Communications Workers of America and other unionssued the Trump administration in U.S. District Court in Washington, D.C., alleging failure to provide frontline workers “adequate reusable respirators, N95 masks, gloves and other personal protective equipment.” The lawsuit seeks a court order forcing the administration to make PPE available through use of the Defense Production Act. “Workers are terrified about the possibility of having to face a potential third surge of this COVID-19 virus during flu season without having access to adequate protective equipment,” said CWA President Chris Shelton. The White House didn’t comment.
Wednesday night's vice presidential debate featured telecom and tech policy, unlike the debate last week between President Donald Trump and Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden. Democratic vice presidential nominee Sen. Kamala Harris of California contrasted Biden’s infrastructure proposals with Trump’s record. Biden has “a plan that is about investing in infrastructure, something [Trump] said he would do,” Harris said. She cited the Trump administration’s repeated bids for an “Infrastructure Week” aimed at advancing talks on spending for broadband and other projects, but “I don’t think it ever happened.” Trump in March noted interest in pursuing $2 trillion in infrastructure spending as part of COVID-19 legislation (see 2003310070). The House passed the Moving Forward Act (HR-2) in July, including broadband and next-generation 911 funding (see 2007010071). Harris said the administration doesn’t believe sufficiently enough in science, and that hurt the U.S. position as innovation leader. Vice President Mike Pence said Biden is a “cheerleader” for the Communist Party-led Chinese government and “wants to go back to the economic surrender to China.” Harris criticized the Trump administration's trade war with China. Neither candidate named specific Chinese companies that have drawn lawmakers’ scrutiny.
Senate Republicans “need to get smart and confirm” FCC nominee Nathan Simington “ASAP,” President Donald Trump tweeted Tuesday. Trump last month named Simington, an NTIA senior adviser, as his pick to replace Commissioner Mike O’Rielly (see 2009150074). Trump directed the tweet toward Senate Commerce Committee Chairman Roger Wicker, R-Miss., who sets the committee’s agenda. Wicker met with Simington last month and supports the committee advancing his confirmation (see 2009300022). Senate Commerce hasn’t set a hearing on the nominee, and the prospects of confirming him before the Nov. 3 election appear to be dimming further, after Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., paused floor proceedings until Oct. 19 because three GOP senators tested positive for COVID-19 (see 2010050053). Wicker and Senate Commerce staff have reviewed Simington's "final paperwork," an aide told us. "We are performing the standard vetting process expeditiously as we determine a hearing date in the near future."
President Donald Trump signed Thursday morning a continuing resolution (HR-8337) to fund the FCC, FTC and other federal agencies through Dec. 11. The Senate passed HR-8337 Wednesday on an 84-10 vote, as expected (see 2009300053). Trump approved the CR nearly an hour after FY 2020 technically ended, but the White House OMB never formally declared a government shutdown.
The Senate Judiciary Committee should reject Chairman Lindsey Graham’s, R-S.C., Section 230- and copyright-related legislation, advocates wrote the committee Wednesday before Thursday’s markup (see 2009290065). Access Now, the Center for Democracy & Technology, Electronic Frontier Foundation, New American’s Open Technology Institute and Public Knowledge signed. The Online Content Policy Modernization Act (S-4632) “would discourage social media companies from taking down or fact-checking disinformation,” said CDT CEO Alexandra Givens. “We need social media companies to be taking more action against election misinformation, not less.” CTA, the Computer and Communications Industry Association, EFF, Engine, Re:Create and the R Street Institute signed a separate letter in opposition.
The U.S. and U.K. signed an artificial intelligence R&D agreement, announced the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy Friday. The agreement will involve regulatory recommendations, coordinated programming for research and promotion of AI R&D focused on “fundamental advances and challenging technical issues such as explainability and fairness,” OSTP said. “America and our allies must lead the world in shaping the development of cutting edge AI technologies and protecting against authoritarianism and repression,” said U.S. Chief Technology Officer Michael Kratsios. The joint declaration was released during the inaugural Special Relationship Economic Working Group meeting. It provides a “welcome counterweight to China’s growing power” with AI, said Policy Analyst Hodan Omaar of the Information Technology and Innovation Foundation's Center for Data Innovation.
The Senate Homeland Security Committee’s Wednesday confirmation hearing for acting Homeland Security Secretary Chad Wolf featured almost no talk about cybersecurity, amid senators’ focus on allegations about his conduct as the department’s acting head, questions about the security of the upcoming elections and immigration. The closest Wolf got to cybersecurity talk were questions from Sen. Rob Portman, R-Ohio, and others about election security. DHS’ Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency is “focused on cyberthreats to elections systems” and infrastructure, Wolf said. “We have been working with all 50 secretaries of state” and others to make sure the Nov. 3 election “is going to be the securest election that we’ve had to date.” The U.S. intelligence community hasn’t “attributed any cyber campaign against any election infrastructure” by a foreign government-sponsored actor, “and I think that speaks to the work that we have done” over the course of President Donald Trump’s administration, he said: “At this time” during the 2016 presidential campaign, “there were indicators and warnings that they were targeting” U.S. elections infrastructure. China, Iran and Russia remain the biggest threat to that apparatus before the contest. Those countries also remain the largest threat for disseminating disinformation and propaganda online about the election, he said in response to a question from Sen. Maggie Hassan, D-N.H. Homeland Security plans a markup session Wednesday. It’s unclear whether that will include a vote to advance Wolf’s confirmation to the floor. Chairman Ron Johnson, R-Wis., wanted to move the confirmation process forward “as expeditiously as possible.”
Advocates sued President Donald Trump’s administration Tuesday, seeking records about his social media executive order and federal spending on digital advertising (see 2007230072). The Center for Democracy and Technology and the Electronic Frontier Foundation filed a Freedom of Information Act lawsuit seeking documents the EO ordered to be gathered to examine how federal agencies spend such money. The EO directs agencies report to OMB and directs DOJ determine whether there’s viewpoint discrimination on platforms. This opens doors for the administration “to block government spending on online platforms it dislikes,” CDT said. The public has a right to know “if there’s evidence that the president is retaliating against platforms by reducing ad spending,” said EFF Staff Attorney Aaron Mackey. Justice didn’t comment.
Debate about infrastructure legislation and including broadband funding in the next compromise COVID-19 aid bill is unlikely to factor into the election campaign, despite hopes to the contrary (see 2008210001), said political analyst Charlie Cook during a Media Institute event Monday. “I don’t think many people vote on issues,” though an individual voter’s view on them are “baked into” their partisan leanings. The tenor of U.S. politics has “revolved around” voters’ views of President Donald Trump since he took office, and “nothing has diminished” that: “Do I think infrastructure is going to be a big, big deal next year? Hell, yes,” Cook said. “To the extent that people didn’t get the importance of building broadband” networks pre-pandemic, “they get it now.” Cook believes Trump’s chances aren’t zero, but he likely has only a 20% chance of getting enough electoral votes. Cook said Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden stands a 40% chance of winning a narrow victory over Trump and an equal chance of scoring a landslide. He said Democrats have more than a 50% chance of gaining a majority in the Senate and are very likely to retain House control.
EU's general data protection regulation seems to be entrenching big tech companies that were much the target of the legislation, while costing billions of dollars in compliance, FTC Commissioner Noah Phillips said on C-SPAN's The Communicators, to have been televised this weekend. He said proposals to expand it and the California Consumer Privacy Act, which is taking effect now, indicate weaknesses in the ability of those laws to address privacy issues. He said congressional work on federal privacy legislation needs to focus first on what problems need addressing and then on details such as whether there should be state law preemption or a private right of action. However, much of the Capitol Hill debate seems to be focusing on those details first, he said. Phillips confirmed his agency is doing an antitrust investigation into Facebook but didn't elaborate, and he didn't comment when asked about any possible TikTok investigation. He said he intends to serve out the remaining three years of his term regardless of how the November election goes. He said there's no chilling effect on FTC commissioners by FCC Commissioner Mike O'Rielly's renomination being pulled by the White House seemingly for his stance on social media regulation. "We operate as a bipartisan agency," Phillips said. NTIA said Friday the FCC has the legal authority to regulate social media, and the First Amendment backs it doing so (see 2009180054).