The Senate Judiciary Committee voted 15-7 Thursday to send the Journalism Competition and Preservation Act (S-673) to the floor with an amendment from Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, that Republicans touted as a victory against Big Tech censorship.
The Senate Commerce Committee’s bipartisan kids’ privacy legislation doesn’t need any major amendments to pass, but sponsors are open to clarifying language about what companies and ages are covered, said Jamie Susskind, tech policy adviser to Sen. Marsha Blackburn, R-Tenn., Wednesday.
If the FTC finds Twitter CEO Parag Agrawal directly participated in data practices that violated a 2011 consent decree, the agency won’t hesitate to name him in a complaint, FTC Chair Lina Khan told members of the Senate Judiciary Committee during an oversight hearing Tuesday.
A federal judge questioned whether Facebook has monopolized the social media market, citing reports about hundreds of thousands of users leaving the platform. DOJ and New York Attorney General Letitia James (D) asked the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit to revive an antitrust lawsuit against parent company Meta (see 2208240027), filed by 48 states and territories. U.S. District Judge James Boasberg dismissed the case in June 2021 (see 2106280057), saying the states waited too long to file the claim.
A potential legislative proposal from Sens. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., and Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., that would create a new tech regulator (see 2209120059) is dividing the Senate.
The FTC voted 3-2 along party lines Thursday to issue a policy statement outlining enforcement priorities against unfair, deceptive and anticompetitive practices involving the gig economy. The commission also unanimously issued a staff report on dark patterns and a proposed rule against impersonation fraud.
TikTok has employees in Beijing as do many other global tech companies, TikTok Chief Operating Officer Vanessa Pappas told the Senate Homeland Security Committee during a hearing Wednesday.
The Senate Judiciary Committee hasn’t moved to subpoena testimony from Twitter CEO Parag Agrawal, committee leaders told reporters Tuesday. Their comments came after bipartisan concern over data security allegations about the platform during a hearing with a company whistleblower. Tuesday’s hearing confirms that allegations from whistleblower Peiter Zatko are “riddled with inconsistencies and inaccuracies,” a company spokesperson said in a statement.
Sens. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., and Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., are nearing agreement on legislation that would create a new consumer protection agency to regulate the tech industry, they confirmed with us.
Policymakers should remove special legal protections for tech platforms under Communications Decency Act Section 230, increase algorithm transparency and set clear data collection limits, the White House said Thursday, outlining principles for enhancing competition and tech accountability.