Social Media
Senate Commerce Committee Passes Two Bills To Protect Children Online
The bills failed to make headway in a previous Congress.
Section 230
Congress Should Amend Section 230, Senate Subcommittee Hears
Experts urged Congress to amend tech protection law to limit protection for the promotion of harmful information.
Online Harms Bill, Google Changes Privacy on Phones, New CEO at Conexon Connect
The online harms bill comes after Facebook whistleblower testimony and lawmakers calling for more online protections for children.
Online Sexual Abuse Bill, Internet Freedom at Olympics, Washington Nationals Crypto Deal
A Senate Judiciary bill is facing industry criticism on its effectiveness.
Broadband's Impact
Controversy Over Gigi Sohn’s Involvement With Locast Continues to Plague Nomination
Sohn decided to recuse herself after controversy surrounding her service as a board member of the group operating Locast.
FCC
Senators, Citing Funding Influx, Press Need to Confirm Rosenworcel
Senators pointed to FCC’s initiatives on mapping, which will need to be good to maximize federal funds for broadband.
Social Media
Social Media Companies Noncommittal on Bipartisan Calls for Changes to Content Regulation
Platform representatives did not commit to legislation that would increase online protections for kids.
Privacy
Advocates Push For Higher Age Privacy Threshold As COPPA Proposal Hits Senate
Advocates want age 13 and over for privacy protection as Senate sees COPPA reform proposal.
Big Tech
Republican Communications Commissioners Decline to Support Additional Broadband Funding, Also Blast Big Tech
June 24, 2020 — The Federal Communications Commission needs increased funding of an unknown amount for its broadband subsidy projects, said Comissioners Michael O’Rielly and Brendan Carr in a Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation hearing Wednesday. When Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D
Net Neutrality
Senators Criticize AT&T for Apparently Favoring HBO Max by Not Counting Streaming Against Data Caps
June 4, 2020 — Sens. Ed Markey, D-Mass., Ron Wyden, D-Ore., and Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., penned a letter to AT&T CEO Randall Stephenson, rebuking him for not counting HBO Max usage against users’ monthly data caps. AT&T owns HBO, a relationship the senators claimed violates the company’s stated
Coronavirus Roundup: Senators Question Google on Privacy, UTOPIA CEO on Fiber’s Inevitability, NCTA’s COVID19 Dashboard
Sens. Edward Markey, D-Mass., and Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., on Tuesday asked Google for information about the company’s recently announced COVID-19 Community Mobility Reports. Google describes the project as an aggregated and anonymized form of providing insight into movement trends related to th
Antitrust
Broadband Roundup: Bill Aims to Make Social Media Interoperable, Colorado Drops T-Mobile Lawsuit, Indian Country Very Unconnected
Sens. Mark Warner, D-Va., Josh Hawley, R-Mo., and Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., on Tuesday introduced the Augmenting Compatibility and Competition by Enabling Service Switching Act, Public Knowledge reports. The bill would provide interoperability for social media users, promoting competition and ena
Big Tech
Facebook Data Breach is Putting Social Networking and Dating Apps in the Cross-Hairs of Congress
WASHINGTON, April 5, 2018 — As Facebook users continue to learn more about how the social networking pioneer allowed third parties to gain access to contact information, lists of friends, interests, and other information, the companies behind another social networking app are beginning to face scrut
Europe
Google Exonerated of Data Violations in UK
WASHINGTON, July 29, 2010 – Following an investigation of Google’s unauthorized Wi-Fi data collection, UK data protection authorities announced that the telecom giant had not done real damage.
