Nevada Republican Senate candidate Adam Laxalt again (see 2203230071) urged his opponent, Democratic Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto, to publicly oppose FCC nominee Gigi Sohn’s confirmation. Cortez Masto is one of three Democrats who have remained publicly undecided on Sohn, a primary reason her confirmation process has been stalled since March (see 2203030070). All 50 Senate Democrats would need to back Sohn to overcome expected united GOP opposition to the nominee. Cortez Masto isn’t expected to take a position on Sohn until after the November election (see 2209130065). Cortez Masto “has a responsibility to strongly oppose” Sohn due to perceptions she’s “an anti-police radical,” Laxalt said Thursday. He cited the Fraternal Order of Police’s assertions (see 2201040071) that she “publicly supported defunding the police and repeatedly promoted social media posts attacking law enforcement.” Sohn’s supporters repeatedly countered FOP’s claims (see 2205050050). Cortez Masto’s Senate office and campaign didn’t comment. Digital Liberty Executive Director James Erwin, meanwhile, said the current FCC “has proven entirely capable of delivering on numerous bipartisan priorities that will improve connectivity, spur innovation and ensure taxpayer resources are being efficiently spent” despite being in a 2-2 tie. “Sohn’s radical record is disqualifying on the merits, but no Democrat can say with a straight face that the Biden FCC has been hampered by the 2-2 partisan split,” Erwin said in an opinion piece in The Hill. Biden “should pull the Sohn nomination and put forward a better-qualified candidate that can earn bipartisan support.”

The Senate confirmed Nate Fick Thursday to be ambassador-at-large-cyberspace and digital policy in a voice vote. The Senate Foreign Relations Committee advanced Fick Wednesday on a voice vote as part of an en bloc package, a committee spokesperson said. Fick got a positive reception from the committee during his August confirmation hearing (see 2208030065).

“Holding Big Tech accountable” will be one of House Commerce Committee Republicans’ top priorities if their party wins a majority in the chamber in the November election, ranking member Cathy McMorris Rodgers, R-Wash., said during a Thursday Punchbowl News event. “We need to hold Big Tech accountable” in a bigger way than has happened during this Congress, Rodgers said: She supports “narrowing [Communications Decency Act] Section 230 protections, especially for the larger companies” that have been “bad actors,” so “they can be held accountable” for censorship. Rodgers touted Republicans’ Big Tech Censorship and Data Task Force and language in House Commerce’s stalled (see 2209010066) American Data Privacy and Protection Act (HR-8152) that “would protect” personal information for users under age 17. The GOP also aims to ensure “small companies and innovators can still have access” to a “free internet” so “they can compete,” she said. Rodgers cited TikTok and Snapchat as among the worst actors in the tech space. She cited TikTok’s “impact on kids” and the “amount of data” that app collects that’s “being stored in China or used in China.” She criticized Snapchat over instances in which young people have had access to drugs, often laced with fentanyl, using the app (see 2110260070). Snapchat and TikTok didn’t comment. Rodgers said her shorter-term goals include ensuring language to temporarily extend the FCC’s spectrum auction authority past Sept. 30 makes it into a planned continuing resolution to fund the federal government past that date (see 2209090053). The House already “did our work” by passing the Spectrum Innovation Act (HR-7624), which would renew the FCC’s authority for 18 months (see 2208090001), she said: “It would be unfortunate” if the agency’s existing authority expires and “I don’t believe anyone wants to see that” happen.

The Journalism Competition and Preservation Act (S-673) was held over again (see 2209080043) at Thursday’s markup (see 2209130054 but is slated for a Senate Judiciary Committee vote next week, said Sen. Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn., during the proceeding. “We’ve had incredibly good discussions over the last week with a number of members of the committee and I feel as positive as ever,” she said. “We’re looking forward to returning to it in a timely fashion, I understand the conversations have been productive since our last committee meeting,” said Judiciary Committee Chair Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Ill., at the start of the markup.

The Senate Judiciary Committee will again mark up the Journalism Competition and Preservation Act, (S- 673) on Thursday. Sen. Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn., withdrew the legislation at last week’s markup after the committee agreed to an amendment from Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, (see 2209080043). Co-sponsor Sen. John Kennedy, R-La., told reporters Tuesday he’s working with Cruz’s office to address his “very good” concerns about content moderation. Democrats say content moderation has never been a part of the bill, so it should be made explicit within the language, said Kennedy. Asked about Klobuchar’s refusal to support the Cruz amendment, Kennedy said, “That’s up to Sen. Klobuchar. God gave each of us a vote, and you can do one of three things: You vote yes, no or you can jump the rail.” Klobuchar told reporters: “We are working on the language, and we are hopeful.” She said Congress gets “an A for having hearings and an A for introducing bills and an F for passing [legislation]. Hopefully, we can [pass] the JCPA this week.”

The Senate Foreign Relations Committee plans to vote Wednesday on advancing Nate Fick’s nomination to be ambassador-at-large-cyberspace and digital policy as part of a larger business meeting. Fick drew a positive reception from the committee during his August confirmation hearing (see 2208030065). Foreign Relations will begin the meeting at 2:30 p.m. in the Capitol Room S-116.

House Commerce Committee Republicans' plans for stronger oversight of federal disbursal of $65 billion in connectivity money from the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act are “going to be extremely important” going forward and will be a “primary objective” for the party if it wins a majority in the chamber in the November elections, Communications Subcommittee member Rep. Buddy Carter, R-Ga., said during a Thursday Punchbowl News event (see 2209080034). “Making certain that the moneys that are being spent” correctly and agencies are effectively coordinating their connectivity programs will be “vitally important” during the next Congress. “One of the reasons why I didn’t support” IIJA “is because I didn’t think there” were “enough safeguards to make sure that we weren’t going to have each different agency … out there doing their own thing,” he said: “It’s extremely important for Congress to step up to the plate and to do our part in the way of oversight” given his concern that “we in the legislative branch have deferred too much authority to the executive branch over a period of time,” particularly “in the way of oversight.” Carter predicted Republicans would gain 25-30 seats in the House in November, reflecting “the ebb and flow, if you will, of the election season” rather than a real momentum shift in the Democrats’ favor given earlier expectations of a larger electoral win.

Sen. Tammy Baldwin, D-Wis., refiled her Go Pack Go Act Tuesday in a bid to give residents in 13 state counties assigned to a Michigan or Minnesota media market access to Green Bay Packers game broadcasts. The measure would require cable, satellite and other video providers to give their Wisconsin subscribers access to programming from broadcast TV stations in a Wisconsin media market (see 1910230053).

The Senate Judiciary Committee shouldn’t advance the Journalism Competition and Preservation Act, Public Knowledge said Monday, joining an alliance of advocates and tech groups in an opposition letter to the committee. The Center for Democracy & Technology, Common Cause, the Computer & Communications Industry Association, Consumer Reports, the Electronic Frontier Foundation, Free Press Action, the R Street Institute and Re:Create signed. The Senate Judiciary Committee plans to mark up the bill Thursday (see 2208020063). The bill will “cement and stimulate consolidation in the industry and create new barriers to entry for new and innovative models of truly independent, local journalism,” they wrote. “There are other policy solutions to the crisis in local journalism, and we strongly urge you to reconsider” the JCPA. The News/Media Alliance in a white paper released Monday recommended JCPA passage. The association’s report detailed allegations that Google is abusing its dominant position over news publishers. “Google extracts revenue from valuable news content by deliberately and systematically delivering personalized information to users to keep them within their walled gardens,” said General Counsel Danielle Coffey. “This fuels their engine of scraping reader data to sell their information and target them with ads. There remains little bargaining power and, as a result, news publishers are forced to consent to nearly unlimited uses of their content in exchange for scraps.”

California shouldn’t be dictating privacy rules for the rest of the country, said House Commerce Committee ranking member Cathy McMorris Rodgers, R-Wash., Friday in response to comments from House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., on privacy negotiations (see 2209010066). Rodgers called California the “home of Big Tech and the societal ills it has brought.” She noted her bipartisan, bicameral bill, American Data Privacy and Protection Act, gained more than 80% support in a recent poll, and the bill passed the House Commerce Committee 53-2. “Advocacy groups agree” the bill provides the “most robust privacy protections to date in the U.S., even stronger than California,” she said. Information Technology and Innovation Foundation Vice President Daniel Castro said: “No single state should stand in the way of privacy protections for all Americans or try to set the standard for the rest of the country.” The bill is “far from perfect,” but it’s an “important compromise that would empower all Americans with basic consumer privacy rights while balancing consumer protection and innovation,” he said.