FCC Moves Goalposts, Acts Surprised
Plus NetChoice at SCOTUS, comments to Brazil, TikTok, and more
FCC: Jim filed comments with the FCC reminding them that Section 706 of the Telecommunications Act is about issuing reports to Congress on the progress of broadband deployment. It’s neither a grant of substantive authority to regulate nor an invitation to move the goalposts on the definition of broadband “availability.”
Social Media Regulation: Corbin filed an amicus brief in the NetChoice cases at the U.S. Supreme Court; the cases challenge Texas HB20 and Florida SB7072, state laws that require social media websites to carry and promote speech against their will.
Bilal filed comments to Brazil’s Administrative Council for Economic Defense, an agency similar to our FTC. He argued for a competitive effects analysis— in assessing mergers and acquisitions, and noted many of the distinctive, efficiency-enhancing features of multi-sided markets, especially but not exclusively online.
TikTok: Ari made a statement on the U.S. District Court for the Montana District’s preliminary finding that banning TikTok was likely unconstitutional. To sum up: “Wholesale bans on speech-enabling platforms are an affront to the First Amendment.” He was also quoted in Reason.
Misinformation: In City Journal, Corbin reviewed Jeff Kosseff’s book Liar in a Crowded Theater: Freedom of Speech in a World of Misinformation. RealClearPolicy and the E-Pluribus Newsletter highlighted the review. Last month Corbin also interviewed Kosseff on the Tech Policy Podcast.
Media Matters: Ari was quoted in the Dallas Observer about Elon Musk’s suit against Media Matters for America: “The absolute chutzpah of this creep calling anyone else ‘anti-free speech’ while launching a government investigation in retaliation for protected speech is gobsmacking.”
Negative Option Rule: On January 16, the FTC will hold a virtual hearing to help craft a rule for automatically renewed subscriptions (“negative options”). The six organizations that asked for it earlier have each been given a spot to present, and we’re one of them (see our coalition letter from June). Stay tuned!
Broadband is whatever the FCC says it is—says the FCC.