It’s worth Congress considering a merger moratorium, House Antitrust Subcommittee Chairman David Cicilline, D-R.I., told reporters after raising concerns about Google buying Fitbit at a hearing Wednesday (see 1911080062). Cicilline said FTC Chairman Joe Simons and DOJ Antitrust Division Chief Makan Delrahim were more supportive of the idea during testimony than he anticipated. A lot can be done short of a moratorium, Delrahim said, but it’s possible to explore burdens of proof for companies that control large market shares.
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
The Senate Intelligence Committee's “not planning” an open hearing on USA Patriot Act Section 215, Chairman Richard Burr, R-N.C., told us. That's despite requests from Democratic members Ron Wyden, Ore., and Martin Heinrich, N.M. (see 1911060045).
Facebook and Twitter are committed to defending veterans against disinformation, scams and fraud, the companies will tell the House Veterans’ Affairs Committee Wednesday. Prepared remarks from Facebook Security Policy Head Nathaniel Gleicher cite a series of policies to protect against misinformation and fraud, including requirements that users use their real names and rules against user misrepresentation. He notes the company has more than 35,000 employees focused on safety and security, three times the amount in 2017. The platform “took down over 2 billion fake accounts in the first quarter of this year alone,” he wrote. Twitter Public Policy Manager Kevin Kane cites the company’s decision to update its policies on “scam tactics” in September. He cites the prohibited activity on the platform: relationship/trust-building scams, money-flipping schemes, fraudulent discounts and phishing scams. “All people who use Twitter -- including veterans -- must have confidence in the integrity of the information found on the service,” he says. Proactive detection and transparency efforts from platforms allows insight into scams, but the data currently available only allows piecemeal analysis, says Graphika Science Director Vladimir Barash. There’s a need to understand “how simple metrics related to reach and engagement, such as follows, retweets, and page clicks, translate to the changing of hearts and minds,” he says. Vietnam Veterans of America Chief Investigator Kristofer Goldsmith suggests the committee encourage the White House to create a politically appointed cyber health secretary to focus on healthcare issues. He also asked that the committee fund a study “on the physical and mental health effects of cybercrimes and propaganda campaigns that are directed at veterans.”
Regulators shouldn’t approve Google’s buy of Fitbit (see 1911010054) until various antitrust investigations are complete, Sen. Josh Hawley, R-Mo., told us this week. Other concerned senators in interviews urged antitrust regulators to respond to a platform facing mounting scrutiny.
Congress should pass legislation addressing deepfakes because crimes like revenge porn are destroying lives, Rep. Yvette Clarke, D-N.Y., said during an interview with The Communicators, to be online Friday and on C-SPAN this weekend. “It’s important the American people know these are deceptive uses of videos,” she said, voicing support for her Deep Fake Accountability Act (HR-3230). She argued Silicon Valley companies aren’t hiring a diverse workforce, which bakes discrimination into the system through algorithms and other tools. She credited the EU for setting up guardrails around data management, an area where she said the U.S. is lagging. She urged the administration to do more to protect U.S. networks from bad actors like Huawei. She said she wouldn’t own a Huawei phone. Most asked whether they'd own such a phone by the program answer no.
Senate Judiciary Committee members weren’t swayed by intelligence officials Wednesday to reauthorize a controversial Patriot Act-related phone records program (see 1908160057). “I’m torn,” Chairman Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., told us after a hearing on USA Patriot Act Section 215 and other surveillance authorities set to expire in December. Graham generally agrees with ranking member Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., that tools should be “taken off the table,” unless there’s good reason to reauthorize.
TikTok is collecting enormous amounts of data (see 1911040034), which the Chinese government can legally access through parent company ByteDance, posing a major national security threat, Senate Crime and Terrorism Subcommittee Chairman Josh Hawley, R-Mo., told reporters Tuesday.
Tech-minded Senate Democrats praised Twitter’s decision to ban all political ads Thursday (see 1910300060) and criticized Facebook for hosting false material. Some key Republicans followed the Trump campaign’s lead in condemning Twitter, claiming evidence of liberal Silicon Valley censorship.
The Senate Commerce Committee will consider multiple privacy proposals at a hearing expected after Thanksgiving, Chairman Roger Wicker, R-Miss., told reporters this week. Wicker continues to negotiate with ranking member Maria Cantwell, D-Wash., on one: “I think we’re close. We’re working hard.” Divulging the exact proposals to be considered at the hearing would be “a bridge too far,” he said.
Examiners would benefit from more clarity on testing patent eligibility, Patent and Trademark Office Commissioner of Patents Drew Hirshfeld testified Wednesday (see 1909110066). He was responding to a suggestion from Senate Intellectual Property Subcommittee ranking member Chris Coons, D-Del. He and Chairman Thom Tillis, R-N.C., are working on legislation for revising Patent Act sections 101 and 112 (see 1906050076).