Communications Workers of America urged Congress' Commerce and Judiciary committees to reauthorize the Satellite Television Extension and Localism Act. Five communications industry groups, including America’s Communications Association and NTCA, meanwhile, urged lawmakers to include “language to promote the use of buying group marketplace solutions” in a final STELA measure. Both legislative pushes came before a planned Wednesday Senate Commerce Committee hearing on renewal (see 1910160036). “Failure to reauthorize STELA means that more than 870,000 satellite subscribers, most of whom are rural customers, would lose access to network TV programming from the loss of the distant signal license,” said CWA Senior Director-Government Affairs and Policy Shane Larson in letters to the committees' leaders. “CWA has gained recognition of tens of thousands of [DirecTV] employees whose union contract provides good wages, benefits, and working conditions,” which STELA recertification “will help protect.” Larson sought permanent reauthorization, citing “lack of parity in the treatment of out-of-market licensing for cable and satellite providers.” The five industry groups said pro-buying group language, such as in the Modern Television Act (HR-3994), would give “buying groups used by smaller providers access to the same good faith protections afforded to large providers.” ITTA, the National Rural Electric Cooperative Association and WTA also signed the letter.

A moratorium on the use of facial recognition technology could have consequences for innovation, safety and security, industry groups wrote Congress Wednesday. CTA, NetChoice and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce were among those signing. They urged Congress to “collaborate with all stakeholders to address concerns raised by facial recognition technology and provide a consistent set of” U.S. rules. Four U.S. cities have such rules (see 1910160033).

The House Homeland Security Committee plans a Wednesday hearing on public-private partnerships to improve supply chain security. The panel follows House Communications Subcommittee interest last month in telecom sector supply chain security legislation (see 1909270063). Set to testify are: Department of Homeland Security Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency National Risk Management Center Assistant Director Bob Kolasky, Information and Technology Industry Council Vice President-Policy John Miller and USTelecom Senior Vice President-Cybersecurity Robert Mayer, the committee said. The hearing begins at 10 a.m. in 310 Cannon.

Amazon should stop working with contractors that “violate labor laws” and instead “promote standards that protect its drivers and ensure public safety,” three Democratic senators wrote CEO Jeff Bezos Thursday. Citing recent reports, Sens. Richard Blumenthal, Connecticut; Sherrod Brown, Ohio; and Elizabeth Warren, Massachusetts, accused Amazon of using delivery standards that impose “unfair and dangerous conditions upon the delivery companies and the drivers who deliver its packages.” The company’s network of third-party contractors allows it to circumvent Transportation Department “oversight and legal accountability for the treatment of drivers in its delivery network,” they wrote. They cited unsafe working conditions and accidents involving delivery contractors. The company didn’t comment.

House Commerce Committee Chairman Frank Pallone, D-N.J., and ranking member Greg Walden, R-Ore., led filing Tuesday of the Secure and Trusted Communications Networks Act (HR-4459), as expected (see 1909230068). House Communications Subcommittee Chairman Mike Doyle, D-Pa., and ranking member Bob Latta, R-Ohio, bowed their Studying How to Harness Airwave Resources Efficiently (Share) Act, also as expected. House Communications is expected to examine both measures during a Friday hearing on supply chain security and spectrum legislation (see 1909200058), to begin at 9:30 a.m. in 2123 Rayburn. The long-anticipated HR-4459 would require the FCC to establish the Secure and Trusted Communications Reimbursement Program to provide funding to small carriers to remove equipment originating from companies that may be a security risk, including Chinese equipment makers Huawei and ZTE. The measure would appropriate $1 billion to fund the program. Carriers with 2 million or fewer customers would qualify to receive the funding. It would also bar the use of federal funds to buy communications equipment or services from any company that's a national security risk to U.S. telecom networks. House Communications Vice Chair Doris Matsui, D-Calif., and Rep. Brett Guthrie, R-Ky., the Congressional Spectrum Caucus co-chairs, co-sponsored HR-4459. “This bipartisan legislation will protect our nation’s communications networks from foreign adversaries by helping small and rural wireless providers root-out suspect network equipment and replace it with more secure equipment,” said Guthrie, Matsui, Pallone and Walden in a statement. The Share Act is aimed in part at reasserting the existing roles the FCC and NTIA hold in managing and sharing federal spectrum. The bill's filing comes as House Commerce leaders push to jettison language in the Senate-passed FY 2020 National Defense Authorization Act (S-1790) that would tell DOD to work with the FCC and NTIA to establish a spectrum R&D program aimed at sharing among 5G technologies, federal and nonfederal incumbent systems (see 1906270051). Pallone and Walden are pushing (see 1909180048) to remove the language from the NDAA via a House-Senate conference working to marry elements of S-1790 and the House-passed NDAA (HR-2500). The Share Act would direct the FCC and NTIA to develop a plan for sharing the 7 GHz band and other frequencies between federal incumbents and commercial users. CTIA lauded Doyle and Latta for bowing the Share Act. Senior Vice President-Government Affairs Kelly Cole said the bill “reconfirms the U.S.’s longstanding process for managing and sharing federal spectrum assets is the right one.”

House Commerce Committee members are expected to file a trio of bills Tuesday in advance of a planned Friday House Communications Subcommittee hearing on supply chain and spectrum legislation (see 1909200058), communications sector lobbyists and officials told us. The Secure and Trusted Communications Networks Act is expected legislation (see 1909120003) being spearheaded by House Commerce Chairman Frank Pallone, D-N.J. It would provide funding to rural carriers to remove equipment originating from companies that may be a security risk, including Chinese equipment makers Huawei and ZTE, lobbyists said. The Studying How to Harness Airwave Resources Efficiently (Share) Act would direct the FCC and NTIA to come up with a plan for sharing the 7 GHz band between federal incumbents and commercial users, lobbyists and officials said. The bill envisions the two agencies creating a plan similar to that used for sharing the 3.5 GHz citizens broadband radio service band, officials said. The third bill focuses on promoting data sharing related to cybersecurity breaches of networks' security, officials said.

AT&T Executive Vice President-Federal Relations Tim McKone disputed NAB's characterization of DirecTV's pro-Satellite Television Extension and Localism Act reauthorization ads as “disingenuous at best, deceptive at worst” (see 1909120067). Top House and Senate Commerce Committee leaders appear to favor STELA renewal, but the issue has taken a backseat to other legislative priorities (see 1908050037 and 1909100064). “Contrary to your assertions, it is essential for Congress to renew” STELA, McKone said in a letter to NAB CEO Gordon Smith released Friday. “Absent renewal, 870,000 customers … could lose access to their network channels” in some cases because of broadcasters not providing them an over-the-air signal. Sans STELA “local broadcasters could more freely engage in blackouts that needlessly deprive customers their programming,” McKone said. He cited DirecTV subscribers' encounters with blackouts amid disagreements with broadcasters over retransmission agreement disputes. “That trend is simply unsustainable and expiration of the good-faith requirements” included in STELA “would make this bad situation worse,” McKone said. He also aimed to correct NAB's claim that DirecTV provides limited or no access to locally broadcast network stations in 12 markets (see 1903150045). In those markets DirecTV subscribers have access to local stations' terrestrial signals because AT&T gives them an antenna, McKone said. AT&T also gives subscribers in those markets a $3 discount on all packages.

Several House committee leaders said Friday they're optimistic about Facebook's willingness to cooperate in the chamber's ongoing probes involving the top social media platform, after meetings with CEO Mark Zuckerberg. Those talking with Zuckerberg Friday included House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., House Intelligence Committee Chairman Adam Schiff, D-Calif., and House Judiciary Committee leaders. Zuckerberg met with President Donald Trump and several senators Thursday (see 1909190072). Zuckerberg continued to decline to talk to reporters Friday. House Antitrust Subcommittee Chairman David Cicilline, D-R.I., told reporters Zuckerberg “made a commitment to cooperate with” the House Judiciary Committee's probe of tech sector antitrust (see 1906110072). Cicilline had criticized Facebook, Google and Amazon executives for being unprepared or evasive in answering questions during a July House Antitrust hearing (see 1907230055). “I look forward to [Zuckerberg's] cooperation," Cicilline said. “I take him at his word.” House Judiciary's investigation will include “document requests, requests for information, participation in a number of different ways,” Cicilline said. House Judiciary ranking member Doug Collins, R-Ga., was also optimistic about Zuckerberg's willingness to help, after an earlier meeting that also included McCarthy and House Commerce Committee ranking member Greg Walden, R-Ore. Zuckerberg was “appreciative” of some House Judiciary members' aim of gathering information instead of “coming at it from an angle of 'Here's what we have to solve,'” Collins said. “He wants to have his company be in business and do the things that they want to do, but he's also very sensitive to the notions of privacy and bias and other things that people have concerns about.” Schiff told reporters his meeting with Zuckerberg focused on election interference on Facebook. Zuckerberg “appreciates the gravity” of lawmakers' concerns about deep fakes, or false and misleading material like altered videos of politicians and others (see 1906130048), Schiff said. “I wanted to raise my profound concern about the issue of deepfake technology and how it might be used to disrupt” the 2020 presidential election. Facebook is “very aware of the threat that it poses,” Schiff said. “They are in the process of developing what I hope will be very strong policies on this.”

The House Communications Subcommittee rescheduled to Friday its postponed hearing on supply chain security and spectrum legislation (see 1909190044), the House Commerce Committee said. The panel will begin at 9:30 a.m. in 2123 Rayburn. It's expected to showcase a likely bill to help smaller carriers address equipment on their networks that may be a security risk (see 1909180031). House Commerce Chairman Frank Pallone, D-N.J., has been leading work on coming legislation expected to provide funding to rural carriers to remove equipment from Chinese equipment makers Huawei and ZTE (see 1909120003).

The House Commerce Committee said it's postponing the Communications Subcommittee's planned Tuesday hearing on supply chain security and spectrum legislation “due to a change in the House schedule.” Commerce didn't detail when it plans to reschedule. It was expected to showcase a likely bill to help smaller carriers address equipment on their networks that may be a security risk (see 1909180031). House Commerce Chairman Frank Pallone, D-N.J., has been leading work on coming legislation expected to provide funding to rural carriers to remove equipment from Chinese equipment makers Huawei and ZTE (see 1909120003).