Groups Hail Enactment of NDAA's Chips Act Language, Other Provisions

Industry praised Congress for overriding President Donald Trump's veto of the FY 2021 National Defense Authorization Act (HR-6395), which includes several telecom and tech provisions (see 2012040043). The Senate voted 81-13 New Year's Day to override Trump's veto, an action he took partly because the measure lacked Section 230 language (see 2012230081). The House overrode the veto last week (see 2012290049). The Semiconductor Industry Association welcomed NDAA enactment of the Creating Helpful Incentives to Produce Semiconductors (Chips) for America Act. HR-7178/S-3933 authorizes federal incentives to promote semiconductor manufacturing and public-sector investments in semiconductor R&D (see 2012170061). It “will help propel U.S. economic growth and cement America’s position at the forefront of semiconductor innovation,” said Qorvo CEO Bob Bruggeworth, who chairs SIA. The NDAA hinders Ligado’s L-band plan, which the Satellite Safety Alliance called a "win for all." This "will enable" DOD to "take much-needed steps to bolster the U.S. government and industrial base cybersecurity defenses, modernize its technology, and enhance U.S. leadership in innovation," said Information Technology Industry Council Senior Vice President-Public Sector Policy Gordon Bitko. Repealing Section 230 would be better than rewriting the tech industry’s liability shield because the latter option would further encourage Big Tech censorship, Parler said in a statement Monday. “A politically viable re-write of Section 230 would transform Orwell’s 1984 from a dystopian novel into an instruction manual, requiring all platforms to adopt Twitter/Facebook/Google’s terms of service,” said Parler Chief Policy Officer Amy Peikoff.