The National Education Association, American Federation of Teachers, American Library Association and 13 other education groups endorsed FCC nominee Anna Gomez Wednesday and urged “a quick vote to confirm her.” Gomez’s confirmation prospects appear strong (see 2306270067) after facing tough but not overly negative questioning last week at a Senate Commerce Committee confirmation hearing. Gomez’s “extensive experience” at the FCC and NTIA “has prepared her well to serve as an FCC Commissioner and afforded her a deep understanding of the telecommunications issues, policies, and programs on which the education and library community has long been focused,” the groups said in a letter to Senate Commerce Chair Maria Cantwell, D-Wash., and ranking member Ted Cruz, R-Texas. “Our organizations’ central concern remains the preservation and enhancement of the E-Rate program, which provides deep discounts to schools and libraries on broadband services and Wi-Fi services. Additionally, we support further efforts to address the so-called ‘homework gap,’ including continuing" the FCC’s affordable connectivity program and emergency connectivity fund “and allowing E-Rate support to extend to the provision of Wi-Fi on” school buses. “Our organizations were heartened by” Gomez’s testimony to Senate Commerce that “recognized the importance of broadband connectivity for everyone,” the groups said: They also praised her testimony in support of E-rate.

Senate Commerce Committee Republicans are launching an investigation into the FTC’s “mismanagement” and “mistreatment of staffers” under Chair Lina Khan, ranking member Ted Cruz, R-Texas, announced Thursday. In a letter he sent June 19, Cruz said he’s “troubled by recent reports regarding FTC employees’ sinking morale and deepening lack of confidence in FTC leadership.” He cited the 2022 Office of Personnel Management Federal Employee Viewpoint Survey, which reported in January that 49% of FTC employees agreed agency “leaders maintain high standards of honesty and integrity.” He noted the percentage is 4 points lower than in 2021 and 38 points lower than 2020, when 87% of employees “believed that the agency’s leaders ‘maintain[ed] high standards of honesty and integrity.’” He encouraged FTC employees to report concerns to committee Republicans. House Judiciary Committee Republicans are also probing the agency (see 2304120052). The FTC confirmed receiving the letter but declined comment.

Sen. Maria Cantwell, D-Wash., is sending a letter to FCC Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel seeking a record refresh on streaming media services and “the changing landscape of media," she said Thursday during a Senate confirmation hearing for FCC nominees (see 2306220067). In 2014, former Chairman Tom Wheeler circulated a proposal (see 1410280053) to change the definition of a multichannel video programming distributor (MVPD) to be technology neutral. “I’m very concerned about the decline of local news,” Cantwell said at the hearing. “The FCC started a proceeding to examine this issue but has been stalled for nearly a decade,” she said: “You can’t have an FCC that’s stalled over the complexity -- we have to resolve this issue.” The three commissioner nominees said they support reopening the proceeding. In the nearly 10 years “since the FCC launched the proceeding, the video service landscape has changed dramatically,” the letter says: “However, today when viewers have more options for what content to watch (and which platform to watch it from), local broadcasts remain the recognized expert and dominant source for local news for many Americans.” As consumers recognize, “streaming platforms have drastically changed their ability to access local broadcast content,” said NAB President Curtis LeGeyt. Sen. Marsha Blackburn, R-Tenn., also raised the issue during the hearing, citing a Wall Street Journal opinion piece Thursday by former Commissioner Robert McDowell. A loophole in FCC rules “allows networks to take control of local stations’ distribution rights, negotiate ‘on their behalf’ with streaming services, pocket fees for others’ content, and leave stations with much less money than if they had cut their own deals,” McDowell wrote: “Stations are given a ‘choice’ to accept the networks’ terms or risk losing network programming, which could put them out of business.”

YouTube is wrong to allow “false content disputing the integrity” of the 2020 election and other elections to remain on its platform, House Commerce Committee Democrats wrote the company Thursday. They said a recent announcement to reverse election misinformation policies will allow false content to remain on the service. Ranking member Frank Pallone, D-N.J., wrote the letter with House Consumer Protection Subcommittee ranking member Jan Schakowsky, D-Ill.; House Communications Subcommittee ranking member Doris Matsui, D-Calif.; and House Oversight Subcommittee ranking member Cathy Castor, D-Fla. “While you claim that taking such action is ‘core to a functioning democratic society,’ we emphatically disagree,” they said. “Not only is this decision extremely irresponsible, but, in fact, it threatens to weaken our democracy, and therefore we strongly urge you to reconsider this harmful policy decision.” Google didn’t comment.

Bicameral, bipartisan legislation introduced Tuesday would create a national commission for exploring artificial intelligence regulation. Introduced by Reps. Ted Lieu, D-Calif.; Ken Buck, R-Colo.; and Anna Eshoo, D-Calif., the National AI Commission Act would set the stage for commission recommendations on “any new office or governmental structure that may be necessary" and a "risk-based framework for AI,” Lieu’s office said. Sen. Brian Schatz, D-Hawaii, will introduce legislation in the Senate. The Computer & Communications Industry Association credits Congress for “taking the lead and gathering information before writing regulations that could impact U.S. leadership in artificial intelligence,” said President Matt Schruers. The 20-person commission will include computer science, civil society, government and industry experts and will deliver three separate reports.

Sens. Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn., and Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, reintroduced legislation Thursday to ban tech platforms from self-preferencing products (see 2208010063). Co-sponsors for the American Innovation and Choice Online Act (AICOA) (S-2992) include Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Dick Durbin, D-Ill., and ranking member Lindsey Graham, R-S.C. Public Knowledge welcomed the bill’s reintroduction. Tech companies currently decide who “gets to compete against them, in what ways, on a playing field that they own,” said Competition Policy Director Charlotte Slaiman. “We need the fair competition requirements in the AICOA to ensure that these companies compete for users on the features we care about.” The Internet Accountability Project also welcomed the bill's refiling. President Mike Davis said: “Big Tech is crushing small businesses, stifling innovation and silencing its political opponents,” and AICOA would level the playing field.

House Commerce Committee ranking member Frank Pallone, D-N.J., said Thursday he plans to file legislation "in the coming months" aimed at fixing "loopholes" in existing anti-robocall statutes that "allow these calls to continue, update the authorities of our expert agencies, and empower consumers." He was "proud" in 2019 when then-President Donald Trump signed the Pallone-Thune Telephone Robocall Abuse Criminal Enforcement and Deterrence (Traced) Act (see 1912310028) because of "the commonsense restrictions" the law "imposed on annoying robocalls and looked forward to it dramatically reducing them." The U.S. Supreme Court's unanimous 2021 ruling in Facebook v. Duguid "undermined the very foundation of existing anti-robocalls protections, and the unwanted calls almost immediately picked back up," Pallone said: "Since then, it has been disturbing to see the volume of robocalls and texts remain high. Americans are tired of them." The top court in Duguid backed a narrow definition of what constitutes an automatic telephone dialing system under the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (see 2104010063).

The Senate Commerce Committee formally set a June 22 hearing on new FCC nominee Anna Gomez and renominated Commissioners Brendan Carr and Geoffrey Starks, as expected (see 2306140076). The panel will also include FCC inspector general nominee Fara Damelin, Commerce said Thursday. Backers of a shift to a 3-2 Democratic FCC majority want the Senate to move Carr, Gomez and Starks simultaneously in hopes it will ensure all three nominees’ confirmation (see 2305220065). President Joe Biden nominated Damelin, current chief of staff for the Housing and Urban Development's Office of Inspector General, in March (see 2303200077). The hearing will begin at 10 a.m. in 253 Russell.

Sens. Brian Schatz, D-Hawaii, and Roger Wicker, R-Miss., led refiling Thursday of the Creating Opportunities Now for Necessary and Effective Care Technologies (Connect) Act to make permanent a waiver of geographic restrictions on access to telehealth services, plus several other temporary rules changes allowing expanded use of the technology Congress enacted during the COVID-19 pandemic. Schatz and Wicker first proposed the permanent waiver in 2020 (see 2006150032). House Communications Subcommittee ranking member Doris Matsui and Rep. Mike Thompson, both California Democrats, filed the companion House version. President Joe Biden signed off last year on a temporary extension of the waiver as part of the FY 2022 omnibus appropriations package (see 2203100073). “While telehealth use has skyrocketed these last few years, our laws have not kept up,” Schatz said: “Telehealth is helping people in every part of the country get the care they need, and it’s here to stay.” Telehealth “is a revolutionary development in health care delivery,” Wicker said. “The internet put communications and commerce in the palm of our hand, and it is now doing the same for health care.” Senate Commerce Committee Chair Maria Cantwell, D-Wash., and Communications Subcommittee ranking member John Thune, R-S.D, are among 58 co-sponsors of the Senate measure.

Uber and Lyft haven’t done enough to prevent their platforms from being used for human trafficking, a bipartisan group of senators wrote the companies Wednesday. They wrote the letter in response to Uber’s announcement it will allow minors to use the service without accompanying adults. Sens. Marsha Blackburn, R-Tenn.; Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn.; Josh Hawley, R-Mo.; and Jon Ossoff, D-Ga., signed. “Reports from survivors, advocates, and local law enforcement agencies indicate that apps like Uber and Lyft are increasingly used as vehicles for exploitation,” said Blackburn’s office. The letter said they're “concerned that the measures taken to date are insufficient to address trafficking on the company’s ride-hailing service.” The companies didn’t comment.