Social Media
Bipartisan Alarm Over Social Media’s Harms to Children Prompts Slew of Proposed Legislation
Bills ranged from addressing intermediary liability to limiting personal data collection.
12 Days of Broadband
Legislators Discuss Banning TikTok Over Growing Security Concerns
The Senate recently passed a measure banning the app from government devices.
Big Tech
Big Tech Must Take More Hands-Off Approach to Content to Build Trust, Expert Says
Expert warns Big Tech must adopt hands-off approach to regain public trust.
Social Media
Josh Hawley Wants To Break Up Big Tech And Revisit How Antitrust Matters Are Considered
Senator Josh Hawley talks Section 230, antitrust reform, and the Capitol riots.
Antitrust
Google Grilled on Anticompetitive Digital Advertising Practices During Senate Subcommittee Hearing
September 16, 2020 — Both Republican and Democratic senators on Tuesday grilled a top Google official at a hearing just weeks before the U.S. Justice Department is expected to file an antitrust lawsuit against the search engine giant. Throughout the antitrust subcommittee hearing, senators focused o
Cybersecurity
Senate Committee Moves to Ban Government Employees from Using TikTok
July 24, 2020 — The Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs voted to bar federal employees from downloading Chinese social media app TikTok on government-issued devices, Reuters reported. The “No TikTok on Government Devices Act,” introduced by Sen. Josh Hawley, R-Mo., passed
Section 230
Section 230 Under Attack From the Right and the Left
June 26, 2020 — The debate over Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act spans a broad range of views, with some arguing that it essentially plays the same role as the First Amendment and others claiming that it wrongfully enables significant abuse. Speaking at a Yale Law School webinar on Thur
Section 230
Section 230 Executive Order Questioned by Federal Communications Commissioner Geoffrey Starks and Legal Experts
June 17, 2020 — “Section 230 is on fire in D.C.,” said Eric Goldman, professor at the Santa Clara University School of Law, at a Wednesday webinar hosted by the Information Technology & Innovation Foundation. Panelists on the webinar discussed President Donald Trump’s recent executive order regardin
broadband roundup
Coronavirus Roundup: Senators Tackle Children’s Online Privacy, Facebook Removes Conspiracy Theories, Broadband in Rural New Hampshire
May 11, 2020 — A bipartisan group of senators on Friday urged the Federal Trade Commission to launch an investigation into children’s data practices in the educational technology and digital advertising sectors. Sens. Edward J. Markey, D-Mass., Josh Hawley, R-Mo., Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., Bill C
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
Antitrust
Senators Continue to Grill Witnesses About Perceived Lack of Antitrust Enforcement Against Big Tech
WASHINGTON, September 25, 2019 – A Senate Judiciary subcommittee devoted to antitrust on Tuesday grilled witnesses about what appeared to a dearth of startups, and also expressed concern about a lack of antitrust enforcement. Determining which acquisitions are beneficial and which aren’t is not as e
Social Media
Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg Goes to Washington
WASHINGTON, September 19, 2019 — Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg will return to Capitol Hill for the first time since he appeared before Congress to answer questions about his company’s practices during the 2016 election. The trip is meant to enable Zuckerberg “to meet with policymakers and talk about
Antitrust
Who’s On First? Congress Upset With Wasteful and Petty Antitrust Squabbles Between Justice and FTC
WASHINGTON, September 17, 2019 – Congress on Tuesday put a spotlight on federal antitrust investigators scrutinizing Google and Facebook, as members of the Senate Judiciary Committee honed in on whether the Justice Department and the Federal Trade Commission were wasting efforts by investigating the
Free Speech
Part III: The GOP Wants to Kill the Fairness Doctrine, Then Applies It to the Internet
WASHINGTON, August 21, 2019 — Questions of political neutrality and social media bias have been at the forefront of the ongoing debate over the Communications Decency Act’s Section 230. Some of these claims are frequently compared to another controversial law: The Fairness Doctrine. “The idea that g
House of Representatives
Bipartisan Committee Leadership Calls to Remove Tech Immunity From U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement
WASHINGTON, August 6, 2019 — The United States should be cautious about including language similar to the Communication Decency Act’s Section 230 in trade agreements, wrote two members of the House Energy & Commerce Committee in a letter to U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer. Article 19.17
Section 230
Sen. Josh Hawley Speaks to the Snapchat Generation, Babysitting Them With 30 Minutes a Day on Social Media
WASHINGTON, August 1, 2019 — Sen. Josh Hawley, R-Mo., took the stage at the National Conservative Student Conference on Wednesday to thunderous applause and dozens of phones held in the air to capture his entry on Snapchat and Instagram. But Hawley, the youngest member of the Senate, is no friend to
