The Biden-era FCC has a "seemingly endless list" of issues to be addressed, blogged former FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler Thursday. The USF contribution factor has spiraled to "an unacceptable rate that now threatens the entire program," Wheeler said, and the FCC under then-President Donald Trump "failed to take any action." Wheeler criticized former Chairman Ajit Pai for waiting until his final days in office to suggest a solution and not acting sooner. A "logical solution," Wheeler said, "would have been to seek congressional help" or expand the contribution base to include broadband. The Trump-era FCC punted on further defining broadband service, he said. The FCC should consider reinstating net neutrality rules if it also wants to reinstate privacy protections for network users, he said, because "returning ISPs to common carrier status ... triggers their responsibility to protect the privacy of their subscribers." It should reconcile with calls to repeal Communications Decency Act Section 230 and the Trump FCC having spent the past few years "assiduously cutting the agency's authority" and "swiftly expanding that authority into previously untouched areas that probably infringe" on First Amendment protections, Wheeler said. The Supreme Court's Chevron doctrine will likely play a role in how the FCC practices administrative law amid speculation that justices appointed by Trump "may seek to overturn the Chevron precedent," Wheeler noted. The Biden FCC should decide whether to work closely with DOJ, as it did during the Obama administration, in reviewing transactions, Wheeler said, because "that cooperation became more of an exception than the rule" under Trump. It will also have to "catch up" on addressing the needs of deaf and hard of hearing individuals. To achieve anything, Biden must nominate a new commissioner and decide whether to reappoint acting Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel, whose term expired in June 2020, Wheeler said. Pai declined to comment. The FCC didn't respond.
Section 230
Facebook, Google and Twitter support Communications Decency Act Section 230 proposals to increase content moderation transparency, their respective CEOs, Mark Zuckerberg, Sundar Pichai and Jack Dorsey, told House Commerce Committee members Thursday during a virtual hearing. Noting Zuckerberg’s support for “thoughtful changes” to 230 (see 2103240076), Communications Subcommittee ranking member Bob Latta, R-Ohio, asked the Facebook chief for specific proposals. Zuckerberg supported two specific changes, saying Congress should be careful about removing protections for smaller companies.
Communications Decency Act Section 230 “would benefit from thoughtful changes,” Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg plans to tell House Commerce Committee members during Thursday’s virtual hearing (see 2103190054). Google CEO Sundar Pichai defends the statute in prepared testimony, saying recent proposals could have unintended consequences. Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey instead focuses on transparency, procedural fairness, algorithmic choice and privacy.
With the USF contribution factor at an all-time high (see 2103020032), reform must be addressed “head-on,” said FCC Commissioner Brendan Carr during a Free State Foundation event Tuesday. The contribution factor has been “spiraling,” he said.
Rep. Jan Schakowsky, D-Ill., will introduce legislation, potentially this week, to amend Communications Decency Act Section 230 liability protections, giving consumers the ability to sue when harmed by illegal online content, she said Monday (see 2009240062). Her Online Consumer Protection Act will be part of the discussion when Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg, Google CEO Sundar Pichai and Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey testify Thursday before House Commerce Committee members (see 2103190054), said Schakowsky during an event hosted by Common Sense Media and the Real Facebook Oversight Board.
The FTC shouldn’t police speech, but it can enforce whether platforms are honoring terms of service through content moderation and Communications Decency Act Section 230 activity, FTC Commissioner Christine Wilson said Friday. Speaking on a Free State Foundation webcast, she said Section 230 blanket immunity is an intrusion into the market with a significant impact on competition.
The FTC needs to review past agency antitrust analysis to determine where tools have been misused and what predictions have been incorrect, acting Chair Rebecca Kelly Slaughter told the House Antitrust Subcommittee Thursday. She responded to Chairman David Cicilline, D-R.I., and ranking member Ken Buck, R-Colo. Those lawmakers' opening remarks questioned FTC reported reluctance in 2013 to pursue an antitrust lawsuit against Google, despite a recommendation from agency investigators.
Senate Minority Whip John Thune, R-S.D., and Sen. Brian Schatz, D-Hawaii, reintroduced legislation Wednesday that would amend Communications Decency Act Section 230 and require online platforms to remove illegal content within days, as expected (see 2102030060). Under the Platform Accountability and Consumer Transparency (Pact) Act, platforms would need a “defined complaint system that processes reports and notifies users of moderation decisions within twenty-one days, and allows consumers to appeal.” The bill would make platforms “more accountable for their content moderation policies and providing more tools to protect consumers,” said Schatz. Thune called it a “common-sense legislative approach to preserve user-generated content and free speech on the internet, while increasing consumer transparency and the accountability of big internet platforms.” Public Knowledge said it's “a serious, bipartisan effort to consider content-neutral requirements to provide greater transparency and accountability.” Access Now supports the requirements for platforms to have “content moderation policies, explain their moderation decisions, and have an appeal process.” BSA|The Software Alliance welcomed the effort and wants to “avoid unintended consequences and account for the broader universe of technology companies.” The serious proposal contains a “fatal flaw: by subjecting websites to federal civil liability, the bill is far more radical than it appears and would lead to legitimate speech being removed from the internet as websites take a better-safe-than-sorry approach,” said NetChoice Vice President Carl Szabo.
The 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals upheld a lower court's rejection of a lawsuit brought by a California pastor and his religious organization claiming discrimination by Vimeo when it deleted a series of the plaintiffs' videos promoting sexual orientation change efforts (SOCE). In a decision Thursday (docket 20-616) by Judges Rosemary Pooler, Richard Wesley and Susan Carney, penned by Pooler, the 2nd Circuit said the video hosting service deletion of the church's account fell squarely in good-faith content policing immunity of Communications Decency Act Section 230. Vimeo "is statutorily entitled to consider SOCE content objectionable and may restrict access to that content as it sees fit," the panel said. Outside counsel for the plaintiffs-appellants didn't comment. Santa Clara University Director-High Tech Law Institute professor Eric Goldman blogged the ruling was a win for internet services, but both Democrats and Republicans have proposed Section 230 amendments that would overturn the ruling. He said the court's reliance on Section 230(c)(2)(A) opens the door for a motion to dismiss.
Increasing resources for antitrust enforcers is one potential area for Senate Judiciary Committee compromise, ranking member Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, told us Wednesday. It’s something Senate Antitrust Subcommittee Chair Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn., has pushed for along with comprehensive antitrust legislation (see 2102040053). Klobuchar will lead the subcommittee’s first hearing this session Thursday (see 2103040033).