Senate Homeland Security Committee leaders said they’re interested in pursuing a major overhaul of the federal government’s cyberattack response process following the Russia-linked SolarWinds hack and other recent incidents, during a Thursday hearing. Panel Chairman Gary Peters, D-Mich., and ranking member Rob Portman, R-Ohio, also want a clearer sense of what federal official should ultimately be deemed responsible if hackers infiltrate government networks as happened in the SolarWinds incident.
Senate Judiciary Committee ranking member Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, and Commerce Committee ranking member Roger Wicker, R-Miss., are open to antitrust proposals from potential FTC nominee Lina Khan (see 2103120071), they told us this week. Khan’s antitrust views resulted in comparisons to Sens. Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn., and Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass. She has worked as a staffer for FTC Commissioner Rohit Chopra and House Antitrust Subcommittee Chairman David Cicilline, D-R.I.
FTC attorneys should be paid as much as Consumer Financial Protection Bureau and Public Company Accounting Oversight Board officials, FTC Commissioner Noah Phillips said Tuesday. He agreed with ex-FTC Chairman William Kovacic, who noted financial regulation attorneys and economists make about 20% more than FTC officials in similar roles.
Rolling out a global satellite-based broadband service is "a radical challenge," from the "tremendous amount of fiber" across the Americas, Europe and Asia-Pacific for the ground network to the numerous partnerships needed, Viasat CEO Rick Baldridge told us. The inaugural launch next year of its Viasat-3 three-satellite high-capacity constellation will let the satellite operator ramp up the number of addressable markets exponentially, Baldridge said. Viasat-4 is being designed now for launch in 2025 or 2026 with five times the capacity of Viasat-3, he said.
It's an “easy” decision to support legislation for giving news outlets power to negotiate with Big Tech, House Antitrust Subcommittee ranking member Ken Buck, R-Colo., told us Friday, despite criticism from fellow Republicans. Legislators and two witnesses at Friday’s hearing said the legislation could enable a big media monopoly when the goal is to check Big Tech power.
Federal appellate judges expressed some skepticism Friday with Wikimedia Foundation and government interpretations of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA). The Wikipedia operator sought to overturn a lower court's summary judgment in its litigation claiming warrantless U.S. surveillance of its online communications. We were told a decision is likely around early fall.
Senate Antitrust Subcommittee Chair Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn., seeks Senate Judiciary Committee markup for her bill letting small news outlets negotiate revenue-sharing with online platforms (see 2103100058). She told us after Thursday’s subcommittee hearing that she spoke about the possibility with Chairman Dick Durbin, D-Ill., who sponsored the bill last year.
Increasing resources for antitrust enforcers is one potential area for Senate Judiciary Committee compromise, ranking member Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, told us Wednesday. It’s something Senate Antitrust Subcommittee Chair Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn., has pushed for along with comprehensive antitrust legislation (see 2102040053). Klobuchar will lead the subcommittee’s first hearing this session Thursday (see 2103040033).
President Joe Biden’s reported decision to nominate Columbia Law School’s Lina Khan for an open FTC seat drew reactions mostly along party lines Tuesday. Consumer groups praised the news. The Information Technology and Innovation Foundation called her “populist” views a threat to traditional antitrust enforcement.
Senate Intellectual Property Subcommittee ranking member Thom Tillis, R-N.C., hopes to introduce bipartisan legislation in late April or early May updating the Digital Millennium Copyright Act, he told us Monday. His office gathered comments from groups through Friday on a discussion draft titled the Digital Copyright Act of 2021. As chairman last session, Tillis worked with then-ranking member Chris Coons, D-Del., on a multi-hearing review of the DMCA.