House Commerce Committee Chairman Frank Pallone, D-N.J., Communications Subcommittee Chairman Mike Doyle, D-Pa., and other lawmakers said Thursday they “will closely follow the impact” of the Supreme Court’s ruling in Facebook v. Duguid. The court sided with Facebook in a ruling last week that favored a narrow definition of what constitutes an automatic telephone dialing system (see 2104010063). The decision, which effectively removes “text messages from the Telephone Consumer Protection Act,” may “allow scammers to send out a barrage of texts or calls without fear of reprisal or consequences,” the lawmakers said. “The last thing Americans need right now is an onslaught of texts or calls from scammers trying to swindle them out of their hard-earned money.” The others who signed onto the statement were House Communications ranking member Bob Latta, R-Ohio; Senate Communications Subcommittee ranking member John Thune, R-S.D.; and Sen. Ed Markey, D-Mass. Those lawmakers led work on what eventually became the Pallone-Thune Telephone Robocall Abuse Criminal Enforcement and Deterrence (Traced) Act (see 1912310028). Markey previously vowed to file legislation aimed at addressing the Facebook ruling.

The House Commerce Committee’s virtual hearing with Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg, Google CEO Sundar Pichai and Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey (see 2102180064) is noon EDT Thursday, announced the committee. The hearing is on “Social Media's Role in Promoting Extremism and Misinformation.”

Senate Minority Whip John Thune, R-S.D., and Sen. Brian Schatz, D-Hawaii, reintroduced legislation Wednesday that would amend Communications Decency Act Section 230 and require online platforms to remove illegal content within days, as expected (see 2102030060). Under the Platform Accountability and Consumer Transparency (Pact) Act, platforms would need a “defined complaint system that processes reports and notifies users of moderation decisions within twenty-one days, and allows consumers to appeal.” The bill would make platforms “more accountable for their content moderation policies and providing more tools to protect consumers,” said Schatz. Thune called it a “common-sense legislative approach to preserve user-generated content and free speech on the internet, while increasing consumer transparency and the accountability of big internet platforms.” Public Knowledge said it's “a serious, bipartisan effort to consider content-neutral requirements to provide greater transparency and accountability.” Access Now supports the requirements for platforms to have “content moderation policies, explain their moderation decisions, and have an appeal process.” BSA|The Software Alliance welcomed the effort and wants to “avoid unintended consequences and account for the broader universe of technology companies.” The serious proposal contains a “fatal flaw: by subjecting websites to federal civil liability, the bill is far more radical than it appears and would lead to legitimate speech being removed from the internet as websites take a better-safe-than-sorry approach,” said NetChoice Vice President Carl Szabo.

Facebook must take responsibility for reportedly promoting violence and disinformation before and after the Jan. 6 Capitol riot, House Democrats wrote CEO Mark Zuckerberg Monday. House Commerce Committee Chairman Frank Pallone of New Jersey signed the letter with more than 20 other Democrats. Facebook allegedly “ran ads showing gun accessories and protective equipment next to content that amplified election misinformation,” they wrote. “Similar advertising was shown next to news about the Capitol siege after January 6. Targeting ads in this way is dangerous and has the potential to encourage acts of violence.” They asked Facebook what actions it’s taking to prevent this from happening again. The company didn’t comment.

The Senate confirmed Gina Raimondo as commerce secretary Tuesday in a bipartisan 84-15 vote, as expected. Senate Commerce Committee ranking member Roger Wicker of Mississippi and Communications Subcommittee ranking member John Thune of South Dakota were among the Republicans who backed Raimondo, after previously voting to advance her out of committee (see 2102030065). The 15 Republicans who opposed Raimondo on the floor included Sens. Ted Cruz of Texas and Marco Rubio of Florida, both of whom complained she hadn’t unequivocally ruled out the Commerce Department rolling back restrictions on Huawei and other Chinese telecom and tech firms (see 2102010069). Cruz placed a hold on Raimondo, delaying confirmation (see 2102050064). “Nominees will never be more engaged, more transparent or more forthcoming than during their confirmation process,” so Raimondo's refusal “to be any of these speaks volumes to how she would act” if confirmed, Cruz said on the floor. “There has been a rush to embrace the worst elements of the Chinese Communist Party in the Biden administration, and that includes” Raimondo. “We’re just about six weeks into the Biden presidency,” and the administration “has already been keen on lifting the restrictions on Huawei since the very first week,” Cruz said. “Where will we be six months from now? A year from now? Prohibiting the use of platforms like Huawei and safeguarding American technology from being exploited by Chinese espionage infrastructure are commonsense measures to protect American national security.” Stakeholders congratulated Raimondo, including BSA|The Software Alliance, CTIA, MPA, TechNet and USTelecom.

Amazon defended its cooperation in the SolarWinds breach investigation, in response to a question about the platform declining to testify at Wednesday’s Senate Intelligence Committee hearing (see 2102230064). “When we learned of this event, we immediately investigated, ensured we weren’t affected, and shared what we learned with law enforcement,” a spokesperson said. “We’ve also provided detailed briefings to government officials, including Members of Congress.”

Anna Eshoo and Jackie Speier, both of California, led a letter Monday with 31 other House Democratic women urging President Joe Biden to name acting FCC Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel to the permanent spot. Senate Commerce Committee Chairwoman Maria Cantwell of Washington and other Democratic lawmakers have been pressing Biden to move quickly to name a permanent FCC chair and fill a vacant seat to secure a 3-2 commission majority (see 2102050064). Rosenworcel “has spent years raising the important voices and unique needs of women that have been ignored for far too long in technology and telecommunications policy” and “is perfectly qualified” to be the first permanent chairwoman, Eshoo and the other lawmakers wrote White House Chief of Staff Ron Klain. Some Congressional Black Caucus members back Commissioner Geoffrey Starks, and the Congressional Hispanic Caucus wants a Latino commissioner (see 2102110043).

Senate Commerce Committee Chairwoman Maria Cantwell, D-Wash., formally took over the chair's gavel Thursday after the panel passed its rules and budget for this Congress. The committee didn’t disclose subcommittee leadership roles, but a Senate aide told us announcements are coming soon. Ed Markey, D-Mass., is expected to take over as Communications Subcommittee chairman (see 2101190001). Previous lead Democrat Brian Schatz of Hawaii is giving up the role (see 2101290049). Senate Minority Whip John Thune, R-S.D., is expected to remain his party's lead member (see 2011020048). Cantwell said she will make “information age” issues a top Commerce priority, including broadband, privacy, cybersecurity and artificial intelligence. The committee will “come up with what is our infrastructure response” to the economic fallout from COVID-19 “to keep our infrastructure moving,” she said. The committee needs to address tech-related disparities, including “strategies to help women in the workforce, particularly in ... science, technology, engineering, and math.” Cantwell said she's “the first woman” to chair Senate Commerce and "I don't plan on being the last one.” The committee has four new members: John Hickenlooper, D-Colo.; Ben Ray Lujan, D-N.M.; Cynthia Lummis, R-Wyo.; and Raphael Warnock, D-Ga.

Apple should review its new app privacy labels, given reports they’re “often misleading or inaccurate,” House Commerce Committee Chairman Frank Pallone, D-N.J., and Consumer Protection Subcommittee Chair Jan Schakowsky, D-Ill., wrote CEO Tim Cook Tuesday. About “one third of evaluated apps with ‘Data Not Collected’ labels were found to in fact collect data,” they wrote, citing reports. “We urge Apple to improve the validity of its App Privacy labels to ensure consumers are provided meaningful information about their apps’ data practices and that consumers are not harmed by these potentially deceptive practices.” The company didn’t comment.

The House Commerce Committee should hold a hearing with Apple, Facebook, Google and Twitter CEOs, Republican committee leaders wrote Chairman Frank Pallone, D-N.J. Ranking member Cathy McMorris Rodgers, Wash.; Communications Subcommittee ranking member Bob Latta, Ohio; Consumer Protection Subcommittee ranking member Gus Bilirakis, Fla.; and Oversight Subcommittee ranking member Morgan Griffith, Va., cited transparency, accountability, consistency and competition. “Last Congress, we requested you hold a hearing with several Big Tech CEOs to get answers and push them to improve their practices,” they wrote Friday. “Unfortunately, Big Tech’s behavior has increasingly worsened.” Pallone’s office didn’t comment.