There may be less “new” in the “new economy” than you think.

The proportion of Americans who work as independent contractors, through temporary services or on-call, has grown rapidly in the last decade. “Most remarkably, the number of Americans using these alternate work arrangements rose 9.4 million from 2005 to 2015. That was greater than the rise in overall employment, meaning there was a small net decline in the number of workers with conventional jobs,” reports Neil Irwin in the New York Times.

Technology is certainly a part of this shift. However, some advocates and researchers argue that we shouldn’t let the technology behind digital platforms like Uber distract from basic labor issues. “Far from a new phenomenon, on-demand jobs are the logical extension of decades of outsourcing, subcontracting, franchising, and illegally misclassifying employees as ‘independent contractors,’” explain Rebecca Smith and Judith M. Conti of the National Employment Law Project. “Although gig workers are dispatched via app or online, they are generally still performing labor at the behest of an employer, in a manner dictated and overseen by their employer, and at rates of pay set by their employer.”

In fact, digital technology might support traditional labor classifications. In a recent report, Ross Eisenbrey and Lawrence Mishel of the Economic Policy Institute argue that Uber’s extensive control over and ability to monitor its workers’ time — Uber “knows (to the minute) when a driver is working for Uber and can guarantee a minimum wage,” and demands that its workers respond to incoming ride requests “within 15 seconds” — cuts against arguments that new kinds of worker classifications are needed.

FCC votes to help the poor buy Internet service and to protect consumers’ privacy

Yesterday, the FCC voted to update the 31-year-old Lifeline phone subsidy program so that it can be used to buy Internet service, and also voted to approve a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking on privacy which could lead to final rules later in the year. (For more on Internet Service Provider privacy, see our recent coverage: What can your ISP see?)

“Both votes were 3–2, with Democrats approving and Republicans dissenting. The Lifeline vote was particularly contentious, as commissioners had worked on a bipartisan compromise last night and early this morning,” reports Ars Technica.

Maryland appeals court says warrant is needed for stringrays, and criticizes police nondisclosure agreements.

On Wednesday, the Maryland Court of Special Appeals ruled that state police must obtain a warrant before deploying stringrays, and criticized nondisclosure agreements signed by the police. This is the “first appellate opinion in the country to fully address the question of whether police must disclose their intent to use a cell site simulator to a judge and obtain a probable cause warrant,” says Nathan Wessler of the ACLU.

The first federal appeals court ruling may be soon to follow. “A related case examining the warrantless use of stingrays, known as United States v. Patrick, is currently pending before the 7th Circuit Court of Appeals in Chicago,” reports Ars Technica.

FCC’s attempt to limit prison phone rates hits another snag.

“Prison phone companies have convinced a court to halt new rate caps on inmate calling for the second time this month,” reports Ars Technica. The caps were designed limit charges for prison phone calls which could cost as much as $14 a minute in extreme cases.