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.
Public Citizen, the Future of Music Coalition and 22 other groups urged incoming chairs of the Senate Commerce and Judiciary committees and the Antitrust Subcommittee Wednesday to “make clear that Big Tech executives, lobbyists, lawyers, or consultants are unacceptable nominees for senior antitrust enforcement roles.” President Joe Biden designated Rebecca Kelly Slaughter as acting FTC chair (see 2101210067) and Deputy Assistant Attorney General Richard Powers as acting head of DOJ’s Antitrust Division, and stakeholders are waiting to see who will be the actual nominees. The groups wrote they're “concerned about Amazon, Apple, Facebook, and Google’s concentrated power” becoming a factor in the nominations.
Facebook continues to “recommend political groups to users despite committing to stopping the practice,” Sen. Ed Markey, D-Mass., wrote in a letter Tuesday. CEO Mark Zuckerberg made the commitment at an Oct. 28 Senate Commerce Committee hearing, Markey said: “Facebook continued to recommend political groups that promoted violence, targeted elected officials, and supported insurrection after Mr. Zuckerberg made his commitment.” Markey requested details about the “inconsistency,” as well as plans to stop the recommendations. A company spokesperson emailed: "We have a clear policy against recommending civic or political groups on our platforms, and are investigating why these were recommended in the first place.”
Twitter dedicates “significant resources to quickly respond” to copyright takedown notices, emailed a spokesperson Tuesday after a hearing in which the company fielded criticism (see 2012150070). Twitter is actively engaged with rights holders and organizations to “address specific concerns,” the company said, citing commitment to “improving the collective health, openness, and civility of public conversation on our platform.”
Senate Antitrust Subcommittee Chairman Mike Lee, R-Utah, introduced legislation Thursday that would fold FTC antitrust enforcement and resources into DOJ. The One Agency Act would remove FTC's “unfair methods of competition” authority and relocate commission personnel to DOJ. “When no one knows who is in charge, bad things happen, and sophisticated players like Facebook, Twitter, and Google ... can game the system to their own advantage, and thereby avoid accountability for engaging in anticompetitive behavior,” said Lee, calling DOJ “more politically accountable” than the FTC. The agencies didn’t comment.
House Commerce Committee Republicans touted their legislative proposals on broadband deployments, network security and emerging tech, saying Monday they’re “in line” with the Trump administration's October national strategy (see 2010150047). The Republicans cited their June package of bills aimed at streamlining broadband deployments (see 2006250068), a response to House Democrats’ earlier proposal for $100 billion in broadband funding. They noted their support for the Utilizing Strategic Allied Telecom Act (HR-6624/S-3189) and Trump’s March signing (see 2003120061) of the Secure and Trusted Communications Networks Act (HR-4998). Appropriators are wrangling over allocating money for the law’s proposed funding to rip and replace suspect equipment on U.S. networks, including from Chinese vendors Huawei and ZTE (see 2009140062). HR-6624/S-3189 would require the FCC to create an NTIA-managed open radio access network R&D grant program (see 2004240032). House Commerce Republicans cited leaders’ May emerging tech agenda and the September refiling of the Safely Ensuring Lives Future Deployment and Research In Vehicle Evolution (Self Drive) Act (HR-8350) to create a legal framework for autonomous vehicles.
Senate Antitrust Subcommittee Chairman Mike Lee, R-Utah, led refiling Tuesday of the Standard Merger and Acquisition Reviews Through Equal Rules Act to eliminate disparities in federal antitrust review processes. The Smarter Act, last filed in 2018 (see 1805150079), would require the FTC to use the same procedures as DOJ for enforcing antitrust law. It would institute a 180-day shot clock for the FCC to issue takeover review decisions. “The only people that benefit from uncertainty in antitrust law are antitrust lawyers,” Lee said. “Businesses and consumers deserve clarity and certainty when it comes to federal antitrust law enforcement.” Senate Intellectual Property Subcommittee Chairman Thom Tillis, R-N.C., and Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, are lead co-sponsors.
Congress shouldn’t let local news “die” because Big Tech companies unfairly leverage the ad market, Senate Commerce Committee ranking member Maria Cantwell, D-Wash., said Tuesday, releasing a report showing newspaper revenue declining about 70% by the end of 2020 vs. two decades ago. The report said broadcasters lost more than 40% of ad revenue 2000-2018, and since 2005, papers lost about 60% of their overall workforce. “The biggest online platforms unfairly use content, take local news consumer data and divert customers away from local news websites, while providing little in return,” she said. NAB, Public Knowledge and the News Media Alliance welcomed the report. NAB supports “findings that the competitive power of a handful of digital platforms has dominated the marketplace for advertising and audiences,” said CEO Gordon Smith. “Targeted federal funding and new regulatory tools can help transition local journalism to succeed in the digital marketplace,” said PK Senior Policy Fellow Lisa Macpherson. Google and Facebook “effectively regulate news publishers by determining how (and whether) journalism is distributed and monetized,” said News Media Alliance CEO David Chavern. The "accusation" that Facebook scrapes news articles is "simply not true," a company spokesperson emailed: "We give news organizations the ability to post news on Facebook free of charge, and they have full control over how that content is accessed and monetized." The platform cited $400 million in contributions to "programs and partnerships with a focus on local news." News publishers are facing “enormous” challenges, but the report is a misrepresentation, a Google spokesperson emailed: “We provide value to the news industry by sending people to news sites 24 billion times a month, help publishers make money with our advertising products and provide support via the Google News Initiative.” The company cited a $1 billion investment in partnerships with news publishers for Google News Showcase.
Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg and Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey will testify voluntarily at a Nov. 17 hearing, the Senate Judiciary Committee announced Friday. The hearing “will focus on the platforms’ censorship and suppression of New York Post articles and provide a valuable opportunity to review the companies’ handling of the 2020 election,” the committee said.
Amazon, Comcast and Facebook were the top tech and telecom sector lobbying spenders during Q3, based on filings due Monday. Twitter, Ligado and T-Mobile reported major increases vs. Q3 2019; Huawei, CenturyLink and Google reported major decreases. NAB was among those earlier reporting decreases, while Charter was among those saying they increased spending (see 2010200059). Facebook shelled out $4.9 million, up 2%. Amazon reported $4.41 million, an 11% increase. Comcast spent $2.96 million, a 1% dip. T-Mobile's $2.64 million was a more than 19% boost. AT&T spent $2.53 million, an almost 22% decline. CTIA was up 3% at $2.35 million. Verizon spent $2.24 million, down more than 7%. Google posted $1.93 million, a more than 35% drop. Qualcomm spent $1.71 million, an almost 4% decline. Apple reported $1.56 million, more than 12% below last year. Ligado spent just over $1 million, a more than 51% rise. Dell was $850,000, down more than 15%. CenturyLink reported $570,000, a 40% drop. Twitter was $430,000, up more than 34%. The Competitive Carriers Association was little changed at $180,000. Huawei reported $100,000, down more than 94%.