House Commerce Committee leaders hailed Friday's congressional passage (see 2212220075) of the Martha Wright-Reed Just and Reasonable Communications Act (S-1541) and Low Power Protection Act (S-3405). S-1541’s language to require the FCC to factor industrywide average costs for telephone and advanced communication services, along with safety and security costs, in new rate-setting cycles for services for the incarcerated, is “a well-documented way to produce better outcomes and lower rates of recidivism nationwide,” said House Commerce Chairman Frank Pallone, D-N.J., and lead sponsor Rep. Bobby Rush, D-Ill. “Exorbitant phone fees only serve to line industry pockets and harm families, but now that predatory practice will come to an end.” Low-power TV “stations play a critical role in ensuring access to local or specialized programming, especially in smaller communities and rural areas,” said House Commerce ranking member Cathy McMorris Rodgers, R-Wash. HR-3405, which requires the FCC to open a window to allow low-power television stations to upgrade to better-protected Class A status (see 2206220070), “will help improve these services for people across the country.”

The House voted 225-201 Friday to pass the FY 2023 appropriations omnibus legislative package (HR-2617), which would extend the FCC’s spectrum auction authority through March 9. The Senate passed the measure Thursday (see 2212220075). President Joe Biden said Friday he planned to sign it “as soon as it reaches my desk,” averting a shutdown that would otherwise have occurred Friday night. Biden separately signed off Friday on the FY23 National Defense Authorization Act (HR-7776), which includes language to restrict the federal government’s use of products with semiconductor manufacturers deemed to be Chinese military contractors (see 2212070056). The omnibus includes increases in federal funding for the FCC, FTC, NTIA, other Commerce Department agencies, the DOJ Antitrust Division and CPB (see 2212210077). Lawmakers agreed to temporarily renew the FCC’s auction authority via the omnibus after Sen. Mike Rounds, R-S.D., objected to the inclusion of a spectrum legislative deal reached by the leaders of the House and Senate Commerce committees (see 2212200077). House Commerce ranking member Cathy McMorris Rodgers, R-Wash, who’s set to take the committee gavel when the 118th Congress convenes in January, criticized the process that led to the omnibus’ passage, saying, “There simply isn’t enough accountability built into this bill. It’s long past time that Congress do its job and consider legislation to fund the government in a way that prioritizes an open and accountable process.”

Sen. Brian Schatz, D-Hawaii, said the FCC is on the right track in targeting robotext scams, the focus of a recent NPRM (see 2212120029). “Robotexts are a particularly dangerous avenue for scams and fraud, costing the American people more than $131 million in 2021 alone,” Schatz said in a letter to Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel, posted Wednesday in docket 21-402. “The FCC must do everything in its power to protect the public from robotext scams,” he said. The proposals in the NPRM “are the types of steps we need in continuing to battle robotext scams,” Schatz said: “By building on your work countering robocalls, you can ensure that no one ever receives texts from numbers that are invalid, unallocated, unused, or on a Do-Not-Originate (DNO) list. Texts from these numbers are surely illegal or unwanted, and it makes sense that mobile wireless carriers should block them. Similarly, you can close the door to scammers spoofing legitimate numbers by ensuring robust ID authentication for text messages, similar to the protocol used for phone calls.”

A bipartisan group of senators introduced legislation Wednesday to increase transparency into social media companies’ internal data. Introduced by Sens. Rob Portman, R-Ohio; Chris Coons, D-Del.; Bill Cassidy, R-La.; and Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn., the Platform Accountability and Transparency Act (PATA) would require social media companies to deliver internal data to independent researchers. The researchers’ proposals would be subject to review and approval from the National Science Foundation. Companies that fail to comply would face FTC enforcement and potential loss of liability protection under Communications Decency Act Section 230, sponsors said. Platforms would be required to maintain a comprehensive ad library, content moderation statistics, data about viral content, and information about platforms’ algorithm rankings and recommendations.

Kids’ privacy and antitrust provisions targeting Big Tech didn’t make it into Congress’ must-pass omnibus spending bill, Sens. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., and Ed Markey, D-Mass., confirmed Tuesday. Blumenthal lamented the failure to include the Kids Online Safety Act (see 2211160078), which he introduced with Sen. Marsha Blackburn, R-Tenn., and the Open App Markets Act, which he filed with Blackburn, Senate Antitrust Subcommittee Chair Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn., and House Antitrust Subcommittee Chair David Cicilline, D-R.I. Big Tech “sabotaged” both efforts throughout the legislative session by spending millions on misinformation campaigns, said Blumenthal: “People know the tech platforms they use are broken, toxic, & treacherous. Leaving them frustrated & teetering at the edge of dark rabbit holes -- often careening into the abyss & destroying young lives.” Markey expressed disappointment about the Children and Teens’ Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA 2.0) not making it into the package, but he celebrated the inclusion of the Children and Media Research Advancement (CAMRA) Act (see 1908220057). The CAMRA Act “will empower young people and their parents with the knowledge -- and in turn, the power -- to advocate for their health and safety, as Big Tech continues to prey on the time, attention, and privacy of our nation’s youth,” he said.

The omnibus spending package includes a provision that establishes a national standard for the FTC and states verifying high-volume third party sellers on online platforms, the House Commerce Committee confirmed Tuesday. Chairman Frank Pallone, D-N.J., and House Consumer Protection Subcommittee Chair Jan Schakowsky, D-Ill., welcomed a provision that allows consumers to obtain “basic identification and contact information for certain sellers.” Schakowsky authored the provision with House Consumer Protection Subcommittee ranking member Gus Bilirakis, R-Fla. Another provision in the package directs the FTC to report on “cross-border complaints received that involve ransomware or other cyber-related attacks committed” by certain foreign entities, focusing specifically on Russia, China, North Korea and Iran. Schakowsky and Bilirakis authored the language.

Republican legislation announced in the Senate Wednesday would direct the FCC to issue a rule requiring commercial porn sites to “adopt age verification technology” and ensure minors can’t access their content. Introduced by Sen. Mike Lee, R-Utah, the Shielding Children's Retinas from Egregious Exposure on the Net (Screen) Act grants the FCC civil penalty and injunctive relief authority to enforce the rule. It allows companies a 30-day right to cure to avoid enforcement action. Websites would be allowed to choose their verification methods as long as they meet FCC standards in the rule.

Sen. Mike Lee, R-Utah, said Wednesday he filed the Interstate Obscenity Definition Act in a bid to create a "national definition of obscenity that would apply to obscene content transmitted via interstate or foreign communications." The measure aims to replace the Supreme Court's Miller v. California obscenity definition test, which Lee's office claims poses challenges because of widespread internet use. Lee's bill would define obscenity in the context of the Communications Act as content that "taken as a whole, appeals to the prurient interest in nudity, sex, or excretion," depicts, describes or represents "actual or simulated sexual acts with the objective intent to arouse, titillate, or gratify the sexual desires of a person" and "taken as a whole, lacks serious literary, artistic, political, or scientific value." The legislation would also remove the Communications Act's “intent” requirement that prohibits the transmission of obscenity only for the purposes abusing, threatening or harassing a person.

Bipartisan legislation announced Thursday would direct DOJ to launch tech-focused programs to combat domestic abuse. Introduced by Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., and Reps. Anna Eshoo, D-Calif., and Debbie Lesko, R-Ariz., the Tech Safety for Victims of Domestic Violence, Dating Violence, Sexual Assault and Stalking Act would authorize a pilot project run by DOJ’s Office on Violence Against Women. The bill targets activity on social media and mobile apps. The pilot program would provide $2 million in grants for “up to 15 clinics and other partnerships providing support to sexual and domestic violence victims who are experiencing technology-enabled abuse,” Wyden’s office said. It would establish an additional DOJ grant program for “nonprofit organizations and institutions of higher education to develop and implement training and educational programs and technical assistance for organizations and individuals who provide support for victims of tech-enabled abuse.”

The Senate unanimously passed legislation Wednesday evening that would ban TikTok on federal government devices (see 2212130068). Introduced in April 2021 by Sens. Josh Hawley, R-Mo.; Rick Scott, R-Fla.; Marco Rubio, R-Fla.; and Tom Cotton, R-Ark., the No TikTok on Government Devices Act (S-3455) also passed the Senate unanimously last year. Hawley urged swift passage in both chambers. TikTok said in a statement Hawley’s bill “does nothing to advance U.S. national security interests. We hope that rather than continuing down that road, he will urge the Administration to move forward on an agreement that would actually address his concerns.”