Switchboard: Google has averaged a White House visit per week during Obama’s presidency

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Google makes most of close ties to White House. Brody Mullin at the Wall Street Journal reports on the close relationship between Google and the Obama administration, including while the search giant faced an antitrust probe from the FTC. "Google’s access to high-ranking Obama administration officials during a critical phase of the antitrust probe is one sign of the Internet giant’s reach in Washington," the report said.

Amazon blasts U.S. approval for drone tests as too little, too late. "Amazon has developed new drone models and the one approved for testing by the Federal Aviation Administration is no longer being used, Paul Misener, the Seattle-based company’s vice president for global public policy, told U.S. lawmakers Tuesday at a hearing," Spencer Soper at Bloomberg reports. (Disclosure: Amazon founder Jeff Bezos owns The Washington Post.)

We know where you’ve been: Ars acquires 4.6M license plate scans from the cops. Cyrus Farivar at Ars Technica obtained millions of license plate scans from the Oakland Police Department through an open records request.

U.S. to stop collecting bulk phone data if spying law expires. U.S. officials say the government will stop collecting bulk domestic phone records if the Congress fails to extend a law authorizing the spying, Mark Hosenball at Reuters reports.

The sex discrimination trial that rocked Silicon Valley is almost over. Here’s what you need to know. A discrimination suit against venture capitalist firm Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers by former employee Ellen Pao is wrapping up -- and the Switch is here to explain it before a verdict comes down.

On Our Radar

WATCH: A House Energy and Commerce Committee’s subcommittee will mark-up data breach legislation at noon and FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler will testify at a House Judiciary Committee hearing on net neutrality at 2 p.m.
IN DC: Come watch a Switcher moderate a panel on Digital Diplomacy at the Italian Embassy tonight at 6:30pm.

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