Hillicon Valley: Trump to meet Google CEO | DHS chief blasts bureaucratic red tape | Russian hackers went after 'Star Wars' | Amazon raises minimum wage

View in Browser     Welcome to Hillicon Valley, The Hill's newsletter detailing all you need to know about the tech and cyber news from Capitol Hill to Silicon Valley. Welcome! Follow the cyber team, Olivia Beavers (@olivia_beavers) and Jacqueline Thomsen (@jacq_thomsen), and the tech team, Harper Neidig (@hneidig) and Ali Breland (@alibreland). And if you don't get our newsletter, CLICK HERE to subscribe.     FINALLY COMING TOGETHER?: President Trump is set to meet with Google CEO Sundar Pichai and other technology industry representatives later this month, a top White House official announced Tuesday. National Economic Council director Larry Kudlow told reporters that a date isn't set for the meeting, but he expects it to be in mid-October. He said he is hopeful that Facebook and Twitter also send representatives for the meeting. "We're going to have a little conference. The president will preside over it. We will have the big internet companies, the big social media companies, search companies, and some who are dissatisfied with those companies," he said. Google and Facebook did not immediately respond to requests for comment. Pichai committed to the meeting during a previous meeting with Kudlow last week, the White House official said Tuesday. Kudlow called his meeting with Pichai "constructive" and said the Google CEO was "extremely cooperative." Big picture: The expected gathering of industry officials with Trump would follow a tense period between technology companies and the White House. In September, Trump publicly criticized Facebook, Google and Twitter, accusing them of being biased against conservatives and saying that the former two raised a "very antitrust situation." Read more here.   STOP CRAMPIN' MY STYLE: The head of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) on Tuesday said bureaucratic red tape, primarily on Capitol Hill, is weighing down the agency's efforts to respond quickly to evolving threats. "We have to reorganize the way Congress does oversight for DHS," Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen said at an event hosted by The Washington Post. She said that while oversight is needed, "100 committees is not workable." Nielsen said numerous congressional committees have claimed oversight jurisdiction over DHS. "Things develop so quickly given our connectivity, given the pace of innovation, that I worry we won't have time to develop what we need to respond to the evolving threats," she added. "That has been the most difficult -- to change our posture to one that is much more far leaning and anticipatory, horizon-scanning in addressing today's threats." Nielsen cited drones as a key example of red-tape delays. The DHS chief said she's been talking to Congress for a year about the need to change the agency's authority to track drones. Current requirements say DHS needs a warrant to monitor a drone. She said that since some drones can fly as fast as 150 mph, it's impractical under the current setup because DHS would not have enough time to get a warrant to follow a drone if it is flying at a soft-target. Nielsen said she was told by six different congressional committees that drones fall under their authority. Read more here.   RIGHT OUT OF A SCI-FI FILM: Russian hackers reportedly targeted the release of Disney's "Star Wars: The Last Jedi" in 2017 to politicize the franchise and drum up discontent. A new academic paper released this week from researcher Mort Bay at the University of Southern California found evidence online of "deliberate, organized political influence measures disguised as fan arguments." Russian operators have exploited social media accounts to push political agendas, most notably during the 2016 presidential election, Bay wrote. He found a number of Russian trolls disguised as fan accounts participating in online debates about the movie. Online discussions comprised of three different audiences, according to Bay. There were trolls, those trying to stir up controversy because of a political agenda and genuine "Star Wars" fans. "Overall, 50.9 percent of those tweeting negatively [about the movie] was likely politically motivated or not even human," he writes, noting that only 21.9 percent of tweets analyzed about the movie had been negative in the first place. Bay wrote that the likely goal of the online trolls was to increase media coverage of the fandom's conflict, "thereby adding to and further propagating a narrative of widespread discord and dysfunction in American society," Bay wrote. Read more here.   DOLLA, DOLLA BILLS YA: Amazon announced early Tuesday that it is increasing its hourly minimum wage to $15 per hour for all full-time, part-time, temporary and seasonal employees across the United States. "We listened to our critics, thought hard about what we wanted to do, and decided we want to lead," Jeff Bezos, Amazon's founder and CEO, said in a statement. "We're excited about this change and encourage our competitors and other large employers to join us," he added. The new hourly minimum wage rate is scheduled to take effect on Nov. 1 and will benefit the more than 250,000 employees working at the retail giant. "We will be working to gain Congressional support for an increase in the federal minimum wage. The current rate of $7.25 was set nearly a decade ago," Jay Carney, Amazon's senior vice president of global corporate affairs, said in the statement. "We intend to advocate for a minimum wage increase that will have a profound impact on the lives of tens of millions of people and families across this country." The move follows attacks from Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders (I), an outspoken critic of large corporations. The Vermont independent has specifically called out Amazon and Bezos following reports that some workers claimed they received wages they could not live on. In a letter to the Amazon CEO in June, Sanders shared stories his staff had heard from Amazon employees who said they were struggling. Read more here.   AND SANDERS WAS PLEASED: Two progressive lawmakers are lauding Amazon's decision to raise the wage of its lowest-paid employees to $15 an hour following pressure on the company to pay its workers more. Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) and Rep. Ro Khanna (D-Calif.), who had criticized Amazon for low wages, both praised the company's CEO Jeff Bezos on Tuesday following the announcement. "I'm very glad that [Bezos] took this action. He deserves a lot of credit," Khanna told The Hill. "This is going to not just put money in the pocket for Amazon employees, but also set the bar for other retailers to follow." Khanna acknowledged that Amazon could still improve in other areas but said that he wants "to give [Bezos] the benefit of the doubt today."   They're still disappointed with other companies:  Still, Khanna said the progressive lawmakers plan to press ahead on legislation that would penalize companies that pay workers wages low enough that they rely on government welfare programs. Khanna joked about changing the name of the bill, which was named the "Stop BEZOS Act," to instead focus on the CEO of Walmart or McDonald's, whose wages he says are still too low. Read more here.   TWITTER'S MIDTERM ELECTION SECURITY:  Twitter outlined its efforts to help preserve election integrity during the upcoming 2018 midterms on Monday, including its removal of a new set of accounts and a ban on the distribution of hacked materials. "As platform manipulation tactics continue to evolve, we are updating and expanding our rules to better reflect how we identify fake accounts, and what types of inauthentic activity violate our guidelines," Twitter wrote. The company said that it removed around 50 accounts misrepresenting themselves as members different state Republican parties in August. The company already removed hundreds of accounts in August as a part of its platform security efforts. Read more here.   RUBY ROSE MAY HAVE DIGITAL THORNS: Cybersecurity firm McAfee is warning that links tied to Ruby Rose are the most dangerous when searching for information about the Australian celebrity online. McAfee warns users to be careful what they click on links when searching for her. Read more from the report here.   NYC BOOSTIN' ITS CYBER: NYC's Economic Development Corp. on Tuesday announced it would be partnering with SOSA to establish a new Global Cyber Center hub. The hub, which will be located in Chelsea, is expected to help the city clamp down on cyber crime.   A LIGHTER TWITTER CLICK: Reinventing the cool koozies.   NOTABLE LINKS FROM AROUND THE WEB: New Zealand to fine travelers who refuse to unlock digital devices. (The Hill) The Facebook hack exposes an internet-wide failure. (Wired) Meet the man at the center of the high-stakes, winner-take-all $10 billion Pentagon cloud contract called JEDI. (The Washington Post) Tesla's SEC deal provides ammunition for U.S. probe, investor lawsuits. (Reuters)         Did a friend forward you this email? Sign up for Technology Newsletters     Forward Technology Newsletters       Privacy Policy  |  Manage Subscriptions  |  Unsubscribe  |  Email to a friend  |  Sign Up for Other Newsletters   The Hill 1625 K Street, NW 9th Floor, Washington DC 20006 ©2018 Capitol Hill Publishing Corp., a subsidiary of News Communications, Inc.

Overnight Energy — Presented by Southern Utah Wilderness Alliance — Trump ends law enforcement program at wildlife refuges | Pruitt canceled trips he already had tickets for | Senate panel approves new parks fund

Presented by Southern Utah Wilderness Alliance | View in Browser       TRUMP CUTS WILDLIFE REFUGE LAW ENFORCEMENT PROGRAM: The Trump administration is abruptly ending a decades-long program that trained national wildlife refuge managers with law enforcement capabilities to police often remote spots of public land. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) announced to employees on Sept. 21 that refuge managers who were also trained to police the area would no longer be able to act in any enforcement capacity and would be stripped of their firearm, according to an internal FWS email shared with The Hill. Sources said the decision came as a shock to many of the people who have worked in the position, known as dual-function officers, including retirees who had spent decades in the role at their respective refuges. Critics argued it would lead to new violations in the refuges. “It means there will be lots of violations, wildlife violations as in over-bagged hunting areas, damaged fences, signs, roads and all kinds of damage to the environment. If there is no one there to enforce the law, that would spread like wildfire,” said Kim Hanson, who retired from FWS in 2008 after more than 30 years at the agency. “It’s an extreme disservice to the American people because they expect us to take care.” The nation has 562 national wildlife refuges spread across 20.6 million acres of public land. Unlike national parks, mining, drilling, hunting and farming are all regulated activities on certain refuges. "Our dual-function officers were an integral aspect of refuge management during a time that allowed for multiple functions within a single position," stated the memo outlining the change, first obtained by Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility. "In the 21st Century the threats facing visitors and wildlife are more complex than ever. Protection of the National Wildlife Refuge System now requires a full-time officer corps that combines a concentrated effort on conservation protection, traditional policing and emergency first response to protect, serve and educate the public and Service staff.” FWS responds: In a statement to The Hill, the FWS framed the move as a way to enable refuge employees to focus full-time on their non-law-enforcement duties. “Dual-function officers carried out their full-time non-law enforcement duties as well as conducted law enforcement on a part-time basis,” a spokesperson said. “They will now be enabled to focus fully on their full-time duties within the Refuge System.” Read more.     Happy Tuesday! Welcome to Overnight Energy, The Hill's roundup of the latest energy and environment news. Please send tips and comments to Timothy Cama, tcama@thehill.com, and Miranda Green, mgreen@thehill.com. Follow us on Twitter: @Timothy_Cama, @mirandacgreen, @thehill. CLICK HERE to subscribe to our newsletter.   PRUITT CANCELED APRIL TRIPS EPA HAD ALREADY PAID FOR: Facing bipartisan criticism over his travel expenses, former Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator Scott Pruitt in April canceled a pair of official trips for which he had already bought tickets, new records show. Records obtained under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) show that Pruitt had spent $909.97 for flights for an April 9 to 11 trip to Mexico City and San Diego, which was later canceled. He also spent $1,314.44 for flights to and from northwestern Arkansas on April 16 and 18, the records show, although the agency was able to get $450.60 of that refunded. Pruitt resigned in July under pressure after months of ethics and spending scandals. A main source of his problems was his use of taxpayer money, including frequent first-class travel and a trip to Italy last year that cost more than $100,000, when the costs of aides’ travel and hotels are included. The months before the planned trips saw numerous reports about Pruitt’s travel expenses, but it’s unclear if that controversy spurred the cancelation. The Washington Post reported on the scheduled trip to Mexico in February. Pruitt also canceled planned trips to Israel and Australia, and the Post said Japan and Canada were also in the mix for potential visits. Aides made an advance trip to Australia before Pruitt was due to go, at a cost of about $45,000. The former Oklahoma attorney general also went to Morocco last year, partially to promote exports of liquefied natural gas from the United States. The EPA didn’t respond to The Hill’s requests for comment. Read more.   SENATE PANEL PASSES CONSERVATION FUND, PARKS BILLS: The Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee voted in a bipartisan fashion Tuesday to indefinitely extend the Land and Water Conservation Fund (LWCF), which expired Sunday. Under the bill sponsored by Sen. Maria Cantwell (Wash.), the committee’s top Democrat, 1.5 percent of the fund's payouts must help improve access to lands for recreation. Before the 16 to 7 vote, Cantwell said the LWCF “has pumped billions of dollars into the outdoor economy and has provided for millions of good jobs." “Protecting our public lands is good for the environment, it’s good for the economy and it’s good for the health and welfare of our people,” she said. “The Land and Water Conservation Fund is one of the most important programs we have. I believe it is the crown jewel of our conservation programs,” said Sen. Cory Gardner (R-Colo.). The panel rejected a series of amendments from Sen. Mike Lee (R-Utah) to put restrictions on the program, like renewing it for only 10 years and requiring that it spend more money on public lands maintenance than on the government buying new land. Don’t forget the maintenance backlog: The Senate committee also passed Tuesday, by a vote of 19 to 4, a bill to create a new fund that could pump billions of dollars into the National Park Service. The Restore Our Parks Act would take half of the money the federal government gets from energy production offshore and on federal land and that hasn’t been dedicated to another purposes and put it toward the Park Service’s nearly $12 billion maintenance backlog. The idea has the backing of Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke. “To me, it’s about good stewardship,” said Sen. Rob Portman (R-Ohio), who introduced the bill with Sen. Mark Warner (D-Va.). “And it’s about saving federal tax dollars over the long term, with predictable funding for capital expenditures.” Read more.     ON TAP WEDNESDAY: A subcommittee of the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee will hold a hearing on the EPA’s regulatory proposal to increase science “transparency” in rulemaking, which opponents say would make the best scientific data out-of-reach for the agency. Lawmakers will hear from three academics, two in support and one in opposition.   OUTSIDE THE BELTWAY: Exxon Mobil Corp. is considering selling many of its Gulf of Mexico assets, Reuters reports. Beaches on Florida’s Atlantic coast are being tested for red tide after officials found toxic algae off the coast, a rare occurrence, the Miami Herald reports. Volkswagen fired former CEO Rupert Stadler, who is in jail on charges related to the car company’s diesel emissions cheating, CNN Money reports.   IN CASE YOU MISSED IT: Check out Tuesday’s stories ... - Ex-Koch engineer to lead EPA office on scientific research - Amid travel criticism, Pruitt canceled trips for which he already had tickets - Trump administration abruptly ends key law enforcement program at wildlife refuges - Senate panel moves to renew expired park conservation fund - Tesla warns of problems selling cars in China due to tariffs         Did a friend forward you this email? Sign up for Energy Newsletters     Forward Energy Newsletters       Privacy Policy  |  Manage Subscriptions  |  Unsubscribe  |  Email to a friend  |  Sign Up for Other Newsletters   The Hill 1625 K Street, NW 9th Floor, Washington DC 20006 ©2016 Capitol Hill Publishing Corp., a subsidiary of News Communications, Inc.

SearchCap: Google’s ad chief exits company, Google Analytics 360, SMX West 2019

Featured story

Google Ads chief Sridhar Ramaswamy leaves to join venture firm   Oct 2, 2018 by Greg Sterling Ramaswamy will be replaced by Prabhakar Raghavan, Google VP of Engineering for Google Cloud Apps.

From Search Engine Land

Is it time to graduate to Google Analytics 360?   Oct 2, 2018 by Digital Marketing Depot It's a common concern for marketers and analysts worldwide: As your business has grown, so have your needs for complete and accurate data that can be integrated with other platforms. It might be time to upgrade to Google Analytics 360.

Do you speak SEO? Join Search Engine Land as Deputy Editor   Oct 2, 2018 by Search Engine Land Search Engine Land is synonymous with SEO and SEM, so we're looking for someone with deep expertise.

Get actionable SEO & SEM tactics at SMX West 2019. Registration is open!   Oct 1, 2018 by Search Engine Land Search marketing success is a result of your hard work and learning from trusted experts. Attend Search Engine Land's SMX® West January 30-31, 2019 in San Jose for the SEO and SEM tactics you need to drive amazing campaigns. The site is up and registration is open!

From Marketing Land

Compare 17 top SEO tools and platforms Oct 2, 2018 by Digital Marketing Depot Let MarTech Today's 'Enterprise SEO Platforms: A Marketer's Guide' help you make the informed choice.

Facebook's 'Premieres' videos now available to all global Pages Oct 2, 2018 by Amy Gesenhues First rolled out in April, Premieres videos allow Pages to post pre-recorded video as live footage.

Building your martech stack: Try design thinking to identify the right solutions Oct 2, 2018 by Robin Kurzer Analyst Tony Byrne told attendees at a MarTech Conference workshop that marketers should build testing into their vendor selection processes and 'go beyond the demo.'

Search News From Around The Web

CPA Projections: How Much Money Does Ad Spend Really Get Me?, 3Q Digital

Cross-Device Tracking in Google Analytics, Clix Marketing PPC Blog

Explaining Organic Search to Colleagues, Stone Temple

Google Sheets Query Functions for PPC, PPC Hero

Research: How Much Does It Cost to Hire an eCommerce SEO or SEM Professional?, Inflow

Technical SEO Audit Checklist for Human Beings, Distilled

SMX East returns to NYC, better than ever: October 24-25, 2018 Search Engine Land's SMX East is coming to the Big Apple October 24-25. You'll get two laser-focused days of the SEO and SEM topics that matter most to you. Join us for actionable tactics, exceptional networking, top notch amenities, and demos from market-defining vendors. View rates and register today!

Connect with us on: Get the Search Engine Land App:

Like what you see? Check out Search Engine Land's other email newsletters here. News | SEO | SEM | Local | Retail | Social   This email was sent to tweatsho.email004@blogger.com. Click here to unsubscribe or manage your subscriptions.   This email was sent by: Search Engine Land - a Third Door Media, Inc. publication with headquarters at 279 Newtown Tpke. Redding, CT 06896 USA   Events | Advertise | Contact Us