Bipartisan legislation introduced Tuesday would require police to notify “targets” about subpoenas and court-ordered surveillance of electronic data, similar to rules for wiretaps and bank subpoenas. Introduced by Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore.; Sen. Steve Daines, R-Mont.; Rep. Ted Lieu, D-Calif.; and Rep. Warren Davidson, R-Ohio, the Government Surveillance Transparency Act is co-sponsored by Sens. Cory Booker, D-N.J., and Mike Lee, R-Utah. It would apply to “emails, location and web browsing records and other digital information” collected by the government.

Tech and telecom legal issues didn’t factor into Supreme Court nominee Ketanji Brown Jackson’s first day of confirmation hearings Monday, which consisted entirely of opening statements from the nominee, panel members and others. Senate Judiciary member Marsha Blackburn, R-Tenn., previewed plans Sunday to ask Jackson about her views on “constitutionally unsound” high court rulings, including the 1965 Griswold v. Connecticut ruling that’s widely viewed as the legal basis for many U.S. privacy cases. Judiciary members may ask Jackson about her views on Communications Decency Act Section 230 amid continued lawmaker interest in revamping the statute’s liability shield. The issue came up during now-Justice Amy Coney Barrett’s 2020 confirmation hearings (see 2010140064). Other potential matters for discussion could include tech-focused antitrust issues and administrative law, given Jackson’s past rulings on the Administrative Procedure Act and the Chevron doctrine (see 2202250057).

Sens. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., and Brian Schatz, D-Hawaii, hailed the Senate Thursday for passing the Safe Connections Act (S-120) by unanimous consent. S-120 and House companion HR-7132 would let domestic abuse survivors separate a mobile phone line from any shared plan involving their abusers without penalties or other requirements and require the FCC to establish rules that ensure calls and texts to domestic abuse hotlines don’t appear on call logs (see 2101290049). The Senate Commerce Committee advanced the measure in April (see 2104280083) and it was the subject of wireless industry lobbying. Lead S-120 sponsor Schatz and other backers unsuccessfully tried to attach the measure to a Violence Against Women Act renewal included in the FY 2022 appropriations omnibus law President Joe Biden signed last week (see 2203150076). “Giving domestic violence abusers control over their victims’ cell phones is a terrifying reality for many survivors,” Schatz said. “Right now, there is no easy way out for these victims -- they’re trapped in by contracts and hefty fees. Our bill helps survivors get out of these shared plans and tries to find more ways to help victims stay connected with their families and support networks.” The Senate’s “passage of this important measure is a significant breakthrough for survivors of domestic violence,” Blumenthal said in a statement. “Wireless service plans can be a vital lifeline by allowing victims to communicate with family, friends, and critical support services, but shared plans often let abusers control or cut off communication.”

Rep. Tony Cardenas, D-Calif., led filing Thursday of the 988 Implementation Act to solidify federal funding for the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline and provide money for local call centers and related resources. The measure would allocate $240 million to the hotline for fiscal years 2023-2027 and $441 million for the Department of Health and Human Services to award grants to regional and local crisis centers for tech improvements and hiring additional staff. “When people start calling 988 this July, they must be connected to the proper assistance they need, with the urgency and support they deserve,” Cardenas said. “For this to truly be a life-saving alternative to 911, there must be someone to call, someone to come and somewhere to go.” It “will bolster the behavioral health crisis continuum of care nationwide and ensure that the lifesaving 988 Suicide Prevention Hotline is successfully implemented,” said co-sponsor Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick, R-Pa. Cardenas’ office cited support from more than 100 groups, including the American Psychiatric Association and National Association of Counties. A trio of Democratic senators raised concerns last year about CTIA lobbying states on capping 988 fees (see 2107150063).

Senate Communications Subcommittee ranking member John Thune, R-S.D., urged “at least some” Democrats Thursday to “join Republicans in opposing” FCC nominee Gigi Sohn, saying in a floor speech “we should all be able to agree that virulent partisanship and an inability to fulfill the responsibilities of one’s job are disqualifying characteristics for a role on the FCC.” The Senate Commerce Committee voted 14-14 on Sohn earlier this month, with Thune and all 13 other panel Republicans in opposition (see 2203030070). Thune cited several issues that led him to believe Sohn “cannot be relied upon to fulfill any of her responsibilities in an impartial manner,” including the nominee’s responses about her role as a board member for Locast operator Sports Fans Coalition in a shift in the settlement of broadcasters’ lawsuit against the shuttered rebroadcaster and her social media comments about conservative media outlets. Thune noted concerns that Sohn may even "go further" than just bringing back the FCC’s 2015 net neutrality rules and reclassification of broadband as a Communications Act Title II service and recent comments from former Sen. Heidi Heitkamp, D-N.D., in opposition to the nominee. “I don’t expect a Democrat nominee to the FCC to agree with Republicans on all the issues,” Thune said. “Far from it. But I do expect a Democrat nominee to be able to do his or her job, and do it an impartial and unbiased manner,” and Sohn’s “record strongly suggests that she cannot be relied upon to fulfill any of her responsibilities in an impartial manner.” Sohn didn't comment.

The Senate Commerce Committee plans a Tuesday executive session that will include votes on three telecom and broadcasting bills: the Martha Wright-Reed Just and Reasonable Communications Act (S-1541), Next Generation Telecommunications Act (S-3014) and Low Power Protection Act (S-3405). S-1541 and the similar Martha Wright Prison Phone Justice Act (HR-2489) would bar communications providers from receiving site commissions earned by prisons and other confinement facilities (see 2104160067). S-3014 would create a group to advise Congress on 6G and other next-gen wireless technologies (see 2110200066). S-3405 would require the FCC to open a new filing window during which qualifying low-power TV stations could apply for and receive Class A status (see 2112210058). The markup will begin at 10 a.m. in 253 Russell.

A Democratic bill announced Wednesday would allow antitrust enforcers to automatically block transactions valued at more than $5 billion. Introduced by Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., and Rep. Mondaire Jones, D-N.Y., the Prohibiting Anticompetitive Mergers Act would allow the FTC, DOJ and state attorneys general to unwind anticompetitive deals dating back to 2000, if the acquisition resulted in a market share larger than 50% of any relevant market or if it brought “material harm” to the competitive process. Tech industry groups opposed the proposal. “Instead of arbitrarily barring certain transactions, Congress should instead provide the resources necessary for the FTC and DOJ to do the job they are charged with: protecting competition and consumers,” said Computer & Communications Industry Association President Matt Schruers. For “emerging businesses looking to be acquired, this bill would compel them to either raise prices, lower quality, or lay off workers to remain competitive,” said NetChoice CEO Steve DelBianco.

A new cyber incident reporting law signed by President Joe Biden is a “significant step” in helping combat potential cyberattacks from foreign adversaries, said Senate Homeland Security Committee Chairman Gary Peters, D-Mich., and ranking member Rob Portman, R-Ohio, Tuesday (see 2203110052). Biden signed it into law with passage of the government funding package. It requires critical infrastructure owners and operators to report to the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency within “72 hours if they are experiencing a substantial cyberattack and within 24 hours of making a ransomware payment.”

Rep. Anna Eshoo, D-Calif., hailed the FCC putting into effect its disclosure requirements for broadcasters airing foreign sponsored content (see 2203150077). The rules, which Eshoo said Tuesday the agency adopted “at my urging,” still face a broadcaster-led legal challenge in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit. As Russian President Vladimir Putin “wages a brutal war against Ukraine, any Russian attempts to broadcast their propaganda is unacceptable,” Eshoo said. “I call on every station broadcasting Russian Sputnik (RT) under existing agreements to voluntarily come into compliance before the regulations require them to do so.” NAB asked its members earlier this month to stop broadcasting Russian state media (see 2203010067).

Congress should consider approaches that avoid regulating “particular types of content” when legislating online child safety, the Congressional Research Service said in a report released Monday. Laws restricting the “provision of expressive material” could face First Amendment issues, and laws targeting “specific categories of speech based on its content are subject to the demanding strict scrutiny standard of judicial review,” the report said. Congress tried to criminalize the “provision of internet content” for minors, but courts “applying the strict scrutiny standard have struck down these statutes as unconstitutional,” the report said. CRS noted two potential examples of bills seeking to regulate child internet use without banning a particular type of content: the Kids Internet Design and Safety Act and the Protecting the Information of our Vulnerable Children and Youth Act.