U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer declined to testify at an Oct. 16 hearing (see 1910070031) on Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act, the House Commerce Committee said Thursday. As the committee explores the statute’s consumer protection implications, “it’s extremely disappointing” Lighthizer “would refuse” to testify on the “inclusion of similar language in trade agreements,” a committee spokesperson said. The hearing would have been an “opportunity for him to explain” how such language in trade agreements “benefits Americans in light of consumers’ growing concerns about the health of the internet.” USTR didn’t comment.
Section 230
An Oct. 16 joint subcommittee hearing on Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act (see 1909260041 and 1910070031) is set for 10 a.m. in 2123 Rayburn, the House Commerce Committee announced Wednesday.
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House Commerce Committee Chairman Frank Pallone, D-N.J., invited U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer to testify at an Oct. 16 hearing (see 1909260041) on Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act. Pallone and ranking member Greg Walden, R-Ore., wrote USTR in August asking Lighthizer to not include Section 230-like protections in trade deals, given ongoing policy discussions about the tech industry's liability shield. “It’s important for the Committee to hear directly from Ambassador Lighthizer about how these provisions may affect the ability of the United States and our trading partners to enforce existing laws or write new ones,” said Pallone. USTR didn't comment.
Sen. Marsha Blackburn, R-Tenn., plans to visit Silicon Valley and meet with companies to better understand their algorithms and operations, she told C-SPAN's The Communicators to have been televised Saturday. Her office declined to provide specifics when we asked Friday. Congress should protect important provisions in Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act for smaller companies and new entrants, she said, but the tech industry’s content liability shield deserves a review from Congress. Whether large platforms like Facebook and Google deserve to keep those protections should be part of the broader discussion, she said. Blackburn suggested ISPs would be “well-served” to scrutinize unmoderated platforms like 8chan and review the information originating from those outlets. The 50 state attorneys general investigating Google and nine states probing Facebook reflect the frustration from consumers and small businesses within their states, she said: “They feel as if they have the right to move forward, and indeed they do.” Competition is a topic the Senate Judiciary Committee Task Force, which the legislator leads, will address early next year, Blackburn said. She’s heard anecdotal evidence that smaller companies like Yelp are stifled by incumbents like Google. The task force learned there’s agreement Congress needs to get a privacy law with one set of rules and one regulator, she said. It’s important to establish a basic, simple standard for privacy, and Congress can add and amend as needed, she said: Consumers need to know their privacy rights are protected.
Some House Commerce subcommittees plan a hearing Oct. 16 on corporate responsibility online, consumer protection and Communications Decency Act Section 230. It will "explore whether online companies are appropriately using the tools they have ... to foster a healthier Internet,” said committee Chairman Frank Pallone, D-N.J.; Communications Subcommittee Chairman Mike Doyle, D-Pa.; and Consumer Protection Subcommittee Chair Jan Schakowsky, D-Ill., in a statement.
House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., will host a meeting with Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg Friday, House Commerce Committee ranking member Greg Walden, R-Ore., told us Thursday. Zuckerberg had dinner Wednesday with Sen. Mark Warner, D-Va., and other senators, and Thursday meetings with Sens. Mike Lee, R-Utah, and Josh Hawley, R-Mo., among other visits. Walden told us he plans to attend the meeting with McCarthy and others, saying he favors Congress taking a hard look at Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act. Tech platforms are in a difficult position being told not to act as editors and publishers and to moderate content, Walden said.
It’s unlikely Congress will pass legislation altering Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act, Senate Commerce Committee Chairman Roger Wicker, R-Miss., told reporters Wednesday. “If I could wave a magic wand, I might make nuanced changes, but I think realistically you’re not going to see a statute passed changing that section anytime soon. Considering what it takes to get a bill passed and signed into law.”
Introducing a privacy bill bilaterally with Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., separate from the Senate Commerce Committee working group, is a “thought,” Sen. Jerry Moran, R-Kan., told reporters Thursday. After the group’s apparent fracturing, focus shifted (see 1908010043) to bilateral negotiations between Chairman Roger Wicker, R-Miss., and ranking member Maria Cantwell, D-Wash. But Moran and Blumenthal are continuing their own talks, though Blumenthal claims the group is moving forward as one.
Google will pay $170 million to settle allegations that YouTube illegally collected personal data from children without parental consent, the FTC said Wednesday in a 3-2 party line vote.