Nvidia on Thursday defended its $40 billion agreement to buy Arm from SoftBank, hours after the FTC filed a lawsuit to block the transaction on grounds the combined firm would “stifle competing next-generation technologies.” Nvidia announced the deal in September 2020 with goals of positioning Arm to create an AI powerhouse (see 2009140053).
The audio functionality that's at the heart of the Sonos patent fight with Google “is only a small piece” of what Google smart speakers provide, and excluding them from U.S. importation “would harm U.S. consumers and the U.S. economy,” commented the Computer & Communications Industry Association Thursday (login required) in the International Trade Commission’s 337-TA-1191 docket.
U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit judges evinced some skepticism about standing issues and Viasat's broad read of the National Environmental Policy Act's (NEPA) jurisdiction, during docket 21-1123 oral argument Friday on challenges to the FCC's April OK of a license modification for SpaceX (see 2108090022). A lawyer in the proceeding told us it's not clear how soon the three-judge panel might rule.
The Senate Commerce Committee plans hearings next week on social media platforms’ impact on children and legislation aimed at addressing those companies’ use of algorithms to manipulate user experiences. Instagram head Adam Mosseri will testify at a Dec. 8 Consumer Protection Subcommittee panel on social media impacts on kids. The hearing will “address what Instagram knows about its impacts on young users, its commitments to reform, and potential legislative solutions,” Commerce said Wednesday. It will begin at 2:30 p.m. in 253 Russell. Free Press co-CEO Jessica Gonzalez is among those set to testify at a Dec. 9 Communications Subcommittee hearing on “legislative solutions that address the dangers of online platforms’ use of technology to manipulate user experiences,” the committee said Thursday. Massachusetts Institute of Technology associate professor of marketing Dean Eckles, Atlantic Council Democracy & Tech Initiative Director Rose Jackson and Claremont Institute American Mind Executive Editor James Poulos will also testify at the hearing beginning at 10 a.m., also in 253 Russell. American Enterprise Institute Non-Resident Senior Fellow Daniel Lyons and University of California-Los Angeles law professor Eugene Volokh echoed other witnesses during a Wednesday night continuation of a House Communications Subcommittee hearing, raising misgivings about legislation to revamp Communications Decency Act Section 230 (see 2112010058). The hearing examined four Section 230-focused bills: the Protecting Americans from Dangerous Algorithms Act (HR-2154), Civil Rights Modernization Act (HR-3184), Safeguarding Against Fraud, Exploitation, Threats, Extremism, and Consumer Harms Act (HR-3421) and Justice Against Malicious Algorithms Act (HR-5596). “We tinker with this regime at our peril,” Lyons said. “Section 230 is woven into the fabric of online society, making it difficult to predict how a change to the statute would ripple throughout the internet ecosystem.” Volokh criticized HR-5596, which would remove Section 230 immunity when a platform “knowingly or recklessly uses an algorithm or other technology to recommend content that materially contributes to physical or severe emotional injury.” The measure “strikes me as a bad idea” because it would benefit professionally produced content that already has external marketing at the expense of user-generated submissions, he said.
The U.S. Chamber of Commerce objects to legislation meant to update antidumping and countervailing duty laws, it said in a letter to leadership of House Ways and Means Committee and its Trade Subcommittee. Soon after the Chamber sent its letter, lawmakers introduced the House version of the Eliminating Global Market Distortions to Protect American Jobs Act, the legislation that the Chamber has concerns about. "The Chamber opposes this bill, which has not been subject to the scrutiny and deliberation required for a complex, far-reaching measure amending U.S. AD/CVD laws," the Chamber said. "This major overhaul of U.S. trade laws could add to inflationary pressures by raising costs for a wide variety of goods, including many products sourced from U.S. allies and partners."
An FCC Further NPRM on curbing illegal robocalls to public safety answering points and improving the PSAP Do-Not-Call registry got mixed reaction from public safety organizations and industry in comments posted Thursday in docket 12-129 (see 2110010065). Commissioners approved the item in September. Comments were due Wednesday.
Numerous House Commerce Committee members repeated calls for bipartisan action to revise Communications Decency Act Section 230 during a Wednesday Communications Subcommittee hearing, but remain far apart on the details. The proposals “aren’t identical,” but the process could lead to “bipartisan work,” said committee Chairman Frank Pallone, D-N.J. “Republicans and Democrats don’t agree on this issue,” said Rep. Dan Crenshaw, R-Texas.
The U.S. Chamber of Commerce objects to legislation meant to update antidumping and countervailing duty laws, it said in a letter to leadership of House Ways and Means Committee and its Trade Subcommittee. Soon after the Chamber sent its letter, lawmakers introduced the House version of the Eliminating Global Market Distortions to Protect American Jobs Act, the legislation that the Chamber has concerns about. "The Chamber opposes this bill, which has not been subject to the scrutiny and deliberation required for a complex, far-reaching measure amending U.S. AD/CVD laws," the Chamber said. "This major overhaul of U.S. trade laws could add to inflationary pressures by raising costs for a wide variety of goods, including many products sourced from U.S. allies and partners."
The National Defense Authorization Act, a must-pass bill, hasn't gone to the Senate floor due to disagreement over an amendment to include the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act. Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., said that Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., the sponsor of that amendment, is the only reason the NDAA can't go to the floor.
Numerous House Commerce Committee members repeated calls for bipartisan action to revise Communications Decency Act Section 230 during a Wednesday Communications Subcommittee hearing, but remain far apart on the details. The proposals “aren’t identical,” but the process could lead to “bipartisan work,” said committee Chairman Frank Pallone, D-N.J. “Republicans and Democrats don’t agree on this issue,” said Rep. Dan Crenshaw, R-Texas.