Karl Herchenroeder

The Senate Commerce Committee plans a confirmation hearing in April for FTC nominee Lina Khan (see 2103220056), Chair Maria Cantwell, D-Wash., told us, calling Khan a “strong nomination.” Meanwhile, Commissioner Christine Wilson and former FTC officials credited acting Chair Rebecca Kelly Slaughter for forming a new rulemaking group within the General Counsel’s Office (see 2103250056).

Facebook, Google and Twitter support Communications Decency Act Section 230 proposals to increase content moderation transparency, their respective CEOs, Mark Zuckerberg, Sundar Pichai and Jack Dorsey, told House Commerce Committee members Thursday during a virtual hearing. Noting Zuckerberg’s support for “thoughtful changes” to 230 (see 2103240076), Communications Subcommittee ranking member Bob Latta, R-Ohio, asked the Facebook chief for specific proposals. Zuckerberg supported two specific changes, saying Congress should be careful about removing protections for smaller companies.

The FTC created a rulemaking group within the General Counsel’s Office with the goal of strengthening existing rules and creating “new rulemakings to prohibit unfair or deceptive practices and unfair methods of competition,” acting Chair Rebecca Kelly Slaughter announced Thursday. Rulemaking is “a critical part of the FTC’s toolbox to stop widespread consumer harm and to promote robust competition,” especially given threats to the agency’s FTC Act section 13(b) authority (see 2102040049), the agency said. The FTC’s “rulemaking power under section 18 has gotten a bad reputation for being too hard to use, but longstanding FTC rules, such as the Funeral Rule and the Eyeglass Rule, have provided significant benefits to consumers,” Slaughter said. The agency should “activate its unfair methods of competition rulemaking authority” due to the concentrated economy, she added. The commission wouldn't disclose now the names of those who comprise this group. The panel “will streamline rulemaking at the FTC, resulting in rules that are faster, more efficient, and more effectively address anticompetitive conduct than antitrust litigation alone,” said Public Knowledge Competition Policy Director Charlotte Slaiman, saying it's "a much-needed change.” Consumer Reports thinks this “sends a clear message that the FTC is going to prioritize rulemaking going forward, which we hope will lead to stronger consumer protections and greater corporate accountability,” said Senior Researcher-Technology Competition Sumit Sharma.

Communications Decency Act Section 230 “would benefit from thoughtful changes,” Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg plans to tell House Commerce Committee members during Thursday’s virtual hearing (see 2103190054). Google CEO Sundar Pichai defends the statute in prepared testimony, saying recent proposals could have unintended consequences. Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey instead focuses on transparency, procedural fairness, algorithmic choice and privacy.

Rep. Jan Schakowsky, D-Ill., will introduce legislation, potentially this week, to amend Communications Decency Act Section 230 liability protections, giving consumers the ability to sue when harmed by illegal online content, she said Monday (see 2009240062). Her Online Consumer Protection Act will be part of the discussion when Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg, Google CEO Sundar Pichai and Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey testify Thursday before House Commerce Committee members (see 2103190054), said Schakowsky during an event hosted by Common Sense Media and the Real Facebook Oversight Board.

The FTC shouldn’t police speech, but it can enforce whether platforms are honoring terms of service through content moderation and Communications Decency Act Section 230 activity, FTC Commissioner Christine Wilson said Friday. Speaking on a Free State Foundation webcast, she said Section 230 blanket immunity is an intrusion into the market with a significant impact on competition.

The FTC needs to review past agency antitrust analysis to determine where tools have been misused and what predictions have been incorrect, acting Chair Rebecca Kelly Slaughter told the House Antitrust Subcommittee Thursday. She responded to Chairman David Cicilline, D-R.I., and ranking member Ken Buck, R-Colo. Those lawmakers' opening remarks questioned FTC reported reluctance in 2013 to pursue an antitrust lawsuit against Google, despite a recommendation from agency investigators.

Senate Minority Whip John Thune, R-S.D., and Sen. Brian Schatz, D-Hawaii, reintroduced legislation Wednesday that would amend Communications Decency Act Section 230 and require online platforms to remove illegal content within days, as expected (see 2102030060). Under the Platform Accountability and Consumer Transparency (Pact) Act, platforms would need a “defined complaint system that processes reports and notifies users of moderation decisions within twenty-one days, and allows consumers to appeal.” The bill would make platforms “more accountable for their content moderation policies and providing more tools to protect consumers,” said Schatz. Thune called it a “common-sense legislative approach to preserve user-generated content and free speech on the internet, while increasing consumer transparency and the accountability of big internet platforms.” Public Knowledge said it's “a serious, bipartisan effort to consider content-neutral requirements to provide greater transparency and accountability.” Access Now supports the requirements for platforms to have “content moderation policies, explain their moderation decisions, and have an appeal process.” BSA|The Software Alliance welcomed the effort and wants to “avoid unintended consequences and account for the broader universe of technology companies.” The serious proposal contains a “fatal flaw: by subjecting websites to federal civil liability, the bill is far more radical than it appears and would lead to legitimate speech being removed from the internet as websites take a better-safe-than-sorry approach,” said NetChoice Vice President Carl Szabo.

Senate Judiciary Committee ranking member Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, and Commerce Committee ranking member Roger Wicker, R-Miss., are open to antitrust proposals from potential FTC nominee Lina Khan (see 2103120071), they told us this week. Khan’s antitrust views resulted in comparisons to Sens. Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn., and Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass. She has worked as a staffer for FTC Commissioner Rohit Chopra and House Antitrust Subcommittee Chairman David Cicilline, D-R.I.

FTC attorneys should be paid as much as Consumer Financial Protection Bureau and Public Company Accounting Oversight Board officials, FTC Commissioner Noah Phillips said Tuesday. He agreed with ex-FTC Chairman William Kovacic, who noted financial regulation attorneys and economists make about 20% more than FTC officials in similar roles.