Texas's social media law enjoined, and other music to our ears
Plus, our comments on developments at the FCC, an essay on corporate speech, a podcast on outer space innovation, and a whole lot of live-tweeting.
During the week after Thanksgiving, the whole world experiences a day of great importance: the annual release of every Spotify user’s Spotify Wrapped playlist. This year, the music streaming service kicked its offerings up a notch. Not only do you receive a curated selection of your most-played songs and artists of 2021, but you also get to see your “audio aura” (you know, in case you missed that appointment with your psychic).
The former marketing major in me has to admit that I think the whole concept of Spotify Wrapped is genius. No, you don’t feel a burning need to find out which ex-high school classmate on your feed listened to 3,000 minutes of Olivia Rodrigo this year. Yes, it’s still crucially important that all your followers see your Wrapped graphics. After all, who could resist a personalized movie soundtrack? The people need to know!
FTC. On Tuesday, Andy filed comments with the FTC opposing a proposed change in their draft Strategic Plan for FY 2022-2026. At issue is the proposal to strike the “without unduly burdening legitimate business activity” clause from the FTC’s mission statement — something the FTC proposes to do without so much as a footnote highlighting the deletion. As Andy noted, every FTC Strategic Plan since 1997 has used this phrase in their mission statement, or extremely similar language. In making this change, the plan suggests the FTC intends to burden legitimate business activity. Check out our press release on the comments here and Andy’s Twitter thread here.
Social Media Regulation. On Wednesday, the House Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Communications and Technology held hearings to discuss “big tech accountability” and several Section 230 “reform” bills from Democrats. Ari live-tweeted the nearly 8-hour hearing, and was quoted in National Journal explaining that while Democrats may have intended the hearing to find bipartisan consensus, the differences in the parties’ goals were only put in starker relief throughout the hearing.
Our amicus brief in the case challenging HB 20, Texas’s dead-end social media speech code, paid off. This week, the Texas judge hearing the case enjoined the law. As the judge articulated in his opinion, the First Amendment protects acts of editorial discretion, like content moderation and cultivating a distinctive online community. Unlike indiscriminate common carriers, social media sites are, by design, not neutral “conduits” for speech. And the law’s transparency requirements were a nonstarter given the sheer amount of user-generated content on social media. For more analysis, read and share Ari’s triumphant Twitter thread.
FCC. Jim filed comments yesterday in the FCC’s 70 GHz proceeding supporting expanded use of that band and the FCC’s “light-licensing” approach. With this approach, the agency uses third-party database frequency coordinators to be able to give “go/no go” responses to new builds within seconds. This is exactly the type of regulatory “defrictioning” that innovation demands for the rapid deployment of new technologies. You can retweet our press release on these comments here, or even share the link directly from our website.
The Senate hearing on Gigi Sohn’s nomination for FCC Commissioner took place on Wednesday, and Berin had plenty to say about her history with the FCC — and some of her red flags. Read and share Berin’s live-tweet of the hearing for commentary on the risks of Sohn appearing to have prejudged specific companies on certain issues, as well as more of what we could expect from her as Commissioner.
Corporate Speech. On Tuesday, The Bulwark’s lead story was an essay by Corbin called “The Right’s New Legal Crusade Against Corporate Free Speech.” Many in the GOP have decided that, thanks to “wokeness,” they now hate corporate political speech, and that they want to use political power to attack that speech. As Corbin explains in the essay, the Republicans’ plans are sure to run into a little thing called the First Amendment.
Space. On a new Tech Policy Podcast, Jim and Corbin talk space! That’s right, outer space. Jeff Bezos, Richard Branson, and even William Shatner have just been there. Elon Musk, meanwhile, is building rockets, launching satellites, and dreaming of going to Mars. And the reaction on Twitter has been . . . snark!? Jim and Corbin discuss the new space titans, the regulatory hurdles they face, and why people should root for them to succeed. We’ve been quite active in this area recently, filing an amicus brief in support of SpaceX in a federal court of appeals, submitting comments to the FCC on the 70GHz band (see above), and publishing articles that celebrate the “New Space Race.” There’s more to come in the months ahead. Stay tuned.