State and local governments sought close coordination as billions of broadband dollars come from the federal infrastructure law, in comments we received. Comments were due Friday on NTIA’s request for comments on implementing broadband programs in the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA). Industry groups sought NTIA assurance the broadband equity, access and deployment (BEAD) and middle mile programs would be technologically neutral. Advocacy groups wanted maximum stakeholder participation and a focus on equitable deployment.

A bipartisan amendment that would ban mink farming for fur production in the U.S. passed the House of Representatives 262-168, as the House was working its way through hundreds of amendments to the America Competes Act. The amendment, co-sponsored by Reps. Rosa DeLauro, D-Conn., and Nancy Mace, R-S.C., amends the Lacey Act. It was changed from the original language, which spoke specifically of ending import and export of Neovison vison, the species known as American minks. The new version bans the sale, possession, acquisition, purchase or transport of the species, if it was raised in captivity for fur production. If this section of the bill survives the conference committee process with the Senate, it would take effect Dec. 31.

The Senate Judiciary Committee voted 21-1 Thursday to advance to the floor another major piece of legislation aimed at regulating the tech industry. Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, was the only member against the Open App Markets Act. S-2710 would open up app store competition for Apple and Google (see 2108110055). The committee passed a bill last week that would ban Big Tech platforms from unfairly self-preferencing products (see 2201200066).

A bipartisan amendment that would ban mink farming for fur production in the U.S. passed the House of Representatives 262-168, as the House was working its way through hundreds of amendments to the America Competes Act. The amendment, co-sponsored by Reps. Rosa DeLauro, D-Conn., and Nancy Mace, R-S.C., amends the Lacey Act. It was changed from the original language, which spoke specifically of ending import and export of Neovison vison, the species known as American minks. The new version bans the sale, possession, acquisition, purchase or transport of the species, if it was raised in captivity for fur production. If this section of the bill survives the conference committee process with the Senate, it would take effect Dec. 31.

In granting Sonos the cease and desist order it sought on Google smart speakers, phones and other devices found to infringe five Sonos multiroom audio patents, the International Trade Commission, in a previously undisclosed ruling, denied Google’s request for an exemption to donate the infringing products in its “significant” domestic inventory to nonprofits, said the ITC’s opinion posted Tuesday in docket 337-TA-1191. The opinion details the ITC’s “reasoning in support of its final determination,” issued in a sparse public notice Jan. 6 (see 2201070022), that Google violated Section 337 of the Tariff Act. “Sonos raises a number of questions regarding the scope of the requested exemption that remain unanswered because Google did not request this exemption until remedy briefing before the Commission,” said the opinion. The ITC “agrees with Sonos that the proposed, unbounded exemption could enable Google to flood the market with infringing devices, thus inflicting harm on Sonos notwithstanding” the CDO and the other remedies imposed, it said. “Google has failed to provide any evidence to support its assertion that the exemption it seeks” would result in no cost or harm to Sonos, it said.

The following are short summaries of recent CBP NY rulings issued by the agency's National Commodity Specialist Division in New York:

Senate Appropriations Commerce Subcommittee members pressed Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo on how NTIA will administer the $48 billion under its control through the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, during a hearing Tuesday (see 2201210083). "We need the FCC to produce its maps before we can even run the formula to figure out how much money each state has," Raimondo told members.

Senate Commerce Committee leaders were hoping to meet with Senate leadership Tuesday or Wednesday to establish chips legislation negotiations, ranking member Roger Wicker, R-Miss., told us Tuesday. Chair Maria Cantwell, D-Wash., addressed the possibility of moving to informal conference negotiations to speed up the process.

Senate Commerce Committee leaders were hoping to meet with Senate leadership Tuesday or Wednesday to establish chips legislation negotiations, ranking member Roger Wicker, R-Miss., told us Tuesday. Chair Maria Cantwell, D-Wash., addressed the possibility of moving to informal conference negotiations to speed up the process.

The Senate Commerce Committee will “probably” postpone planned Wednesday votes on Democratic FCC nominee Gigi Sohn and FTC nominee Alvaro Bedoya amid expectations that Senate Communications Subcommittee Chairman Ben Ray Lujan, D-N.M., would be unable to appear at the meeting after having a stroke, Chair Maria Cantwell, D-Wash., told reporters Tuesday afternoon. Also see our news bulletin. Sohn’s prospects of making it through the committee were already uncertain as a handful of uncommitted panel members kept mum about their intentions.