Karl Herchenroeder

The FTC needs to review past agency antitrust analysis to determine where tools have been misused and what predictions have been incorrect, acting Chair Rebecca Kelly Slaughter told the House Antitrust Subcommittee Thursday. She responded to Chairman David Cicilline, D-R.I., and ranking member Ken Buck, R-Colo. Those lawmakers' opening remarks questioned FTC reported reluctance in 2013 to pursue an antitrust lawsuit against Google, despite a recommendation from agency investigators.

Senate Minority Whip John Thune, R-S.D., and Sen. Brian Schatz, D-Hawaii, reintroduced legislation Wednesday that would amend Communications Decency Act Section 230 and require online platforms to remove illegal content within days, as expected (see 2102030060). Under the Platform Accountability and Consumer Transparency (Pact) Act, platforms would need a “defined complaint system that processes reports and notifies users of moderation decisions within twenty-one days, and allows consumers to appeal.” The bill would make platforms “more accountable for their content moderation policies and providing more tools to protect consumers,” said Schatz. Thune called it a “common-sense legislative approach to preserve user-generated content and free speech on the internet, while increasing consumer transparency and the accountability of big internet platforms.” Public Knowledge said it's “a serious, bipartisan effort to consider content-neutral requirements to provide greater transparency and accountability.” Access Now supports the requirements for platforms to have “content moderation policies, explain their moderation decisions, and have an appeal process.” BSA|The Software Alliance welcomed the effort and wants to “avoid unintended consequences and account for the broader universe of technology companies.” The serious proposal contains a “fatal flaw: by subjecting websites to federal civil liability, the bill is far more radical than it appears and would lead to legitimate speech being removed from the internet as websites take a better-safe-than-sorry approach,” said NetChoice Vice President Carl Szabo.

Senate Judiciary Committee ranking member Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, and Commerce Committee ranking member Roger Wicker, R-Miss., are open to antitrust proposals from potential FTC nominee Lina Khan (see 2103120071), they told us this week. Khan’s antitrust views resulted in comparisons to Sens. Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn., and Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass. She has worked as a staffer for FTC Commissioner Rohit Chopra and House Antitrust Subcommittee Chairman David Cicilline, D-R.I.

FTC attorneys should be paid as much as Consumer Financial Protection Bureau and Public Company Accounting Oversight Board officials, FTC Commissioner Noah Phillips said Tuesday. He agreed with ex-FTC Chairman William Kovacic, who noted financial regulation attorneys and economists make about 20% more than FTC officials in similar roles.

It's an “easy” decision to support legislation for giving news outlets power to negotiate with Big Tech, House Antitrust Subcommittee ranking member Ken Buck, R-Colo., told us Friday, despite criticism from fellow Republicans. Legislators and two witnesses at Friday’s hearing said the legislation could enable a big media monopoly when the goal is to check Big Tech power.

House Commerce Committee members from both parties want an update to the Children's Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA), they said Thursday, urging support for two different bills. Rep. Kathy Castor, D-Fla., will reintroduce the Protecting the Information of Our Vulnerable Children and Youth Act, an opt-in consent bill meant to give children and parents more control over data. Rep. Tim Walberg, R-Mich., voiced support for the Preventing Real Online Threats Endangering Children Today (Protect) Kids Act, which he introduced with Rep. Bobby Rush, D-Ill. The privacy law must be updated to address an increasingly complex and digital world, said House Consumer Protection Subcommittee Chair Jan Schakowsky, D-Ill., during her subcommittee’s hearing. Kids have a new, “sad” reality because of COVID-19 and turn to social media more, said ranking member Gus Bilirakis, R-Fla. Parents need help, and tech companies need to be held accountable, said Nusheen Ameenuddin, chair of the American Academy of Pediatrics' Communications and Media Council. Congress has a responsibility to create a healthy internet for children, said Ariel Fox Johnson, Common Sense Media senior counsel-global policy.

Senate Antitrust Subcommittee Chair Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn., seeks Senate Judiciary Committee markup for her bill letting small news outlets negotiate revenue-sharing with online platforms (see 2103100058). She told us after Thursday’s subcommittee hearing that she spoke about the possibility with Chairman Dick Durbin, D-Ill., who sponsored the bill last year.

Increasing resources for antitrust enforcers is one potential area for Senate Judiciary Committee compromise, ranking member Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, told us Wednesday. It’s something Senate Antitrust Subcommittee Chair Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn., has pushed for along with comprehensive antitrust legislation (see 2102040053). Klobuchar will lead the subcommittee’s first hearing this session Thursday (see 2103040033).

President Joe Biden’s reported decision to nominate Columbia Law School’s Lina Khan for an open FTC seat drew reactions mostly along party lines Tuesday. Consumer groups praised the news. The Information Technology and Innovation Foundation called her “populist” views a threat to traditional antitrust enforcement.

Senate Intellectual Property Subcommittee ranking member Thom Tillis, R-N.C., hopes to introduce bipartisan legislation in late April or early May updating the Digital Millennium Copyright Act, he told us Monday. His office gathered comments from groups through Friday on a discussion draft titled the Digital Copyright Act of 2021. As chairman last session, Tillis worked with then-ranking member Chris Coons, D-Del., on a multi-hearing review of the DMCA.