Democrats plan sweeping net neutrality bill as FCC majority stalls

Amid the impasse, lawmakers are renewing efforts to take the matter into their own hands with a sweeping new bill, according to a copy obtained by The Technology 202.

Led by Sens. Edward J. Markey (D-Mass.) and Ron Wyden (D-Ore.), the Net Neutrality and Broadband Justice Act would reclassify broadband as a telecommunications service and open companies like AT&T and Verizon up to stricter oversight by the FCC.

While the two-page bill is seemingly simple in scope, it would have massive implications beyond restoring net neutrality, the rules that prohibit internet service providers from blocking or throttling content. It would change how aggressively the FCC can regulate issues like Internet pricing, consumer privacy and competition in the broadband market.

Lawmakers plan to introduce the bill in the coming weeks, likely before the August recess, according to two people familiar with the negotiations, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss the private talks.

Rep. Doris Matsui (D-Calif.) is scheduled to introduce a counterpart measure in the House, one of the people said.

The bill is a major new marker in the contentious debate over net neutrality and telecom regulation. If passed, it would fulfill a long-standing Democratic priority.

In 2015, a Democratic-majority FCC voted to regulate broadband as a telecommunications service under what is known as Title II of the Communications Act of 1934. The move opened up telecom companies to stricter, utility-style regulation , like what exists for electricity and water, and introduced anti-discrimination rules known as net neutrality.

But in 2017, a Republican majority FCC voted to repeal the rules under the Chairman Ajit Paiwho argued that they were “burdensome” regulations that did more harm than good.

Since then, Democrats on Capitol Hill have repeatedly tried to revive net neutrality, including a legislative process that allows Congress to review and overrule agency decisions. But these efforts have met with significant opposition from Republicans.

after President Biden took office, net neutrality advocates urged the FCC to restore the rules. But Democrats still lack a majority at the agency because of delays in appointing the former FCC employee and prominent net neutrality advocate Gigi’s son.

The bill is expected to face opposition from Republicans, making the chances of approval high.

But some proponents hope other factors can sway the debate.

That includes the coronavirus pandemic, according to one of the people familiar with the discussions. Supporters think it highlighted the necessity of Internet access, they said, and could make it harder to argue against treating broadband as a utility.

Some net neutrality advocates also think Republican calls to designate social media companies as common carriers could make their positions more tenable, the person said.

Republicans have floated the idea as a means of addressing an alleged anti-conservative bias from companies like Facebook and Twitter. By treating them as common carriers, Republicans have argued, social networks could theoretically be prohibited from discriminating against views.

Arguing that social media platforms — but not Internet service providers — should be regulated like common carriers “quickly becomes gymnastics,” the person said.

Markey and Wyden’s offices declined to comment on plans for the bill.

But Markey spokeswoman Rosemary Boeglin said in a statement that it’s “clearer than ever that broadband is an essential tool.”

“Senator Markey strongly believes that the Federal Communications Commission’s authority must reflect this so that it can fulfill its obligations to the public by restoring net neutrality rules, protecting consumers, and taking other critical steps to create a just digital future,” said Boeglin.

Wyden’s spokesman Keith Chu said that “Ajit Pai’s rollback of net neutrality was a huge loss for competition and privacy,” adding that Wyden “still believes that net neutrality is the foundation of an open Internet that works for everyone — not just Big Cable and large operators”.

Spokesmen for Matsui did not respond to a request for comment on Sunday. Markey teased plans to release the measure last year — but it has yet to be unveiled.

TikTok’s head of security to step down

Roland Cloutier began working at TikTok in 2020 and will transition to a strategic advisor at the company, the Wall Street Journal reported Ryan Tracy reports. TikTok’s data security practices have come under fire following a BuzzFeed News report on Chinese employees of parent company ByteDance accessing US user data.

A TikTok spokesperson said the measure was in the works before US policymakers added their criticism of the company.

CEO of TikTok Shou Zi Chew linked the move to data security developments at the company. “Part of our evolving approach has been to minimize concerns about the security of US user data, including creating a new department to manage US user data for TikTok,” he said in the note.

TikTok has rejected the BuzzFeed News report, calling it “inaccurate and not supported by facts”. However, Chew also told Republican lawmakers in a letter that employees outside the United States, including those in China, “may have access to US TikTok user data” if they pass security checks.

Musk calls Twitter’s request for a speedy trial unreasonable

CEO of Tesla Elon Musk responded to Twitter’s lawsuit in a legal filing, arguing that a Delaware court should reject a request by the social media company to hold a short trial in the next two months, Gerrit De Vynck AND Elizabeth Dwoskin report. The court will hold a hearing on Tuesday regarding Twitter’s request for an expedited trial.

“Twitter sued Musk on Tuesday to force him to complete the purchase of the company after he said last week he was ending the deal” to buy the company for $44 billion, my colleagues wrote. Musk has argued that he has the right to walk away from the deal because the company hasn’t given him enough information to understand whether its estimates of the number of spam bots on the platform are accurate. A spokesperson for Twitter declined to comment.”

Musk’s team says resolving the robot dispute will take time. “The substantive dispute over fake and spam accounts is central to Twitter’s value,” Musk’s legal team wrote. “It is also extremely fact and expert intensive, requiring considerable time for discovery.”

The FCC needs an additional $3 billion to fund the Huawei, ZTE takedown program

FCC Chair Jessica Rosenworcel told top lawmakers on Friday that the Federal Communications Commission is facing a nearly $3 billion shortfall in its program to fund U.S. telecom systems to remove hardware made by Huawei and ZTE from their networks. The program would need more funding from Congress beyond the $1.9 billion that lawmakers previously appropriated to fully fund the telecom’s requirements, the Cybersecurity 202 newsletter reported last month.

For years, US officials have sought to remove Huawei and other Chinese firms from the US telecom infrastructure. Officials fear that if those companies have a foothold in American networks, it could enable the Chinese government to spy on American communications. Huawei has denied the allegations.

Elon MuskTwitter’s response to the lawsuit left some Twitter users unimpressed. Consultant and writer Martin SFP Bryant:

Facebook whistleblower Sophie Zhanga former data scientist at the company:

Elon Musk’s inner circle rattled by fight over his $230 billion fortune (The Wall Street Journal)

UK regulator finds Russian channel RT broke impartiality rules (Reuters)

Democratic lawmakers urge federal agencies to crack down on crypto mining (The Verge)

US chip industry divided over CHIPS act benefits for Intel (Stephen Nellis)

Microsoft president sees ‘new era’ of workforce stagnation (Reuters)

Nobody wants to be in the office on Fridays (Abha Bhattarai)

DHS used location data from mobile devices extensively, records show (Politico)

On TikTok, teenagers stuck in the suburbs take urbanist terrain (CityLab)

• Federal Trade Commissioner Noah Phillipsa Republican, speaks at an American Enterprise Institute event on the consumer welfare standard today at 1:30 p.m.
• CEO of Patreon Jack Conte discusses the maker economy at a Washington Post Live event today at 4 p.m
• The House Judiciary Committee holds a hearing on government access to personal data Tuesday at 10 a.m.
• The Senate Commerce Committee holds a hearing to consider President Biden’s nomination of Dr. Arati Prabhakar to lead the Office of Science and Technology Policy at the White House on Wednesday at 10:00 a.m.
• FCC Commissioner Brendan Carra Republican, discusses broadband grants at an American Enterprise Institute event Thursday at 10 a.m.

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