The Senate Commerce Committee will hold a Sept. 20 confirmation hearing on FTC Republican nominees Melissa Holyoak and Andrew Ferguson (see 2307110048), Chair Maria Cantwell, D-Wash., announced Wednesday. The committee also will consider the renomination of Democrat Rebecca Kelly Slaughter.

Sen. John Kennedy, R-La., filed the 5G Spectrum Authority Licensing Enforcement Act Thursday in a bid to give the FCC clear authority to issue T-Mobile and other winning bidders the licenses they bought in the 2.5 GHz band auction last year. FCC Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel has repeatedly defended the commission's decision to withhold the 2.5 GHz licenses (see 2309050060), citing the March expiration of its spectrum auction authority. Senate Commerce Committee ranking member Ted Cruz, R-Texas, and Communications Subcommittee ranking member John Thune, R-S.D., are among those on Capitol Hill claiming Rosenworcel is using the licenses as a bargaining tool in slow talks on a broader spectrum legislative package (see 2308140073). “Currently, bureaucratic red tape is standing in the way of Louisianians’ wireless communications,” Kennedy said. “My 5G SALE Act offers a simple solution for providing rural Americans with access to broadband by giving the FCC the authority to finish transferring already auctioned spectrum to companies who offer 5G coverage.” Kennedy is likely to bring up the matter during a Tuesday Senate Appropriations Financial Services Subcommittee hearing on the FCC’s FY 2024 budget request. That panel will begin at 2:30 p.m. in 124 Dirksen.

Congress should reject the Kids Online Safety Act and pursue bills that will improve privacy, competition and algorithmic transparency, a coalition of more than 100 parents of “trans and gender expansive kids” wrote Tuesday (see 2309050089). The legislation would “grant extraordinary new power to right wing state attorneys general to dictate what content younger users can see on social media, cutting our kids off from lifesaving online resources and community,” they wrote. Changes made to the bill don’t “fix the deadly flaw with the bill, which is that it gives the government the power to dictate what speech younger users can see online, and would subject everyone to increased surveillance in order to access information and speak out online,” Fight for the Future Director Evan Greer said. Co-author of the legislation Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., told us last week that sponsors have worked with the LGBTQ+ community to make changes that accommodate their “important” concerns. “We’re certainly satisfied with the high level of support that we’ve received,” said Blumenthal. “There is very powerful, bipartisan support in the Senate ... and I looked forward to its passage.”

The FTC may be overstepping its statutory authority to regulate constitutionally protected speech generated by OpenAI’s ChatGPT, Senate Commerce Committee ranking member Ted Cruz, R-Texas, wrote Monday. Cruz is seeking details about a civil investigative demand (CID) the FTC sent to OpenAI related to disinformation and bias created by AI tools. The agency isn’t authorized to “launch a preemptive regulatory” action against “code underlying AI systems in order to prevent ‘bias’ or preclude the use of undefined ‘discriminatory’ datasets,” said Cruz. The FTC can issue a CID only if it has “reason to believe” a party possesses evidence of an unfair or deceptive act or practice, Cruz wrote. He noted FTC staff informed the committee during a June 2 briefing that the agency is exploring whether data sets “used to train AI models are biased, discriminatory, or contain 'misinformation.’” The CID represents an “extralegal approach” that would “inevitably involve the policing of constitutionally protected speech,” he said. The agency confirmed receiving the letter.

The FCC’s Public Safety Bureau and Office of Engineering and Technology are forwarding concerns House China Committee leaders raised about the extent to which Chinese equipment manufacturers like Fibocom and Quectel are spying via U.S. IoT-connected devices via connectivity modules “to each of the authorities enumerated in” the 2019 Secure and Trusted Communications Networks Act to probe the status of those companies, commission Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel said in letters to panel leaders released Tuesday. House China Chairman Mike Gallagher, R-Wis., and ranking member Raja Krishnamoorthi, D-Calif., asked Rosenworcel in August about Fibocom and Quectel, citing concerns about the threat to U.S. IoT devices (see 2308080059). “The issues you raise with respect to connectivity modules merit continued attention,” she wrote the House China leaders. The commission “is examining additional steps it should take to protect U.S. networks. In addition to our efforts to prevent equipment on the Covered List from being approved through our equipment authorization process, the agency sought comment on the extent to which certain ‘component parts’ associated with equipment authorized by the agency, if produced by entities identified on the Covered List, should be precluded from authorization because they might also pose an unacceptable risk to national security.” The FCC “also sought comment on whether the Commission should revoke authorizations of specific Covered List equipment that was issued prior to the date any prohibition on authorization went into effect, what the process would be for doing so, and how this would work in the marketplace,” she said: “At present, the agency is examining the record in this proceeding and considering what steps will further protect communications networks and equipment supply chains.” Fibocom and Quectel “are among those that have obtained authorizations of modules,” Rosenworcel said. “The agency does not have information about whether authorized equipment may have been or is currently used in U.S. networks, and, if so, where precisely it is deployed,” but “we coordinate closely and regularly with our federal partners and executive branch bodies that have the responsibility for making determinations regarding equipment and services that pose an unacceptable risk and have written to them to ensure that this matter receives appropriate review.”

The House Communications Subcommittee plans a Sept. 13 hearing on changes in the U.S. video marketplace, the Commerce Committee said Wednesday. “Over the last decade, the video marketplace has undergone a transformative shift as more media content moves online,” including the “introduction of streaming services,” said Commerce Chair Cathy McMorris Rodgers, R-Wash., and Communications Chairman Bob Latta, R-Ohio, in a statement. "While there is an unprecedented amount of [content] available, the rise of these services creates challenges for traditional media providers who continue to compete despite being saddled with regulations. We look forward to discussing the evolution of this market, the steps Congress can take to ensure outdated regulations do not hinder innovation and competition, as well as how to bring the traditional marketplace into the 21st century.” The hearing will begin at 2 p.m. in 2322 Rayburn.

The Senate Consumer Protection Subcommittee will host a hearing Tuesday on AI transparency, the Senate Commerce Committee announced Wednesday. Witnesses: BSA | The Software Alliance CEO Victoria Espinel, Witness Executive Director Sam Gregory and Carnegie Mellon University professor Ramayya Krishnan. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., will host tech leaders at a separate forum Sept. 13. Attendees for Schumer’s event include Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg, Tesla CEO Elon Musk, ChatGPT CEO Sam Altman, Alphabet CEO Sundar Pichai, Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella, Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang and IBM CEO Arvind Krishna. Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates, Motion Picture Association CEO Charles Rivkin and former Google CEO Eric Schmidt are also on the list.

The National Governors Association urged Congress Tuesday to “continue its support for” the Agriculture Department’s connectivity initiatives, including “the Rural Broadband Program, the Community Connect Program, and the Distance Learning and Telemedicine Program” as part of the 2023 farm bill. “These programs, in addition to” broadband funding in the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act and “the various Covid-relief packages, proved vital for rural communities” during the COVID-19 pandemic and “remain vital today,” NGA said. The House Agriculture Committee eyed codifying and making permanent USDA’s ReConnect program in June as part of the farm bill (see 2306210058).

The office of Sen. Marsha Blackburn, R-Tenn., aggressively denied claims her kids’ safety legislation is intended to target speech from the transgender community. Fight for the Future and transgender activists shared video of Blackburn from earlier this year. Responding to a question about priorities this year, Blackburn said, “There are a couple of things. Protecting minor children from the transgender in this culture and that influence.” She said policymakers should be “watching what’s happening on social media,” citing her Kids Online Safety Act. Children are “being indoctrinated” on social media, Blackburn said, noting they hear about issues at school and on YouTube, Snapchat and Instagram. There are certain topics children are “emotionally not mature enough to handle,” she said. Blackburn’s office said Tuesday opponents of the bill are “seeking to misconstrue what was said for political gain,” and that it’s “completely untrue to allege” that Blackburn “stated” the Kids Online Safety Act will “target trans content.” Her office cited a tweet from Blackburn Legislative Director Jamie Susskind, who said the senator was addressing two separate issues in the video: “These are two separate issues being taken out of context. KOSA will not -- nor was it designed to -- target or censor any individual or community.” Fight for the Future Director Evan Greer said Blackburn’s staff is “absurdly” trying to “claim that she didn't say what she said.”

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., confirmed Friday he plans a Sept. 13 AI forum, the first in a planned series of events to "convene the leading minds in AI, including AI developers, civil rights and worker advocates, researchers, and other key thinkers, to lay a foundation for action" on related issues (see 2308210065). The Sept. 13 forum will reportedly include OpenAI CEO Sam Altman, Twitter and X Corp. CEO Elon Musk, Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella, Google CEO Sundar Pichai and AFL-CIO President Elizabeth Shuler. "We know there is real bipartisan interest in developing a comprehensive AI framework to give Congress the opportunity to bolster and accelerate AI innovation in a safe and responsible way," Schumer said in a published letter to colleagues. "These forums will build on the longstanding work of our Committees by supercharging the Senate’s typical process so we can stay ahead of AI’s rapid development. This is not going to be easy, it will be one of the most difficult things we undertake, but in the twenty-first century we cannot behave like ostriches in the sand when it comes to AI. We must treat AI with the same level of seriousness as national security, job creation, and our civil liberties." Schumer didn't offer a clear timeline for Senate floor votes expected as soon as this week on FCC nominee Anna Gomez (see 2307280074), but he said the chamber will "continue confirming" President Joe Biden’s "well-qualified nominees." The Senate during the remainder of this year also has an "opportunity to advance legislation ... advancing kids and teens online safety and privacy" (see 2308220057), Schumer said.