Fifty U.S. state, Washington, D.C., and territorial broadcaster associations wrote congressional leaders Thursday urging them to “swiftly” pass the Expanding Broadcast Opportunities Act (HR-4871) and Broadcast Varied Ownership Incentives for Community Expanded Service Act (S-2456). The measures, filed last month as expected (see 2104150057), would bring back the minority broadcaster tax certificate program. NAB supports the bills. The House Commerce Committee advanced the Expanding Broadcast Opportunities Act in the last Congress, but the full chamber didn’t pass it (see 2009090068). “Broadcasters provide an invaluable resource to all communities” and “our strength is in our ability to cover diverse community experiences and tell stories from an authentic perspective,” the state broadcasters said in a letter to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., and the chambers’ GOP leaders. “The tax certificate program will help us build a local media landscape that reflects our communities on the air, both in the control booth and boardroom.” The bills will also “help with building a pipeline for a new generation of broadcast station owners that is inclusive of women, people of color and other underrepresented individuals,” the broadcasters said.

The Commerce Department’s Bureau of Industry and Security “continues to work with our interagency partners to apply consistently the licensing policies” included in a final rule “to restrict Huawei’s access to technology or software for activities that could harm U.S. national security and foreign policy interests,” a spokesperson emailed Thursday. Senate Commerce Committee ranking member Roger Wicker, R-Miss., pressed BIS Wednesday for details on its implementation of revised restrictions because he said he's aware of evidence of noncompliance (see 2108110066). “In addition to other EAR [Export Administration Regulations] license requirements that may apply to Huawei,” an August final direct product rule bars the company “and its affiliates” from “sourcing certain foreign-produced items from outside” the U.S. “without a license from BIS,” the spokesperson said. The agency “aggressively enforces” its rules “and takes allegations of potential export control violations seriously. All sources of information are leveraged to identify, investigate and, where appropriate, prosecute violations. Huawei reported a revenue decrease of almost 30% for the first half of 2021 compared to the first half of 2020.”

Legislation introduced Wednesday is meant to increase competition with Google and Apple app stores. Introduced by Sens. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn.; Marsha Blackburn, R-Tenn.; and Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn., the Open App Markets Act will “open the app economy to new competitors, and give mobile users more control over their own devices,” said Blumenthal. The bill would protect “developers’ rights to tell consumers about lower prices and offer competitive pricing,” plus app sideloading options for consumers. It would “prevent app stores from disadvantaging developers” and “set safeguards to continue to protect privacy, security, and safety of consumers,” said the announcement. The bill addresses competition harms and “ensures fairness to users and developers without forcing compromises on security or privacy,” wrote Public Knowledge Legal Director John Bergmayer. PK noted the legislation is in line with recommendations from its recent white paper.

Senate Commerce Committee ranking member Roger Wicker, R-Miss., pressed the Commerce Department Bureau of Industry and Security Wednesday for details on its implementation of a final rule that adds Huawei non-U.S. affiliates to the bureau’s entity list, replaces a general license with a more restrictive authorization and expands the scope of its foreign direct product rule constricting the company’s ability to procure items that are the direct product of U.S. tech. “My staff has reviewed evidence suggesting possible non-compliance with” the final Huawei rule, Wicker wrote acting Undersecretary-Industry and Security Jeremy Pelter. Wicker said BIS officials claimed they couldn’t disclose information Wicker’s office sought on the implementation process because it’s covered under the 2018 Export Control Reform Act. That information “neither focused on any particular company’s compliance nor could have resulted in a breach of confidentiality for a company under investigation,” Wicker said. He sought information by Aug. 16 on how many companies have “sought a license to ship to Huawei or its affiliates,” how many of those applications BIS has processed and how many it has denied. BIS didn’t comment.

Senate Commerce Committee ranking member Roger Wicker, R-Miss., said Sunday he now backs the bipartisan Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act substitute for shell bill HR-3684, and voted to invoke cloture on the measure after earlier opposing efforts to move forward. The Senate voted 68-29 to invoke cloture after a 69-28 vote to adopt the HR-3684 substitute. A final vote on the measure is expected Tuesday morning. A group of senators said Monday they reached a deal on a compromise on rival cryptocurrency amendments (see 2108090050). Wicker cited statements from Sen. Jeanne Shaheen, D-N.H., who co-led work on HR-3684’s broadband language, that “preventing regulation of internet rates was the express intent of the broadband title.” Without that “assurance” and specific language in the measure barring NTIA from using actions related to executing the proposed $42.5 billion broadband equity, access and deployment grants program to “regulate the rates charged for broadband” service, “I would not have been able to support this bill on final passage,” Wicker said. “It is no secret that I have registered my concerns” about language that exempts the NTIA administrator from having to follow some Administrative Procedure Act requirements when making decisions on the grants program. “I hope” NTIA will “take care to avoid the wasteful and costly mistakes” the agency made in implementing the broadband technology opportunities program during the Obama administration “and make sure these broadband dollars are spent efficiently, effectively and with the benefit of stakeholder comment,” Wicker said. He and Senate Minority Whip John Thune, R-S.D., had cited NTIA’s BTOP history as a reason they wanted to shift the $42.5 billion in broadband grants to the FCC’s purview (see 2108050064). Thune, Communications Subcommittee ranking member, was among the Republicans who voted against invoking cloture on HR-3684 Sunday. The Information Technology and Innovation Foundation backs the measure’s broadband language, though it remains “far from perfect,” said Broadband and Spectrum Policy Director Doug Brake. Still, it “likely represents the best path forward for a much-needed and historic investment to close the digital divide.” The Washington Post also praised the proposed broadband funding in an editorial.

Senators pushing rival cryptocurrency amendments for the infrastructure bill announced an agreement Monday on reporting requirements. Sens. Rob Portman, R-Ohio, Mark Warner, D-Va., Pat Toomey, R-Pa., Kyrsten Sinema, D-Ariz., and Cynthia Lummis, R-Wyo., announced a deal for clarifying who will be subject to cryptocurrency tax reporting requirements (see 2108060055). They said they worked with the Treasury Department to “clarify the underlying text and ensure that those who are not acting as brokers will not be subject to the bill’s reporting requirements.” Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., who was working on a separate amendment with Toomey and Lummis, tweeted that they have “been working hard to get a deal. I don’t believe the cryptocurrency amendment language on offer is good enough to protect privacy and security, but it’s certainly better than the underlying bill.” Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., “says he won’t block a unanimous consent request on it,” Wyden said.

It’s critical for Facebook to allow independent research of its platform, a group of Democratic senators wrote CEO Mark Zuckerberg after the company terminated New York University’s Ad Observatory Project’s access. It’s imperative for Facebook to “allow credible academic researchers and journalists” to “conduct independent research that will help illuminate how the company can better tackle misinformation, disinformation, and other harmful activity that is proliferating on its platforms,” wrote Sens. Amy Klobuchar, Minn.; Chris Coons, Del.; and Mark Warner, Va., Friday. The company didn’t comment Monday.

The Universal Service Administrative Co. is “planning a comprehensive redesign” of LifelineSupport.org, said FCC acting Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel. Her letters, posted Friday, went to Reps. Mike Quigley, D-Ill., Steve Womack, R-Ark., Frank Pallone, D-N.J., Cathy McMorris Rodgers, R-Wash., Carolyn Maloney, D-N.Y., and James Comer, R-Ky., and Sens. Chris Van Hollen, D-Md., Cindy Hyde-Smith, R-Miss., Maria Cantwell, D-Wash., Roger Wicker, R-Miss., Gary Peters, D-Mich., and Rob Portman, R-Ohio. The redesign will include “changes to navigational elements and content, informed by user feedback,” Rosenworcel said, and the FCC and USAC are also “determining technical development work” and other steps needed to transition checklifeline.org to the FCC.gov subdomain.

Facebook should release internal research about potentially harmful impacts of its platforms, including Instagram for kids, on children’s mental health, Senate Consumer Protection Subcommittee Chairman Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., and ranking member Marsha Blackburn, R-Tenn., wrote the company Wednesday. They noted that a hearing is planned for September, for which they asked a Facebook senior executive to testify. They asked CEO Mark Zuckerberg to explain how internal research is “used to further promote and market their products to young users.” Facebook welcomes "productive collaboration" with Blumenthal and Blackburn "to keep young people safe online," a spokesperson emailed. "Just last week we shared significant updates on our work in this area, including defaulting those under 16 into private accounts when they join Instagram. For those under 13, the reality is that they’re already online, so we’re creating an experience for them that is age-appropriate, and managed by parents.”

The Senate Commerce Committee advanced an amended version of the Secure Equipment Act on a voice vote Wednesday. S-1790 and House Commerce-cleared companion HR-3919 (see 2107210064) would ban the FCC from issuing new equipment licenses to Huawei and other companies that the commission considers a national security risk. It mirrors a June FCC order (see 2106090063). S-1790 lead sponsors Ed Markey, D-Mass., and Marco Rubio, R-Fla., hailed advancement of the measure. “Our bipartisan legislation will keep compromised equipment out of U.S. telecommunications networks and ensure our technology is safe for consumers and secure for” the U.S., Markey said.