The tech industry should create a regulatory body to set best practices for protecting children, and Communications Decency Act Section 230 immunity should be earned through adhering to those protections, Instagram Head Adam Mosseri told the Senate Consumer Protection Subcommittee at a Wednesday hearing. That regulatory body should gather input from civil society and regulators about universal protections, including age verification, age-appropriate design and parental controls, Mosseri said. TikTok Public Policy Head Michael Beckerman backed standardized age verification in November (see 2111090076).
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
Amazon artificially inflates consumer prices by charging third-party sellers exorbitant and unavoidable fees, Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., and District of Columbia Attorney General Karl Racine (D) said Tuesday during a Senate hearing.
The House Science Committee has been ready to go to conference on science and tech legislation since passing its bills in June, but members are waiting for Democratic leadership to take action on the U.S. Innovation and Competition Act (S-1260), House Science Committee ranking member Frank Lucas, R-Okla., told us last week.
The Senate Commerce Committee will vote Dec. 1 on advancing confirmation of FCC Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel and Democratic FTC nominee Alvaro Bedoya, as expected (see 2111170071), the panel said Tuesday. FTC Commissioner Christine Wilson backed Bedoya's nomination in a statement Tuesday, saying that if confirmed, he would “bring a wealth of privacy expertise to the commission."
House Antitrust Subcommittee Chairman David Cicilline, D-R.I., remains hopeful House leadership will allow floor time for the Judiciary Committee’s antitrust legislation before the end of the year, he told us last week. A Democratic aide said Monday that caucus negotiations are ongoing.
Senate Commerce Committee Chair Maria Cantwell, D-Wash., seeks bipartisan recommendations for updating the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act, she told us last week. Sens. Ed Markey, D-Mass., and Marsha Blackburn, R-Tenn., said they’re trying to reach bipartisan consensus.
A unanimous FTC agreed to a Republican proposal to delay voting on whether to issue orders to large retailers and consumer-goods suppliers to study anti-competitive effects of supply chain disruptions (see 2111100084). Despite Chair Lina Khan’s desire to “expeditiously” begin research, the commission, which recently lost its Democratic majority, agreed 4-0 to table the vote until Wednesday, after a motion from Commissioner Christine Wilson.
Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, will place a hold on Alvaro Bedoya’s FTC nomination, Cruz told us Wednesday, citing the nominee's Twitter activity linking the Trump administration to white supremacy. Sen. Dan Sullivan, R-Alaska, is also “contemplating" a hold over a Bedoya retweet describing Trump supporters as white supremacists.
The FBI’s decision to withhold the decryption key associated with the Kaseya cyberattack was made with a long-term plan of addressing Russian threats, despite the millions that businesses lost because of the decision, FBI Cyber Division Assistant Director Bryan Vorndran told the House Oversight Subcommittee Tuesday (see 2109210055). National Cyber Director Chris Inglis and Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency Executive Director Brandon Wales backed the decision.
Privacy laws in Virginia and Colorado show it’s possible to establish an effective legal framework without a private right of action, House Commerce Committee ranking member Cathy McMorris Rodgers, R-Wash., told an FCBA event Tuesday. She urged Congress to pass a “forward-thinking, pro-innovation,” national privacy standard.