Senate Intelligence Committee Chairwoman Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., defended the Cybersecurity Information Sharing Act (S-2588), in a letter to the editor published Sunday that responded to a Los Angeles Times editorial criticizing the bill (http://lat.ms/1urOGv2). The Times’ editorial board had said last week that S-2588, commonly referred to as CISA, would give federal agencies too much access to personally identifiable information when the agencies “that could use it for too many purposes beyond cybersecurity” (http://lat.ms/1wdFWsQ). Many civil liberties groups have been raising similar concerns about privacy aspects of S-2588 for months (CD June 26 p8). Feinstein, who authored S-2588 with committee Vice Chairman Saxby Chambliss, R-Ga., said S-2588 has “numerous privacy protections” and is “just the first step toward stronger cybersecurity.” Previous legislation “did not strike the balance between information sharing and privacy and therefore failed to win both Republican and Democratic support,” considered essential to Senate passage of a bill, Feinstein said.

Rep. Doris Matsui, D-Calif., will host a net neutrality forum in Sacramento Sept. 24 alongside FCC commissioners Mignon Clyburn and Jessica Rosenworcel, both Democrats. “Given that the FCC is expected to consider new net neutrality rules by the end of the year, I am holding this timely forum in Sacramento to further explore the potential impacts on consumers, entrepreneurs, and local businesses,” Matsui said in a statement Monday (http://1.usa.gov/1BnOrEC). “It is essential that the FCC listen to and engage with Americans outside of Washington.” Matsui introduced legislation (HR-4880) that would prohibit paid prioritization deals, a controversial debate topic amid the agency’s attempt to write new rules. Matsui did not announce the exact time or location but said the event will be webcast and that more details, including speakers, are forthcoming.

Democratic and Republican leaders of the House Commerce Committee and Communications Subcommittee sent joint letters Friday to the FCC and GAO on changes to broadcast exclusivity rules for local markets. They urged the GAO to look at local advertising markets. “As technologies evolve and the delivery of video content continues to expand, it is essential that any laws and regulations appropriately protect localism while allowing for the innovations necessary to fulfill the demands of consumers,” said Commerce Committee Chairman Fred Upton, R-Mich., ranking member Henry Waxman, D-Calif., Communications Subcommittee Chairman Greg Walden, R-Ore., and ranking member Anna Eshoo, D-Calif. “The information from the FCC and GAO will provide renewed focus on these important issues affecting consumer access to broadcast content.” They want any GAO review to inform the FCC’s review of media ownership rules, they said, posting both letters online (http://1.usa.gov/1oNLkNt).

Three House and Senate cybersecurity-related committee hearings are set for the next two weeks. The Senate Homeland Security Committee plans a hearing Wednesday on cybersecurity and other threats to homeland security. Suzanne Spaulding, Department of Homeland Security undersecretary of the National Protection and Programs Directorate, and Robert Anderson, FBI executive assistant director of the Criminal, Cyber, Response and Services Branch, are among those to testify, beginning at 9:30 a.m. in 342 Dirksen (http://1.usa.gov/1A6QKJz). The House Armed Services Committee’s Subcommittee on Intelligence, Emerging Threats and Capabilities set a hearing Wednesday on operationalizing cyber in the military. Lt. Gen. Edward Cardon, commander-U.S. Army Cyber Command; Major Gen. Vincent Stewart, commanding general-Marine Forces Cyber Command; Major Gen. Burke Wilson, commander-Air Force Cyber; and Vice Adm. Jan Tighe, commander-Fleet Cyber/10th Fleet, are to testify, beginning at 2 p.m. in 2212 Rayburn (http://1.usa.gov/1lLZjIO). The House Homeland Security Committee plans a hearing Sept. 17 on worldwide threats to homeland security, which include “ever present and growing cyber security risks,” said House Homeland Security Chairman Michael McCaul, R-Texas, in a statement. Homeland Security Secretary Jeh Johnson, FBI Director James Comey and National Counterterrorism Center Director Matthew Olsen are to testify. The hearing is to begin 10 a.m. in 311 Cannon (http://1.usa.gov/1u6TjLU).

A coalition of 43 pro-civil liberties groups urged the Senate to “quickly pass” the revised USA Freedom Act (S-2685) after it returns from recess this week, and simultaneously refuse to take up the Senate Intelligence Committee’s version of the Cybersecurity Information Sharing Act (S-2588). The groups, including the American Civil Liberties Union and New America Foundation, said in a Thursday letter to Senate leaders that the Senate “cannot seriously consider controversial information-sharing legislation such as CISA without first completing the pressing unfinished business of passing meaningful surveillance reform” (http://bit.ly/1AeVMUC). Privacy groups have said privacy protections included in S-2588 aren’t a significant improvement from the more controversial Cyber Intelligence Sharing and Protection Act (HR-624), which the House passed last year (CD June 26 p8 OR WID June 26 p7). The Senate should make passage of a non-amended S-2685 “a key legislative priority for September,” the privacy groups said. They said the “broad consensus” in support of the bill “would be severely disrupted if any new mandatory data retention requirement were added to the bill.”

The House Small Business Committee is eyeing Sept. 17 for a hearing on FCC matters, a Hill aide told us Thursday, saying it may be at 1 p.m. In the final days of July, the aide had said committee members wanted to hold such a hearing, citing a variety of possible topics, including net neutrality, broadband deployment, media consolidation and universal service policy (CD July 28 p11). Industry officials had told us then that Small Business had invited FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler to testify at a September oversight hearing. Small Business hasn’t announced any hearings for that week.

House Communications Subcommittee ranking member Anna Eshoo, D-Calif., plans to speak on various technology and telecom topics Sept. 18 during a Hudson Institute event. She will join Robert McDowell, a former Republican FCC commissioner and visiting fellow at Hudson, for a noon-1 p.m. discussion at the institute’s Betsy and Walter Stern Conference Center at 1015 15th St. NW. “As net neutrality, the future of Internet governance, and spectrum auctions continue to make headlines, Congresswoman Eshoo is in the middle of it all as a key player,” the Hudson invitation said, saying Eshoo will share her thoughts on those issues (http://bit.ly/1pOLgmH). Earlier this year, McDowell and Eshoo had tried to schedule such a discussion, formerly more focused on net neutrality, but had to postpone on multiple occasions.

Attorney General Eric Holder and Director of National Intelligence James Clapper approve of the Senate version of the USA Freedom Act (S-6585), they told Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Patrick Leahy, D-Vt., in a letter released Wednesday (http://bit.ly/1w7hHwh) by the Center for Democracy & Technology. The letter was dated Tuesday and responds to Leahy’s late August request for their views. The legislation “preserves essential Intelligence Community capabilities,” they wrote, saying the surveillance overhaul bill would give more checks and balances and give the public more confidence in the government. “This support from our leaders on national security strongly confirms that we can advance privacy protections without sacrificing our safety,” CDT President Nuala O'Connor said in a statement.

The spokesman for TVFreedom took an ax to the Senate Local Choice proposal for the second day in a row Wednesday, accusing the proposal’s pay-TV industry backers of contradictions, considering their past statements about a la carte TV models. Senate Commerce Committee Chairman Jay Rockefeller, D-W.Va., and ranking member John Thune, R-S.D., circulated Local Choice last month and say they want to attach it to Satellite Television Extension and Localism Act reauthorization legislation. TVFreedom represents broadcasters, including NAB. “Similar itemized pricing and channel distribution models have been widely criticized by the cable and satellite TV industry in the past,” the spokesman wrote in a Wednesday blog post (http://bit.ly/1nxc7yc). “In fact, the pay-TV lobby has collectively dismissed such proposals as unproven business models that would create uncertainty in the marketplace and result in increased costs for consumers.” TVFreedom had posted a blog post Tuesday questioning whether Local Choice would benefit consumers, prompting a strong defense of Local Choice from American Cable Association President Matt Polka (CD Sept 3 p13). Wednesday, the TVFreedom spokesman referred to ACA as Local Choice’s “biggest cheerleader” and accused Local Choice of reflecting poor economic wisdom. “What the pay-TV lobby is really attempting to do under Local Choice is decrease the number of subscribers who watch local broadcast TV on their systems, giving them a market advantage to pull in more advertising revenues over broadcast TV stations,” the TVFreedom spokesman said. He called for “robust public dialogue” on Local Choice rather than rushing it through STELA reauthorization this year. “This will lead to many local TV stations setting their channel rates at unattractively higher prices in an attempt to make up for lost pay-TV viewers and, subsequently, lost advertising revenues,” he said. Meanwhile, Institute for Liberty President Andrew Langer showered praise on Local Choice, which “would inject real competition and consumer choice into a broadcast industry that is currently dominated by crony capitalism,” he wrote in a Daily Caller op-ed (http://bit.ly/1tu7vzG). “This is a major step in the right direction as real competition could lower cable prices; not to mention end the combative negotiation structure that currently harms consumers with blackouts.” Center for Boundless Innovation in Technology Executive Director Fred Campbell reshaped one of his August blog posts (CD Aug 29 p7) into a Wednesday op-ed for The Hill (http://bit.ly/1t0On8L), arguing there’s a “direct link between the Local Choice proposal and net neutrality” philosophically and urging Thune to “kill the proposal” to stay ideologically consistent.

House Democrats, ex-government officials and dozens of technology, civil liberties and media organizations told the White House and Privacy and Civil Liberties Oversight Board (PCLOB) they're concerned about surveillance activities authorized under executive order 12333. In a letter sent Aug. 29 and released Tuesday, the group urged the White House to declassify all legal opinions concerning surveillance authorized under 12333. The group argued “many” of these surveillance activities “involve communications that are protected by the U.S. Constitution, and all implicate international human rights law, including the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, to which the United States is a party.” PCLOB has said it plans to review 12333 in its next report (CD July 24 p4).