Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., said Thursday he hopes the chamber will pass the FY 2022 omnibus appropriations package that includes funding increases for the FCC, FTC, NTIA and other tech-related federal agencies (see 2203090068). The House voted 361-69 Wednesday to pass part the measure, filed as an amendment to shell bill HR-2471, that included funding for NTIA, other Commerce Department agencies, the DOJ Antitrust Division and the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency. The chamber voted 260-171 to pass other parts of the HR-2471 amendment, including funding for the FCC and FTC. The omnibus would give the FCC $381.95 million and the FTC $376.5 million. NTIA would get $50 million, the Patent Office $4.06 billion, the National Institute of Standards and Technology $1.23 billion, and the Bureau of Industry and Security $141 million. BIS would also get a separate $22 million allocation to “respond to” Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. CISA would get $2.59 billion and DOJ Antitrust $192.78 million. CPB would get $525 million annually beginning in FY 2024. The omnibus hadn’t reached the Senate Thursday afternoon because House clerks were still processing the measure. “Once this bill arrives at the Senate, Republicans must work with Democrats to pass the bill as soon as possible, hopefully tonight,” Schumer said in a floor speech: “There’s every reason in the world to believe we can arrive at a path forward quickly.” Senate Majority Whip John Thune, R-S.D., told reporters Thursday there were “better than even” odds the chamber would pass the measure that night but cautioned a speedy process depends on Democrats allowing votes on four GOP amendments. If talks continue into Friday, Senate leaders may choose to move on a House-passed continuing resolution (House Joint Resolution 75) to extend federal funding through Tuesday. An existing CR to fund the government expires Friday night. Sen. Brian Schatz, D-Hawaii, touted the inclusion of language from his Creating Opportunities Now for Necessary and Effective Care Technologies for Health Act (HR-2903/S-1512) in the omnibus that would extend for 151 days a waiver of geographic restrictions on access to telehealth services and several other temporary rules changes allowing expanded use of the technology made during the COVID-19 pandemic. The full HR-2903/S-1512 would permanently end those restrictions (see 2110080002). “While this extension is helpful, these changes should be made permanent” by separately passing HR-2903/S-1512, Schatz said.
Russia export controls and sanctions
The use of export controls and sanctions on Russia has surged since the country's invasion of Crimea in 2014, and especially its invasion of Ukraine in in February 2022. Similar export controls and sanctions have been imposed by U.S. allies, including the EU, U.K. and Japan. The following is a listing of recent articles in Export Compliance Daily on export controls and sanctions imposed on Russia:
The House was set to vote late Wednesday on an FY 2022 omnibus appropriations package that includes funding increases for the FCC, FTC, NTIA and other tech-related federal agencies. Preliminary votes on the measure, filed as an amendment to shell bill HR-2471, hadn't happened by our deadline as chamber leaders worked out a deal to cut COVID-19 aid language from the measure after some members objected earlier in the day. The chamber was also expected to vote on a short-term continuing resolution (House Joint Resolution 75) to extend federal funding through Tuesday in a bid to give the Senate extra time to also consider HR-2471. The current CR would otherwise expire Friday night.
EU officials agreed Wednesday to help keep Ukraine's telecom services operational and provide IT equipment to allow its government to continue functioning, the French Presidency announced. Telecom ministers urged private sector companies that can to provide the needed equipment. Officials also stepped up the fight against disinformation, saying online platforms, particularly social media companies, "have a decisive role to play in this area." All 27 EU countries urged tech companies to take additional voluntary actions to combat online disinformation and information manipulation. They also noted that while the telecommunications sector is one of the most advanced in cyberthreat preparedness, the Body of European Regulators for Electronic Communications and the EU Agency for Cybersecurity should identify the risks jeopardizing communications networks and infrastructure and determine how to make them more resilient. Officials also agreed to accelerate work on revising the network and information security directive. Meanwhile, the European Parliament published a report that criticized the bloc for its "general lack of awareness of the severity of foreign interference and information manipulation, overwhelmingly carried out by Russia and China," which is "exacerbated by loopholes in legislation and insufficient coordination" among EU members.
President Joe Biden signed an executive order Wednesday outlining a national policy on digital assets and directing agencies to explore a U.S. central bank digital currency. Democrats welcomed the news, highlighting crypto-related financial inclusion issues and risks associated with the technology like money laundering. Republicans took a pro-innovation stance, urging Congress to pass legislation to avoid anti-innovation policies.
Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and the punitive sanctions levied against Moscow will drive a “steep decline” in information and communications tech spending in both countries, followed by “slow recovery” in both, reported IDC Monday in a “first take” analysis on how the crisis likely will weigh on the global tech sector. It predicts the worldwide impact on ICT spending “will be somewhat limited” for now, it said. Russia and Ukraine combined generate only 5.5% of all ICT spending in Europe and 1% worldwide, said IDT. But the “likely impact” from the crisis on trade, supply chains, capital flows and energy prices “will affect the global economy on a broader scale with negative consequences for both the regional and worldwide ICT market,” it said.
WWE terminated its partnership with the Russian federal sports channel Match TV and shut down Russian access to the WWE Network subscription-based streaming service, effective immediately, announced the media company Thursday, without specifically mentioning Russia’s Ukraine invasion. The action “eliminates access in Russia” to all WWE programming, including all “premium live” events, it said. The company didn’t respond to questions about the financial implications of its decision.
Spotify closed its office in Russia “indefinitely,” saying Wednesday it’s “deeply shocked and saddened by the unprovoked attack on Ukraine.” Spotify’s team reviewed “thousands of pieces of content since the start of the war," the company said, and has restricted discoverability of shows owned and operated by Russian state-affiliated media. It also removed all RT and Sputnik content from Spotify in the EU and other markets and launched a guide (login required) to provide users with “trusted news” on Ukraine from digital sources including BBC World Service, the New York Times and the Wall Street Journal. It plans to keep its service operational in Russia “to allow for the global flow of information.” The streaming music service is providing individual support to its people in the region and its Ukrainian employees globally, it said.
Russia, under growing pressure internationally since its invasion of Ukraine, is also taking hits at the ITU. Industry officials said it's not a sure thing, but U.S. candidate Doreen Bogdan-Martin’s chances of being elected ITU secretary-general are likely enhanced because her opponent is Russian nominee Rashid Ismailov (see 2201310055). Gerald Gross was the last American to hold that job, from 1960 to 1965. Bogdan-Martin would be first woman to be elected to the top spot at the ITU.
European operators are barred from broadcasting Russian state-sponsored media outlets Russia Today and Sputnik, effective immediately, the European Council said Wednesday. Officials adopted a regulation Tuesday prohibiting operators from broadcasting, facilitating or otherwise contributing to broadcast any content by the listed organizations, "including through transmission or distribution by any means such as cable, IP-TV, internet service providers, internet video-sharing platforms or applications, whether new or pre-installed." Meanwhile, Ukraine pressed ICANN to close down Russian top-level domains (TLDs).
European telcos and internet companies are acting to help Ukraine after the Russian invasion, they said this week. EU Internal Market Commissioner Thierry Breton discussed the need to counter Russian state-sponsored disinformation with Netflix CEO Reed Hastings, who confirmed the company won't comply with new Russian obligations to stream 20 federal TV stations, according to a European Commission readout of the Tuesday call. The European Telecommunications Network Operators Association said Monday its members "are rolling out measures to ease communications and support people in distress." Measures so far include free international calls to Ukraine; free Wi-Fi in refugee camps; and distribution of SIM cards to refugees arriving in neighboring countries. For the time being, the war isn't likely to have a significant impact on European telcos or ISPs, emailed telecom consultant Innocenzo Genna: COVID-19 has been much more disruptive because of the increased traffic and the disruption of maintenance/repair supply chains. But he told us some European telecom operators may now face uncertainties when dealing with Russian clients such as carriers, banks and corporations: Can they continue to trade with them? Will the payment system supporting contracts continue? Is there an embargo on the horizon? The most important concern now is cyberwarfare, Genna said. Attacks may become more frequent and Russia itself is under attack by Anonymous. Western companies are realizing they may have a digital sovereignty problem with Russian services and products: The most controversial are Telegram (messaging) and Kaspersky (anti-filter). The latter, commonly used by European companies and public bodies, now risks being banned, he said. An ICANN spokesperson confirmed it received a letter from Ukraine asking it to ban Russia from the domain name system. The letter wasn't available on the ICANN website.