Tech company efforts to combat online terrorism faced skepticism at a Senate Commerce Committee hearing Wednesday, with some senators pressing for fuller explanations of technologies for identifying and removing extremist content. Chairman John Thune, R-N.D., told reporters the hearing was a “really good first step” and Facebook, YouTube and Twitter witnesses “were pretty responsive.” The committee will keep tracking the issue but doesn’t plan further action at the moment, Thune said: “We know how important these platforms are to extremist groups to recruit and radicalize folks that will commit violent acts against Americans, and we just want to make sure we’re staying on top of that issue.”
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:
Senate Commerce Committee ranking member Bill Nelson, D-Fla., helped begin the 2018 Senate session Wednesday by criticizing the FCC's “flawed” rulemaking process that led to commissioners' 3-2 vote last month to rescind 2015 net neutrality rules and related reclassification of broadband as a Communications Act Title II service. Sen. Ed Markey, D-Mass., said Tuesday he has almost enough support from colleagues to clear a procedural hurdle to allow a Senate vote on his planned Congressional Review Act resolution to undo the repeal. Markey and House Communications Subcommittee ranking member Mike Doyle, D-Pa., are expected to file the resolution once the order is promulgated (see 1712110050, 1712120037 and 1712140044). It could be released within days (see 1801030040).
President Donald Trump unveiled a U.S. national security strategy Monday that includes a commitment to “improve America’s digital infrastructure by deploying a secure 5G Internet capability nationwide.” A White House report on the strategy briefly mentions its 5G deployment proposal to “increase national competitiveness, benefit the environment, and improve our quality of life.” House Communications Subcommittee Chairman Marsha Blackburn, R-Tenn., said she's “encouraged to hear the president’s national security strategy includes a pledge to deploy 5G wireless services nationwide.” House Communications held a hearing on 5G last month amid discussions about a draft bill from Senate Commerce Committee Chairman John Thune, R-S.D., and Senate Communications Subcommittee ranking member Brian Schatz, D-Hawaii, that would encourage deployments by easing siting requirements (see 1710310057, 1711160058 and 1711240024). Lawmakers “will continue to work to unleash spectrum and support the development of 5G networks,” Blackburn said in a statement. “The 5G revolution is here, and I look forward to working alongside the administration to ensure America remains a leader in technology and innovation.” CTIA is “pleased” Trump’s strategy “acknowledges the critical importance of next-generation 5G wireless to maintaining America’s competitiveness,” said President Meredith Baker. “We are locked in a race with countries such as China and Russia to be the first to deploy 5G. To win this race we need government to make more spectrum available to industry and modernize the rules governing the deployment of wireless infrastructure.”
The World Telecommunication Development Conference in October in Bueno Aires "really laid in sharp relief" some challenges the U.S. faces in the ITU, with sizable pushes by several nations for a much bigger ITU role in managing the Internet, Steve Lang, acting director-multilateral affairs, State Department communication and information policy office, told International Telecommunication Advisory Committee (ITAC) members Thursday. Lang said the U.S. had some successes at WTDC-17 in areas such as broadband deployment, emergency deployment and connecting rural communities. There was a clear division about the ITU, with the U.S. and allies on one side and Russia, China and some developing nations on the other, he said.
Reston Translator, which broadcasts Russia-funded radio station Sputnik, registered as a foreign agent under the Foreign Agents Registration Act (FARA), said the FARA website. Reston Translator’s managing member John Garziglia, a broadcast attorney with Womble Bond, also had to file a registration form under a provision of the act that requires officers and directors of registered companies to do so. In the company’s registration statement, Garziglia argued DOJ was wrong to require registration. “Reston Translator LLC is not an agent, representative, employee, or servant, or any person who acts in any other capacity at the order, request, or under the direction or control, of a foreign principal,” the form said. “Reston Translator LLC does not qualify for registration under the Act, but is doing so at your direction. We do so because we have been directed to do so, not because it is required by the law.” Neither DOJ nor Garziglia commented.
It's unclear how much demand there will be for the growing number space launch facilities that are being established in the U.S., driven in part by the expected low earth orbit (LEO) satellite boom. "I characterize the next decade as the Roaring '20s," with capital markets supporting numerous launch businesses, showing optimism launch demand will be big, said Southwest Research Institute Chairman-Commercial Spaceflight Federation Alan Stern. Within a decade, there might be a modest increase in the number of launches per year, "but not dramatic growth," the one exception being expected sizable growth suborbital space activity like commercial manned spaceflight, countered Bryce Space and Technology analyst Phil Smith.
Senate Commerce Committee members interspersed bipartisan condemnations Wednesday of Equifax and Yahoo over the companies' major data breaches with a pointed discussion on contours of possible legislation aimed at curbing future incidents. Current and former executives from Equifax and Yahoo got a scolding over inability to prevent the tech break-ins and their responses. Equifax has faced scrutiny in both houses since revealing in September that criminals exploited a website application vulnerability from mid-May through July to access personal information, potentially exposing data of more than 143 million Americans (see 1709080019, 1709260021, 1709270004, 1710030034 and 1710040039). Yahoo, now part of Verizon's Oath, believes all of the 3 billion current and former users of its email service were exposed in a pair of 2013 and 2014 data breaches first disclosed in 2016 (see 1609220046).
Internet companies committed to providing more transparency in online political advertisements in response to pointed questions during a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing Tuesday on Russian disinformation campaigns during the 2016 elections. Lawyers for Facebook, Twitter and Google said they took steps to eradicate attempts by foreign actors to influence U.S. elections with online ads, and are fully cooperating with investigations. “Our commitment to solving this problem is unwavering,” said Colin Stretch, Facebook general counsel.
Facebook, Twitter and Google executives will testify at a Senate Intelligence Committee hearing Nov. 1 to explore Russia's interference in the 2016 U.S. elections and explore steps to mitigate similar activities in future elections, the committee announced Wednesday. Sens. Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn., Mark Warner, D-Va., and John McCain, R-Ariz., recently (see 1710190054) unveiled the Honest Ads Act (S-1989) to compel online companies to follow the same disclosure rules as media companies. Online companies are instituting their own measures in response to the increasing congressional focus (see 1710230061). Twitter announced a new ad transparency policy Tuesday, while Facebook announced Oct. 2 it would heighten transparency steps and increase requirements for authenticity.
The digital advertising community needs to adopt tighter controls for what goes on websites, said Interactive Advertising Bureau CEO Randall Rothenberg in testimony prepared for a Tuesday House Oversight IT Subcommittee hearing. There’s a “role” for government regulation and opportunities for the Federal Election Commission to update rules for today’s online communications, but “we believe that legislation alone will be unable to address the underlying need for greater transparency in the digital advertising industry” without trampling free speech, the testimony said.