House Commerce Committee Chairman Frank Pallone, D-N.J., told us Tuesday he’s more interested in drafting privacy legislation than having additional tech-focused hearings. Tech is absent from the agendas for the committee’s first three hearings under Pallone.
Karl Herchenroeder
Karl Herchenroeder, Associate Editor, is a technology policy journalist for publications including Communications Daily. Born in Rockville, Maryland, he joined the Warren Communications News staff in 2018. He began his journalism career in 2012 at the Aspen Times in Aspen, Colorado, where he covered city government. After that, he covered the nuclear industry for ExchangeMonitor in Washington. You can follow Herchenroeder on Twitter: @karlherk
Incoming Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., hired Joe Keeley, an intellectual property veteran on Capitol Hill who handled IP issues for ex-House Judiciary Committee Chairman Bob Goodlatte, R-Va., said lobbyists and others. Keeley, who was House Internet Subcommittee chief counsel and helped negotiate the Music Modernization Act (MMA) (see 1810110038), will be Senate Judiciary Committee deputy staff director and chief IP counsel. Graham’s office and the Senate Judiciary Committee didn’t comment.
State attorneys general have an obligation to protect consumers against deception from online platforms like Facebook, Mississippi AG Jim Hood (D) told us Wednesday. Hood, who battled Google on various legal fronts, discussed a growing trend of tech-related enforcement from state entities. Washington, D.C., AG Karl Racine (D) recently sued Facebook over the Cambridge Analytica privacy breach (see 1812190039).
Republican leadership added two tech-minded lawmakers to the Senate Judiciary Committee in Sens. Marsha Blackburn, R-Tenn., and Josh Hawley, R-Mo., according to a GOP roster circulating around the Hill. Republicans also doubled down on adding female representation with Sen. Joni Ernst, R-Iowa (see 1812140044).
The FTC has funding to operate through 11:59 p.m. EST Friday, a spokesperson said Thursday. The agency previously said it would operate through at least mid-day Friday if there were a lapse in funding (see 1812210048). The agency’s latest contingency plan shows it operating at about 23 percent in a shutdown. Employees working Friday can complete shutdown responsibilities before the end of the work day, the spokesperson said.
Congressional hearings with executives from Facebook, Twitter and Google spurred criticism that lawmakers lack the expertise to properly question Silicon Valley. In interviews, tech-minded House lawmakers from both parties dismissed the criticism, though some said their colleagues should be better educated.
This week’s revelations about Facebook’s alleged data abuse (see 1812190039) spurred bipartisan fervor for addressing privacy issues in 2019. Incoming leadership for the Senate Commerce Committee, where the chamber’s privacy debate has centered (see 1812070039), told us to expect data privacy in the spotlight, with additional hearings.
Facebook partnerships with other companies didn’t allow access to personal data without consent, nor did they violate a 2012 consent decree with the FTC, Director-Developer Platforms and Programs Konstantinos Papamiltiadis responded Tuesday. The New York Times reported, based on 2017 documents, Facebook gave access to personal data, sometimes allegedly without consent, to Microsoft, Apple, Netflix, Spotify, Amazon, Yahoo and Russia Kremlin-linked search company Yandex. The agreements let users integrate Facebook features on other apps, Papamiltiadis said, and it has since ceased many such partnerships. Agreements remain active with Amazon, Apple, Alibaba, Mozilla and Opera, he said. Authorization to the data is granted when a user logs into apps through Facebook, he said. The FTC should consider these new allegations in its current Facebook investigation, and Congress needs to move forward with legislation in 2019, Public Knowledge Policy Counsel Charlotte Slaiman said. Washington, D.C., Attorney General Karl Racine (D) Wednesday sued Facebook for mishandling user data in the Cambridge Analytica scandal and failing to report the breach. Racine seeks “monetary and injunctive relief, including relief for harmed consumers, damages, and penalties to the District” for violating D.C.'s Consumer Protection Procedures Act. “We’re reviewing the complaint and look forward to continuing our discussions with attorneys general,” a Facebook spokesperson emailed. "If there's one complaint filed in court in the District of Columbia you consider reading today, make it this one: http://oag.dc.gov/sites/default/," tweeted FCC Commissioner Jessica Rosenworcel.
Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., sent a letter asking the FTC and DOJ to open an investigation into Amazon’s price parity provisions, a controversial practice it ceased in Europe. Blumenthal announced the request Wednesday during a Senate Antitrust Subcommittee hearing, in which he claimed U.S. consumers are paying higher prices for goods via Amazon because of the “invisible” clause preventing merchants from charging lower prices. He called the contractual obligation for third-party sellers a barrier to entry and asked witnesses why Americans don’t deserve the same protections as Europeans. An FTC spokesperson confirmed it received the letter. DOJ didn’t comment.
Senate Intelligence Committee reports put malicious Instagram activity on Congress’ radar, lawmakers told us this week. One finding was continued meddling by Russia’s Internet Research Agency (see 1812170036). Lawmakers said such activity isn't surprising.