Communications Decency Act Section 230 and similar language shouldn’t be included in trade agreements, House Commerce Committee Chairman Frank Pallone, D-N.J., and ranking member Cathy McMorris Rodgers, R-Wash., wrote U.S. Trade Representative Katherine Tai Monday. It would be “inappropriate” to export such language with ongoing policy discussions about Section 230, they wrote: “Given that our Committee closely oversees Section 230 and all portions of the Telecommunications Act of 1996, we also hope the Office of the United States Trade Representative will consult our Committee in the future in advance of negotiating on these issues.” Pallone wrote a similar letter to the Donald Trump administration with then-ranking member Greg Walden, R-Ore. (see 1908060064).

Sen. Jerry Moran, R-Kan., reintroduced his privacy legislation Thursday that would let consumers access, correct and erase personal data (see 2003120047). The Consumer Data Privacy and Security Act would preempt state privacy laws. Brandon Consolvo, BSA|The Software Alliance legislative strategy director, called S-1494 “a step in the right direction.”

The House Cybersecurity Subcommittee plans a hearing on policy solutions for ransomware at 2:30 p.m. EDT Wednesday. Palo Alto Networks Federal Chief Security Officer John Davis, Global Cyber Alliance Executive Director Americas Megan Stifel and New Hampshire Chief Information Officer Denis Goulet will testify.

Sens. Ed Markey, D-Mass., and Ron Wyden, D-Ore., filed the Generating Resilient and Energy Efficient Network (Green) Communications Act Thursday to strengthen communications networks’ resiliency against natural disasters. Markey noted plans for the legislation in February (see 2102020063). It would authorize $5 billion for a new NTIA program to fund grants and revolving loans for projects designed to strengthen communications networks’ resiliency and increase energy efficiency. Projects in low-income, rural and minority communities would get priority, as would projects that demonstrate the biggest overall reduction in greenhouse gas emissions, benefit the most vulnerable areas or use “green solutions” to improve resiliency. The bill would require the FCC to create rules and a resiliency framework aimed at minimizing the number, duration and impact of future network outages. Markey said he plans to attach the measure’s language to “any comprehensive infrastructure package” that comes out of ongoing talks (see 2104290076).

Senate Commerce Committee ranking member Roger Wicker, R-Miss., Communications Subcommittee ranking member John Thune, R-S.D., and Consumer Protection Subcommittee ranking member Marsha Blackburn, R-Tenn., filed the Improving Spectrum Coordination Act Thursday to improve agencies’ communication. Lawmakers seek to prevent a return of the spectrum policy fracases that became routine during President Donald Trump’s administration (see 2010260001). The measure would require the FCC and NTIA to update their spectrum memorandum of understanding, adding language governing a process for addressing interagency policy differences and instituting a resolution process. The bill would clarify NTIA’s role as the representative of other federal agencies to the FCC on spectrum matters and would ensure the government considers scientific analyses and additional potential implications of reallocations and other actions.

Senate Commerce Committee ranking member Roger Wicker, R-Miss., and Communications Subcommittee ranking member John Thune, R-S.D., asked GAO Thursday to review the FCC’s $3.2 billion emergency broadband benefit program (see 2104290085), citing the need to ensure efficacy. “The goals of the EBB program are laudable, but as responsible stewards of taxpayer dollars, it is imperative Congress and GAO conduct proper oversight,” the senators wrote U.S. Comptroller General Gene Dodaro. “The FCC quickly adopted rules to establish the program, but despite the program not disbursing any funds to its intended recipients -- consumers who are struggling to pay for their broadband service during the pandemic -- there have already been calls” for $6 billion (see 2103110060) “in additional support for the EBB program” via the Accessible, Affordable Internet for All Act (HR-1783/S-745). “Before additional funding is considered for this untested program, we believe proper oversight of this publicly funded program is critical to allowing Congress to thoroughly and carefully consider the program’s benefits,” they said. GAO didn’t immediately comment.

It’s important the U.S. government fund research for novel science and technology that industry isn’t willing to invest in, said Eric Lander, President Joe Biden’s nominee for Office of Science and Technology Policy director, during his Senate Commerce Committee confirmation hearing Thursday. Sen. Mike Lee, R-Utah, questioned whether the Endless Frontier Act (see 2104270045) is a misguided attempt to outspend China in R&D. If the government is willing to spend $100 billion, Lee said, why not put up $250 billion or $1 trillion? He asked if there’s a point at which government spending becomes counterproductive. Lander, a Massachusetts Institute of Technology professor, said it’s appropriate to be developing ways to move things from fundamental research into industry by filling the gaps between the two. In opening remarks, Sen. Tammy Duckworth, D-Ill., and ranking member Roger Wicker, R-Miss., questioned things that have surfaced from Lander’s past. Duckworth said she’s troubled by claims of his “downplaying” contributions of female Nobel Prize laureates; his “toasting” of James Watson, a scientist criticized for racist, misogynistic and anti-Semitic views; and his attending lunch meetings with Jeffrey Epstein, who was charged with sex trafficking. Lander said he met Epstein “briefly” at two separate events over three weeks in 2012: "Epstein was an abhorrent individual, and my heart goes out to his victims. I chose to have no association whatsoever with him." If confirmed, Lander said OSTP staff will look like the U.S., with a diverse mix of talented women and minorities. Lander has a degree in mathematics from Princeton and a doctorate from the University of Oxford, where he was a Rhodes scholar. He received a MacArthur “Genius” award in 1987 and helped lead the Human Genome Project. Introducing him, Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., called him a scientist “to his bones,” who believes in data. Sen. Ed Markey, D-Mass., called him one of MIT’s most “beloved” teachers. Sen. Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn., asked Lander if the U.S. needs to better train its cyber workforce. He responded that the U.S. doesn't "have enough people trained in [cybersecurity] to be able to both defend and then think about how to construct systems that are less hackable.”

Legislation from Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Dick Durbin, D-Ill., would require tech companies upon request to “delete all personal information” collected from or about someone younger than 13. Sponsored by Sens. Ed Markey, D-Mass., Mazie Hirono, D-Hawaii, and Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., the Clean Slate for Kids Online Act would modify the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act, which already gives parents “some ability to limit the use of or delete information collected from their children.” Kids deserve a chance at a “clean slate,” Durbin said.

Congress should be cautious about legislative proposals that threaten to ban transactions from companies of a specific size, FTC Commissioner Noah Phillips told a U.S. Chamber of Commerce livestream Wednesday. Citing $100 billion in market capitalization as a recent example (see 2104120033), he said such bans could end up applying to companies attempting to compete with those often cited in antitrust conversations. Phillips also criticized attempts to ban Hart-Scott-Rodino mergers, acquisitions and transactions due to the pandemic. The stated rationale was an increase in filings, he said, with the expectation that agencies would be “overwhelmed” and anticompetitive deals would go unnoticed. “The strong would prey upon the weak, and the government would sit there and watch it happen,” he said. When economic fortunes decrease, equity values decrease, companies have less money, and they spend less on M&A, he said, meaning less work for the FTC. “The notion of the overwhelmed agency and the wave of mergers and acquisitions simply wasn’t true,” he said. “It speaks volumes to the kinds of extreme skepticism that certain aspects of our political class apply to M&A generally.”

The House Communications Subcommittee plans a May 6 hearing on broadband access and affordability equity, the Commerce Committee said Tuesday. The virtual panel begins at 11:30 a.m. EDT. “Underserved communities -- particularly low-income communities and communities of color -- have long faced systemic barriers when it comes to accessing high-speed internet and reliable connectivity,” said Commerce Chairman Frank Pallone, D-N.J., and Communications Chairman Mike Doyle, D-Pa. “At next week’s hearing, we’ll examine the ways that a lack of affordable, high-speed internet service marginalizes racial and ethnic minorities, further undermining access to economic, educational, and social opportunities. We will also explore ways to fix the problem so.” The Pallone-led Leading Infrastructure for Tomorrow’s America Act (HR-1848) includes digital equity language, among other broadband-focused provisions (see 2103110060).