House Foreign Affairs Committee ranking member Mike McCaul, Texas, led a resolution with House Republican Conference Chair Rep. Liz Cheney of Wyoming and two other committee GOP members criticizing the U.K.’s decision to allow equipment from Chinese telecom equipment manufacturer Huawei on “non-core” parts of its communications infrastructure (see 2001280074). The resolution says the U.K. parliament should “reject or amend” the decision and makes it the sense of the House that 5G networks “that incorporate products and services developed by Chinese companies face significant technological, political, ethical, and geopolitical risk.” The resolution’s other co-sponsors are Reps. Mike Turner, Ohio, and Ted Yoho, Florida. Cheney was among lawmakers who recently filed legislation to bar the U.S. from sharing intelligence “with any country that permits operation within its national borders” of Huawei-produced 5G equipment (see 2001080002). The White House didn’t comment on a report it’s working with Microsoft, AT&T, Dell and other U.S. tech companies to develop software for 5G networks aimed at creating a viable alternative to Huawei equipment. Dell and its VMware subsidiary work "with governments and carriers around the world in support of many modern technology solutions," a spokesperson emailed. "We are actively supporting 5G and the rapid deployment of 5G services and are excited about the opportunities it presents.” The other companies didn’t comment.
The Information Technology Industry Council “encourages” President Donald Trump to use his State of the Union Tuesday to “highlight the priorities and initiatives that will continue to … ensure the United States can stay on the cutting-edge of technological leadership," said CEO Jason Oxman in a Monday opinion piece on The Hill’s website. "Progress has been made, but more can be done to free unused spectrum and promote a global marketplace so the U.S. doesn’t fall behind on 5G.” ITI hopes Trump “urges Congress to create a single uniform” federal privacy standard, Oxman said. “The lack of a national privacy law is the single biggest obstacle to answering U.S. consumer demands to protect their data,” so Congress “must pass federal privacy legislation that enhances transparency, increases consumer control, promotes security, and manages privacy risk.” Trump made a generic call during his 2019 SOTU for Congress to “unite for a great rebuilding of America's crumbling infrastructure” (see 1902060002). House Democratic leaders last week proposed $98 billion in funding for broadband and next-generation 911 projects, in an infrastructure plan (see 2001290052).
The White House Friday issued an executive order for “ensuring safe and lawful e-commerce.” Officials cited the exploitation of smaller express-carrier or international mail packages “by traffickers to introduce contraband into the United States” and foreign exporters evading customs duties and fees.
President Donald Trump wants discussions about Hong Kong protests and alleged Chinese human rights abuses included in the phase two trade negotiations with China, he told a news conference Wednesday in Davos, Switzerland, before departing from the World Economic Forum. “We are discussing that already,” said Trump. “We’d like to see if we can do something.” The Chinese Foreign Affairs Ministry didn't comment. Trump also wants to do a trade deal with the EU and thinks he can pull one off before the November election, now that the phase one deal with China is complete. The EU is “tougher to do business with than China,” he said. “We have a great relationship with China now. We had some testy moments -- very testy, beyond testy, worse than a lot of people would understand. But we got it done, and I think phase two will go nicely also.”
Revoke Communications Decency Act Section 230 “immediately” for Facebook and other platforms, said former Vice President Joe Biden, a 2020 Democratic candidate for president. Facebook “is not merely an internet company,” Biden told The New York Times in a Q&A Friday. “It is propagating falsehoods they know to be false, and we should be setting standards not unlike the Europeans are doing relative to privacy.” Singling out Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg, Biden said he should be “submitted to civil liability and his company to civil liability.” Congress is considering whether to change immunity laws for big tech companies (see 1912270037). Removing Section 230 would mean internet platforms would “either become the most rigorous speech police ever created” or would step back and “allow an unfiltered stream of the kinds of ruinous libel, hate speech and falsehoods that the former vice president is understandably concerned about,” said Free Press Action Senior Policy Counsel Gaurav Laroia. He said changes should be “undertaken carefully and cautiously with an eye to protecting marginalized and vulnerable communities and with an understanding that it’s the First Amendment, not Section 230, that allows individuals to engage in the speech of their choosing, for good and for ill.” Facebook and the Internet Association didn’t comment Friday.
Tech and business groups hailed Thursday’s Senate 89-10 ratification of the U.S.-Canada-Mexico Agreement. The measure awaits President Donald Trump’s signature. Canada's parliament isn't expected to ratify it until February. Mexico OK'd it in June. Senate approval is an “historic bipartisan victory for all Americans, especially manufacturers, farmers, and service providers,” said the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. The agreement’s digital trade provisions will help the future of the content industry “look brighter, particularly in Mexico,” said the Motion Picture Association. USMCA “will modernize trade among our closest trading partners and pave the way for continued prosperity across the borders of North America,” said the National Retail Federation. The agreement “will help ensure that more products researched, designed, and made in America -- including semiconductors -- can flow to customers" worldwide, said the Semiconductor Industry Association. “Businesses in all sectors rely on the free movement of data across borders, and the USMCA is a strong step towards creating international consensus on how that data should be treated,” said BSA|The Software Alliance. USMCA brings “North American commerce into the digital age with robust rules that will prove critical to the continued growth of the Internet economy,” said the Computer & Communications Industry Association. Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., (see 2001150080) joined eight Democrats, including Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., to vote against USCMA. Sen. Pat Toomey, R-Pa., was the only Republican to vote no.
The American Civil Liberties Union called “dangerous and unconstitutional” President Donald Trump’s tweet Tuesday that Apple should “unlock phones used by killers, drug dealers and other violent criminal elements.” Strong encryption “enables religious minorities facing genocide, like the Uyghurs in China, and journalists investigating powerful drug cartels in Mexico, to communicate safely with each other, knowledgeable sources, and the outside world,” said ACLU Surveillance and Cybersecurity Counsel Jennifer Granick in a statement. Apple didn’t comment Wednesday. Senate Judiciary Committee members want Apple and Google to provide better device access (see 1912100039).
Technology and telecom policy matters were again largely absent during Tuesday night's debate among 2020 Democratic presidential hopefuls, following a pattern set at the candidates’ December bout (see 1912200062) and most previous panels. Former Vice President Joe Biden suggested amid a discussion about the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement on free trade that “we should be putting our money and our effort and our time in preparing American workers to compete in the 21st century on the high-tech side, dealing with artificial intelligence.” The Senate Commerce and Foreign Relations committees advanced USMCA Wednesday on voice votes. The Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee voted 22-1 to clear it, while the chamber’s Appropriations Committee advanced it 29-2. The Senate Public Works and Budget committees advanced USMCA earlier this week (see 2001150080). Sen. Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts pledged at the debate to roll back a Council on Environmental Quality NPRM promoted by President Donald Trump that aims to narrow the timeline of all federal agencies’ National Environmental Policy Act reviews of proposed infrastructure projects (see 2001090058). Warren also twice criticized Amazon for not paying federal income taxes in 2018, saying “we can make them pay.”
President Donald Trump highlighted a Council on Environmental Quality NPRM that aims to narrow the timeline of all federal agencies’ National Environmental Policy Act reviews of proposed projects, including telecom-related ones. The NPRM proposed to limit the time for environmental impact statements to two years and one year for environmental assessments. It would specify page limits for NEPA review documents and change definitions for environmental effects.
The White House proposed 10 artificial intelligence regulatory principles to govern private sector AI, U.S. Chief Technology Officer Michael Kratsios announced Tuesday. The principles focus on ensuring public engagement, limiting regulatory overreach and promoting trustworthy AI, Kratsios said.