The FTC’s July 21 PrivacyCon will be held online, the agency announced Tuesday, citing COVID-19.

The antitrust community has too strong a bias against enforcement, leaving unchallenged mergers and acquisitions that ought to be challenged, said former DOJ Antitrust Division Chief Bill Baer, now a Brookings Institution fellow. "We need to move that arrow back to a neutral position," he said on an American Antitrust Institute podcast Monday. Some courts are showing a "worrisome" level of skepticism in government cases and implicitly demanding a higher level of proof than the statute requires, he said.

The Supreme Court should review Enigma Software v. Malwarebytes because the tech industry’s content liability protections are critical, the Internet Association said Monday (see 2006120030). Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act “ensures all online platforms can create and enforce codes of conduct and protect their users without fear of liability,” IA interim CEO Jon Berroya said. “It’s a critical time for the Supreme Court to protect online platforms’ ability to give users the tools to control their own online experiences.” IA filed its brief Friday, joining TechFreedom, the Electronic Frontier Foundation, a group of cybersecurity experts and ESET in support of Malwarebytes, which is claiming Section 230 immunity in the case.

The FCC Wireline Bureau seeks comments by July 13, replies July 27, to update the record on whether to include revenue from "one-way" VoIP services as part of USF contribution base or impose other regulatory fees, said a public notice for docket 06-122 in Friday's Daily Digest.

Rep. Suzan DelBene, D-Wash., is worried the participation of “so many countries” at the World Trade Organization in e-commerce talks -- including China -- will mean the result won't be a high-standard agreement. The House Ways and Means Committee member who also leads on trade in the New Democrat Coalition, DelBene represents a western Washington district that includes Microsoft headquarters. During a Washington International Trade Association interview Wednesday, she agreed tax policy should be rethought, and no longer so focused on physical goods, but said digital services taxes proposed in Europe are discriminatory. She said negotiations at the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development need to be given time to work. U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer testifies next week in virtual hearings by the Ways and Means Committee and Senate Finance Committee.

Sens. Ed Markey, Mass., and Richard Blumenthal, Conn., criticized the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration Thursday for its “dangerously reactive approach to cybersecurity" in internet-connected cars. NHTSA “has taken a hands-off approach to the growing threats to public safety from vulnerabilities in internet-connected cars,” the Democrats wrote acting Administrator James Owens. “We also believe that NHTSA is neglecting to oversee and keep the public informed about over-the-air (OTA) software updates designed to fix safety defects in cars without a physical recall.” The senators “are deeply troubled by NHTSA’s deafening silence in response to the repeated reports of vulnerabilities and risks of hacking of internet-connected cars. In your reply to our initial letter, you stated that ‘NHTSA is not aware of any malicious hacking attempts that have created safety concerns for the motoring public.’ However, this statement sets aside the many examples of demonstrated vulnerabilities in cars on the road that have been publicly reported in recent years, and relies on the goodwill of those who have reported these risks.” NHTSA needs to “develop processes that will ensure automakers are publicly accountable for all safety-related defects no matter how they are fixed,” the senators said. The lawmakers sought a response by July 2. NHTSA didn’t comment.

The FCC approved updated sensor deployment and coverage plans by two environmental sensing capability providers in the 3.5 GHz band -- CommScope and Google. The Wireless Bureau and Office of Engineering and Technology approved the updated registrations working with NTIA and DOD, said a Wednesday notice in docket 15-319.

5G Automotive Association representatives cited “growing momentum” behind cellular vehicle-to-everything technology, in a call with an aide to FCC Chairman Ajit Pai. “The parties highlighted the ongoing investments in and collaboration on C-V2X Direct by major automotive manufacturers, technology companies, and telecommunications providers,” said a filing posted Tuesday in docket 19-138. Ford, BMW of North America, Fiat Chrysler, Audi of America, Nokia, Qualcomm and Samsung Electronics were among those on the call. Wilkinson Barker’s Sean Conway, a 5GAA outside counsel, said during a Tuesday FCBA webinar the group is “trying to work with” the FCC to ensure a 4G version of C-V2X “can move forward” while also identifying spectrum for 5G use. He was one of several auto industry officials on the webinar who noted their ongoing concerns with the FCC’s 5.9 GHz band plans. The commission is eyeing revised rules that reallocate 45 MHz for Wi-Fi, with 20 reserved for C-V2X and possibly 10 MHz for dedicated short-range communications systems. Conway noted 5GAA wants FCC rules to protect C-V2X in the upper portion of the band. Alliance for Automotive Innovation Safety Director Angel Preston touted the group’s proposal for preserving 5.9 GHz (see 2004290012), saying the FCC’s current NPRM would “hinder” the U.S. globally in advancing auto safety. American Association of State Highway Transportation Officials Program Director-Planning and Policy Matthew Hardy said plans that would preserve only 25 MHz of the 75 MHz of bandwidth wouldn’t allow “enough capacity” to fully realize vehicle-to-vehicle technology’s potential. NCTA Associate General Counsel Danielle Pineres backed the NPRM, saying it strikes a “well-considered balance” that would be an improvement on the current state of operations on the band. FCC Office of Engineering and Technology Policy and Rules Division Special Counsel Howard Griboff gave off-the-record comments during the FCBA webinar.

The FTC sent warning letters to six multilevel marketing companies to remove and address online and social media posts claiming their products can treat or prevent COVID-19. The warnings also addressed claims about “the earnings people who have recently lost income can make, or both.” The agency sent warnings to Isagenix International, Juice Plus+, Melaleuca, Youngevity International, Vivri USA and Plexus Worldwide. Letters tell the companies to “notify the FTC within 48 hours about the specific actions they have taken to address the agency’s concerns.” Melaleuca General Counsel Aaron Eddington emailed: "The FTC was absolutely right in bringing this to our attention. The posts in question violate several of Melaleuca’s policies and the Marketing Executive’s contract with Melaleuca has been terminated." The other companies didn’t comment.

Senior Broadcom executives sidestepped questions on a quarterly investor call Thursday about their disclosures of “product cycle delays” that will hold back a large customer’s flagship smartphone introduction until later in 2020. Broadcom’s wireless components revenue in Q2 ended May 3 declined 14% sequentially from Q1 on “typical seasonality” trends, said CEO Hock Tan. In Q3 ending early August, “we would normally expect to see a double-digit sequential uplift in revenue from the ramp of the next-generation phone at our large North American mobile phone customer,” he said in apparent reference to Apple’s introduction of the iPhone 12, its first 5G smartphone. “However, this year, we do not expect to see this uptick in revenue until our fourth fiscal quarter” ending early November, he said. It expects Q3 wireless income to be down sequentially as in Q2. “Because of product cycle delays, the trough for our fiscal year will be Q3 this coming quarter, and that’s what we reflected in our forecast,” said Tan. “Nothing has changed in terms of designs,” just the “timing” of the introduction, he said. Apple didn’t comment Friday.