President Donald Trump’s recent actions against TikTok “certainly” gave the company “profile and visibility,” but it would have been better had that not happened, ex-CEO Kevin Mayer told the Technology Policy Institute in an interview shared Friday (see 2009280028). Profile and visibility are “usually not bad things,” he said. It's a “good enough product with a good enough team behind it and good enough technology behind it, that it would have succeeded just fine, and it was succeeding just fine without any of that.”
Karl Herchenroeder
Karl Herchenroeder, Associate Editor, is a technology policy journalist for publications including Communications Daily. Born in Rockville, Maryland, he joined the Warren Communications News staff in 2018. He began his journalism career in 2012 at the Aspen Times in Aspen, Colorado, where he covered city government. After that, he covered the nuclear industry for ExchangeMonitor in Washington. You can follow Herchenroeder on Twitter: @karlherk
DOJ and 11 Republican state attorneys general sued Google Tuesday for its alleged monopoly in general search services and search advertising. Senior Vice President Kent Walker called the lawsuit “deeply flawed,” saying consumers choose to use Google, “not because they're forced to or because they can't find alternatives.” New York Attorney General Letitia James and six other Democratic state AGs announced they’re continuing a parallel investigation and could potentially consolidate the case with DOJ in coming weeks. Industry groups condemned the suit; reaction from consumer advocates varied.
Expect antitrust legislation to be introduced in the “late days of this Congress” to curb Big Tech’s dominance, House Antitrust Subcommittee Chairman David Cicilline, D-R.I., said Friday, discussing his panel’s recent report (see 2010070067). Regulation is on the agenda for this and next Congress, said during a Public Knowledge event, calling the report “just the beginning.”
The Supreme Court met arguments from Google and Oracle with skepticism Wednesday in a case that could decide whether programming code is copyrightable (see 2008070054). Oracle sued Google for its use of Java programming code. Google has a right to provide a “certain functionality to make a computer do something” under Section 102(b) of the Copyright Act, argued Google attorney Thomas Goldstein. If there were alternatives, that would be “another matter,” he said, but because there’s only one way, there’s no copyright protection.
Congress should consider legislation including structural separation and line of business restrictions to address abuse of market power in the digital economy, House Antitrust Subcommittee Democratic staff recommended in a long-awaited report Tuesday. Republicans didn’t sign on but released their own report. Recommendations include prohibition of self-preferencing, portability requirements, mandating that platforms provide due process before taking action against market participants, and amendments to the Clayton, Sherman and FTC acts.
The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals should grant the FTC’s request for en banc review in its antitrust case against Qualcomm (see 2009250068), tech groups, auto manufacturers, consumers and scholars told the court in briefs filed through Tuesday (in Pacer). The agency is appealing a three-judge panel’s decision in favor of Qualcomm.
The Senate Commerce Committee unanimously voted Thursday to issue subpoenas to Facebook, Google and Twitter for testimony from CEOs Mark Zuckerberg, Sundar Pichai and Jack Dorsey (see 2009250037). The vote was a “big, bipartisan signal to Big Tech,” Chairman Roger Wicker, R-Miss., told us, saying there’s agreement that Communications Decency Act Section 230 is “overdue for a makeover.” During Thursday’s executive session, Democrats suggested the hearing be held after the November election to avoid any influence over platform election content.
The U.S. can reach a data transfer agreement with the EU without wholesale revisions to American surveillance laws, said Department of Commerce EU-U.S. Privacy Shield Director Alex Greenstein Friday (see 2009100001). On an ACT|The App Association webcast, he said any deal will depend on EU interpretations of the general data protection regulation.
Draft legislation will be circulated this week that would “fundamentally alter” tech companies' business models, House Consumer Protection Subcommittee Chair Jan Schakowsky, D-Ill., said during a hearing. Her draft bill will be aimed at giving regulators and consumers recourse when companies fail to deliver basic, stated commitments, she said. Reached after the hearing, Schakowsky wouldn’t say whether the draft bill directly targets Communications Decency Act Section 230.
Patent and Trademark Office veteran Shira Perlmutter will be register of copyrights and Copyright Office director, Librarian of Congress Carla Hayden announced Monday. Perlmutter will take over in late October as the 14th register. She vacates her role as PTO chief policy officer and international affairs director, positions she had since 2012. Perlmutter “brings to this role a deep knowledge of domestic and international copyright law and policy and a background in negotiating international intellectual property agreements,” Hayden said. “She has experience working with a wide range of stakeholders and finding common ground on complex issues.” The Senate won’t have to confirm Perlmutter. Senate and House Judiciary Committee leaders in 2017 considered making the register a presidentially appointed, Senate-confirmed position with a 10-year term, but momentum slowed (see 1706090050). Maria Strong was acting register. At PTO, Perlmutter oversaw domestic and international IP policy and legislative engagement through the Office of Government Affairs. She was CO associate register-policy and international affairs in 1995. She previously was associate general counsel for IP policy at Time Warner and World Intellectual Property Organization copyright consultant. Perlmutter looks forward to “rejoining the dedicated staff of the Copyright Office on its mission of promoting the creation and dissemination of works of authorship.” NAB, Public Knowledge, the Computer & Communications Industry Association, Digital Media Association, RIAA, Motion Picture Alliance and Copyright Alliance welcomed the news. “The Copyright Office will now have new leadership at a time when updating its operations is more important than ever,” CCIA President Matt Schruers said. Copyright Alliance CEO Keith Kupferschmid described Perlmutter as a “proven leader and a beacon of knowledge and integrity within the intellectual property community for decades and will serve all stakeholders and users of the Copyright Office services well.” Perlmutter “consistently worked to promote understanding and progress in copyright law and has established herself as a preeminent authority,” said RIAA CEO Mitch Glazier. PK looks forward to working with Perlmutter to “protect and advance the rights of everyday users, fans, and consumers online,” said Senior Policy Counsel Meredith Rose.