association of America, on Thursday said the film and television industry wants to "do our part to help America heal" from last week's shooting in Newtown, Conn.

Dodd's statement comes as lawmakers have called for Congress to take a closer look into whether violent video games, movies and TV shows are contributing to aggressive behavior. Since last week's shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School, which killed 20 young children and six adults, Sens. Joe Lieberman (I-Conn.) and Jay Rockefeller have suggested there is a link between entertainment and violence.

Video game lobby breaks silence after Newtown shooting: The Entertainment Software Association has issued a statement saying any study that examines the effect of violent video games on children needs to consider past research that shows no connection between entertainment content and real-world violence.

The video game lobby broke its silence after lawmakers charged in recent days that violent video games, movies and other entertainment content contribute to violence in real life. 

Civil liberties groups urge Senate to debate surveillance bill: Civil liberties and privacy groups are urging the Senate to debate a handful of amendments that are aimed at beefing up the privacy protections in a controversial surveillance bill.

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) on Thursday said he plans to file cloture by the end of the day on the FISA Amendments Act, which would reauthorize the 2008 surveillance bill for another five years. The measure gives U.S. officials the authority to conduct surveillance on suspected terrorists abroad without a court order.

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