What's on the agenda for policymakers.
Agenda
Reps. Jan Schakowsky (D-Ill.), Yvette Clarke (D-N.Y.), Robin Kelly (D-Ill.) as well as leading advocates for digital privacy and civil rights will brief Hill staff and the press on how people of color, women, immigrants, the LGBTQ community and other marginalized groups are harmed by the commercial surveillance system and suggest possible remedies.
Any privacy legislation must be grounded in civil rights and focused on minimizing the disparate and discriminatory impacts of data, digital and algorithmic practices.
States Add to Scrutiny on Google, Facebook, Other Big Tech
State attorneys general are preparing for their own investigations into big tech platforms including Google and Facebook, based on concerns that largely mirror those driving probes by the Justice Department, the Federal Trade Commission and Congress. Several state attorneys general and aides said a core group of AGs has been discussing how to address antitrust-related concerns around big tech companies for some months.
Fresh Hurdle for Bipartisanship on Privacy
Two House lawmakers looking to craft a consensus data privacy bill found themselves on opposite sides of an emerging debate: whether legislation should create a new privacy division at the Federal Trade Commission. Rep. Jan Schakowsky (D-IL), who heads the House Commerce Committee's Consumer Protection Subcommittee, said she’ll pursue that option.
The agenda at this meeting will feature a report from each of the Advisory Committee on Diversity and Digital Empowerment (ACDDE) Working Groups. Each of the Working Groups will report on their work under the current ACDDE charter, which expires July 5, 2019.
Google and Facebook sucked profits from newspapers. Publishers are finally resisting.
Legislation in the House and Senate would provide a temporary “safe harbor” — a four-year antitrust exemption for news publishers as they negotiate with Google and Facebook over how news content is used and how advertising dollars are distributed. While Google and Facebook gave media organizations new, and popular, ways to distribute their journalism, they also sucked up much of the advertising revenue. Meanwhile, the tech platforms benefited because they drew lucrative audiences for “content” — the journalism produced by local reporters who, as a rule, are hard-working and not well paid.
As part of the Committee’s oversight responsibilities, this hearing will examine policy issues before the Federal Communications Commission and review its ongoing activities and proceedings.
Witnesses
The Technological Advisory Council will introduce the 2019 TAC members and discuss status of the 2019 TAC work program.
The FCC will attempt to accommodate as many people as possible. However, admittance will be limited to seating availability. Meetings are also broadcast live with open captioning over the internet from the FCC Live web page at http:// www.fcc.gov/live/.
The hearing will examine how television programming and the delivery of video content have evolved over the past decade.Witnesses will discuss how new entrants in the video marketplace and the development of digital programming and streaming services have impacted consumer viewing habits and preferences. The hearing will also examine existing laws governing the video marketplace and their role in fostering access to content and promoting competition, localism, and diversity of viewpoints.
Witnesses: