Sen Ed Markey (D-MA)

Sen Edward Markey (D-Mass.) introduced comprehensive federal privacy legislation to protect American consumers’ personal information. The Privacy Bill of Rights Act would establish rules for both online and offline companies and bans the use of individuals’ personal information for harmful, discriminatory purposes, such as housing and employment advertisements targeted based on demographics like race and gender.

With increased tracking of children and teens online and the collection their personal data a widespread practice, Sens Ed Markey (D-MA) and Josh Hawley (R-MO) introduced legislation to update children’s online privacy rules for the 21st century. The legislation updates the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA) by prohibiting internet companies from collecting personal and location information from anyone under 13 without parental consent and from anyone 13- to 15-years old without the user’s consent.

In Nov 2018, Sens Ed Markey (D-MA), Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), and Ron Wyden (D-OR) wrote AT&T, Verizon, Sprint, and T-Mobile, asking them to respond to a study that showed possible network neutrality violations on their networks. Specifically, the study, which used data collected by the app “Wehe,” showed numerous instances of bandwidth throttling for certain video providers. In response to the Sens’ letters, the four major mobile carriers denied Wehe’s findings that they selectively impair or degrade video streaming.

Whether in the halls of the courts or the halls of Congress, we will fight to defend net neutrality. Nothing less than the fate of the internet is being argued in this court case, and we must do everything we can in this historic fight. We will soon lay down a legislative marker in the Senate in support of net neutrality to show the American people that we are on their side in overwhelming supporting a free and open internet.

Sens Ed Markey (D-MA) and Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) sent a letter to Facebook demanding information about new evidence that the company knowingly manipulated children into spending their parents’ money without permission while playing games on Facebook. Recent findings uncovered by The Center for Investigative Reporting show that Facebook personnel had direct knowledge that children were spending large sums of their parents’ money on in-app purchases without parental knowledge or permission. Specific design features and default settings fostered this practice.

Sen Ed Markey (D-MA), author of the Children’s Television Act, led eight of this colleagues in calling on the Federal Communications Commission to maintain essential elements of the “Kid Vid” rules, which ensure access to children’s education programming on over-the-air broadcast television, in accordance with the Children’s Television Act. In the letter, the Sens highlight the need to preserve existing rules requiring broadcasters to air three hours of regularly scheduled educational children’s programming a week on their primary stations.

Sens Ed Markey (D-MA), Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), and Ron Wyden (D-OR) sent letters to AT&T, Verizon, Sprint, and T-Mobile after a recent study revealed the companies were slowing down certain services on their networks. “All online traffic should be treated equally, and internet service providers should not discriminate against particular content or applications for competitive advantage purposes or otherwise,” write the Sens in their letters. The Senators ask for responses to questions that include:

Sens Ed Markey (D-MA), Tom Udall (D-NM), and Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) called on the Federal Trade Commission to launch an investigation into new evidence of manipulative marketing practices in apps directed at children. A new study recently published in the Journal of Developmental & Behavioral Pediatrics reveals numerous instances of children’s games using advertising techniques that appear to constitute unfair and deceptive practices under Section V of the FTC Act.

Following reports that the New York State Attorney General has issued subpoenas in its investigation into millions of fraudulent comments submitted to the Federal Communications Commission, Sens Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), Brian Schatz (D-HI), and Ed Markey (D-MA), wrote the FCC Inspector General to urge him to open an investigation into the agency’s handling of potential fraud in the net neutrality rule-making process.

Sen Ed Markey (D-MA) led ten of his colleagues in expressing concerns about the Federal Communication Commission proposal to alter the terms of governing agreements between Local Franchising Authorities (LFA) and cable operators. Currently, towns and cities across the country are permitted to require as part of cable franchise agreements that cable operators meet demonstrated community needs by setting aside channels for public, educational, or governmental (PEG) stations.