A bipartisan group of senators filed a bill Thursday meant, they said, to “prevent China from stealing intellectual property from American companies through their corrupt court system.” Introduced by Sens. Thom Tillis, R-N.C.; Chris Coons, D-Del.; Tom Cotton, R-Ark.; Mazie Hirono, D-Hawaii; and Rick Scott, R-Fla., the Defending American Courts Act targets China’s use of anti-suit injunctions, which “limit the ability of American companies to file or maintain claims related to patent infringement in U.S. courts or the International Trade Commission.” The bill bans “bad actors” from seeking review of the relevant patent at the Patent Trial and Appeal Board, and “if they are found to have infringed the patent, the bill requires certain presumptions that make enhanced damages and attorney fees more likely.”

DOJ should investigate whether Amazon obstructed Congress or violated the law during the House Judiciary Committee’s tech competition investigation, a bipartisan group of committee members wrote the department Wednesday. Amazon engaged in a pattern of misleading behavior that “appeared designed to influence, obstruct, or impede the committee’s 16-month investigation,” they wrote. Chairman Jerry Nadler, D-N.Y., signed the letter with House Antitrust Subcommittee Chairman David Cicilline, D-R.I.; ranking member Ken Buck, R-Colo.; and Reps. Pramila Jayapal, D-Wash., and Matt Gaetz, R-Fla. Credible reporting shows Amazon uses third-party seller data in competition with those sellers, despite contrary testimony from company executives, they said. The company “attempted to clean up the inaccurate testimony through ever-shifting explanations of its internal policies and denials of the investigative reports,” the committee said. An Amazon spokesperson emailed: “There's no factual basis for this, as demonstrated in the huge volume of information we've provided over several years of good faith cooperation with this investigation.” DOJ didn’t comment.

Senate Consumer Protection Subcommittee Chairman Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., and Sen. Ed Markey, D-Mass., urged NTIA Administrator Alan Davidson Tuesday to use the rules for $48 billion in broadband money from Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act under the agency’s control to “prioritize and protect competition, high quality jobs, affordability, and consumer protection standards,” including net neutrality. Republicans raised concerns during Davidson's Senate confirmation process about whether he would use NTIA's setup of IIJA program rules to set net neutrality requirements for recipients (see 2112140074). NTIA should “implement measures that promote net neutrality as it fulfills its mandates under IIJA,” Blumenthal and Markey wrote Davidson. Those measures should be “consistent with” the Department of Agriculture’s decision to factor a company’s commitment to net neutrality into decisions on whether to award an applicant ReConnect money (see 2111080063). “These rules benefit consumers, promote free speech, and enrich the economy by making the internet a fair playing field where entrepreneurs and businesses of all sizes can thrive,” the senators said. NTIA should “encourage state action plans that consult labor organizations, promote Buy American policies, and support expanding and securing the workforce through data collection and prioritizing strong training programs.” The agency should also include wholesale and nondiscriminatory access requirements, which would “avoid new, taxpayer-funded monopolies” and “give rise to companies that compete for traditionally unserved and underserved communities, such as immigrant communities and individuals on the Lifeline program,” the Democrats said.

The House Communications Subcommittee plans a March 31 FCC oversight hearing, the Commerce Committee said Tuesday. The panel’s hearing notice mentions FCC Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel as a planned witness but doesn’t specify which other commissioners will appear because committee leaders want to allow flexibility in case the Senate confirms commission nominee Gigi Sohn before then, lobbyists told us. The Senate Commerce Committee tied 14-14 on Sohn last week, which means the full chamber will have to vote to discharge the panel from further consideration of her nomination before senators can cast votes to invoke cloture and final confirmation (see 2203030070). “The FCC plays a key role in ensuring that Congress’ historic broadband investments included in” the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act “reach the people and communities that will most benefit from all the opportunities that come with quality internet access,” said House Commerce Chairman Frank Pallone, D-N.J., and Communications Chairman Mike Doyle, D-Pa., in a statement. “We look forward to hearing from” Rosenworcel and other commissioners “about the FCC’s ongoing work to connect all Americans regardless of income or zip code, promoting secure and resilient networks, and paving the way for our wireless future.” Doyle previously said he wanted to wait until there was a full five-member FCC before bringing in the commissioners (see 2106300077). The committee’s last FCC oversight hearing was in September 2020 (see 2009170068).

The House was set to vote as soon as Monday night on the Senate-passed National Cybersecurity Preparedness Consortium Act (S-658). The measure would authorize the Department of Homeland Security to work with the National Cybersecurity Preparedness Consortium to prepare for and respond to cybersecurity risks, including helping state and local governments develop cyber information sharing programs.

The Senate passed the Data Mapping to Save Moms’ Lives Act (S-198) Wednesday by unanimous consent. The measure and House companion HR-1218 would require the FCC to include data on certain maternal health outcomes in its broadband health mapping tool (see 2104280083). The House Commerce Committee advanced HR-1218 in November (see 2111170052). S-198 lead sponsors Sen. Jacky Rosen, D-Nev., and Deb Fischer, R-Neb., hailed the measure’s passage. “By mapping out areas with a need for both increased maternal care and access to broadband, we can better target where telemedicine improvements will be most effective to improve outcomes for expecting mothers and save lives,” Rosen said.

ACA Connects, the Competitive Carriers Association and six other communications groups urged the House and Senate Appropriations committees Thursday to give the FCC additional funding for its program to reimburse U.S. carriers for removing Huawei and ZTE equipment from their networks under the Secure and Trusted Communications Networks Act. Congress allocated $1.9 billion to the program via the FY 2021 Appropriations and COVID-19 aid omnibus law (see 2012210055), but carriers’ reimbursement requests totaled almost $5.6 billion by early February, the groups wrote House and Senate Appropriations leaders. “Barring further resources, the FCC will be forced to implement prorating available funding using the prioritization process directed by Congress,” the groups said. “Due to the significant amount of shortfall from current appropriations, prorating funding without additional resources threatens to significantly limit” the FCC program’s ability “to complete its mission. Service providers, which have already expended or committed significant resources under the assurance that reimbursements would be available, could be left unable to complete the removal and replacement of covered equipment and services, or be forced to shutter their business entirely, threatening the availability and security of advanced communications across the country, particularly in rural America.” Delays “in providing additional resources could have a chilling effect on accomplishing the goals directed by Congress to secure our nation’s communications networks,” the groups said.

The Senate passed a legislative package by unanimous consent Monday that includes mandatory cyber reporting and cyber ransomware payment requirements (see 2202080082). The Strengthening American Cybersecurity Act (S-3600) combines the Cyber Incident Reporting Act, the Federal Information Security Modernization Act, and the Federal Secure Cloud Improvement and Jobs Act. Critical infrastructure entities would have to report to the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency within “72 hours if they are experiencing a substantial cyberattack, and within 24 hours if they make a ransomware payment.” Senate Homeland Security Committee Chairman Gary Peters, D-Mich.; ranking member Rob Portman, R-Ohio; and Senate Intelligence Committee Chairman Mark Warner, D-Va., who have led efforts in the Senate, said they look forward to helping move legislation in the House.

President Joe Biden’s State of the Union address spurred reaction from Democrats and Republicans looking to move comprehensive privacy and child privacy bills. Biden announced a sweeping agenda to address a social media-linked children's mental health “crisis” during his Tuesday speech, as expected (see 2203010072). “Protecting kids online starts by establishing a national privacy and data security framework and enacting legislation that stops Big Tech’s harmful abuse of power,” said House Commerce Committee ranking member Cathy McMorris Rodgers, R-Wash. Biden issued a “powerful call to action on the youth mental health crisis exacerbated by social media, which can be addressed by the Kids Online Safety Act, Senate Consumer Protection Subcommittee Chairman Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., said of his bipartisan bill with ranking member Marsha Blackburn, R-Tenn. The president offered Congress a “blueprint,” and now it’s time to act, said Rep. Lori Trahan, D-Mass. Biden “clearly expressed what we know to be true: it’s time to prevent the abusive collection and retention of personal information online,” said Reps. Anna Eshoo, D-Calif., and Zoe Lofgren, D-Calif., in favor of their Democratic privacy proposal (see 2111180048). “If companies can’t collect data, they can’t use that data to manipulate Americans for profit.” Biden urged Congress to swiftly send him a compromise bill marrying elements of the House-passed America Creating Opportunities for Manufacturing, Pre-Eminence in Technology and Economic Strength Act (HR-4521) and Senate-passed U.S. Innovation and Competition Act (S-1260), which both include $52 billion in subsidies to encourage U.S.-based semiconductor manufacturing (see 2201260062). The House passed HR-4521 last month, but there has been no formal compromise between that measure and S-1260 (see 2202250054). “Let’s not wait any longer,” Biden said. “We used to invest 2% of our GDP in research and development. We don’t now. China is.” Biden praised Intel’s plan to build two new chip factories in Ohio, costing $20 billion (see 2201210027), as “the biggest investment in manufacturing in American history, and all they’re waiting for is for you to pass a HR-4521/S-1260 compromise. Biden also, as expected, touted the $65 billion in broadband money included in the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act as a way to provide "affordable high-speed internet for every American -- urban, suburban, rural and tribal communities." Biden's broadband shutout was praised by Mignon Clyburn, co-chair of the Incompas-backed BroadLand campaign. "By taking an all of the above approach to deployment, we can build new future proof networks that benefit all Americans, urban and rural, who need access to low-cost internet solutions," she said. Free State Foundation Senior Fellow Andrew Long said Biden and Congress haven't "paid much attention -- big picture -- to how the various appropriations, agencies, and programs relating to the construction of broadband infrastructure will interoperate in a manner that uses precious taxpayer dollars wisely and efficiently. This must change."

President Joe Biden was to press Congress during his State of the Union speech Tuesday night to send a compromise bill marrying elements of the House-passed America Creating Opportunities for Manufacturing, Pre-Eminence in Technology and Economic Strength Act (HR-4521) and Senate-passed U.S. Innovation and Competition Act (S-1260) to his desk as soon as possible, a White House official said in a Monday conference call with reporters. The House passed HR-4521 last month, but there has been no formal compromise between that measure and S-1260 (see 2202250054). Both U.S. tech competitiveness measures include $52 billion in subsidies to encourage U.S.-based semiconductor manufacturing (see 2201260062) but differ in other areas. Biden was expected to tout Intel’s plan to build two new chip factories in Ohio, for $20 billion (see 2201210027), during the speech, an administration official said. Intel CEO Pat Gelsinger and Facebook whistleblower Frances Haugen were to be among first lady Jill Biden’s guests at the speech, the White House said. Biden was also expected to tout the $65 billion in broadband money included in the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act as a way to provide internet access “to every family in America,” a White House official said. Biden was to separately announce Tuesday night a sweeping agenda to address a social media-linked children's mental health “crisis” (see 2203010072).