Florida could soon join 22 other states and Washington, D.C., in regulating pole attachments. The legislature passed a bill Wednesday to give the state authority to reverse preempt the FCC. A separate bill to regulate social media neared the finish line after the House passed an amended Senate bill. The Senate stripped language allowing private lawsuits from a House-passed comprehensive privacy bill. The legislature wraps work Friday.
Florida legislators teed up possible Wednesday votes on privacy, social media and pole attachment bills. The Senate placed its privacy measure (SB-1734) on Wednesday’s special order calendar. House lawmakers amended the Senate’s social media bill (SB-7072) Tuesday and placed it on third and final reading. The House revised the Senate’s bill, passed by that chamber Monday (see 2104260061), to replace the definition of social media with the one from HB-7013. The Senate’s definition was narrower, and social media companies might find loopholes, said HB-7013 sponsor Rep. Blaise Ingoglia (R) in webcast floor debate. Democrats slammed the bill. “This bill is an unconstitutional mess,” said Rep. Omari Hardy. States “have no right to wade into these waters,” he said. “This is a vindictive piece of legislation.” Rep. Anna Eskamani disagreed with treating tech companies like utilities: “We don’t have to be on these platforms.” Florida has a right to regulate monopolies to protect its citizens, responded Ingoglia. Later Tuesday, the House teed up for final reading SB-1944, passed Monday by the Senate, to give the Public Service Commission authority to regulate pole attachments
A proposed Maine broadband agency is “not an expansion of government bureaucracy,” nor will it be a tax or regulatory authority, Gov. Janet Mills (D) told legislators Tuesday. The joint Energy, Utilities and Technology Committee heard testimony on Mills’ plan to establish a Maine Connectivity Authority to pursue universal broadband (see 2104260069). The authority could own infrastructure under the planned amendment to LD-1484, but the intent would not be for the state entity to sell service, said Maine Department of Economic Community Development Commissioner Heather Johnson. The Telecom Association of Maine would oppose the state becoming a competitor, and believes Johnson that this isn’t the goal, said Executive Director Benjamin Sanborn. TAM will seek to write in some “guardrails” to clarify the body’s role, he said. Maine Public Advocate Barry Hobbins supported the proposed agency, which would become parent to the existing ConnectMaine Authority. “It is time for the authority to expand its scope,” he said. Maine should think carefully about diversifying board membership, said TAM, Charter Communications and Consolidated Communications officials. Include private broadband companies and bankers who understand what projects can be financed, said Sanborn. Give localities more seats at the table because much responsibility will fall to them, said Maine Municipal Association legislative analyst Neal Goldberg.
California Assembly Judiciary Committee members from both parties OK'd a social media transparency bill. AB-587 would require sites to post their terms of service, including an explanation about what types of behaviors would lead to users getting banned. Companies would have to submit quarterly reports to the California attorney general, including details on methods used to moderate online activity and data on how many times the company took action against users or content. Dylan Hoffman, Internet Association government affairs director-California, told the committee Tuesday it would be too costly to implement.
Washington state’s comprehensive privacy bill is dead for the third straight year. Unable again to overcome disagreement over enforcement and other issues, lawmakers ended the 2021 session Sunday without voting on the Senate-passed SB-5062. Washington legislators did pass municipal broadband and national 988 bills. Florida senators passed bills Monday to regulate social media and pole attachments.
Alaska’s administration knows its comprehensive privacy bill needs “substantial additional work to find that right balance” between protecting consumers and not burdening small and medium-size businesses, said Alaska Deputy Attorney General Cori Mills at a hearing livestreamed Friday. Gov. Mike Dunleavy (R) proposed the bill. House Commerce Committee co-Chair Zack Fields (D) said he hoped for enforcement changes “to make sure it has some teeth,” noting HB-159 doesn’t include a broad private right of action, and another option is to set up and fund a specialized enforcement agency. Assistant Attorney General John Haley read through the text section by section, occasionally stopping to take questions, and didn’t get all the way through before the panel moved on. Fields said the committee will pick up the reading again at its next hearing, scheduled for Monday at 7:15 p.m. EDT. A Washington state House vote wasn’t expected to have occurred Friday on the Senate’s privacy bill (SB-5062), said a House Democrats spokesperson. That legislature ends session Sunday. There's disagreement over allowing private suits in Washington and Florida (see 2104220062).
Disagreement on enforcement through private lawsuits threatens to derail two state privacy bills. The Washington state legislature ends regular session Sunday, and the Florida legislature closes April 30. Each state’s House supported including a private right of action, while their Senates seek only attorney general enforcement. Either state could become the third to pass a comprehensive law, after California and Virginia.
A privacy bill with a private right of action passed the Florida House 118-1 Wednesday. The Senate has SB-1734 without a private right. Rep. Ben Diamond (D) said on the floor Wednesday that he voted for HB-969 despite his concerns about allowing private lawsuits, because he understands the two chambers and governor’s office are in talks about the right approach. Diamond was confident that attorney general enforcement is enough and worried about maintaining Florida’s “reputation” as a “business-friendly state.” Rep. Anna Eskamani (D) hoped negotiations don’t lead to a weaker bill. HB-969 sponsor Rep. Fiona McFarland (R) kept supporting including the private right (see 2104200066). “Please vote to make Florida a place where Big Tech ... does not control our data and does not control our government,” McFarland said. Consumer Reports praised the House for keeping a private right but noted that HB-969 lacks a provision from the Senate bill to require companies to honor opt-out browser signals. The House bill has "strong enforcement and a comprehensive opt out," said CR Senior Policy Analyst Maureen Mahoney. "But the bill should also make it easy for Floridians to opt out."
"No one cares more about your data than you do,” said Florida Rep. Fiona McFarland (R) Tuesday, defending a private right of action in her privacy bill on the House floor. After the livestreamed debate, the House moved HB-969 to a third and final reading. Rep. Ben Diamond (D) asked McFarland to address concerns this right could lead to a deluge of lawsuits. Enforcement is “the trickiest part of this bill,” McFarland said. Senators removed a private right from their privacy bill (SB-1734). Based on a House committee hearing last week, "it would be fair to conclude … that if the private right of action is not removed or significantly dialed back, HB 969 will not pass the House,” Shook Hardy privacy attorney Alfred Saikali blogged Thursday. Legislators must resolve disagreement by April 30, the session's last day. The House temporarily postponed considering HB-7013 to make it unlawful for social media sites to de-platform political candidates, while requiring sites be transparent about policing users (see 2104190030).
A Pennsylvania bill meant to spur broadband by waiving Public Utility Commission ILEC rules “is not full deregulation,” stressed sponsor and Senate Communications Committee Chair Kristin Phillips-Hill (R) at a livestreamed meeting. The panel voted 7-3 for SB-341 and the same for SB-442 ordering an inventory of state-owned broadband assets. Also Tuesday and in California, a Senate panel supported a bill to increase PUC authority to check if state video franchisees are deploying enough broadband.