The Senate Antitrust Subcommittee scheduled a hearing for 2 p.m. Sept. 15 on Google’s potential harm to online ad competition, Chairman Mike Lee, R-Utah, announced Monday: “Recent consumer complaints and investigations by law enforcement have raised questions about whether Google has acquired or maintained its market power in online advertising in violation of the antitrust laws.”

NAB, the Internet Association and IBM reported Q2 decreases in lobbying spending Monday, while NCTA, Charter and Microsoft had increases. Other major telecom and tech companies hadn’t reported their quarterly spending by our deadline. IA said it spent $340,000, down more than 50% from the same period in 2019. IBM said it spent $1.04 million, down 35%. NAB spent $2.31 million, down almost 22%. NCTA expended $3.65 million, up almost 9%. Microsoft laid out $2.91 million, a 6% increase. Charter spent $2.59 million, up 6%. Cox shelled out $930,000, up 2%. Disney spent $890,000, an almost 6% increase. BSA|The Software Alliance spent $420,000, a 16% decrease. The Wireless Infrastructure Association devoted $180,000, down 10%. ACA Connects' $160,000 was little changed. The Computer & Communications Industry Association spent $40,000, down 20%. Viacom CBS spent $1.15 million. In the year-ago quarter, Viacom and CBS as separate entities spent a combined $1.52 million.

Tech CEOs will testify July 27 before the House Antitrust Subcommittee, the Judiciary Committee announced. Amazon's Jeff Bezos, Apple chief Tim Cook, Mark Zuckerberg of Facebook and Sundar Pichai from Google will appear at noon during a hearing in 2141 Rayburn. House rules allow witnesses to appear virtually. The hearing is part of the committee’s tech competition investigation (see 2005010016). “Their testimony is essential for us to complete this investigation,” said Judiciary Chairman Jerry Nadler, D-N.Y., and Antitrust Chairman David Cicilline, D-R.I.

DOJ should scrutinize how Google’s ad platform dominance allows the platform to stifle conservative news organizations, Sen. Marsha Blackburn, R-Tenn., wrote Attorney General William Barr Monday. Blackburn asked DOJ to scrutinize Google’s “control over vast sectors of the Internet economy, from online advertising to online search.” She threatened big tech companies’ liability protection under Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act: “Congress will act soon, and tech giants are on notice that they can no longer hide behind such immunities to silence speech or avoid antitrust enforcement.” DOJ and Google didn’t comment.

Senate Homeland Security Investigations Subcommittee members are "at work" on legislation on issues it identified earlier this month in a report that urged lawmakers to better define the role of the “Team Telecom” federal agencies to strengthen their ability to assist the FCC in reviewing foreign takeovers of U.S. communications assets (see 2006090057), Chairman Rob Portman, R-Ohio, said Wednesday. Those agencies are DOD, the Department of Homeland Security and DOJ. “Team Telecom was an informal arrangement and has lacked formal authority to operate, making it overall an ineffective solution to assessing these risks,” Portman said on the Senate floor. “The informality has resulted in protracted review periods and a process FCC commissioners have described as broken and an inextricable black hole.” Commissioner Mike O’Rielly later tweeted it’s “great news to see new, more formal structure and responsibilities of Team Telecom are contemplated for law. I made this push years ago and pleased to see it getting necessary attention in Congress. We must have both modern foreign ownership treatment & strong national security.” Portman noted the coming legislation in a speech to preview the Safeguarding American Innovation Act, which is aimed at stopping China and other foreign governments from using research and IP developed at U.S. colleges. Portman and subcommittee ranking member Sen. Tom Carper, D-Del., filed the bill Thursday. The measure would punish people who intentionally fail to disclose foreign support on federal grant applications, with penalties up to a five-year jail sentence and a five-year ban on receiving federal grants. It would increase State Department authority to deny visas to certain foreign nationals seeking access to sensitive technologies when it’s counter to U.S. national security and economic security interests.

Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos is willing to testify with other CEOs before the House Judiciary Committee as early as this summer, a company spokesperson emailed Monday (see 2005010016). Bezos and the company previously wouldn't promise to appear.

Senate Communications Subcommittee Chairman John Thune, R-S.D., touted his Network Security Trade Act Wednesday in a floor speech urging the U.K. and other countries to “reject” use of “suspect” equipment from Chinese manufacturer Huawei. At a Tuesday U.K. House of Commons Defense Select Committee, Sen. Tom Cotton, R-Ark., and others urged the U.K. to rethink allowing Huawei on “non-core” parts of communications infrastructure (see 2006020061). “We should be using trade agreements to push for enhanced network security globally,” as S-3994 proposes, Thune said Wednesday. The bill would update the 2015 Trade Promotion Authority law "to include a negotiating objective related to the security of communications networks” (see 2003050067). “We recently opened negotiations on a new trade deal with” the U.K. and “I’m pleased that it now looks like” that country is “reconsidering” Huawei, Thune said.

The Senate Intelligence Committee voted 14-1 Wednesday to advance the FY 2021 Intelligence Authorization Act. The panel said the bill would reauthorize the U.S. intelligence community's "development and deployment of secure 5G networks based in open-standards to compete" with China and other "adversaries."

AT&T's DirecTV and Fox signed a multiyear agreement to ensure access to Fox programming beyond the expiration Monday of the current Satellite TV Extension and Localism Act (STELA) reauthorization, the MVPD said Tuesday. It said it has been in similar talks with other major national broadcast networks for rights to provide some customers access to out-of-market broadcast network stations. AT&T told Congress last month it was trying to tackle expected customer upheaval once the latest STELA reauthorization law takes effect June 1 (see 2004200065).

House Commerce Committee Chairman Frank Pallone, D-N.J., and three other committee leaders Friday filed a companion version of the Utilizing Strategic Allied (USA) Telecommunications Act (S-3189). The bill would require the FCC to direct at least $750 million, or up to 5 percent of annual spectrum auction proceeds, to create an NTIA-managed open radio access network R&D fund to spur movement to open-architecture, software-based wireless technologies. Senate Intelligence Committee leaders filed S-3189 in January (see 2001140067). Congress “took strong action to protect our communications networks against foreign interference from dangerous companies like Huawei and ZTE” last month via the Secure and Trusted Communications Networks Act (HR-4998), said Pallone and the other three leaders: House Commerce Oversight Subcommittee ranking member Brett Guthrie, R-Ky.; House Commerce ranking member Greg Walden, R-Ore.; and House Communications Subcommittee Vice Chair Doris Matsui, D-Calif. “Now, we must follow that up by promoting equipment and technologies that can ensure a more diverse, sustainable, and competitive supply chain for America’s 5G networks.” HR-4998 allocates at least $1 billion to help U.S. communications providers remove from their networks Chinese equipment determined to threaten national security (see 2003040056). Mavenir CEO Pardeep Kohli praised the USA Telecommunications Act, saying in a statement that “advancing the deployment of OpenRAN technology is key to ensuring American leadership in building next-generation networks and creating a more competitive and innovative wireless marketplace.” Dish Network Senior Vice President-Public Policy and Government Affairs Jeff Blum said the bill's proposed grants "will enhance mobile access, spur job creation, and boost American efforts to lead the global race to 5G.”