Senate Commerce Members Hope Hearing Restarts Privacy Talks

Senate Commerce Committee members told us they hope Wednesday’s consumer privacy hearing will reactivate privacy legislation discussions. But Senate Minority Whip John Thune, R-S.D., said leadership hasn’t been willing to engage in discussions, despite bipartisan potential from other members. Commerce Chair Maria Cantwell, D-Wash., said she’s focused on getting the FTC more funding.

“We’re really going to talk about how we want more funding for the FTC and enforcement on privacy,” said Cantwell. “But we’re also going to talk about what [Congress needs] to get done and legislative approaches.” Several former FTC officials are to testify (see 2109240009). They didn’t comment Monday. Commerce is planning for another hearing with FTC members, said Cantwell.

Privacy back-and-forth is “kind of distant right now,” said Thune. "I think there can be an agreement among some Democrats and Republicans. But you’ve got to have the leadership of the committee sign off on it or at least consider engaging in a discussion about how to come up with a bipartisan solution.” He noted Sens. Jerry Moran, R-Kan., and Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., are talking. Moran and Blumenthal were part of the committee’s privacy working group that included Cantwell, ranking member Roger Wicker, R-Miss., Thune and Sen. Brian Schatz, D-Hawaii. “There’s always hope, right?” said Thune.

Conversations on privacy “have been at a standstill for a while,” said Wicker, noting a months long pause. “The issues are still the same.” Such discussions are “dormant,” said Schatz. “I don’t want to speak for [Moran and Blumenthal]. There may be staff conversations, but that’s not my focus. He said he hopes the hearing will reactivate discussions, but “I don’t want to pretend like I’ve been engaged on this.”

“Talks are still ongoing, but the focus obviously is on infrastructure, debt ceiling,” said Blumenthal. “So I would say they’ve been less active.” Moran said he continues to have “informal” discussions with Blumenthal with the “desire of finding that sweet spot that gets us this accomplished. I’m hoping the hearing will give us an idea of where Cantwell and other members of the committee are as we continue our discussions.” Negotiations haven’t “stopped totally, but maybe [the hearing] will reenergize, reactivate,” said Moran.

ACT|The App Association favors providing the FTC “appropriate resources,” but the bigger issue is that Congress needs to pass comprehensive privacy legislation, said President Morgan Reed in an interview Monday. The FTC should be able to fulfill its consumer protection mission without having to “cobble” together cases, said Reed, who’s set to testify Wednesday.

Instagram head Adam Mosseri announced Monday the platform will “pause” plans to launch an Instagram for kids. Sen. Rick Scott, R-Fla., plans to focus on recent reports about Instagram and its link to teen mental health (see 2109150053).

Blumenthal released a statement with Sen. Ed Markey, D-Mass., and Reps. Kathy Castor, D-Fla., and Lori Trahan, D-Mass., welcoming the decision. The four asked Facebook earlier this month to abandon the plans. “We are pleased that Facebook has heeded our calls to stop plowing ahead with its plans to launch a version of Instagram for children. A ‘pause’ is insufficient, however. Facebook has completely forfeited the benefit of the doubt when it comes to protecting young people online,” they said Monday.

The decision “is a step in the right direction to ensuring a safe environment, but there is still much work to be done,” said Sen. Marsha Blackburn, R-Tenn. “Big Tech’s pattern of choosing profit over the wellbeing of young users is extremely concerning.” The company didn’t comment.

The social media companies need to be held accountable, said Scott, citing reports about Instagram and mental health. He noted he has been trying to get information from Facebook, Google and Twitter to get a better understanding on whether kids are addicted to the services. He plans to raise issues about Big Tech’s alleged political bias. Congress shouldn’t necessarily replicate the social media law in Florida (see 2109220064), but social media companies shouldn’t be allowed to be biased, he said.

“Ultimately, I disagree with the actions of social media companies, but I’m just not an expert on state law because we have our hands full here,” said Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla. “Either way, someone was going to do this. Other states are trying to regulate.” He noted he hasn’t been following developments closely in Florida: “Obviously, that’s an issue that’s going to raise interstate commerce issues before the courts.”

“I think there are serious First Amendment issues with Big Tech’s conduct,” said Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas. He noted he hasn’t been following specifics about the new law in Texas, which is subject to a legal challenge.

The Network Advertising Initiative is against a congressional proposal to increase FTC funding by $1 billion over 10 years (see 2109100063) and create a new privacy bureau. Moving forward with those changes without a national privacy framework “will still leave U.S. consumers and businesses subject to a jumble of incompatible state and international laws,” said NAI CEO Leigh Freund. “It also is likely to lead to a long, drawn-out, unpredictable FTC rulemaking, subject to the political whims of each new administration.”