House Communications Subcommittee members in both parties delivered Thursday on expectations for a highly partisan FCC oversight hearing (see 2009160076) in which many lawmakers gave what they viewed as their final verdict on the commission’s performance under Chairman Ajit Pai. Democrats castigated what they saw as the FCC's missed opportunities on telecom policy, including not doing more to improve connectivity amid COVID-19. Republicans defended Pai as doing as much as he could under statutory authority. The House Commerce Committee’s own policy track record during this Congress came into question amid renewed pressure for a compromise on aid legislation.
Section 230
It’s unlikely the Senate will significantly move forward in consideration of FCC nominee Nathan Simington before the November election, if at all this year, lawmakers and lobbyists said in interviews this week. The White House said Tuesday President Donald Trump intended to nominate Simington, currently a NTIA senior adviser, to the seat held by Commissioner Mike O’Rielly (see 2009150074). The White House formally sent Simington's nomination to the Senate Wednesday. Trump revoked O’Rielly’s renomination in early August (see 2008030072).
The goal of the FCC Communications Decency Act Section 230 proceeding is to “push back on concentrations of power” held by big tech companies, said FCC Commissioner Brendan Carr during a virtual Lincoln Network Q&A Wednesday. Carr said his push for “light-touch regulation” represents a growing shift among conservatives, and existing conservative Washington think tanks are dominated by “abject corporatism” and opposition to all regulation. “My approach to net neutrality is consistent with my approach to big tech,” Carr said. “It’s easy to say ‘let's not change anything,’” Carr said. “This is not simply competition in a free market; this is taking advantage of a landscape skewed by law to favor their business model.”
A Thursday House Communications Subcommittee hearing is expected to feature partisan dueling assessments of the FCC's performance under Chairman Ajit Pai, capping off subcommittee Democrats’ often-rancorous relationship with commission Republicans this Congress (see 1901160031). Communications Democrats said the hearing will focus on FCC “lost opportunities” during President Donald Trump’s administration, including actions they say widened the digital divide (see 2009100066). The hearing begins at 10 a.m.
The Senate should reject the Earn It Act, which would result in online censorship, jeopardize encryption and potentially undermine child abuse cases, 26 advocacy groups wrote Tuesday (see 2007080061). Access Now, the Center for Democracy & Technology, Electronic Frontier Foundation, Fight for the Future, Internet Society, New America's Open Technology Institute and R Street Institute were signers. The bill is “a blunt tool that will result in platforms taking down a lot of First Amendment-protected content, particularly content created by people whose voices are already marginalized in society,” said CDT Free Expression Project Director Emma Llanso.
Google has unprecedented control over the digital advertising market, which threatens news publishers and gives the platform unrivaled leverage, Senate Judiciary Committee Republicans and Democrats said at an Antitrust Subcommittee hearing Tuesday.
If Joe Biden wins the November election, expect Democrats to pursue antitrust law changes that would raise the bar for acquisitions, experts said in recent interviews. President Donald Trump has shown more interest in politically driven attacks than serious policy work, they said.
FCC Commissioner Mike O’Rielly’s future remains in limbo more than a month after President Donald Trump withdrew his renomination (see 2008030072), officials and lobbyists told us. Republican senators returned Tuesday from the August recess without a clear outcome from their push for Trump to reverse course (see 2008060062). Officials we spoke with indicated the White House hasn’t settled on a new candidate for the GOP seat.
Legislation discouraging social media fact-checking and First Amendment rights is the wrong approach, said Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., and FCC Commissioner Geoffrey Starks Wednesday. They discussed Republican proposals on Communications Decency Act Section 230.
The House and Senate Commerce committees are eyeing two hearings next week on telecom issues, communications sector lobbyists told us. House Commerce is expected Thursday to issue a notice on a Sept. 17 FCC oversight hearing, lobbyists said. Senate Commerce, meanwhile, plans a panel on oversight of FirstNet, lobbyists said. The House Commerce hearing would be FCC Commissioner Mike O’Rielly’s first public appearance on Capitol Hill since President Donald Trump withdrew his renomination to another term (see 2008030072). The panel is expected to touch on FCC plans for handling NTIA’s petition for regulations defining the scope of Communications Decency Act Section 230 (see 2007270070). O’Rielly’s reluctance to publicly back FCC OK of the Trump-sought Section 230 petition is considered the main reason his renomination was revoked (see 2008040061). Senate Commerce’s FirstNet hearing would be the first Hill oversight panel on the network since 2017 (see 1711010035). House and Senate Commerce didn’t comment.