The Department of Homeland Security’s disinformation board director should brief the House Judiciary Committee about formation of the board and its intent, ranking member Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, wrote the department Thursday (see 2205040061). Jordan’s letter questions past political statements from Nina Jankowicz, her views on disinformation, and what First Amendment safeguards will be in place for the board. Jordan requested all documents on the formation of the board, its mission, authority and communications it had with social media platforms. DHS didn’t comment.

The Open Markets Institute may be using its close relationship with FTC Chair Lina Khan to block Elon Musk’s Twitter deal (see 2204290074), House Judiciary Committee ranking member Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, wrote the agency Wednesday. Jordan asked the FTC if the agency played any role in OMI’s statement requesting enforcers block the deal and if the agency took any action in response to the statement. Khan was OMI’s legal director before joining the FTC. Jordan asked the agency to preserve any records on Musk’s pending deal. “OMI appears to believe that the FTC will be receptive to its cavalier effort to influence a federal agency that is run by its former employee,” Jordan wrote. OMI and the agency didn’t comment.

The Senate was still voting Wednesday afternoon on 28 motions to instruct a conference committee charged with marrying elements of the House-passed America Creating Opportunities for Manufacturing, Pre-Eminence in Technology and Economic Strength Act (HR-4521) and Senate-passed U.S. Innovation and Competition Act (S-1260), including two aimed at maintaining language aimed at strengthening U.S. semiconductor manufacturing. HR-4521 and S-1260 both include $52 billion in subsidies to encourage U.S.-based semiconductor manufacturing (see 2201260062). The Senate approved by voice vote a motion from Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., to instruct conferees to "insist" a final measure bar federal funds from being "used for gain-of-function research conducted in China." Other motions up for votes later Wednesday included one from Sen. Mark Kelly, D-Ariz., to insist the final bill "include incentives to support investments" in U.S. semiconductor manufacturing, including "investments in the fabrication, assembly, testing, advanced packaging" and R&D of chips. A motion from Sen. Michael Bennet, D-Colo., aims for the bill to "strengthen" supply chain resilience and security, including provisions that "reinvigorate" U.S. semiconductor manufacturing. Language from Sen. Marsha Blackburn, R-Tenn., seeks inclusion of a provision directing the White House Office of Management and Budget to "develop guidance for executive agencies requiring adequate security measures for any transfer, storage or use of digital yuan," China's currency, "on information technology."

Senate Public Works Committee ranking member Shelley Moore Capito, R-W.Va., and Sen. Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn., filed the Rural Broadband Protection Act (S-4126) Tuesday in a bid to change FCC vetting rules for participants in USF high-cost programs. The measure would require the FCC to “initiate a rulemaking proceeding to establish a vetting process” for USF high-cost applicant ISPs, including requiring them to provide “sufficient detail and documentation for the Commission to ascertain that the applicant possesses the technical capability, and has a reasonable plan, to deploy the proposed network.” The FCC would be required to evaluate new applications based on “reasonable and well-established technical standards,” including those the commission adopted for its Form 477 Data Program “for purposes of entities that must report broadband availability coverage.” Meetings with “small rural service providers and state and local officials in West Virginia … made it abundantly clear the FCC needs congressional direction to ensure taxpayer money is being used properly to fund broadband deployment in rural areas,” Capito said in a statement. “By verifying that providers can actually deliver on the promises made to bring high-speed internet to specific areas, we can maximize the influx of broadband dollars.” Capito’s office cited support from NTCA CEO Shirley Bloomfield.

Republicans introduced legislation Tuesday to defund the Department of Homeland Security’s newly announced disinformation governance board. Sens. Todd Young of Indiana and Tom Cotton of Arkansas introduced the bill. Sponsors include Ted Cruz of Texas, Rick Scott of Florida, Mike Lee of Utah, Thom Tillis of North Carolina and Marco Rubio of Florida. “The idea that a ‘disinformation board’ of unelected government bureaucrats should enforce speech rules is both radical and unconstitutional,” said Young.

Senate Commerce Committee Chair Maria Cantwell, D-Wash., will introduce legislation this week to restore the FTC’s Section 13(b) authority (see 2106210054), her office said Monday. Cantwell attempted to reach bipartisan consensus with ranking member Roger Wicker, R-Miss. Her bill would “authorize monetary remedies for consumers” harmed by violations, ensure the FTC “may sue for injunctions and consumer redress for prior conduct,” affirm the FTC “must argue its cases in front of a neutral federal judge” and create a 10-year statute of limitations for FTC lawsuits. The statute of limitations would mirror the Consumer Protection and Recovery Act (HR-2668) from Rep. Tony Cardenas, D-Calif. The Supreme Court’s decision eliminating the FTC’s 13(b) authority has allowed companies to keep hundreds of millions of dollars in redress owed to consumers, said Cantwell. Her office issued a related report.

The Anti-Spoofing Penalties Modernization Act (S-594) if enacted would be unlikely to cost any additional money for the FCC to implement because “we do not expect the number of cases pursued by the FCC to change,” the Congressional Budget Office said in a Friday cost estimate. S-594, which the Senate Commerce Committee advanced in November (see 2111170071), would double the minimum fine per instance of illegal spoofing to $20,000 and up the maximum penalty to $2 million from $1 million. It would also extend the statute of limitations for prosecuting spoofing violations to three years from two years. S-594 “would increase collections of civil forfeiture penalties … by an insignificant amount over the 2022-2031 period,” CBO said. “The FCC does not typically seek the maximum penalty allowed under current law and though the commission has assessed millions of dollars in forfeiture penalties over the past five years, it has only collected about $25,000.”

Meta needs to stop “amplifying dangerous and unhealthy eating disorder content” for young Instagram and Facebook users, Democratic lawmakers wrote the company Friday. Sens. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., and Ed Markey, D-Mass., wrote the letter with Reps. Lori Trahan, D-Mass., and Kathy Castor, D-Fla. They cited research showing Instagram’s algorithms promote pro-eating-disorder content to users 18 to 19 years old, celebrating “thinspiration.” Meta’s ad and content promotion practices are “fundamentally inconsistent with young users’ wellbeing,” they wrote. Many research reports fail to understand that removing all eating-disorder content can do more harm than good, especially for those struggling, emailed a Meta spokesperson. “Experts and safety organizations have told us it’s important to strike a balance between allowing people to share their stories or struggle with recovery while still removing any content that encourages or promotes eating disorders, which is what we try to do.” Meta is testing its “nudges” feature to steer users away from dwelling on harmful content, said the spokesperson.

The Senate voted 67-27 Thursday to formally begin conference talks aimed at marrying elements of the House-passed America Creating Opportunities for Manufacturing, Pre-Eminence in Technology and Economic Strength Act (HR-4521) and Senate-passed U.S. Innovation and Competition Act (S-1260). Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo again pressed lawmakers during a Wednesday Senate Commerce Committee hearing to move forward on talks to produce a compromise innovation measure, citing the need to bolster the U.S. semiconductor manufacturing industry (see 2204270065). Both measures include $52 billion in subsidies to encourage U.S.-based semiconductor manufacturing (see 2201260062) but differ in other areas.

House Communications Subcommittee ranking member Bob Latta, R-Ohio, and subpanel Chairman Mike Doyle, D-Pa., filed a companion version of the Robocall Trace Back Enhancement Act (S-3335) Wednesday. The measure, filed in the Senate in December, would protect the Traced Act’s USTelecom-led Industry Traceback Group by providing immunity from lawsuits for “receiving, sharing and publishing” certain “covered” trace-back information, including information on “suspected fraudulent, abusive or unlawful robocalls” (see 2112080059). Reps. John Curtis, R-Utah, and Tom O’Halleran, D-Ariz., are also co-sponsors of the House bill. “We made significant strides in Congress to protect consumers from scams and fraud with” the 2019 Pallone-Thune Telephone Robocall Abuse Criminal Enforcement and Deterrence (Traced) Act, Latta said. “But as time passes, bad actors are constantly morphing their tactics in an effort to continue with their illegal scams. I am proud that with the Robocall Trace Back Enhancement Act, we can build upon our work to stop bad actors in their tracks and protect the American people from their schemes.” Latta and other lawmakers are eyeing whether a new robocall legislative package is possible this year (see 2204210025).