The House Foreign Affairs Committee cleared the Combat Terrorist Use of Social Media Act (HR-3654) Wednesday on a voice vote. The bill would require the Obama administration to develop a more “comprehensive strategy” to counter foreign terrorist groups’ use of social media and to enhance “the exchange of information and dialogue” between the federal government and social media companies on terrorists’ social media usage. The State Department’s “current strategy of countering ISIS and other terrorist groups online obviously isn’t working,” said Rep. Brad Sherman, D-Calif., one of HR-3654’s lead sponsors. He said Facebook, Twitter and Google's YouTube “have a responsibility to make sure their platforms aren’t being used by terrorists.” Rep. Ted Poe, R-Texas, HR-3654’s other lead sponsor, credited Facebook and YouTube with doing a “pretty good job of bringing down” terrorist-related content, but noted less satisfaction with Twitter’s response. Companies’ efforts to take down terrorist content “won’t work effectively if [the State Department] isn’t identifying the bad content,” Sherman said. “The only thing worse than whack-a-mole is to not whack the moles.” House Foreign Affairs’ approval of HR-3654 came a day after Senate Intelligence Committee leaders reintroduced the Requiring Reporting of Online Terrorist Activity Act, which would require tech companies to report such activity to law enforcement agencies. The bill’s text had previously been part of Senate Intelligence’s annual intelligence authorization bill but was later removed (see 1512080070).

The U.S. “must ensure that those with bad intent do not enter our country,” Michael Petricone, Consumer Technology Association senior vice president-government and regulatory affairs, emailed us Wednesday, a day after the House overwhelmingly passed legislation (HR-158) to tighten restrictions on the nation’s visa waiver program in wake of the Paris and San Bernardino, California, terrorist attacks. But clamping down on U.S. visa policies shouldn't negate the need for immigration reform for the high-skilled, Petricone said. “We must enable high-skilled immigrants to enter the United States and create new jobs and businesses,” he said. “This is not a zero-sum issue -- we can and we must do both. We urge Congress to ensure that security fears do not prevent us from admitting the next generation of qualified immigrant innovators who will build our nation and economy.” The association long ago identified high-skilled immigration reform as a top legislative priority. "Everyone agrees we need highly skilled immigration reform," when 70 percent of those earning post-graduate engineering and math degrees are from foreign countries, "and we’re kicking them out," CTA President Gary Shapiro told us immediately after the 2014 midterm elections (see 1411050022).

Correction: What CTA Government Affairs Director Jamie Boone said on the Electronic Communications Privacy Act Amendments Act of 2015 (S-356) was that the Consumer Technology Association supports the bill, but hasn't taken a position on the Law Enforcement Access to Data Stored Abroad Act (S-512) (see 1512030036).

Reps. Bob Latta, R-Ohio, and Gene Green, D-Texas, are happy the set-top box integration ban is gone as of Friday (see 1512020050), they said in a joint blog post for The Hill that day. The lawmakers had introduced such a sunset measure last Congress and it was ultimately included in the satellite TV reauthorization law. “While its intention at the time may have been good, the integration ban has been a flop, even in the FCC’s judgment,” they said. “Most consumers chose to continue leasing set-top boxes from cable operators which they can return or upgrade when they wish.” They lauded the bipartisan work in ending the ban in the last Congress. “Well said,” tweeted NCTA Chairman Michael Powell of the piece. NCTA had lobbied heavily for ending the ban.

Rep. Joe Barton, R-Texas, and Sen. Ed Markey, D-Mass., wrote VTech Wednesday, asking the supplier of children's learning toys to provide information about its data protection, collection, use and sharing practices after last week's announcement that hackers stole potentially more than 11 million customer and children's records worldwide, including those of 5 million Americans (see 1512010041). "This breach raises a number of concerns about how VTech complies with COPPA [the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act],” they said in the letter to VTech Chairman and Group CEO Allan Wong Chi Yun. Barton and Markey asked how VTech protects customer data, such as whether it uses encryption, what steps it's taking to prevent future breaches, and what type of theft monitoring services it's offering to those affected by the breach. The lawmakers gave VTech until Jan. 8 to respond. The company did not comment. In a news release about the letter, Markey and Barton, both co-founders of the Congressional Privacy Caucus, also said they, along with Sen. Mark Kirk, R-Ill., and Rep. Bobby Rush, D-Ill., introduced the Do Not Track Kids Act (HR-2734, S-1563) in June that would update COPPA "by expanding and enhancing rules for the collection, use and disclosure of children's personal information."

Several senators urged the FCC to kick off a rulemaking to ensure consumers can use whatever set-top box they choose. Ed Markey, D-Mass., led the letter, also signed by Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., a presidential contender; Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn.; Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass.; and others. “We strongly encourage the Commission to ensure that this replacement technology is cheap, efficient, widely available and easy to use,” the senators said in the letter, dated Monday. “The goal of this technology should be to usher in a new wave of innovation in the set top box marketplace, giving consumers a greater number of cheaper options to buy their own set top boxes.” They request that Chairman Tom Wheeler respond by Dec. 4 with his plans.

The FCC should expand eligibility criteria for the Lifeline program to specify that any person who receives telecom equipment from a state equipment distribution program be automatically eligible for Lifeline funds, Odin Mobile General Manager Robert Felgar said he told Consumer and Governmental Affairs and Wireline bureau staff. Felgar was accompanied by Zainab Alkebsi, policy counsel to the National Association of the Deaf, said a filing by Odin posted Tuesday in docket 09-197. “We discussed how budget phones provided by eligible telecommunications carriers to Lifeline consumers would not meet the needs of individuals with disabilities, including people who are blind, deaf, hard of hearing, or those who have mobility disabilities,” Odin said. “Such phones would not provide adequate screen readers for people who are blind and would likely not have the ability to provide adequate Video Relay Services or captioned telephone services for people who are deaf or hard of hearing. As a result, people with disabilities will not be able to partake fully in the Lifeline program.”

The LPTV Spectrum Rights Coalition believes the selection of Rep. Paul Ryan, R-Wis., to the House speakership will mean “no more backroom deals with leadership only, and any member can offer an amendment,” it said in a message last week. The coalition weighed Ryan’s possible interest in spectrum and low-power TV issues. “Wisconsin has three Class A's, of which, two have opening bids totaling more than $150 million combined,” the coalition said of the FCC incentive auction. “Wisconsin also has about 62 LPTV and TV translators. Nationally, there are more than 7500 licenses and permits, so we are talking about less than 1% of them in Wisconsin. But heck, the new Speaker is a policy wonk and numbers guy. He will look at anything which can bring down the deficit, and our proposed LPTV and TV translator voluntary spectrum rights buyback in 2016 and auction in 2023 does exactly that. And now that the new Budget Deal includes a federal spectrum auction in 2023-2025, why not LPTV and translators spectrum?” Coalition chief Mike Gravino has discussed such a legislative proposal with Capitol Hill offices, including senior staffers for House Communications Subcommittee Chairman Greg Walden, R-Ore. (see 1510150066). The coalition’s website seeks donations for its legislative goals. “We need to raise $100k to support the research and advocacy of a new bill for LPTV and TV translators,” the coalition said. “We want a share of the now $23 billion which the AWS-3 auction valued our spectrum at.” The coalition asks potential donors to help it “go on the offense” with its legislation.

The House Courts, Intellectual Property and Internet Subcommittee scheduled a hearing on international data flows and the promotion of digital trade at 1 p.m. Tuesday, the office of Judiciary Committee Chairman Bob Goodlatte, R-Va., said in a news release Thursday. Witnesses include Information Technology and Innovation Foundation President Rob Atkinson, BSA|The Software Alliance CEO Victoria Espinel, Computer and Communications Industry Association CEO Ed Black, and Mark MacCarthy, Software and Information Industry Association senior vice president-public policy.

CEA President Gary Shapiro hailed the election of Rep. Paul Ryan, R-Wis., as House speaker on the grounds that Ryan can “help grow our economy by advancing policies that promote our nation's leadership in technological innovation.” CEA urges Ryan “to work with House members to prioritize legislation that will encourage innovation, entrepreneurship and a vibrant free-market system,” Shapiro said Thursday in a statement. “We urge action and legislation restricting patent trolls, encouraging free trade, investing in infrastructure, allowing online taxation to equalize the playing field for brick-and-mortar retailers, reducing the national debt and expanding wireless broadband." The consumer tech industry contributes more than $285 billion a year to the U.S. economy, yet “many of the businesses driving this growth face government-imposed roadblocks due to outdated rules,” he said.