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.

HyperBeard, a kids app developer, agreed to pay $150,000 and to “delete personal information it illegally collected from children under 13,” the FTC said in a 4-1 settlement Thursday. The company allegedly violated the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act rule by “allowing third-party ad networks to collect personal information in the form of persistent identifiers to track users of the company’s child-directed apps, without notifying parents or obtaining verifiable parental consent,” per a complaint filed by DOJ. It names HyperBeard CEO Alexander Kozachenko and Managing Director Antonio Uribe. Commissioner Noah Phillips dissented, saying, “Given the violations at issue, the harm to consumers, and how we have approached other COPPA cases, my view is that the fine imposed today is too much.” He questioned whether the $4 million penalty, which led to the settlement, was appropriate given the alleged harm, noting a $5.7 million penalty against Musical.ly (see 1902270059). Chairman Joe Simons disagreed, saying, “The goal of the civil penalty should be to make compliance more attractive than violation.” HyperBeard disagreed any of its games were directed at children under 13, but it settled to avoid “costly and distracting litigation,” the firm said, noting its limited resources as a “small company.” The “legacy apps” mentioned in the FTC complaint “have long been transitioned to COPPA-compliant advertising networks (which do not collect or use advertising IDs),” it said.

U.S. District Court in the District of Columbia summoned President Donald Trump, Attorney General William Barr and acting U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia Michael Sherwin to defend the administration against the Center for Democracy & Technology’s First Amendment lawsuit (see 2006020071). The Tuesday summons (in Pacer) allows 60 days for response. DOJ didn’t comment.

The Federal Register published the executive order Tuesday from President Donald Trump that seeks to alter tech industry content moderation liability protections (see 2005280060 and 2006020071).

President Donald Trump’s social media-related executive order violates the First Amendment by “chilling the constitutionally protected speech of online platforms and individuals,” the Center for Democracy & Technology argued in a lawsuit Tuesday (see 2005290058). CDT accused of the president of trying to intimidate Twitter. The EO is “designed to deter social media services from fighting misinformation, voter suppression, and the stoking of violence on their platforms,” CEO Alexandra Givens said. She accused Trump of threatening retaliation and regulation and thereby influencing content moderation policies. The White House directed questions to DOJ, which didn’t comment. The lawsuit cites Trump’s “attack” on Twitter for exercising First Amendment rights to comment on the president’s statements, as well as a “willingness to use government authority to retaliate against those who criticize the government.” The order would circumvent Congress and purports to “empower multiple government agencies to pass judgment on companies’ content moderation practices,” CDT claimed. It “clouds the legal landscape in which the hosts of third-party content operate and puts them all on notice that content moderation decisions with which the government disagrees could produce penalties and retributive actions.”