Representatives from Facebook, Twitter and YouTube denied their business models are based on maximizing user engagement, during a hearing Tuesday in which members of both parties raised concerns. The power of social media companies over people’s lives is “of great concern” to a wide number of legislators, Senate Privacy Subcommittee Chairman Chris Coons, D-Del., told us. “Exactly what statutory, regulatory or voluntary measures can best address it, I think it would be premature after the first hour of our first hearing to say I have an endgame in mind.”

The FCC remains focused on ensuring that 5G and other networks are secure, acting Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel said Monday at a virtual workshop on supply chain security, held in conjunction with the Office of the Director of National Intelligence. Rosenworcel said the FCC is exploring whether untrusted vendors should be excluded from the FCC equipment authorization program. Commissioners Brendan Carr and Nathan Simington urged more focus on device security.

The Senate Commerce Committee will “mark something up shortly” in response to the Supreme Court’s decision in AMG Capital Management v. FTC, Chair Maria Cantwell, D-Wash., told us Thursday (see 2104220068). House Commerce Committee Republicans said the high court’s unanimous decision shows the FTC exceeded its FTC Act Section 13(b) authority. They expressed frustration that Democrats “prevented” the full commission from testifying Tuesday, when acting Chair Rebecca Kelly Slaughter will appear before the House Consumer Protection Subcommittee.

The government’s response is due May 14 to Akin Gump’s motion (in Pacer) Friday on behalf of Section 301 sample case plaintiffs HMTX Industries and Jasco Products for a “protective preliminary injunction” freezing the liquidation of unliquidated customs entries from China with Lists 3 and 4A tariff exposure, unless DOJ agrees to a stipulation that refund relief would be available to the importers if they prevail in the litigation (see 2104230059). Akin Gump asked for the opportunity to file a reply brief “no longer than half the length” of DOJ’s May 14 response and offered to voluntarily withdraw the motion if the government dropped its opposition and agreed to the refund stipulation.

After moderating declines in pay-TV subscriptions due to COVID-19 stay-at-home trends, the rate of losses will tick up to 6.6% this year from 4.9% in 2020, S&P Global predicted. Losses will be primarily from larger cable operators as consumers continue to abandon pay TV’s “steadily increasing prices for less expensive streaming video options.”

Washington state’s comprehensive privacy bill is dead for the third straight year. Unable again to overcome disagreement over enforcement and other issues, lawmakers ended the 2021 session Sunday without voting on the Senate-passed SB-5062. Meanwhile, the Florida Senate is poised to pass a privacy bill this week, but differences would need to be reconciled with an earlier-approved House version.

Roku community members blasted Roku Monday in its dispute with Google over what Roku called “unfair terms” for YouTube TV. Some users received an email from Roku warning of the possibility “that Google may take away your access to the YouTube TV channel,” saying recent negotiations “have broken down because Roku cannot accept Google’s unfair terms as we believe they could harm our users.”

HMTX Industries and Jasco Products, plaintiffs in the massive Section 301 litigation’s sample case, moved Friday in the U.S. Court of International Trade for a “protective preliminary injunction” to suspend liquidation of all unliquidated customs entries imported from China with Lists 3 and 4A tariff exposure. The Akin Gump motion (in Pacer) on behalf of HMTX-Jasco came days before the court’s three-judge panel convenes a status conference, in which plaintiffs are expected to air their demands for stipulated refunds of all liquidated entries if they prevail in the litigation.

Silicon Labs’ divestiture of its Infrastructure & Automotive business to Skyworks Solutions won’t affect its R&D efforts in IoT, executives said during Q&A on a Thursday investor call. The company announced Thursday a definitive agreement to sell the I&A business assets, including power/isolation, timing and broadcast products, intellectual property and associated employees to Skyworks for $2.75 billion.

The unprecedented demand for semiconductors “stressed supply chains across the industry,” said Pat Gelsinger on Intel's Q1 call Thursday, his first as CEO since joining from VMware in mid-February (see 2101220010). “We have doubled our internal wafer capacity the last few years, but the industry is now challenged by a shortage of foundry capacity, substrates and components.”