Social media legislation advancing in Texas is flagrantly unconstitutional and will meet the same fate as a similar bill in Florida (see 2108310065), Texas Rep. Gene Wu (D) told us last week. One of the plan’s Republican authors said in an interview the legislation is a response to “ubiquitous” social media platforms that have too much sway over user accounts and reputations. Stakeholders expect litigation if this becomes law, as also occurred in Florida.
Karl Herchenroeder
Karl Herchenroeder, Associate Editor, is a technology policy journalist for publications including Communications Daily. Born in Rockville, Maryland, he joined the Warren Communications News staff in 2018. He began his journalism career in 2012 at the Aspen Times in Aspen, Colorado, where he covered city government. After that, he covered the nuclear industry for ExchangeMonitor in Washington. You can follow Herchenroeder on Twitter: @karlherk
Congress should establish a 72-hour window for critical infrastructure entities to report confirmed cyber breaches, industry witnesses told the House Cybersecurity Subcommittee (see 2108310060). A hearing considered draft legislation from Chairwoman Yvette Clarke, D-N.Y., and House Homeland Security Committee ranking member John Katko, R-N.Y.
Industry witnesses will suggest refining cyber incident reporting legislation that the House Cybersecurity Subcommittee will consider at Wednesday’s noon virtual hearing (see 2108270066). The U.S. government should consider a federal incident reporting program that includes mandatory disclosure requirements, said FireEye Mandiant Global Government Chief Technology Officer Ronald Bushar in a statement. The focus of mandatory reporting should be compliance support, not punishment for noncompliance, said Bushar, who is to testify. “Fines and other financial or legal punishments do not properly reflect the truth that, barring gross negligence or willful misconduct, organizations that suffer a cyber attack are victims of a crime.”
The FTC should have privacy enforcement authority over common carriers, Commissioner Noah Phillips said Monday. Whether online platforms should be considered common carriers for purposes of speech and First Amendment issues is a “very active debate” before Congress and the courts, he told the Hudson Institute.
State and congressional lawmakers are trying to build momentum for passing right-to-repair legislation, after renewed focus from the FTC and the White House (see 2107210061) and 2107090010). Microsoft and TechNet told us industry-authorized repair services are the best, safest option, but advocates accused industry of profit-seeking self-interest.
The FTC’s amended case against Facebook should survive a new motion to dismiss and go to trial due to solid evidence in the amended complaint demonstrating market power and the rising price of advertising, former FTC officials said in interviews.
The FCC “absolutely” still has a role in interpreting Communications Decency Act Section 230, Commissioner Brendan Carr told us last week on the sidelines at the Technology Policy Institute conference in Aspen. He believes ISP-like transparency rules can be used “as a foundation” for increasing social media content moderation transparency.
U.S. District Judge Amit Mehta in Washington set a Sept. 30 deadline for Apple to complete production of some 1.5 million documents DOJ requested in its antitrust case against Google in docket 1:20-cv-03010 (in Pacer) (see 2107300035).
After repeated failure to “develop innovative mobile features,” Facebook “resorted to an illegal buy-or-bury scheme to maintain its dominance,” alleged the FTC Thursday in an amended complaint in its antitrust case against the company in docket 1:20-cv-03590. The commission 3-2 authorized filing of the complaint with the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia.
ASPEN, Colorado -- The FCC is “far from gridlock,” despite the commission’s 2-2 split, but the agency could do more to reach “bipartisan, low-hanging fruit,” Commissioner Brendan Carr told us Tuesday before speaking on a Technology Policy Institute panel. “If you had asked me in January or February, do you think you’ll be in August without the White House naming a chair, I would have said no,” he said. “That said, hats off to the chair.”