Football season is back this week! Which raises the question: what is the best food to eat during the big game? Pizza and wings seem to be the most popular options—but for me, the best queso scenario is a large order of fully loaded nachos. But what constitutes fully loaded? Beef, chicken, cheese, beans, guacamole, pico de gallo, sour cream, and… some say… caviar! I’m not sure if this is what our Founding Fathers envisioned—and $200 dollars a plate seems fishy to me—but I’ll set aside my skepticism in the name of innovation and fine dining. Although my uncertainty may not fade quickly—I am confident this week’s update will make you chip-per!
Content Moderation. On Wednesday, Berin and Ari were joined by 15 leading Internet law professors in a detailed coalition letter to the Senate Judiciary Committee expressing deep concerns about the Journalism Competition and Preservation Act (JCPA). The bill’s sponsor, Sen. Amy Klobuchar, withdrew it today following a successful but unwelcome amendment by Sen. Ted Cruz specifically targeting content moderation, as Berin explains. While the bill aimed to support serious journalism, the JCPA would have been weaponized against moderation of misinformation, hate speech, and various other forms of online content that are corroding our democracy. Purveyors of noxious content could have forced platforms to treat their content equally regardless of a platform’s terms of service. The JCPA would have violated the First Amendment in several ways, as we explained. Find a summary of the letter on our website and a thread on Twitter. Ari live-tweeted the hearing, pointing out the fundamental misunderstandings that legislators hold.
Privacy. Berin, Bilal, and Andy participated in the FTC’s public forum to discuss the Commission's Advance Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (ANPRM) for commercial surveillance and data security rulemaking. Berin discussed how past ANPRs have identified administrative orders or court decisions establishing the unfairness or deceptiveness of specific practices—whereas the current ANPRM cites only complaints, settlements, and news reports of a host of practices. Bilal discussed why the FTC should issue a privacy policy statement, and Andy discussed to what extent new trade regulation rules on data security or commercial surveillance would impede innovation. Check back in next week for a recording of the event. Find a full transcript of our comments on our website. Berin’s general thoughts on FTC rulemaking were quoted in the Disruptive Competition Project.
Antitrust. Next week, Bilal will participate in the Bill Kovacic Antitrust Salon at George Washington University Law School. His panel will discuss how the DOJ and FTC want to introduce a more robust assessment of private equity transactions, with a particular focus on situations where companies are engaged in corporate roll-ups. Bilal will speak to whether more aggressive enforcement is called for and how, in practice, the antitrust agencies will implement such a robust assessment.
Not as good as tacos, but still delicious!