Lawmakers: Shutdown wearing on tech agencies

Lawmakers are voicing concern about how the partial government shutdown is slowing the work of key tech and telecom agencies. House Commerce Committee Chairman Frank Pallone (D-NJ) called a Jan. 31 hearing on how the shutdown is affecting federal agencies, and the Federal Communications Commission and Federal Trade Commission will be part of the mix. Both agencies have furloughed large parts of their staff, and many of their regular activities have been paused. Expect questions about the FCC’s ability to police robocalls and the FTC’s stalled investigation of Facebook’s privacy practices. Sen. Ron Wyden (D-OR) accused FCC Chairman Ajit Pai of having “stiffed” Chairman Pallone, in rejecting his request for an emergency briefing on how wireless carriers handle user location data. Chairman Pai said the FCC “has already has been investigating this issue” and that it “will resume once the shutdown has ended.”