New application fee rates for the FCC Office of Engineering and Technology and Media Bureau take effect July 15, said Tuesday's Federal Register. The rates were adopted 3-2 at the agency's December meeting (see 2012300044).

The Copyright Office’s on-site services will reopen to the public by appointment starting July 8, the CO announced Thursday.

The National Institute of Standards and Technology wants comment by Aug. 5 on its effort to identify and manage AI bias. NIST plans several virtual events on its proposal. The agency seeks to develop "voluntary, consensus-based standards" for managing AI bias and reducing the risk of "harmful outcomes that it can cause,” it said.

Regulating how powerful social media companies control user content is “little different from traditional common carrier regulation long thought to be constitutionally permissible,” said Florida Monday at U.S. District Court in Tallahassee. The state opposed internet industry groups’ motion for preliminary injunction, arguing that Communications Decency Act Section 230 doesn’t preempt Florida from regulating networks that censor free speech: Plaintiffs may say sites are businesses not subject to the First Amendment, but if “Section 230 creates a broad law-free zone in which internet companies can censor however they like, even in bad faith, then serious questions would arise about whether their censorship constitutes state action.” Even if the court disagrees social networks are state actors, “there is nevertheless state action to whatever extent Section 230 preempts Florida law,” argued Florida, citing a 1956 Supreme Court case, Railway Employees’ Department v. Hanson. The Supreme Court, in 2006’s Rumsfeld v. FAIR and 1980’s PruneYard Shopping Center v. Robins, said the First Amendment gives government wide latitude to regulate, Florida said. A footnote responded to plaintiffs’ incredulity about the law exempting companies that own Florida theme parks, which could include Disney and Comcast. It “only applies to a handful of entities, none of which operates a social media platform of significant size,” Florida said. “The narrow exception survives intermediate scrutiny, and in any event should be severed from the rest of the Act if the Court deems it unconstitutional.” Virtual oral argument is June 28 at 1:30 p.m. Judge Robert Hinkle said he plans to rule on preliminary injunction by end-of-day June 30 (see 2106100059). The court received amicus briefs opposing the state law last week, including from the Internet Association, Electronic Frontier Foundation, American Civil Liberties Union and TechFreedom. It might seem “counterintuitive,” but “the answer to Florida lawmakers’ concerns ... is to preserve the constitutional status quo,” wrote EFF. The law vests Florida “with the pure power of the censor,” said ACLU and press and writer groups. Common carriage rules may not be applied to social media, said TechFreedom.

Patent Trial and Appeal Board judges are unconstitutionally appointed, and granting the Patent and Trademark Office director more discretion to review PTAB decisions would cure the problem, the Supreme Court ruled Monday in U.S. v. Arthrex (19-1434). The Constitution “forbids the enforcement of statutory restrictions on the Director that insulate the decisions of [administrative patent judges] APJs from his direction and supervision,” Chief Justice John Roberts wrote for the majority. “To be clear, the Director need not review every decision of the PTAB. What matters is that the Director have the discretion to review decisions rendered by APJs.” Justices Samuel Alito, Neil Gorsuch, Brett Kavanaugh and Amy Coney Barrett joined Roberts in the majority opinion on parts I and II. Alito, Kavanaugh and Barrett joined Roberts for an opinion on part III. Justices Stephen Breyer, Sonia Sotomayor, Elena Kagan, Clarence Thomas and Gorsuch dissented to varying degrees. Gorsuch filed an opinion concurring in part and dissenting in part. Breyer filed an opinion concurring in the judgment in part and dissenting in part, with Sotomayor and Kagan joining. Thomas filed a dissenting opinion with Breyer, Sotomayor and Kagan joining for parts I and II. The high court ruled the appointments unconstitutional on the question of whether the authority of APJs to “issue decisions on behalf of the Executive Branch is consistent with the Appointments Clause of the Constitution.” Arthrex argued “APJs were principal officers who must be appointed by the President with the advice and consent of the Senate, and that their appointment by the Secretary of Commerce was therefore unconstitutional,” according to the filing. Computer & Communications Industry Association Patent Counsel Josh Landau disagreed that “PTAB judges were not already subject to sufficient supervision by the Director” but welcomed the court’s “simple, common-sense revision that provides for Director review.” DOJ and an attorney for the company didn’t comment.

Ohio said a state court should decide if Google is a common carrier before it addresses the state’s second claim that seeks to stop the company from prioritizing its services in search results. “The second cause of action need not be reached if the first cause does not succeed,” plus it would require a large amount of discovery not required by the first count, Attorney General Dave Yost (R) said in a motion Thursday at Ohio Common Pleas Court in Delaware County (case 21 CV H 06 0274).

FCC rules on broadcasters identifying foreign-sponsored content are effective July 19, says Thursday’s Federal Register. Approved unanimously in April (see 2104220074), the rules require all broadcasters engaging in leasing agreements with other entities to check Foreign Agents Registration Act and FCC databases to see if they're dealing with agents of foreign governments. If so, the broadcasters must air disclosures at the beginning and end of the relevant broadcasts and keep records in their public files.

Apple representatives urged FCC Office of Engineering and Technology staff to consider bufferbloat excess buffering of packets as it considers how to measure broadband performance. “Considering both throughput and bufferbloat when measuring broadband performance would improve understanding of consumers’ real-world experiences,” said a filing posted Tuesday in docket 12-264.

The supply chain and cybersecurity are interconnected, Interos Vice President-Research and Analysis Andrea Limbago told an American Enterprise Institute webinar (see 2106110031). COVID-19 and, now, ransomware, are pushing the topic of supply chains from an esoteric discussion to headline news, and "it's only getting more complex." In addition to presidential executive orders and congressional action, deterrence relies on the international environment to get to the root of the problem of nation states advancing or allowing cyberattacks, said Ginny Badanes, Microsoft director-strategic projects, cybersecurity and democracy. The U.N. and other bodies are considering what red lines to set and what norms can be established to assess when those lines are crossed, she said Friday. Disinformation feeds into cybersecurity, lowering trust in institutions, Badanes said: Technology can be used to fight it but there's also a role for state and local government, tech society and other stakeholders.

The U.S. hasn't done a good job responding proportionately to cyberattacks, House Homeland Security Committee ranking member John Katko, R-N.Y., told an American Enterprise Institute webinar Friday: "The bad guys don't take you seriously unless you whack the hell out of them." Diplomacy doesn't work because countries that enable attacks understand only strength and power, which the U.S. isn't projecting, he said. Until recently, cyberattacks had little visible public impact, but the Colonial Pipeline hack let people see the disruption that stopped them from buying gas, he said. Katko criticized President Joe Biden's budget request for the Department of Homeland Security's Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency, saying it doesn't appear to match Biden's rhetoric on cybersecurity. Information-sharing in the cybercommunity is in its infancy, and the U.S. needs better reporting of cyber incidents, Katko said. One key issue is how to encourage the private sector to share information without worrying about lawsuits and immunity from liability, he said. Colonial Pipeline, SolarWinds and other incidents show malefactors are ratcheting up attacks and have figured out that going for critical infrastructure is "where the rubber meets the road." Asked about possible regulation, Katko said it's under discussion. One idea would be to require companies to certify in SEC 10-K filings they're adhering to cybersecurity best practices. Katko has floated legislation aimed at beefing up cybersecurity standards in the critical infrastructure industry, and said such other measures could be rolled out sector by sector. Lack of chips is also a serious threat the U.S. must address by bringing some manufacturing home, he said. Asked what responsibility industry bears to balance security with new technologies such as 5G and quantum computing, the lawmaker sought standards. U.S. companies paid $350 million in ransomware payments in 2020, up 171% from 2019, said AEI Resident Fellow Klon Kitchen.