FCC Commissioner Mike O’Rielly’s future remains in limbo more than a month after President Donald Trump withdrew his renomination (see 2008030072), officials and lobbyists told us. Republican senators returned Tuesday from the August recess without a clear outcome from their push for Trump to reverse course (see 2008060062). Officials we spoke with indicated the White House hasn’t settled on a new candidate for the GOP seat.
Section 230
If Joe Biden wins the November election, expect Democrats to pursue antitrust law changes that would raise the bar for acquisitions, experts said in recent interviews. President Donald Trump has shown more interest in politically driven attacks than serious policy work, they said.
Legislation discouraging social media fact-checking and First Amendment rights is the wrong approach, said Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., and FCC Commissioner Geoffrey Starks Wednesday. They discussed Republican proposals on Communications Decency Act Section 230.
The House and Senate Commerce committees are eyeing two hearings next week on telecom issues, communications sector lobbyists told us. House Commerce is expected Thursday to issue a notice on a Sept. 17 FCC oversight hearing, lobbyists said. Senate Commerce, meanwhile, plans a panel on oversight of FirstNet, lobbyists said. The House Commerce hearing would be FCC Commissioner Mike O’Rielly’s first public appearance on Capitol Hill since President Donald Trump withdrew his renomination to another term (see 2008030072). The panel is expected to touch on FCC plans for handling NTIA’s petition for regulations defining the scope of Communications Decency Act Section 230 (see 2007270070). O’Rielly’s reluctance to publicly back FCC OK of the Trump-sought Section 230 petition is considered the main reason his renomination was revoked (see 2008040061). Senate Commerce’s FirstNet hearing would be the first Hill oversight panel on the network since 2017 (see 1711010035). House and Senate Commerce didn’t comment.
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Senate Republicans introduced legislation Tuesday to clarify Communications Decency Act Section 230, altering liability protections for tech companies. Senate Commerce Committee Chairman Roger Wicker, R-Miss.; Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Lindsey Graham, R-S.C.; and Sen. Marsha Blackburn, R-Tenn., introduced the Online Freedom and Viewpoint Diversity Act. The legislation would replace “otherwise objectionable” with concrete terms for defining content moderation liability such as content promoting terrorism, unlawful content and content promoting self-harm. It would condition content moderation liability on an “objective reasonableness standard” when companies restrict access to content.
Adopt NTIA’s petition for rulemaking on Communications Decency Act Section 230, Republican state attorneys general commented to the FCC posted Thursday in RM-11862 (see 2009020064). Tech, telecom and consumer groups again largely said the FCC shouldn't consider the petition, saying the FCC and NTIA are exceeding their jurisdiction and expertise. The AG group was formed by Texas’ Ken Paxton, Indiana’s Curtis Hill, Louisiana’s Jeff Landy and Missouri’s Eric Schmitt. The petition clarifies 230's scope and empowers states without undermining protections for moderation of “traditionally regulated content,” they wrote: It promotes freedom of speech by “ensuring competition through transparency.”
Reject NTIA’s petition for a rulemaking on Communications Decency Act Section 230, tech, telecom and consumers groups told the FCC in comments posted Wednesday before the midnight deadline in RM-11862 (see 2008120050). The petition has no legal basis, the agency doesn’t have jurisdiction, and President Donald Trump is attempting to use the commission for political gain, they said. AT&T called for uniform liability protections.
NTIA’s petition for an FCC rulemaking on Communications Decency Act Section 230 “lacks a legitimate legal basis” and would “cause serious harm to company moderation efforts,” Internet Association Deputy General Counsel Elizabeth Banker told reporters Tuesday (see 2008120050). Content moderation protects consumers, and reasonable people want platforms to take action like “removing promotion of suicide, plans for bombs and other dangerous materials, or 419 scams,” she said. The FCC lacks “authority to implement this rule under both First Amendment case law and administrative law precedent,” she added. Comments on the petition are due Wednesday.
President Donald Trump can’t forcibly remove FTC Chairman Joe Simons without cause, former agency officials told us, defending Simons as well-respected. They discussed ways Trump might seek to oust or demote the chairman, and a potential replacement. The Trump administration is reportedly seeking a replacement.