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).

Sens. Marsha Blackburn, R-Tenn., and Gary Peters, D-Mich., and Reps. Anna Eshoo, D-Calif., and Greg Pence, R-Ind., led refiling Monday of the Securing Semiconductor Supply Chains Act in a bid to expand the federal government’s effort to encourage U.S. chip manufacturing. The measure, which the Senate Commerce Committee first advanced in 2021 (see 2112090058), would direct the Commerce Department’s SelectUSA program to work with state-level economic development organizations to develop strategies to attract investment in U.S. semiconductor manufacturers and supply chains. “Semiconductor shortages made it abundantly clear that we cannot continue to depend on Communist China for critical materials for manufacturing and producing American products,” Blackburn said in a statement. “We need to build on the Chips and Science Act to continue advancing efforts that will lower the cost of goods and strengthen our economic competitiveness, supply chains and national security,” Peters said. Sen. Rick Scott, R-Fla., is a lead co-sponsor. “The Securing Semiconductor Supply Chains Act strengthens semiconductor supply chains by requiring federal and state government programs to develop strategies to attract investment in semiconductor manufacturing,” Eshoo said. The U.S. “learned the hard way that we simply cannot rely on foreign nations to secure semiconductor chips -- and that doing so jeopardizes America’s economic and national security," Pence said.

Senate Commerce Committee ranking member Ted Cruz, R-Texas, and Communications Subcommittee ranking member John Thune, R-S.D., said Thursday that, before the March 9 expiration date of the FCC’s spectrum auction authority, they’re “committed to developing a spectrum proposal that achieves the greatest value possible for American taxpayers while protecting our national security interests.” Congress agreed in December to extend the FCC’s authority through March 9 after a spectrum legislative deal lawmakers hoped to include in the FY 2023 appropriations omnibus measure fell through at the last minute (see 2212300046). “Developing a spectrum proposal is complex, which is why lawmakers shouldn’t rush into a bad deal just to secure any deal,” Cruz and Thune said: “A successful outcome on spectrum will maximize use of this finite resource, which is critical to economic growth and international leadership.”

FCC Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel offered limited insight Thursday into the current state of talks to resurrect a spectrum legislative package after a deal lawmakers hoped in December to include in the FY 2023 appropriations omnibus measure fell through at the last minute (see 2212280044). Congress instead extended the FCC’s spectrum auction authority through March 9 as a stopgap (see 2212300046). There has been “lots of talk, lots of back and forth in anticipation of that March 9 deadline,” Rosenworcel told reporters after the commissioners’ open meeting Thursday. The FCC’s auction authority is something “we want to continue and there are lots of people hard at work on that.” The FCC’s auctions “have been a good deal” for the U.S. because “they have helped support our economic and national security,” she said: The sales “put out into the economy airwaves that have helped create so much in wireless innovation” both within the U.S. and “worldwide.”

Sens. Brian Schatz, D-Hawaii, and John Thune, R-S.D., announced reintroduction Thursday of a bill to hold tech companies liable for hosting content that violates their own policies or is illegal. The Internet Platform Accountability and Consumer Transparency (Internet Pact) Act would amend Communications Decency Act Section 230 and require “large online platforms” to “remove court-determined illegal content and activity within four days.” The bill would exempt “enforcement of federal civil laws from Section 230” so online platforms can’t “use it as a defense” when federal regulators like DOJ or the FTC “pursue civil actions online.” The bill would require platforms to share publicly available content moderation practices. The bill is co-sponsored by Sens. Tammy Baldwin, D-Wis.; John Barrasso, R-Wyo.; Ben Ray Lujan, D-N.M.; Bill Cassidy, R-La.; John Hickenlooper, D-Colo.; and Shelley Moore Capito, R-W.Va.

House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, subpoenaed the CEOs of Google, Amazon, Apple, Meta and Microsoft Wednesday, seeking documents on alleged collusion between Big Tech and federal government officials to censor online speech. The committee has tried to engage the companies since December on document requests, but the companies haven’t “adequately complied,” Jordan said. He sent letters to Google CEO Sundar Pichai, Amazon CEO Andy Jassy, Apple CEO Tim Cook, Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg and Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella. He told them Twitter set a “benchmark” for transparency on interactions between industry and government over suppression of speech. Documents provided by Twitter show how the actions between the two sides violated the First Amendment, said Jordan. The subpoenas require the companies to produce requested documents by March 23. Microsoft is "producing documents," is "engaged with the Committee, and committed to working in good faith," the company said. Meta said in a statement: “We have already begun producing documents in response to the committee’s requests and will continue to do so moving forward." The other companies didn’t comment.