It’s disappointing the FTC’s “temporary” suspension on granting early termination (ET) has dragged out for more than a year (see 2102080070), Commissioner Noah Phillips told us Tuesday. “Continuing to refuse ET for deals the agencies are not interested in investigating is nothing more than a gratuitous tax on normal market operations and the efficient allocation of agency resources,” said Phillips in a statement.
Karl Herchenroeder
Karl Herchenroeder, Associate Editor, is a technology policy journalist for publications including Communications Daily. Born in Rockville, Maryland, he joined the Warren Communications News staff in 2018. He began his journalism career in 2012 at the Aspen Times in Aspen, Colorado, where he covered city government. After that, he covered the nuclear industry for ExchangeMonitor in Washington. You can follow Herchenroeder on Twitter: @karlherk
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., are negotiating to begin conference on the China package this work period, a Senate aide told us Monday (see 2203010077). The work period is scheduled to end April 8.
Senate Homeland Security Committee ranking member Rob Portman, R-Ohio, supports cyber incident reporting legislation the House passed Wednesday in its omnibus package, he told us Thursday.
President Joe Biden signed an executive order Wednesday outlining a national policy on digital assets and directing agencies to explore a U.S. central bank digital currency. Democrats welcomed the news, highlighting crypto-related financial inclusion issues and risks associated with the technology like money laundering. Republicans took a pro-innovation stance, urging Congress to pass legislation to avoid anti-innovation policies.
Getting White House assistance in moving a comprehensive privacy bill is the most “realistic” near-term goal, Sen. Roger Wicker, R-Miss., told us as he contemplates stepping down as top Republican on the Senate Commerce Committee (see 2203030070).
House members are pushing competing kids' privacy bills in an attempt to keep pace with bipartisan efforts in the Senate (see 2202280060). But talks in the lower chamber have been fragmented, House Commerce Committee members told us Tuesday at a House Consumer Protection Subcommittee hearing.
The House Commerce Committee is reviewing a bipartisan Senate proposal on children’s privacy, but Democrats see their privacy bill language as the proper base text for comprehensive legislation, said Syd Terry, chief of staff for House Consumer Protection Subcommittee Chairwoman Jan Schakowsky, D-Ill.
Opponents are debating the legacy of a 2018 anti-sex trafficking law as the Senate prepares to take up a similar Section 230-related measure in the Eliminating Abusive and Rampant Neglect of Interactive Technologies Act (see 2202100071). Courts, meanwhile, continue to iron out case law on Communications Decency Act liability protections.
The Senate Commerce Committee is considering a potential markup for bipartisan children’s privacy legislation introduced last week (see 2202160055), Chair Maria Cantwell, D-Wash., told us Thursday.
Expect the Senate Commerce Committee to mark up bipartisan legislation introduced Wednesday that’s meant to improve child safety online, Senate Consumer Protection Subcommittee Chairman Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., and ranking member Marsha Blackburn, R-Tenn., told reporters.