House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., threatened 35 telecom and social media companies Tuesday night not to comply with a request from the select committee investigating the Jan. 6 insurrection to preserve records related to the attack, including those relating to some members of Congress. The companies receiving the Jan. 6 committee’s request include Apple, AT&T, Facebook, Google, T-Mobile, Twitter and Verizon. House Democratic leaders’ “attempts to strong-arm private companies to turn over individuals’ private data would put every American with a phone or computer in the crosshairs of a surveillance state run by Democrat politicians,” McCarthy said. “If these companies comply … they are in violation of federal law and subject to losing their ability to operate” in the U.S. Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga., later said on Fox News that telecom companies that comply with the Jan 6 committee “will be shut down.” The Jan. 6 committee has “asked companies not to destroy records that may help answer questions for the American people,” a spokesperson for the committee emailed. “The committee’s efforts won’t be deterred by those who want to whitewash or cover up the events of January 6th, or obstruct our investigation.”

The House Armed Services Committee approved by voice vote Wednesday telecom-focused amendments to the proposed FY 2022 National Defense Authorization Act (HR-4350), including one requiring DOD to ensure all component agencies use a “protective” domain name system. The committee hadn’t yet voted on advancing HR-4350. Other amendments would require the Pentagon to brief lawmakers on efforts to help allies secure national 5G networks and to back chip research. Armed Services set a deadline earlier than proposed for DOD to give congressional defense panels information on its plan for implementing the department’s October 2020 spectrum strategy and future iterations. DOD proposed using “dynamic and bidirectional sharing for facilitating access to commercial spectrum” (see 2010290061).

Congress should limit the scope of any cyber incident reporting legislation, CTA, the Internet Association, Information Technology Industry Council and 15 other industry groups wrote lawmakers Friday, before the House Cybersecurity Subcommittee’s Wednesday hearing on incident reporting. The Business Roundtable, BSA|The Software Alliance, ACT|The App Association, CompTIA, Software & Information Industry Association, TechNet and Telecommunications Industry Association also signed. Legislation should include reporting timelines no less than 72 hours, they wrote. Reporting should be limited to verified incidents and reporting obligations limited to victim organizations, they said. Hearing witnesses are: USTelecom Senior Vice President-Cybersecurity Robert Mayer, ITI Senior Vice President-Policy John Miller, Heather Hogsett, Bank Policy Institute senior vice president-technology and risk strategy for its technology policy division, FireEye Mandiant Vice President Ronald Bushar, and American Gas Association Managing Director-Security and Operations Kimberly Denbow.

The House Homeland Security Cybersecurity Subcommittee plans a Wednesday virtual hearing on the draft Cyber Incident Reporting for Critical Infrastructure Act. The measure, led by subpanel Chairwoman Yvette Clarke, D-N.Y., would direct the Department of Homeland Security’s Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency to work with stakeholders to establish requirements and processes for critical infrastructure owners and operators to report some cyber incidents to a new Cyber Incident Review Office within the agency. Cyber “first responders” would receive the information to prevent similar attacks, the bill said. The new office would be separate from CISA’s other voluntary programs, the bill said. “In the many hearings, briefings, and oversight that followed” the SolarWinds and other recent cyberattacks, “we consistently heard that the Federal government -- and CISA in particular -- needs better situational awareness about where, when, and how these attacks are happening,” Clarke said in a news release. “With better information, CISA will be able to detect malicious campaigns early, help owners and operators defend their networks, and understand long-term trends in adversary behavior.” USTelecom Senior Vice President-Cybersecurity Robert Mayer and Information Technology Industry Council General Counsel John Miller are among those set to testify. Ronald Bushar, Mandiant Global government chief technology officer, and Heather Hogsett, Bank Policy Institute senior vice president-technology and risk strategy, are also witnesses. The panel will begin at noon EDT.

Senate Consumer Protection Subcommittee Chairman Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., considers Apple’s proposed $100 million settlement to end a class-action lawsuit in the U.S. District Court in Oakland involving small U.S. iOS app developers a “significant step forward, but does not rectify the full and vivid range of market abuses and practices still widespread across app markets.” The plaintiffs claimed Apple monopolized U.S. distribution services for iOS apps and in-app purchases that resulted in commission overcharges to app developers. The proposed settlement in case 4:19-cv-03074-YGR would use the $100 million to set up a Small Developer Assistance Fund, for developers whose annual proceeds totaled less than $1 million between June 4, 2015, and April 26, 2021, Hagens Berman, one of the firms representing plaintiffs, said. Developers can claim up to $30,000 from the fund. Apple also agreed to change its app store rules to allow developers to communicate with customers outside their apps about purchasing and pricing alternatives to Apple’s in-app purchase system, Hagens Berman said. A website to administer the $100 million won’t go live until the Oakland court approves the settlement. “Today’s move only adds to the momentum” for passing the Open App Markets Act (HR-5017/S-2710) “and further exposes rampant anticompetitive abuses in the app markets,” Blumenthal said in a statement. “The fox guarding the hen house status quo will remain until there are clear and enforceable rules for Apple and Google to play by.” Cowen’s Paul Gallant believes the settlement “won't derail the bipartisan interest in opening up app stores to different payment mechanisms.” He cited the Coalition for App Fairness’ criticisms of the proposal.

Education and Libraries Networks Coalition members believe it’s “imperative” that Congress include the Securing Universal Communications Connectivity to Ensure Students Succeed (Success) Act (HR-4663/S-2447) in a coming budget reconciliation package that Democrats aim to pass with only their caucus’ support. HR-4663/S-2447 would provide $40 billion total for a successor to the current COVID-19 $7.17 billion emergency connectivity fund for FY 2022-26 to continue providing hot spots, modems, routers and internet-enabled devices post-pandemic (see 2107220049). The FCC’s Wednesday announcement that it received more than $5.1 billion in funding requests during ECF’s first application window is “compelling evidence that more support is needed,” EdLiNC said. “We fully expect that the remaining $2 billion in ECF support will be spoken for during the forthcoming” Sept. 28-Oct.13 second application window. Enacting HR-4663/S-2447 via the reconciliation package will “replenish ECF funding and ensure that America’s students, educators, and library patrons are not disconnected when” the existing ECF money “runs dry,” the group said.

The House Armed Services Committee Cyber Subcommittee’s proposed language for the FY 2022 National Defense Authorization Act, released Wednesday, aims to improve DOD implementation of its October 2020 spectrum strategy and the department’s adjustment of its systems before the FCC’s planned auction of spectrum on the 3.45-3.55 GHz band. It doesn’t mention panel members’ ongoing misgivings with Ligado’s planned L-band operations. Some lobbyists believe full committee leaders may attempt to attach the anti-Ligado Recognizing and Ensuring Taxpayer Access to Infrastructure Necessary (Retain) for GPS and Satellite Communications Act (HR-4634/S-2166) to the NDAA (see 2107230065). House Armed Services’ full committee NDAA markup is set for Sept. 1. Cyber’s NDAA language would require DOD to make a single “senior official” responsible for implementing the department’s October 2020 spectrum strategy and future iterations. DOD proposed using “dynamic and bidirectional sharing for facilitating access to commercial spectrum” (see 2010290061). The subcommittee proposes the designated senior official and other DOD agencies brief House Armed Services on how the department’s plan for aligning adjustments to systems affected by the 3.45 GHz auction will align with the October spectrum strategy. The subpanel wants DOD to submit a report to congressional defense committees examining the effectiveness of DOD spectrum operations. House Armed Services’ Strategic Forces Subcommittee proposes directing the Air Force and other space-focused DOD officials to brief the committee by the end of 2021 on plans for deploying an “alternate” GPS positioning, navigation and timing (PNT) constellation. The Air Force “must prioritize GPS resiliency by ensuring” DOD “has an alternate PNT capability available should GPS be denied,” Strategic Forces said in its bill report. House Infrastructure Committee members invoked the need for a GPS timing signals backup during a March hearing with Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg (see 2103250071).

The FCC is addressing questions raised last month in a letter from Senate Consumer Protection Subcommittee Chairman Richard Blumenthal of Connecticut and other Democrats on Verizon’s proposed buy of Tracfone (see 2107210054), acting Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel responded, in letters posted Thursday. “Our public interest analysis takes several factors into account, including issues raised in your letter like the impact on consumers and competition,” Rosenworcel said. “We determine if we can appropriately remedy any harms that may arise from the transaction, and also review any benefits that the transaction may confer for consumers and the communications marketplace.” She said she couldn’t comment on the merits of the proceeding.

Amazon’s palm-print recognition and payment system, Amazon One, could be used to “further cement” the company’s “competitive power and suppress competition across various markets,” wrote Sens. Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn., Bill Cassidy, R-La., and Jon Ossoff, D-Ga., to the company Friday. They noted reports about Amazon “offering credits to consumers to share their biometric data with Amazon One.” Expansion of biometric data “raises serious questions about Amazon’s plans for this data and its respect for user privacy, including about how Amazon may use the data for advertising and tracking purposes,” the senators wrote. The company didn’t comment.

A bipartisan House duo introduced companion legislation Friday meant to increase competition with Google and Apple app stores (see 2108110055). Senate Antitrust Subcommittee ranking member Ken Buck, R-Colo., and House Intellectual Property Subcommittee Chairman Hank Johnson, D-Ga., introduced the Open App Markets Act. It would “level the playing field for small app developers, strengthen consumer choice within the app marketplace, and ensure that antitrust laws are working properly in the digital ecosystem,” Johnson and Buck said in their announcement.