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Senate Commerce Committee Chairman John Thune (R-SD) is calling on Federal Communications Commission Chairman Tom Wheeler to release the FCC’s latest proposal on rules for pay-television set-top boxes.

Thune’s letter was delivered a day after Chairman Wheeler indefinitely delayed a vote on his latest proposal to change the rules for set-top boxes, a market that has been dominated by cable companies. Wheeler’s rule would require companies to make their television feeds available as apps to other companies, such as Apple and Google, that might make set-top boxes. The decision to delay the vote shows Chairman Wheeler does not have support on the FCC for his rule to be approved at this time. Chairman Thune said the public should be able to see the latest version of the rule and be able to comment on it. “Your new proposal is intended to benefit consumers, yet those same consumers are not currently able to read this far-reaching new plan,” Chairman Thune wrote in the letter.

The Federal Communications Commission pulled a vote on a contentious proposal to open up the market for television set-top boxes from its agenda minutes before the start of its monthly meeting on Sept 29. The delay is a blow to FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler, who had been pitted against the pay-television industry in a fight over the reforms. “We have made tremendous progress — and we share the goal of creating a more innovative and inexpensive market for these consumer devices,” said Chairman Wheeler and the agency’s other two Democratic commissioners, Mignon Clyburn and Jessica Rosenworcel. “We are still working to resolve the remaining technical and legal issues and we are committed to unlocking the set-top box for consumers across this country.” The item now remains on “circulation,” in the parlance of the agency, meaning it is being weighed by the commissioners.

An industry trade association, NCTA -- The Internet and Television Association, said they were pleased with the FCC’s move. “We are pleased that the FCC has chosen to delay consideration of its set-top box item and hope that additional time will lead to meaningful public review and comment on any newly-crafted proposal under consideration.” Sen Ed Markey (D-MA), a vocal advocate for the reforms, said he was frustrated by the delay. "Today’s vote delay is an unequivocal loss for the tens of millions of Americans across the country who are forced to spend their hard-earned money on overpriced set-top box leases that cost them hundreds of dollars a year," he said. "I am extremely disappointed that the majority of the FCC Commissioners have not yet come to an agreement to provide relief for consumers for these bloated set-top box rental fees and certainty to companies who wish to innovate with new products."

Republican attorneys general in four states are filing a lawsuit to block the transfer of Internet domain systems oversight from the US to an international governing body. Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, Arizona Attorney General Mark Brnovich, Oklahoma Attorney General Scott Pruitt, and Nevada Attorney General Paul Laxalt filed a lawsuit on Sept 28 to stop the White House's proposed transition of Internet Assigned Numbers Authority (IANA) functions.

The state officials cite constitutional concerns in their suit against the National Telecommunications and Information Administration, US government and the Department of Commerce. “The Obama Administration’s decision violates the Property Clause of the US Constitution by giving away government property without congressional authorization, the First Amendment to the US Constitution by chilling speech, and the Administrative Procedure Act by acting beyond statutory authority,” a statement released by Paxton’s office reads. The attorneys generals claim that the US government is ceding government property, pointing to a Government Accountability Office (GAO) review that “concluded that the transition does not involve a transfer of US government property requiring Congressional approval.” AG Paxton also echoed Sen Ted Cruz's (R-TX) warnings that the transition could harm free speech on the Internet by giving Russia, China and Iran a voice on the international governing body that would oversee internet domain systems.

“Trusting authoritarian regimes to ensure the continued freedom of the internet is lunacy,” AG Paxton said. “The president does not have the authority to simply give away America’s pioneering role in ensuring that the Internet remains a place where free expression can flourish.”

Intelligence officials told Donald Trump they had “high confidence” that Russia was behind the hacks of several Democratic organizations, including the Democratic National Committee (DNC), before the Republican presidential nominee said during the first presidential debate of 2016 that no one knew Moscow was involved.

After Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton said during the debate that Russia perpetrated the attacks, Trump said he was not certain. “She’s saying, 'Russia, Russia, Russia,' but I don’t know. Maybe it was. It could be Russia, but it could also be China. It could also be lots of other people. It could also be someone sitting on their bed that weighs 400 pounds,” Trump said. It is widely believed in the intelligence community that Russia was behind the attacks. More than a year ago, officials briefed members of Congress that Russia was trying to attack Democratic groups. Later, officials warned the groups they were likely to be under attack, although they omitted crucial details to preserve active intelligence-gathering operations.

Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) blocked a tech bill championed by Sen John Thune (R-SD) because of the stalled re-nomination of Commissioner Jessica Rosenworcel on the Federal Communications Commission. Sen Reid cited Rosenworcel's outstanding nomination to a second term on the FCC as he objected to Sen Thune's request to pass the MOBILE NOW Act by unanimous consent.

“I do not apologize to anybody for objecting to this legislation," Sen Reid said. "He can bring it out every other day — I’ll object to it — every other minute, every other hour." Sen Thune's bill aims to free up more of the frequencies that carry signals to mobile devices like smartphones. Sen Thune has previously said he expects the issue to come to a head in the lame duck session after the presidential election in November. Sen Thune lamented that state of play, accusing Democrats of playing partisan politics with a non-controversial piece of legislation. “We had her hearing, we voted her out of the committee,” he said. “Scheduling the floor is not something that I control.” “These two issues have been inexplicably linked, but they need not be."

Six Democratic Senators are blasting Yahoo CEO Marissa Mayer, saying the delay in reporting a high-profile security breach is "unacceptable." “We are even more disturbed that user information was first compromised in 2014, yet the company only announced the breach last week,” Sens Patrick Leahy (D-VT), Al Franken (D-MN), Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), Ron Wyden (D-OR) and Edward J. Markey (D-MA) wrote in a letter to Mayer on Sept 27. “This is unacceptable,” they added.

Yahoo last week acknowledged that 500 million accounts were compromised. The Sens have six questions for Mayer, including when Yahoo first learned of the compromise, how many users were affected, what protections Yahoo is offering to them and what steps Yahoo is taking to prevent such breaches in the future. The senators also want to know if the U.S. government had warned Yahoo of a possible state-sponsored hack.

Google is throwing its support behind the Obama Administration's controversial plans to hand over management of the Internet domain name system. Google called the Obama Administration’s proposed transition of Internet Assigned Names Authority (IANA) from US oversight to an international governing authority an “important step to protect the Internet for generations to come.”

Google offered three arguments for its stance: The transition will put the Internet in the hands of innovators; protect the Internet from "those who want to break it into pieces"; and honor the US government's promise when the Internet was created that it "be governed by everyone with a stake in its continued growth.” Critics, though, have argued that handing off oversight would put the Internet under the control of countries like Russia, China and Iran, which would be represented in the international authority that includes 162 countries and entities. Supporters though say those worries are overblown and say the greater threat is that autocratic countries get fed up with US management and create their own splintered internet nodes.

Sen Charles Schumer (D-NY) joined the chorus of New York officials calling for changes to a key mobile emergency alerts system after bombings in Manhattan and New Jersey. In a letter, Sen Schumer pushed Federal Communications Commission Chairman Tom Wheeler to make it possible for such messages to be longer and include richer content.

“Though this resource has provided great assistance in emergency and terror situations in New York and across the country, much work remains to be done in order to modernize the system and bring it into the 21st century,” Sen Schumer said. “Accordingly, I applaud your efforts to improve the system and I ask you to expedite enhancements, such as extending the character limit to the maximum, allowing the use of multimedia images, and improving locational accuracy, so that citizens can be as informed as possible during times of risk.” His move follows a lobbying effort by New York City officials at the FCC ahead of a commission vote on whether, and how, to upgrade the Wireless Emergency Alerts system. The push follows the decision by authorities in the city to send an alert earlier in Sept telling the public they were looking for bombing supsect Ahmad Khan Rahami.

Lawmakers announced the creation of a caucus focused on blockchain technologies like Bitcoin. “The blockchain has boundless potential," Rep Jared Polis (D-CO) said in a statement detailing the new Congressional Blockchain Caucus. "From cryptocurrencies to supply chains to banking to property titling, blockchain-based solutions have the ability to decentralize cybersecurity and revolutionize many industries.”

Blockchain systems, most synonymous with Bitcoin, function as digital ledgers of transactions. Transactions are recorded on the ledger and are publicly but anonymously available for verification in the case of Bitcoin. Private banks are experimenting with technology for proprietary use to cut down costs and expedite transactions. Bitcoin and other blockchain-based currencies have been associated with libertarian hopes of anonymous digital payments and criminals on dark websites like the Silk Road, who used the currency to purchase contraband anonymously. Blockchain technologies have been creeping toward the mainstream recently, however.

A push by Sen Ted Cruz (R-TX) to block the Obama Administration from handing over management of the internet is not part of a short-term spending bill backed by Senate GOP leadership. Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) filed the continuing resolution (CR) without Cruz's initiative, which had gotten fierce pushback from Democrats and the White House. Sen Cruz said that he was "profoundly disappointed" that the provision is being left out.

"This is one more example why the American people are so fed up with Washington, because they expect all of us — Republicans, Democrats, and independents alike — to protect free speech online," he said. Sen Cruz added that his House colleagues should "continue to stand united to ensure that the government funding bill prevents the Obama administration from permanently undermining free speech on the Internet."

Lawmakers have until Oct. 1 to try to block the change, but without the measure in the spending bill, their efforts are likely to fall short.