The FCC will reopen for visitors Thursday, Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel announced at the end of Wednesday’s commission meeting. This will be the first time the FCC’s new headquarters has been open to the public. The FCC’s July 14 meeting will be open to the public, she said.

The Supreme Court blocked Texas’ social media law HB 20 from being enforced while under consideration by the lower courts with a 5-4 emergency ruling late Tuesday in NetChoice v. Ken Paxton. Justices Elena Kagan, Samuel Alito, Clarence Thomas and Neil Gorsuch opposed the request from CCIA and NetChoice to vacate the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals’ lifting of a preliminary injunction against HB 20. The only opinion provided was a dissent from Alito, joined by Thomas and Gorsuch, arguing that the tech groups aren’t likely to prevail on the merits and that by vacating the stay, SCOTUS is interfering with the authority of lower courts and the Texas state government. “The preliminary injunction entered by the District Court was itself a significant intrusion on state sovereignty, and Texas should not be required to seek preclearance from the federal courts before its laws go into effect,” Alito wrote. Said CCIA in a release: “We are encouraged that this attack on First Amendment rights has been halted until a court can fully evaluate the repercussions of Texas’s ill-conceived statute ... This ruling means that private American companies will have an opportunity to be heard in court before they are forced to disseminate vile, abusive or extremist content under this Texas law.” The Texas Attorney General’s office did not immediately comment.

Government may not restrict content moderation by social media platforms, the 11th U.S. Court of Appeals ruled in a 3-0 opinion Monday on Florida’s law that makes it illegal for social media sites to deplatform political candidates and requires them to be transparent about policing. The court allowed most of the law’s disclosure rules.

Grant Spellmeyer, UScellular vice president-government affairs, will take over the reins of ACA Connects when President Matt Polka leaves in July, the trade group said Tuesday. Spellmeyer "is highly respected for his knowledge and thought leadership. He understands the challenges ACAC members face every day, and he has the expertise to advocate on our behalf to influence positive change," said Patty Jo Boyers, Boycom Vision president and ACA board chairwoman.

Tech groups asked the Supreme Court for an emergency stay late Friday of a 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals order allowing a Texas social media law to be enforced. Plaintiffs NetChoice and the Computer and Communications Industry Association (CCIA) applied for the stay with Supreme Court Justice for the 5th Circuit Samuel Alito, who may rule unilaterally or circulate the matter with the full court.

FCC Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel tested positive for COVID-19, she tweeted Monday. Rosenworcel, who is fully vaccinated and has "mild" symptoms, said she will "follow CDC guidance" and work from home "for now." The FCC didn't immediately comment on whether any staffers are quarantining or whether commissioners will meet again in person for their April 21 meeting.

Multiple industry officials told us they expect current White House Office of Science and Technology Policy Legislative Affairs Director Narda Jones to soon be named FCC Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel’s chief of staff, and for her to be joined on staff by Priscilla Argeris, who left Rosenworcel’s staff in 2015 to eventually join then-Facebook. The announcements are expected soon, possibly at the start of April. Longtime Rosenworcel staffer Travis Litman has been her acting chief of staff since she became chairwoman. Jones worked for 10 years in the FCC’s Wireline and International bureaus before joining the staff of Sen. Maria Cantwell, D-Wash., in 2014 and eventually serving as senior technology policy adviser and counsel for the Democratic members of the U.S. Senate Committee on Commerce, Transportation and Science. Jones joined the White House in 2021. Numerous industry officials agreed that, in the words of one, Jones as chief of staff would “make a lot of sense,” and they pointed to the fact that both she and Rosenworcel worked for Senate Commerce. Argeris was a senior legal adviser to Rosenworcel when the chairwoman was still a commissioner. In a 2015 news release announcing her departure, Rosenworcel called Argeris “a trusted advisor who has been by my side since the very earliest days in my office” and a “fantastic public servant, policy whiz, and eagle-eyed lawyer.” Jones, Argeris, the White House and the FCC didn’t comment.

Senate Democratic leaders are actively eyeing whether enough of its caucus will be in town to potentially conduct initial votes later this week on FCC nominee Gigi Sohn or FTC nominee Alvaro Bedoya, Commerce Committee Chair Maria Cantwell, D-Wash., and Minority Whip John Thune, R-S.D., told us in interviews Tuesday. Senate Commerce voted 14-14 earlier this month on Bedoya and Sohn, meaning the full chamber would need to hold votes to discharge both nominees from committee jurisdiction before lawmakers could move forward on their confirmations.

Utah could be the fourth state with a comprehensive privacy law. The Senate voted 25-0 Thursday to concur with House amendments to SB-227.

Democratic FCC nominee Gigi Sohn struck back against what she deems “unrelenting, unfair, and outright false criticism and scrutiny” in written testimony we obtained ahead of a Wednesday appearance before the Senate Commerce Committee widely seen as a follow-up confirmation hearing. The panel, which began at 10 a.m., is expected to largely focus on Sohn’s role as a board member for Locast operator Sports Fans Coalition and her January commitment to temporarily recuse herself from some FCC proceedings involving retransmission consent and broadcast copyright matters.