US Senate

Senator Mike Braun (R-IN) introduced a bill designed to learn more about how rural broadband can be improved. Rural broadband providers have to make significant investments in order to carry data-intensive content delivered by “edge providers” such as Netflix, Facebook, and YouTube. The Rural Broadband Network Advancement Act would require the Federal Communications Commission to study the impact that intensive “edge provider data” has on the service costs of rural broadband providers.

Chairwoman of the Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on Competition Policy, Antitrust, and Consumer Rights Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) and Sen Tom Cotton (R-AR) introduced bipartisan legislation to make it more difficult for dominant online platforms to make acquisitions that harm competition and eliminate consumer choice. The Platform Competition and Opportunity Act will halt further harmful consolidation by:

Sens Marco Rubio (R-FL), Rick Scott (R-FL), and Bill Hagerty (R-TN) introduced the Protecting Against Tyrants by Restoring Internet Access and Yielding Vital Interconnectivity in Designated Areas (PATRIA Y VIDA) Act to build a strategy to protect internet freedom worldwide and strengthen support for technologies that allow users to evade foreign government-backed censorship and restrictions.

Sen Catherine Cortez Masto (D-NV) introduced the Digital Accountability and Transparency to Advance (DATA) Privacy Act to strengthen data privacy protections for American consumers. The legislation would:

Sens Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) and Marsha Blackburn (R-TN), Chair and Ranking Member of the Senate Commerce, Science, and Transportation Subcommittee on Consumer Protection, Product Safety, and Data Security, announced that their subcommittee would take additional steps to look into Facebook’s knowledge of its platforms’ negative impact on teenagers and young users. “It is clear that Facebook is incapable of holding itself accountable," the senators stated.

Sen Ben Ray Luján (D-NM) introduced the Protecting Americans from Dangerous Algorithms Act (S.3029) to hold large social media companies accountable for using computer algorithms that promote harmful and dangerous content that leads to offline violence. Reps Tom Malinowski (D-NJ) and Anna G Eshoo (D-CA) introduced companion legislation in the US House of Representatives.

Sens Catherine Cortez Masto (D-NV), Roger Wicker (R-MS), Chuck Schumer (D-NY), and John Thune (R-SD) introduced a bipartisan bill to establish a national strategy based on an expert council to implement future telecommunications networks, including sixth generation (6G). The Next Generation Telecommunications Act (S.3014) would establish a group to advise Congress on the next generation of telecommunications services, including 6G and other wireless communications.

Sens Catherine Cortez Masto (D-NV) and Steve Daines (R-MT) introduced the National Science, Innovation, and Technology Strategy Act (S.3015) to support US competitiveness in innovation and technology. The bipartisan legislation will ensure innovators and government agencies are working together to provide guidance on technological issues like artificial intelligence (AI), cybersecurity, the digital divide in broadband, and smart communities.

Sen Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) urged Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg to participate in a Congressional hearing on Instagram and its impact on kids in a letter October 20. The Chair of the Senate Commerce Subcommittee on Consumer Protection, Product Safety and Data Security cited the testimony of Facebook whistleblower Frances Haugen and the Wall Street Journal's reports on Facebook as cause for the CEO's appearance before his subcommittee.

Sens Ron Wyden (D-OR), Chris Van Hollen (D-MD), Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), Dick Durbin (D-IL), and Edward J Markey (D-MA) wrote a letter urging the Federal Communications Commission to take action in response to national security risks posed by foreign companies that manage and service US wireless phone networks. Although the US government has responded forcefully to risks from Chinese hardware manufacturers, including Huawei and ZTE, it has not yet accounted for risks from foreign companies that operate or maintain US networks.