Alphabet, Meta, X and TikTok need to brief the House Commerce Committee about content moderation policies involving illegal content posted by Hamas, Chair Cathy McMorris Rodgers, R-Wash., wrote the companies Thursday. She demanded staff briefings by Oct. 20. The platforms “must provide transparency” about how they’re “monitoring and removing illegal content posted by Hamas for recruitment, to spread propaganda, to livestream murders and the torture of hostages,” she said. New York Attorney General Letitia James (D) sent similar letters to the four companies, as well as to Reddit and Rumble. “These platforms have a responsibility to keep their users safe and prohibit the spread of violent rhetoric that puts vulnerable groups in danger,” she said. Reddit has strict policies against content that “encourages, glorifies, incites, or calls for violence or physical harm,” including content from terrorist groups, the company said in a statement Friday: “Our experienced safety teams are closely monitoring the situation and taking action against anything that violates these policies." The other companies didn’t comment.

The Senate Commerce Space Subcommittee plans a Wednesday hearing on the “federal government’s role in regulating human activities in space,” including the “importance of streamlined authorization processes, safety regulations for in-space operations, and responsibilities of government agencies overseeing commercial human space activities,” the Commerce Committee said Thursday. SpaceX Vice President-Build and Flight Reliability William Gerstenmaier and Blue Origin Senior Vice President-New Shepard Business Unit Phil Joyce are among those set to testify, the panel said. Also on the docket: Virgin Galactic Vice President-Government Affairs and Research Sirisha Badla, National Aerospace Solutions President Wayne Monteith and CS Consulting President Caryn Schenewerk. The hearing will begin at 2:30 p.m. in 106 Dirksen. Senate Commerce in July advanced the Orbital Sustainability Act (S-447) and Launch Communications Act (S-1648) in a bid to revamp some satellite-related space regulatory practices (see 2307260037).

A bipartisan group of senators is circulating draft legislation to protect entertainers against unauthorized digital replicas created by AI technology. Sens. Chris Coons, D-Del.; Marsha Blackburn, R-Tenn.; Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn.; and Thom Tillis, R-N.C., introduced a discussion draft on their Nurture Originals, Foster Art and Keep Entertainment Safe (No Fakes) Act. The No Fakes Act would hold individuals, companies and platforms liable for creating and hosting such content. Actor Tom Hanks and musicians Drake and the Weekend objected to recent AI-generated content using their likenesses online. “Creators around the nation are calling on Congress to lay out clear policies regulating the use and impact of generative AI, and Congress must strike the right balance to defend individual rights, abide by the First Amendment, and foster AI innovation and creativity,” Coons said in a statement. Blackburn called it a “good first step in protecting our creative community.” The Motion Picture Association said it looks forward to working with sponsors to “ensure any eventual legislation establishes adequate protections against harmful uses of digital replicas without infringing on the First Amendment rights and creative freedoms upon which our industry depends.”

The Senate Commerce Committee plans to vote Wednesday at 10 a.m. on confirming Andrew Ferguson and Melissa Holyoak for the FTC and reconfirming Commissioner Rebecca Kelly Slaughter, the committee announced, as expected (see 2309220061).

President Joe Biden should incorporate the administration’s AI Bill of Rights into his forthcoming executive order, 16 House and Senate Democrats wrote in a letter Wednesday. Consumer advocates made the same suggestion in August (see 2308030065). Sen. Ed Markey of Massachusetts headed Wednesday’s effort with Rep. Pramila Jayapal of Washington. The bill of rights and “detailed best practices” should be “binding when federal agencies develop, purchase, fund, deploy, or regulate the use of automated systems,” they wrote.

The National Farmers Union, National Grange and eight other rural advocacy groups urged congressional leaders to pass the AM Radio for Every Vehicle Act (HR-3413/S-1669). The measure would require the Transportation Department to mandate automakers include AM radio technology in future vehicles. The Senate Commerce Committee approved an amended version of S-1669 in July, but House Commerce leaders expressed mixed opinions about the measure (see 2307270063). “AM radio is an essential communications medium in rural America,” including “commodity market reports” that are “called into local radio stations every day” and “well-known agriculture broadcasters remain a trusted source for valuable market reporting and updates,” NFU and the other groups said in a letter to Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., House Speaker Pro Tempore Patrick McHenry, R-N.C., and the chambers’ minority leaders. “There are more than 4,470 licensed AM stations across the country, with over a third of those stations broadcasting this type of agricultural programming. More than 40 percent of radio listeners are tuning in from their cars or trucks.” The groups also cited AM radio’s role in broadcasting emergency alerts since “when the power goes out in rural America, and cell networks are down, households are still able to access that emergency information through their car radio.” NAB, which backs HR-3413/S-1669, publicized the letter Wednesday.

Former senior House Communications Subcommittee member Steve Scalise of Louisiana, now chamber majority leader, won the Republican caucus’ nomination for speaker Wednesday 113-99 against Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan of Ohio. The two tech-focused leaders sparred in recent days for the caucus’ backing to replace former Speaker Kevin McCarthy of California after eight House Republicans joined with all present Democrats more than a week ago to oust the former leader by a 216-210 margin. It wasn’t clear Wednesday afternoon whether Scalise had secured enough votes to assure the full House would elect him as speaker, as several GOP lawmakers indicated they planned to still vote for Jordan, to reinstate McCarthy, or were otherwise uncommitted to backing Scalise in a House floor vote despite the caucus’ nomination. Jordan’s office confirmed he will back Scalise on the floor. Scalise relinquished his House Communications seat at the beginning of this Congress when he became majority leader. He was the lead Republican sponsor of the 2021 Secure Equipment Act, which bans the FCC from issuing new equipment licenses to companies the commission decides are a national security risk (see 2110290067). Scalise has also been an active advocate for revamping retransmission consent and other TV rules, including as lead GOP sponsor of the Modern Television Act during the past two Congresses (see 2103110064). Jordan, who became House Judiciary chairman at the beginning of this Congress, has been a strong critic of FTC actions under Chair Lina Khan and is spearheading the panel’s investigation of the Biden administration’s efforts to control misinformation on social media (see 2308180043). He has also been a hurdle to House consideration of the Journalism Competition and Preservation Act (see 2309010048).

TikTok’s decision to hire executives from Chinese parent company ByteDance raises questions about national security and TikTok’s independence from Beijing, Sens. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., and Marsha Blackburn, R-Tenn., wrote in a letter to the company Tuesday. Citing Wall Street Journal reports, they claimed former ByteDance executives have moved to the U.S. to work for TikTok, replacing U.S. executives. “The relationship between ByteDance and TikTok poses a unique risk to the security and privacy of TikTok’s users in the United States,” they wrote. “TikTok executives, including personnel based in China, have been found spying on American journalists, and, in leaked recordings, its staff acknowledged that ‘everything is seen in China,’” they wrote. TikTok said in a statement Tuesday: "In a large, global organization, it is not uncommon for employees to work on different products or geographies over the course of their career. This is neither a recent development, nor is it unique to TikTok. We welcome the opportunity to provide the Senators facts and context the Journal chose to ignore in their initial story."

The FCC may avert a shutdown for now, but other agencies hang in the balance. House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., said on CNBC Thursday the House won't approve a continuing resolution from the Senate (see 2309270046), in part, because it doesn’t address border security. “I think we could work through the weekend and I think we could figure this out,” he said. McCarthy held out hope the government won’t close at midnight Saturday. “We’re going to get this done,” he said. He acknowledged reaching an agreement won’t be easy. “I’ve got challenges [in] our conference,” he said: “I’ve got members who will not vote to have a stopgap measure to continue to fund the government. I’ve got members who say they’ll never vote for an omnibus [bill]. Well, if you won’t do any of that it’s hard to govern.” Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., filed cloture Thursday on the Securing Growth and Robust Leadership in American Aviation Act (HR-3935), the shell bill for the chamber's continuing resolution that would avert a shutdown and extend appropriations until Nov 17. The Senate voted 76-22 earlier that day on a motion to proceed to the CR.

The Senate needs to bring online child safety legislation to a vote, Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Dick Durbin, D-Ill., said in a floor speech Wednesday. He urged support for several bills the committee passed, including his Strengthening Transparency and Obligation to Protect Children Suffering from Abuse and Mistreatment (Stop CSAM) Act (S-1199) and the Eliminating Abusive and Rampant Neglect of Interactive Technologies Act (Earn It Act) (see 2305240050). Every member of the committee supported the Stop CSAM Act, and “I’m working to bring it to the floor,” he said. “The Senate must act. Our failure to do so will preserve the status quo, where our children are being sexually exploited online every day.”