Reports that ByteDance planned to use TikTok to monitor the physical location of specific U.S. citizens provides “more than enough evidence” for federal agencies to take action against the Chinese social media company, FCC Commissioner Brendan Carr tweeted Friday. Carr has repeatedly pushed for action on national security issues related to TikTok’s data collection practices (see 2207150064).

FTC Chair Lina Khan declined to recuse herself in the agency’s lawsuit against Meta’s acquisition of Within Unlimited, so the remaining commissioners will vote on whether she can further participate in the case, according to court filings announced Tuesday in 5:22-CV-04325 before the U.S. District Court for Northern California (see 2209260069). The FTC informed the court of its pending vote in a filing dated Oct. 6. Commissioner Noah Phillips formally left the agency last week, creating a 3-1 Democratic majority for Khan.

Social media platforms lack accountability for hosting harmful content because of Communications Decency Act Section 230, New York Attorney General Letitia James (D) and Gov. Kathy Hochul (D) said in a report released Tuesday. The report showed Payton Gendron, the alleged mass shooter who killed 10 black people in Buffalo in May, was radicalized on fringe platforms like 4chan. Platforms largely provided an uneven response to his livestreaming efforts, the report said. James’ office reviewed thousands of pages of documents and social media content to explore how the alleged shooter used platforms to “plan, prepare and publicize his attack,” James said. Gendron was radicalized through “virtually unmoderated websites and platforms that operate outside of the mainstream internet, most notably 4chan,” James said, and livestreaming platforms like Twitch were “weaponized to publicize and encourage copycat” attacks. Section 230 allows “too much legal immunity” for platforms, even “when a platform allows users to post and share unlawful content,” James said.

The FTC is seeking public comment on a proposal to update the Energy Labeling Rule and require manufacturers to provide consumers with repair instructions. It’s “vital” for the agency to use every tool available to “vindicate Americans’ right to repair their own products,” Chair Lina Khan said in a statement, calling it a continuation from the FTC’s July 2021 policy statement on right to repair (see 2107210061). The agency is exploring whether consumer and independent repair shops would benefit from having repair information “more widely available on energy labels,” said Khan. This could have implications for everything from televisions and washing machines to air conditioners and water heaters, she said. The commission voted 5-0 approving publication of an Advance NPRM. Commissioner Christine Wilson advocated for reviewing the labeling rule's “more prescriptive aspects,” such as highly specific requirements for the presentation of the labels.

The FTC will vote Oct. 20 whether to initiate a potential rulemaking to combat fake reviews and endorsements, the agency said Thursday. The commission is considering an advance NPRM that would seek comments on the “prevalence of fake and deceptive reviews and the consumer harms arising from them,” it said. The agency recently solicited comments on potential changes to its ad endorsement guidelines (see 2209270065). The commission is also expected to vote Oct. 20 on an ANPR to start a rulemaking for “junk fees that are charged for goods or services that have little or no added value to the consumer.” This will be the first meeting since Commissioner Noah Phillips' formal resignation.

The FTC extended the deadline for comments on the agency’s advance notice of proposed rulemaking on commercial surveillance and data security until Nov. 21 (see 2208190031 and 2210130079). The commission voted 4-0-1, with Commissioner Christine Wilson abstaining. “Mass surveillance has heightened the risks and stakes of data breaches, deception, manipulation, discrimination, and other abuses,” the agency said Friday.

FTC Chair Lina Khan and DOJ Antitrust Division Chief Jonathan Kanter met in Brussels Thursday with European Commission Executive Vice President-Competition Policy Margrethe Vestager to discuss the upcoming U.S. merger guidelines update (see 2206210071) and other antitrust topics, the FTC announced. They met while participating in the second meeting of the U.S.-EU Joint Technology Competition Policy Dialogue. The FTC described it as a “high-level” discussion on topics including “the importance of horizon scanning to identify key technologies and issues that may raise competition concerns in the future” and the “adoption of effective remedies in digital cases.” Khan said in a statement: “Deepening our partnership and exchanging insights with our European colleagues can help ensure that our enforcement practices and policies reflect modern market realities.” Kanter and Vestager said they anticipate continued collaboration, particularly on the tech sector.

Price is the top reason residential customers choose an internet service, but performance and reliability are the most influential factors in predicting overall customer satisfaction, said a J.D. Power report Thursday. Some 58% of a customer’s satisfaction with broadband service is based on quality and consistency of the internet connection, said Ian Greenblatt, managing director. “With customers being least satisfied with cost of service, a consistent experience at a reasonable price is table stakes for providers -- each outage or other problem causes a customer to review that price-driven choice for real value,” Greenblatt said. Among providers, Verizon ranked highest in the East region with a score of 758; Midco ranked highest in the North Central region (734), nudging out AT&T (724) and CenturyLink (717); AT&T had the highest customer satisfaction in the South (761) and West (729) over Xfinity at 736 and 709, respectively. The study is based on responses from 22,945 customers November-August.

The Labor Department proposed a rule Tuesday to establish more stringent requirements for employers classifying workers as independent contractors, which could have implications for the gig economy and companies like Lyft and Uber. Worker misclassification is becoming more common, particularly with the “most vulnerable workers,” Labor Secretary Marty Walsh said. “Misclassification deprives workers of their federal labor protections, including their right to be paid their full, legally earned wages.” The proposal would rescind the 2021 independent contractor rule, and restore a “multifactor, totality-of-the-circumstances analysis to determine whether a worker is an employee or an independent contractor” under the Fair Labor Standards Act, the department said. The new rule would “stifle the growth of the gig economy and potentially force many employees who set their own schedules as independent contractors to become employees,” Sen. Mike Braun, R-Ind., said in a statement. The FTC issued a party-line policy statement in September outlining enforcement priorities against unfair, deceptive and anticompetitive practices involving the gig economy (see 2209150071).

Affordability remains "a driving factor" behind why some households are not online, NTIA said Thursday in a new analysis. A 2021 internet use study found the average price an offline household wanted to pay was $10, with three in four households saying $0. The study found that a lack of digital skills and accessibility are also factors driving households' decisions not to buy broadband. The data shows "multiple strategies are needed to fully address longstanding disparities in internet use," the agency said.