Robbie McBeath

On Oct 10, privacy advocates got their turn to speak before the Senate Commerce Committee, laying out the necessity of a national privacy law that goes beyond the protections already offered by some states. The hearing highlighted that consumer advocates and industry representatives don’t always see eye-to-eye on how protective a national law should be. But who will get to influence the legislation while it is drafted? “I want to be clear that the next federal privacy law will not be written by industry,” Chairman John Thune (R-SD) said.

On Oct 10, the Senate Commerce Committee held a hearing titled "Consumer Data Privacy: Examining Lessons From the European Union’s General Data Protection Regulation and the California Consumer Privacy Act.” The hearing provided the opportunity for Sens to hear from privacy advocates about the types of consumer protections to consider in future legislation. Witnesses included: Dr.

On Sept 30, 2018, Gov. Jerry Brown (D-CA) signed SB 822, California’s net neutrality law -- the strictest in the nation and widely seen as a challenge to the federal government. The Department of Justice quickly sued the state to block enactment of the rules. Two days later, lobbyists for broadband service providers filed their own suit. Everybody seems to be suing everybody in the latest chapter of the net neutrality saga. But, some clarity could come from it. And, ya know, Congress could act and settle the matter.

On September 26, 2018, executives from six major U.S. tech and communications companies testified before the Senate Commerce Committee at a hearing titled Examining Safeguards for Consumer Data Privacy. Representatives from Amazon, AT&T, Google, Twitter, Apple, and Charter were there to help lawmakers as they all discussed “possible approaches to safeguarding privacy more effectively.” Tech companies, on the whole, followed the trend that has emerged out of Silicon Valley when they testify before Congress: Apologize, explain, and offer to work with lawmakers on a regulatory solution.

On September 26, at the Federal Communications Commission’s open meeting, commissioners will vote on an order that will limit the roles of local policymakers in the deployment of fifth generation (5G) wireless infrastructure.

On September 5, 2018, lawmakers on Capitol Hill hosted two hearings with the heads of Facebook and Twitter. In the morning, Facebook COO Sheryl Sandberg and Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey testified before the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence at the hearing on Foreign Influence Operations’ Use of Social Media Platforms.

The Senate Commerce Committee held an oversight hearing of the Federal Communications Commission on August 16. When he announced the hearing, Committee Chairman John Thune (R-SD) said, “From efforts to better utilize spectrum powering our wireless economy to expanding rural broadband access, combatting robocalls, and reviewing the media landscape, the FCC and its operations are critically important.

The House Communications Subcommittee held a long-delayed Federal Communications Commission oversight hearing July 25. Overall, the review of the FCC was split along partisan lines. Republican representatives generally expressed satisfaction with the work of the FCC over the last nine months. Democratic representatives felt differently.  The hearing touched on a variety of policy issues, from spectrum allocation, to cybersecurity, to emergency alerts.

The House Communications Subcommittee held a long-delayed Federal Communications Commission oversight hearing July 25. Notably, FCC Chairman Ajit Pai stood by the FCC's decision to designate the Sinclair-Tribune deal for hearing. Full House Commerce Committee Ranking Member Frank Pallone (D-NJ) took the lead in pressing Chairman Pai on President Donald Trump's tweet criticizing the FCC for not approving the Sinclair-Tribune deal and his suggestion there was a need for a conservative voice like Sinclair's.

On July 9, President Donald Trump nominated Judge Brett Kavanaugh to fill the Supreme Court vacancy left by the retirement of Justice Anthony Kennedy. This week, we examine some of Judge Kavanaugh’s decisions on key communications policy issues, like net neutrality, the First Amendment, and surveillance. At 53, Kavanaugh is relatively young, consistent with President Trump's desire to appoint judges who can serve on the High Court for decades. Since 2006, Kavanaugh has served on the U.S.