Congress doesn’t have to wait to apply different protective thresholds to sensitive information in light of the Supreme Court’s Carpenter decision (see 2005130056), said Privacy and Civil Liberties Oversight Board Chairman Adam Klein Wednesday during a PCLOB virtual forum. Carpenter said the government’s collection of at least seven days of cellsite location information is a Fourth Amendment-protected search, meaning police must obtain warrants. Klein agreed with Elizabeth Goitein, co-director of the Brennan Center for Justice’s Liberty & National Security Program. Goitein said Carpenter indicates Congress can apply that standard to other information collected under Section 215 of the Patriot Act. For instance, authorities can collect web browsing data without warrant using Section 215. Goitein said that’s one area Congress could legislate. The Senate recently rejected such a proposal (see 2005130056). PCLOB members Edward Felten, Jane Nitze, Travis LeBlanc and Aditya Bamzai asked how the board can better fulfill its mission and what authorities it should be scrutinizing. It could explore Section 215 to determine what intelligence value it's yielding, said University of Texas School of Law Associate Dean-Academic Affairs Robert Chesney. Goitein agreed Section 215 needs attention but disagreed the PCLOB should weigh intelligence value. The board’s focus is privacy and civil liberties so that should be the focus of any Section 215 review, she added. Nitze asked if the existence of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act court lessens the incentive for congressional oversight of intelligence agencies. Goitein agreed but said removing the FISA court isn’t the answer. Bamzai asked what existing proposals the board should analyze. Georgetown University Law Center visiting professor Mary McCord agreed with the recently Senate-passed proposal requiring FISA court judges to appoint an amicus curiae in certain cases. The House requested conference on FISA reauthorization (see 2005280023). Davis Polk's Kenneth Wainstein warned against allowing amici to be too involved in court proceedings, saying it could impact national security. He recommended Congress pass the reauthorization and then consider a separate FISA revamp package based on DOJ inspector general findings detailing abuse (see 2003310068).
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
Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act needs recalibration because Big Tech isn’t doing enough to combat disinformation, House Commerce Committee Democrats said Wednesday. Republicans suggested platforms provide more transparency about content moderation decisions, citing political bias. It was a hearing (see 2006110064) of the Communications and Consumer Protection subcommittees.
Senate Intellectual Property Subcommittee ranking member Chris Coons, D-Del., told us he doesn’t see an easy path forward for drafting text for updating the Digital Millennium Copyright Act by December (see 2006090063). Chairman Thom Tillis, R-N.C., told us he’s hoping to get the tech industry to the negotiating table, after the Internet Association said it doesn’t want the DMCA amended.
Expect “significant” proposed changes when the Senate Judiciary Committee marks up the Earn It Act, Sen. Richard Blumenthal told us Thursday (see 2006170063). “I’m ready for a markup, which will include some changes, some of them significant, to clarify the provisions in light of the feedback."
When a public figure makes a statement violating Twitter rules, the platform doesn’t remove the post in order to allow public discussion and scrutiny, which was the case with President Donald Trump’s recent comments about looting (see 2006160059), Director-Global Public Policy Strategy and Development Nick Pickles told House Intelligence Committee Democrats Thursday.
It appears there are enough votes for the Senate Judiciary Committee to advance bipartisan, Section 230 legislation for combating child exploitation, Chairman Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., told us Wednesday (see 2003110070). If Earn It Act (see 2003050066) co-sponsor Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., is in favor, Graham will move to a vote: “I think we’ve got the votes, and I’m going to sit down with Sen. Blumenthal right after we do the policing [legislation] stuff, and if he’s ready to go, I’m ready to go.”
Facebook’s handling of President Donald Trump’s recent post about looting (see 2006100027) is dividing the Senate along party lines, leading Republicans to examine amendments to Section 230, as expected (see 2005290058). Sens. Ted Cruz, R-Texas; Marsha Blackburn, R-Tenn.; and Josh Hawley, R-Mo., said in interviews they are exploring proposals for altering the tech industry’s liability shield.
Sen. Angus King, I-Maine, and Rep. Mike Gallagher, R-Wis., urge President Donald Trump to appoint a national cyber director. Monday, they said COVID-19 has highlighted the federal government’s lack of cyber structure (see 2003110076). They co-chair the Cyberspace Solarium Commission, which recommended creating a national cyber director with oversight from new congressional cybersecurity committees. The position would be president-appointed and Senate-confirmed.
It’s unlikely the FTC has motivation or authority to police social media companies for conduct President Donald Trump cited in his executive order (see 2005290058), compliance attorneys said in interviews this week. Some noted that comments from Commissioners Christine Wilson and Rohit Chopra suggest bipartisan interest in examining social media algorithms.
Microsoft won’t sell facial recognition technology to U.S. police departments until a national law is in place, President Brad Smith said Thursday, following the lead of IBM and Amazon. IBM “no longer offers general purpose IBM facial recognition or analysis software,” CEO Arvind Krishna wrote Congress Monday, “outlining detailed policy proposals to advance racial equality.” Amazon implemented a “one-year moratorium on police use of Amazon’s facial recognition technology” Wednesday, though it will continue allowing use from organizations like Thorn, the International Center for Missing and Exploited Children and Marinus Analytics. “We hope this one-year moratorium might give Congress enough time to implement appropriate rules, and we stand ready to help if requested,” Amazon said. Sen. Ed Markey, D-Mass., welcomed a “pause” on police use of the technology: “What Amazon should really do is a complete about-face and get out of the business of dangerous surveillance altogether.” It took two years, but the American Civil Liberties Union is “glad the company is finally recognizing the dangers face recognition poses to Black and Brown communities and civil rights more broadly,” said ACLU Northern California Technology and Civil Liberties Director Nicole Ozer. The group's Civil Liberties Attorney Matt Cagle urged Microsoft to halt “its current efforts to advance legislation that would legitimize and expand the police use of facial recognition in multiple states.” Electronic Frontier Foundation Policy Analyst Matthew Guariglia called Microsoft’s decision a good step, saying it “must permanently end its sale of this dangerous technology to police departments.”