The FCC “absolutely” still has a role in interpreting Communications Decency Act Section 230, Commissioner Brendan Carr told us last week on the sidelines at the Technology Policy Institute conference in Aspen. He believes ISP-like transparency rules can be used “as a foundation” for increasing social media content moderation transparency.
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
U.S. District Judge Amit Mehta in Washington set a Sept. 30 deadline for Apple to complete production of some 1.5 million documents DOJ requested in its antitrust case against Google in docket 1:20-cv-03010 (in Pacer) (see 2107300035).
After repeated failure to “develop innovative mobile features,” Facebook “resorted to an illegal buy-or-bury scheme to maintain its dominance,” alleged the FTC Thursday in an amended complaint in its antitrust case against the company in docket 1:20-cv-03590. The commission 3-2 authorized filing of the complaint with the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia.
Internet regulation is “overdue in many ways and justified,” Facebook General Counsel Jennifer Newstead told a Technology Policy Institute event Tuesday. She noted the tremendous attention on internet regulation, including privacy, online safety, content moderation, data sharing and competition. “We are advocating in a number of areas that there be a very careful and focused look at what changes might be necessary,” she said.
ASPEN, Colorado -- The FCC is “far from gridlock,” despite the commission’s 2-2 split, but the agency could do more to reach “bipartisan, low-hanging fruit,” Commissioner Brendan Carr told us Tuesday before speaking on a Technology Policy Institute panel. “If you had asked me in January or February, do you think you’ll be in August without the White House naming a chair, I would have said no,” he said. “That said, hats off to the chair.”
ASPEN, Colorado -- Privacy is a policy area with bipartisan potential at the FTC, Commissioner Noah Phillips told us between panels at the Technology Policy Institute conference Monday, though he doubts the agency’s authority to issue rulemakings for the entire economy.
U.S. District Judge James Boasberg was right to dismiss the FTC’s antitrust case against Facebook (see 2106280057), but he created a road map for the agency to replead its monopoly case against the social network, antitrust attorneys said in interviews.
Broadcasters and the recording industry remain at odds over a longstanding legislative debate about the prospect of performance royalty payments for radio airplay. Interviews with NAB and former Rep. Joe Crowley, D-N.Y., chairman of musicFIRST, a group that represents artists’ interests, highlighted the divide.
TikTok is fielding a wave of user complaints about content takedowns and account suspensions, after the platform’s shift to more automated moderation. TikTok is removing content and accounts based on false violations, one user told us. Others expressed frustration over seemingly frivolous takedowns. Content moderation experts told us automation is necessary at TikTok’s scale, but the platform can act to minimize mistakes.
Senate Finance Committee Chairman Ron Wyden, D-Ore., Banking Committee ranking member Pat Toomey, R-Pa., and Sen. Cynthia Lummis, R-Wyo., were seeking a Saturday vote on language to clarify new cryptocurrency tax provisions included in the bipartisan Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act substitute for shell bill HR-3684 (see 2108050064). They seek to narrow the definition of “broker” for digital asset third-party tax-reporting requirements. Software developers, e-wallet providers and miners shouldn’t face the same burdensome requirements as entities running crypto exchanges, they said.