Senate Commerce Committee ranking member Maria Cantwell, D-Wash., and Senate Majority Whip John Thune, R-S.D., will be “very helpful” for striking consensus (see 1904300195) on a privacy bill that can gain the support of a “huge,” bicameral majority, Chairman Roger Wicker, R-Miss., told us. His comment came after a committee hearing with consumer advocates and a top EU data privacy enforcer, who offered legislators advice on legislative specifics.
Karl Herchenroeder
Karl Herchenroeder, Associate Editor, is a technology policy journalist for publications including Communications Daily. Born in Rockville, Maryland, he joined the Warren Communications News staff in 2018. He began his journalism career in 2012 at the Aspen Times in Aspen, Colorado, where he covered city government. After that, he covered the nuclear industry for ExchangeMonitor in Washington. You can follow Herchenroeder on Twitter: @karlherk
The voluntary approach to privacy, including IoT devices, has failed, and it’s time for government intervention to address this “crisis,” Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., said Tuesday, citing progress on legislation. During a Senate Security Subcommittee hearing, industry officials urged legislators to pass comprehensive privacy legislation. A National Institute of Standards and Technology official noted his agency is developing a federal baseline for core cyber capabilities of IoT devices.
Senate Commerce Committee ranking member Maria Cantwell, D-Wash., is joining her panel’s privacy working group (see 1904260039), extending membership to six, lobbyists told us. Cantwell’s involvement means the group will remain evenly split across party lines, with South Dakota Sen. John Thune adding to the Republican side. Cantwell’s office didn’t comment.
The FTC is under pressure after Facebook estimated it will lose $3 billion-$5 billion as a result of the FTC’s data privacy investigation (see 1904240064), but a fine in the billion-dollar range would be significant, some experts said in recent interviews. Ex-FTC Chief Privacy Officer Marc Groman noted he had estimated a penalty in the $300 million range when news of Cambridge Analytica initially broke.
Sen. Brian Schatz, D-Hawaii, is pushing the Senate Commerce Committee’s bipartisan privacy working group (see 1904040073) to include elements of his bill (see 1812120036) in its proposal, according to lobbyists. They said that’s one aspect complicating long-awaited negotiations among Chairman Roger Wicker, R-Miss., Sen. Jerry Moran, R-Kan., Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., and Schatz.
The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative included China for the 15th straight year on its priority watch list for intellectual property violations. USTR also elevated Saudi Arabia from the second-tier watch list and downgraded Canada and Colombia from priority to watch, in the annual special 301 report Thursday (see 1902080063).
It’s unnecessary for Maine to pass privacy legislation regulating ISPs because they’re subject to FTC enforcement, NCTA and CTIA representatives told state legislators Wednesday. A local ISP and consumer advocates urged lawmakers pass a bill prohibiting state broadband providers from using, sharing or selling access to state customer data without expressed consent. The Senate Energy, Utilities and Technology Committee considered legislation from Sen. Shenna Bellows (D).
Congress can strengthen the U.S. moral rights framework through legislative amendments and other changes, the Copyright Office said in its long-awaited report on attribution and integrity protections (see 1703300036). The office offered specific amendments for improving the framework, and listed copyright elements it believes are working well and shouldn’t be changed. It began a study in January 2017 of potential changes for protecting moral rights as defined in the Berne Convention (see 1701230061). Tuesday’s report is the first comprehensive look at the U.S. moral rights framework in 30 years.
Senate Commerce Committee lawmakers are eyeing the first week of May for a privacy hearing, lobbyists told us. This would be the third privacy-related hearing for members (see 1902270048 and 1903260068). One lobbyist said to expect the potential hearing to feature consumer groups, as the first two hearings were mostly industry-driven. The committee didn’t comment Friday.
There’s enough evidence for U.S. antitrust enforcers to investigate whether Facebook is undermining competition by leveraging its data against rivals, antitrust experts said. Bringing an actual case will be much more complicated, they added. One expert argued it’s unlikely the FTC or DOJ bring a case, given the ongoing Cambridge Analytica probe, other enforcement priorities and that a company is suing Facebook on anticompetitive grounds.