Meta should stop intentionally evading children’s privacy law by knowingly collecting data of users younger than 13 without consent, Sens. Ed Markey, D-Mass., and Bill Cassidy, R-La., wrote CEO Mark Zuckerberg on Tuesday. Citing findings in a lawsuit from more than 30 state attorneys general, the lawmakers wrote that Meta in 2015 allegedly collected data on underage users, “even after receiving reports that the users were children.” Platforms must obtain parental consent before collecting data on users younger than 13 under the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act. The states’ complaint cited internal Meta documents estimating “that four million users on Instagram were under age 13, making up 30 percent of all children between 10 and 12 years old” in the U.S. Meta didn’t comment.

Sens. Ed Markey, D-Mass., and Marsha Blackburn, R-Tenn., want the FCC to “move swiftly to permit” sharing in the 12.2-12.7 GHz band as part of the Further NPRM it opened in May (see 2305180052). A Dish-commissioned analysis of the band submitted last month found providers can offer fixed-wireless service in the lower 12 GHz band without causing interference to satellite operations (see 2311160032). The FCC “has a unique near-term opportunity to expand broadband access, improve the distribution of spectrum resources, and put our spectrum to its most efficient use, especially in rural areas of the country,” Markey and Blackburn said in a letter to FCC Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel released Monday. “If the Commission determines that fixed broadband operations can coexist in the 12.2-12.7 GHz band without interfering with incumbent users, the Commission should move swiftly to permit such use, particularly as the federal government deploys additional resources to close the digital divide.” The FCC “can do this by updating twenty-year old rules for the band to account for new technological advances, which can make sharing possible, and considering the creation of a sharing framework to permit local access to unused spectrum channels in this band; ensuring tribes have adequate spectrum access in the band; and potentially authorizing low-power, indoor-only unlicensed use of the band,” the lawmakers said.

President Joe Biden should reverse U.S. Trade Representative Katherine Tai’s decision to abandon digital trade provisions at the World Trade Organization, a bipartisan group of 32 senators wrote in a letter to the president Thursday (see 2311160079). Senate Finance Committee Chair Ron Wyden, D-Ore., and ranking member Mike Crapo, R-Idaho, led the effort with 30 other senators. This follows a similar request from a bipartisan group of House members. “Retreating from our longstanding principles without offering a viable alternative does not help U.S. workers, it does not help U.S. consumers, it does not help U.S. businesses, and it does not help U.S. allies; it only helps our adversaries,” they wrote. The White House and USTR didn’t comment.

The CEOs of Meta, X, TikTok, Snap and Discord will discuss their “failure to protect children online” during a Jan. 31 hearing, the Senate Judiciary Committee announced Wednesday (see 2311200054). Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg and TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew voluntarily agreed to testify, the committee said. X CEO Linda Yaccarino, Snap CEO Evan Spiegel and Discord CEO Jason Citron agreed to testify after the committee issued subpoenas to their companies. Several companies “griped about not getting an invitation” to a previous hearing on the topic, Chairman Dick Durbin, D-Ill., said in a joint statement with ranking member Lindsey Graham, R-S.C. “We promised them that their time would come.” However, when the committee initially contacted companies about the hearing, there was an “outright” refusal from some of them to make their CEOs available, the lawmakers said: “They finally are being forced to acknowledge their failures when it comes to protecting kids. Now that all five companies are cooperating, we look forward to hearing from their CEOs. Parents and kids demand action.”

Santa Clara County, California, Supervisor Joe Simitian (D), who was active on distracted driving, privacy and surveillance issues as a state senator, said Wednesday he’s running to succeed retiring House Communications Subcommittee senior member Rep. Anna Eshoo, D-Calif. Eshoo announced last week she wasn’t running for reelection in 2024 (see 2311210073). She is one of seven House Commerce Committee members who have announced their retirement. Simitian’s announcement didn’t highlight his telecom and privacy legislative work. He authored a Santa Clara County surveillance transparency ordinance (see 1609090061) and in 2017 aided work on similar state-level legislation (see 1703140017) by Sen. Jerry Hill (D) that stalled in the California legislature. Simitian, while a state senator, pressed for legislation that would hike fines for using a cellphone while driving (see 1002260137). He also pressed for changes to California’s data breach notification law (see 0903100129).

Reauthorizing the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act and its “mass spying program” under Section 702 “without going through the full legislative process and robust debate betrays the public’s trust,” the American Civil Liberties Union said in a statement Monday. The organization reiterated its opposition with 30 other advocacy groups (see 2311130039). “If congressional leadership includes an extension that allows Section 702 to continue to operate beyond April 2024” without changes, the ACLU “will have no choice but to oppose the NDAA and score the vote,” it said.

The House Judiciary Oversight Subcommittee plans a Thursday hearing to examine FTC and other federal agencies’ compliance with Judiciary Committee document requests and subpoenas. The FTC in August said it was following federal laws for maintaining its records amid concerns raised by House Judiciary Chairman Jim Jordan of Ohio and two other Hill Republican leaders that the agency was impeding Jordan’s oversight requests (see 2308170041). FTC Chair Lina Khan earlier claimed House Judiciary aides were trying to harass agency staff via document requests (see 2307270044). FTC Congressional Relations Office Director Jeanne Bumpus will testify for the agency during the hearing, which will also examine the State Department and FBI. The hearing will begin at 2 p.m. in 2141 Rayburn.

Incompas CEO Chip Pickering praised House Communications Subcommittee member Rep. Anna Eshoo, D-Calif., for her longtime role in communications policymaking following the lawmaker's announcement that she won’t seek reelection in 2024 (see 2311210073). “I had the honor of serving in Congress with” Eshoo “and to say she will be missed is an understatement,” said Pickering, a Republican who served on House Communications with Eshoo. “Her time in Congress was marked by three decades of tirelessly advocating for her constituents in California, and pushing forward bipartisan policies that have shaped our telecommunications history and paved the way forward for its future. Even after my time with her in the halls of Congress, we remained friends and worked together to continue to advance America's position as the global leader in technology and work to ensure Internet for All.” Eshoo is one of seven House Commerce Committee members who have announced they won’t be seeking reelection next year. The others: Lisa Blunt Rochester, D-Del.; Michael Burgess, R-Texas; Tony Cardenas, D-Calif.; Bill Johnson, R-Ohio; Debbie Lesko, R-Ariz.; and John Sarbanes, D-Md. Cardenas is the only other sitting House Communications member who’s retiring.

DOJ should publicly release unclassified documents about the “Hemisphere” phone surveillance program, which lets agencies surveil “trillions of U.S. phone records,” often without warrant, Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., wrote Attorney General Merrick Garland on Monday. Wyden cited public records showing the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy “indirectly pays AT&T to allow any federal, state, local or Tribal law enforcement agency to search AT&T customers’ phone records as far back as 1987.” DOJ has marked unclassified documents related to the program as “law enforcement sensitive,” he said. “I have serious concerns about the legality of this surveillance program, and the materials provided by the DOJ contain troubling information that would justifiably outrage many Americans and other members of Congress.” DOJ confirmed receiving the letter but declined comment.

TikTok is becoming a “mouthpiece” for antisemitic and terrorist propaganda under the influence of the Chinese government, House Republicans wrote the platform's CEO Shou Zi Chew Tuesday. House Commerce Committee Chair Cathy McMorris Rodgers, R-Wash., led the effort with House Communications Subcommittee Chairman Buddy Carter, R-Ga, and more than a dozen members. They cited statistics showing American users in the 18-24 age range are engaging widely with content backing Hamas following its Oct. 7 attack on Israel. According to TikTok statistics, the “hashtag ‘#freepalestine’ received 946 million views in the last 30 days, while ‘#standwithIsrael’ received only 55 million,” they wrote. They’re seeking answers about influence from Chinese-owned parent company ByteDance and tools used to amplify content. “Since this terrorist attack, disinformation related to the conflict has run rampant on your platform, stoking antisemitism, support, and sympathy for Hamas,” they wrote. TikTok didn't comment.