Senate Judiciary Committee members probed Wednesday for ways to update Communications Decency Act Section 230 and hold tech platforms more accountable for the impacts of their algorithms (see 2303030041). Senate Technology Subcommittee ranking Josh Hawley, R-Mo., questioned whether anything in the statutory language of Section 230 supports the “super immunity” that protects platforms from liability when they use algorithms to amplify content and profit. University of Washington law professor Eric Schnapper, who recently argued two cases on behalf of social media victims before the Supreme Court, told Hawley the text separates concepts like merely hosting content from boosting it. But it would help if Congress clarified language in the statute, said Schnapper. Hawley asked Schnapper for a specific legislative recommendation for how to fix platforms’ affirmative content recommendations. Schnapper told him the issue is “too complicated” to offer legislative language on the spot, but he’s happy to work with Hawley’s office on a proposal. The Supreme Court recognizes online content is often promoted, sometimes in a “very addictive way to kids,” said Senate Technology Subcommittee Chairman Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn. Quoting Chief Justice John Roberts from the recent oral argument in Gonzalez v. Google, he said online videos don’t “appear out of thin air. They appear pursuant to the algorithms.” Though Justice Elena Kagan admitted she and her colleagues aren’t internet experts, they understand algorithms play a role, said Blumenthal. There’s rare Judiciary Committee consensus on the need to better protect children online, said Judiciary Chairman Dick Durbin, D-Ill. Congress should do something to “make Section 230 make sense,” he said: Something needs to change so platforms have incentives to protect children. The case law on Section 230 doesn’t provide the necessary remedies “quickly enough or thoroughly enough,” said Blumenthal: The internet is no longer a “neutral conduit.” The common ground on Section 230 “boils down” to Congress giving victims their day in court, which Section 230 has prevented for “too many years,” said Hawley. He said he hopes the Supreme Court will “remedy” some of the issues with Section 230 in the Gonzalez case (see 2302210062).

Senate Antitrust Subcommittee Chair Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn., is continuing to formulate legislative ideas with ranking member Mike Lee, R-Utah, to address competition issues for digital ad markets, they said during a hearing Tuesday. They introduced bipartisan legislation on the same issue in May with the Competition and Transparency in Digital Advertising Act (see 2205190054). Lee referred to a bill during Tuesday’s hearing that he called the "America Act," which he said would “tackle competition in digital advertising.” Klobuchar said she’s working with Lee on a bill to improve competition and transparency in ad technology markets, and a hearing is scheduled for later this month. Lee said, despite his concerns about Big Tech, the “cure” shouldn’t be “worse than the disease,” and Congress should avoid replacing “corporate tyrants” with bureaucratic tyrants. Congress should solve these issues, not delegate policy decisions to unelected bureaucrats, he said. Trillion-dollar corporations have “pervasive control” over how internet users communicate, shop, consume news, influence public debate and use smart appliances, he said: Big Tech’s business strategy is based on addiction, particularly for young users. He alleged social media companies colluded with Big Tech to censor content and surveil users. Klobuchar said the demotion of Rep. Ken Buck, R-Colo., in the House (see 2302020069) will make it harder to pursue bipartisan antitrust legislation, but doing nothing would be a “huge mistake.”

The House Communications Subcommittee plans a Wednesday markup of the newly refiled Satellite and Telecommunications Streamlining Act (HR-1338), Secure Space Act (HR-675) and 11 other satellite, spectrum and communications security measures, the Commerce Committee said Monday. House Communications had been expected to mark up HR-1338 this month (see 2302080073) after lawmakers spoke favorably about the measure during a February hearing. HR-1338 would require the FCC to issue “specific performance requirements” for satellite licensees to meet on space safety and orbital debris. It would also require the commission to set a 180-day shot clock to limit the timeline for reaching decisions on license applications. HR-675 would bar the FCC from granting satellite licenses to any entity it identifies as a national security risk under the 2020 Secure and Trusted Communications Networks Act. Also on the Wednesday docket: the Leveraging American Understanding of Next-Generation Challenges Exploring Space Act (HR-682), Open Radio Access Networks Outreach Act (HR-1340), Spectrum Coordination Act (HR-1341), Institute for Telecommunication Sciences Codification Act (HR-1343), NTIA Policy and Cybersecurity Coordination Act (HR-1345), Advanced, Local Emergency Response Telecommunications Parity Act (HR-1353), Information and Communication Technology Strategy Act (HR-1354), American Cybersecurity Literacy Act (HR-1360), Communications Security Act (HR-1370) and Promoting U.S. Wireless Leadership Act (HR-1377). The markup session will begin at 10 a.m. in 2123 Rayburn. HR-682 would require the FCC to streamline the authorization process for commercial launches’ access to spectrum. HR-1339 would require the FCC to review and potentially institute changes to satellite rules to promote precision agriculture. HR-1340 would direct NTIA to provide outreach and technical assistance to small communications network providers on how to use ORAN technologies. HR-1341 would require the FCC and NTIA to update their memorandum of understanding for handling spectrum allocations at least once every four years. HR-1343 would provide statutory authority for ITS’ role in managing NTIA’s telecom and spectrum technology programs. HR-1345 would create an Office of Policy Development and Cybersecurity within NTIA. HR-1353 would require the FCC to allow satellite direct-to-cell service providers and others to apply to access spectrum to fill in wireless coverage gaps in unserved areas specifically to provide connectivity for emergency services. HR-1354 would require the Commerce Department to develop a strategy to evaluate the economic competitiveness of companies within the communications technology supply chain. HR-1360 would require that NTIA to establish a cybersecurity literacy campaign to increase public knowledge and awareness of cybersecurity risks, including best practices for preventing cyberattacks. HR-1370 would codify the existing Communications Security, Reliability, and Interoperability Council. HR-1377 would direct NTIA to encourage U.S. companies and others to participate in international standards-setting bodies.

Senate leaders “are working right now to get” the chamber to “come to an agreement very soon" for a temporary extension of the FCC’s spectrum auction authority before Thursday, the mandate’s current expiration date, Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-NY., said on the floor Monday. The House unanimously approved legislation last week to renew the FCC’s remit through May 19 (HR-1108). Senate Commerce Committee Chair Maria Cantwell, D-Wash., told us she backs HR-1108’s timeline, while Sen. Mike Rounds, R-S.D., is pressing for a renewal through Sept. 30, the end of FY 2023 (see 2302280068). The extension is needed “to give both sides more time to arrive at a larger comprehensive” spectrum legislative deal, Schumer said: Congress has never before allowed” the FCC’s authority “to lapse and to let it happen for the first time would be disastrous. Spectrum is essential for building out 5G capabilities. Its application impacts everything from families’ internet access, to satellite communications, all the way down to baby monitors.”

The House Communications Subcommittee plans a March 10 hearing on spectrum legislation, the Commerce Committee said Friday. The hearing would happen a day after the FCC’s current spectrum auction authority expires, amid hopes the Senate will pass (see 2302280068) a House-cleared bill to extend that mandate through May 19 (HR-1108). Congress agreed in December to the most recent renewal after lawmakers failed to attach a bipartisan spectrum proposal to the FY 2023 omnibus appropriations package (see 2212190069). “Commercial spectrum policy is national security policy” because “we know the Chinese Communist Party seeks to write the rules for future communications technologies and has already used companies like Huawei to tap into our communications networks to surveil Americans,” said House Commerce Chair Cathy McMorris Rodgers, R-Wash., and Communications Chairman Bob Latta, R-Ohio. “Conducting this hearing on the importance of establishing a strong national spectrum policy, including extending the FCC’s spectrum auction authority, is necessary in order to secure our global competitive edge against China while strengthening American communications leadership.” The hearing will begin at 9 a.m. in 2123 Rayburn.

The House Foreign Affairs Committee voted along party lines Wednesday to advance legislation that would authorize President Joe Biden to ban TikTok in the U.S. Committee Republicans advanced the bill with a 24-16 vote. Introduced by Chairman Michael McCaul, R-Texas, the Data Act (HR-1153) would grant Biden new authority to impose bans on foreign-owned apps on data-security grounds under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act. McCaul described TikTok as a “spy balloon” into American consumers’ phones, a “back door” to all personal data. Ranking member Gregory Meeks, N.Y., called the bill “dangerously” broad. Though he said he shares security concerns about the app, he warned Republicans against banning apps out of fear. Such a ban would be a ban on the “export of American culture and values to the billion-plus people who use our service worldwide,” the company said in a statement. “We’re disappointed to see this rushed piece of legislation move forward, despite its considerable negative impact on the free speech rights of millions of Americans who use and love TikTok.”

Democrats reintroduced legislation Tuesday to carve out Communications Decency Act Section 230 in hopes of holding social media platforms liable for “enabling cyber-stalking, online harassment, and discrimination.” Reintroduced by Sens. Mark Warner and Tim Kaine, both D-Va.; Mazie Hirono, D-Hawaii; Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn.; and Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., along with Reps. Kathy Castor, D-Fla., and Mike Levin, D-Calif., the Safeguarding Against Fraud, Exploitation, Threats, Extremism and Consumer Harms (Safe Tech) Act (see 2102050047) would clarify that Section 230 doesn’t apply to ads or paid content, doesn’t bar injunctive relief, doesn’t “interfere” with laws on stalking and cyberstalking, allows lawsuits to be filed when a platform might be liable for wrongful death, and doesn’t bar lawsuits under the Alien Tort Claims Act.

Meta should proceed with “extreme caution” if it moves forward with plans to allow teenagers to access its metaverse platform Horizon Worlds, Reps. Ken Buck, R-Colo., and David Cicilline, D-R.I., wrote CEO Mark Zuckerberg Tuesday. “Meta has a long history of prioritizing profits over user safety, especially the safety of some of the most vulnerable -- our youth,” they wrote. “Due to this track record, and the new and alarming harms users have suffered in your virtual platform, we strongly urge the company to institute strong protections for all users and proceed with extreme caution when considering opening the platform to users aged 13 to 17." Meta didn’t comment.

The House is set to vote as soon as Monday under suspension of the rules on a bill to extend the FCC’s spectrum auction authority through May 19 (HR-1108), Majority Leader Steve Scalise, R-La., said Friday. Lawmakers had been expected to seek a short-term reauthorization of the FCC’s mandate past the current March 9 deadline due to Congress’ slow pace in restarting talks on a broader spectrum package (see 2302220063). A deal to attach spectrum legislative language to the FY 2023 appropriations omnibus package fell through in December (see 2212300046). Also on the docket: the Informing Consumers about Smart Devices Act (HR-538) and Understanding Cybersecurity of Mobile Networks Act (HR-1123). HR-538, first filed in 2020 (see 2007130063), would require manufacturers to inform consumers about cameras or microphones on internet-connected devices. HR-1123 would require NTIA to report on cybersecurity of wireless networks and vulnerabilities to cyberattacks and surveillance by adversaries. The House previously passed the measure in 2021 (see 2112020050).

House Antitrust Subcommittee ranking member David Cicilline, D-R.I., is leaving Congress June 1, he announced Tuesday, triggering a special election. He’s leaving his post to become CEO of the Rhode Island Foundation, a nonprofit he said “advances strategic priorities to address issues of equity and improve economic, educational, and health outcomes” for state residents. The opportunity was “unexpected, but it is an extraordinary opportunity to have an even more direct and meaningful impact on the lives of residents of our state,” he said. Cicilline helped lead bipartisan House Judiciary Committee efforts on antitrust legislation in 2021 and 2022 (see 2106230063, 2206080060 and 2302020069).