Online platforms should provide public notice detailing when and why they remove users or deny services, Senate Commerce Committee ranking member Ted Cruz, R-Texas, said Wednesday. Cruz’s office issued a report “showing how online service providers are weaponizing their terms of service to deny conservative organizations access to essential business technology.” For example, the report claims political bias in Slack’s decision to remove Libs of TikTok’s workspace, reportedly over gender- and sex-related controversies. The report also claims political bias in Eventbrite’s removal of listings related to Matt Walsh’s “What Is a Woman?” documentary and Bonterra’s termination of its relationship with Independent Women’s Forum. The report recommends legislation requiring platforms to publish community standards, written notice when a service is blocked and an annual report detailing when and why service is denied.

Sen. Steve Daines, R-Mont., filed an amendment Tuesday seeking to attach language from his Supporting National Security with Spectrum Act (S-4049) to the House-approved FY 2024 national security appropriations supplemental package (HR-815) as an alternative vehicle for allocating an additional $3.08 billion for the FCC’s Secure and Trusted Communications Networks Reimbursement Program. S-4049, which Daines filed in March (see 2403220056), would offset the additional rip and replace funding by authorizing a reauction of the 197 AWS-3 licenses that Dish and affiliated designated entities returned to the commission last year. The Senate rejected a Thursday bid from Sen. Mike Lee, R-Utah, to open HR-815 up for amendments. “Removing Chinese telecom equipment from our wireless networks is a matter of national security,” Daines said in a statement. “Rural providers must have the resources and ability to remove compromised equipment. Without it, our wireless systems are at severe risk. This service is also critical for many Montanans in eastern Montana who could lose 911 and cell service. We must get this done before it’s too late.” Daines unsuccessfully attempted to attach the funding to the Further Consolidated Appropriations Act FY 2024 minibus spending bill last month (see 2403210067). He also previously considered filing the rip-and-replace language when the Senate was eyeing a version of the foreign aid package in January (see 2401240001). Lawmakers are continuing to eye using a spectrum legislative package to pay for additional rip-and-replace funding (see 2403140066).

NAB hailed refiling of the Broadcast Varied Ownership Incentives for Community Expanded Service Act (HR-8072/S-4158), which would restore the minority ownership tax certificate. Congressional Black Caucus Chairman Rep. Steven Horsford, D-Nev., and Sen. Gary Peters, D-Mich., led refiling of the measure last week. HR-8072/S-4158, like previous iterations (see 2108120054), would also direct that the FCC make recommendations on ways for improving ownership diversity. “Reinstating the diversity tax certificate program is a meaningful step to level the playing field and amplify underrepresented voices in media,” said NAB CEO Curtis LeGeyt. “A tax incentive program is a proven solution that significantly diversified the ranks of broadcast owners over its nearly two decades of existence.”

Legislation forcing ByteDance to divest TikTok or face a U.S. ban will “trample” the rights of 170 million users, TikTok said in a statement. The House on Saturday approved a package of foreign aid bills, including the divestment legislation and a bill that would ban data brokers from transferring sensitive data of American users to adversarial foreign nations like China. The Protecting Americans’ Data from Foreign Adversaries Act (HR-7520) and the Protecting Americans from Foreign Adversary Controlled Applications Act (HR-7521) were attached to the 21st Century Peace Through Strength Act, which the House passed 360-58. TikTok said Monday: "It is unfortunate that the House of Representatives is using the cover of important foreign and humanitarian assistance to once again jam through a ban bill that would trample the free speech rights of 170 million Americans, devastate 7 million businesses, and shutter a platform that contributes $24 billion to the U.S. economy, annually." The foreign aid package will “bolster security and stability in the Indo-Pacific,” President Joe Biden said in a statement Saturday, urging the Senate to send it “quickly” to his desk. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., said Democrats and Republicans “locked in an agreement enabling the Senate to finish work on the supplemental with the first vote on Tuesday afternoon.” The Senate is on a path to pass the “same bill soon,” he added. House Commerce Committee Chair Cathy McMorris Rodgers, R-Wash., and ranking member Frank Pallone, D-N.J., welcomed the inclusion of HR-7520 and HR-7521: The House vote “is a clear victory for protecting Americans online and off.” Senate Intelligence Committee Chairman Mark Warner, D-Va., said he’s “very glad to see progress toward compelling a divestiture of TikTok from its parent company, Byte Dance, which is legally beholden to the Chinese Communist Party. This is a strong step forward to shore up our national security against malign influence, and it couldn’t come at a more important time.”

Reps. Jim Banks, R-Ind., and Claudia Tenney, R-N.Y., filed dueling bills Friday to cut off federal money for NPR and “any successor organization” in response to recent claims of pro-Democratic political bias at the broadcasting network. Both lawmakers named their bills the Defund NPR Act. Tenney’s legislation would also direct CPB to claw back advance allocations for NPR for fiscal years 2024, 2025 and 2026 to “reduce the public debt.” Sen. Marsha Blackburn, R-Tenn., is also eyeing legislation to kill NPR's federal funding. The network has drawn increased ire from conservative media organizations over its disciplining of now-former editor Uri Berliner for publishing an essay criticizing the organization for appearing to stray into open advocacy against former President Donald Trump and other conservatives. Berliner resigned Wednesday after NPR suspended him without pay for five days. NPR CEO Katherine Maher, who took that job March 25, has been a focus of criticism in the wake of Berliner’s resignation and her own past support for President Joe Biden’s 2020 election over Trump. NPR “has been a liberal propaganda machine for years” and Congress shouldn’t appropriate it “another dime,” Banks said in a Fox News opinion piece. “American taxpayers should not be forced to fund NPR, which has become a partisan propaganda machine,” Tenney said. Congress allocated CPB $535 million in advance funding for FY 2026 as part of the Further Consolidated Appropriations Act FY 2024 minibus spending package Biden signed in March (see 2403210067). House Appropriations Committee Republicans unsuccessfully attempted to end CPB's advance funding as part of FY24 spending legislation (see 2307140069). Biden is proposing to increase CPB’s advance funding to $595 million for FY 2027 (see 2403110056), while the House Republican Study Committee wants to fully end that allocation. Past attempts to end NPR's part of CPB federal funding have failed, including a bid during the FY24 cycle by Rep. Ronny Jackson, R-Texas (see 2311030069).

The House Communications Subcommittee plans May hearings on the FY 2025 budget requests for the FCC and NTIA, the Commerce Committee said Friday. President Joe Biden in March proposed $448 million for the FCC in FY25 and $65 million for NTIA (see 2403110056). The FCC hearing, set for May 7, would happen less than two weeks after the commission is expected to vote in favor of net neutrality rules that largely mirror a rescinded 2015 order. House Communications Chairman Bob Latta, R-Ohio, previously predicted the subpanel would hold more hearings on the FCC’s net neutrality actions (see 2404180058). The NTIA hearing will happen May 15.

Disagreements remain over what to include in legislation reauthorizing the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (see 2404180067), Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., said Friday, suggesting FISA authorities could expire at midnight. “Any one member can halt progress in this chamber, so both sides need to fully cooperate if we want to get FISA done,” said Schumer. Sens. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., and Rand Paul, R-Ky., have said the House-passed FISA bill would expand FISA Section 702 and expose Americans’ to further surveillance abuse. Wyden offered an amendment with Sen. Cynthia Lummis, R-Wyo., on Friday that would strike language from the House Intelligence Committee that he said infringes on civil liberties. The chamber is “being asked to dramatically expand 702 authorities in ways that are almost guaranteed to result in extensive abuses,” Wyden said on the floor. “It is genuinely shocking that, with no public justification, no hearings, no markups, and a single week to even think about it, the U.S. Senate has been asked to give the government sweeping new authorities that could fundamentally change the relationship between Americans and their government.” Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Dick Durbin, D-Ill., and Sen. Kevin Cramer, R-N.D., are seeking a warrant requirement in the legislation. Schumer said on the floor that members are trying to see if there’s a path to getting the bill done “quickly.” But he cautioned that members should plan to be in Washington over the weekend “if necessary” to work on both FISA and the foreign aid package, which is set for a House vote on Saturday. The Senate can pass the House bill or “doom the program to go dark” and “give free rein to foreign intelligence operatives and terrorists to target America,” Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., said on the floor Friday.

Rep. John Joyce, R-Pa., said during a Thursday Punchbowl News event he will “very shortly” roll out a resolution aimed at allowing 5G innovation in the U.S. to “continue” amid uncertainty about when Congress will restore the FCC’s lapsed spectrum auction authority. “There is incredible interest from my colleagues” in both parties for the resolution, he said. Joyce remains hopeful that Congress still has a chance to renew the FCC’s lapsed spectrum auction authority “by the end of the year” despite more than a year of stalled progress in talks aimed at reauthorizing the mandate as part of a broader legislative package (see 2404110059). Senate Commerce Committee Chair Maria Cantwell, D-Wash., and others are shopping new spectrum proposals in hopes of jump-starting the talks (see 2403210063). Restoring the FCC’s authority not only is positive … for anyone who logs on, it’s positive for industry because competition can continue to occur,” said Joyce, a House Communications Subcommittee member. “It’s what’s needed worldwide so that we can” be as dominant on 5G as the U.S. was with 4G. “We’re gonna lose out to China if we don’t have that reauthorization.” He pointed to enactment of his 5G Spectrum Authority Licensing Enforcement Act in late December to give the FCC temporary authority to issue 2.5 GHz band licenses that T-Mobile and others won in a 2022 auction (see 2312200061) as an example of Congress being able to quickly move on airwaves issues when necessary. “We have a very short window … to get this completed,” Joyce said.

The Senate’s debate over reauthorization of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act was expected to extend into Friday, with several senators trying to alter language from the House-passed FISA bill. FISA and surveillance authorities under Section 702 are set to expire at midnight Friday. The chamber voted 67-32 to advance FISA on Thursday, taking the first of three procedural votes needed to move to final passage. “We obviously don’t have a lot of time left,” Schumer said, adding that his plan was for final passage Thursday. “Members should expect we’ll have votes tomorrow” if there’s not a final result Thursday. Several senators, including Ron Wyden, D-Ore.; Rand Paul, R-Ky.; and Josh Hawley, R-Mo., are opposed to the House-passed bill due to privacy concerns. Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Dick Durbin, D-Ill., and Sen. Kevin Cramer, R-N.D., filed an amendment that would add a warrant requirement for intelligence agencies seeking to access communications from American citizens. An effort to add a warrant requirement failed in the House 212-212 last week (see 2404120044). “We need to add the warrant requirement,” Sen. Ron Johnson, R-Wis., told us Thursday. Wyden filed an amendment to strike language from the House Intelligence Community, which privacy hawks say would expand agencies’ access to information from virtually any device. The language from House Intelligence is broad and “deliberately, badly written,” said Hawley. The House bill could sweep in data from landlords who provide Wi-Fi and Wi-Fi maintenance professionals, said Hawley. He said he’s ok with FISA lapsing if it means the Senate is able to better protect privacy. Senate Intelligence Committee Chairman Mark Warner, D-Va., said opponents are mischaracterizing the language. The “telecom world has changed since 2008,” he said, citing the development of cloud computing and data centers. “You have to update your definitions. I think that’s what [House Intelligence] tried to do.” If the Senate opts to alter the House bill through amendments, the program “goes dark,” said Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas. “I don’t know what’s going to happen.”

Wireless ISP Association members were on Capitol Hill Wednesday for meetings with more than 50 Senate and House members and their staffs, the group said. The association's message was that its members “bring reliable broadband to 10 million Americans in rural, under-resourced and Tribal areas, making lives there better, safer and more prosperous,” WISPA said: “As Washington works to eradicate the digital divide, those programs have a far better chance of achieving their goals where WISPs are involved.” WISPA noted there are some 2,700 WISPs in the U.S. “WISPs offer cost-effective, competitive, and innovative service options in areas which have been left behind by legacy providers or large national corporations,” WISPA said.