The House Homeland Security Committee fast-tracked approval Wednesday of the Combating Terrorist Recruitment Act. It would counter terrorist groups’ online recruitment, but some committee Democrats were concerned the bill places too much emphasis on recruitment by Islamic terrorist groups. HR-4820, which Rep. Chuck Fleischmann, R-Tenn., filed Monday, would require the Department of Homeland Security to counteract online terrorist recruitment by using the “public testimonials” of former terrorists and their families in “counter-messaging” communications and community engagement efforts. House Homeland Security cleared HR-4820 16-5. Also Wednesday, a conference heard from panelists about spreading terrorism online (see 1603230039)

Major FCC policies could fundamentally tilt the communications playing field in favor of Internet edge and tech companies and against broadband providers, NCTA President Michael Powell said Wednesday. If the commission succeeds in its net neutrality, broadband ISP privacy and set-top box initiatives, the regulatory “bias” will facilitate the ability of edge/tech companies to enter telecom and video markets while restricting the ability of cable and telco providers to compete in the Internet space, said Powell, a former FCC chairman, at a Free State Foundation conference.

Some governments are using Internet companies' terms of service -- typically more restrictive of the kinds of speech allowed on a platform -- to take down content that governments don't like, "blurring" the lines between actions taken by the public and private sectors, said Emma Llansó, head of the Center for Democracy and Technology's free expression project. This allows governments to circumvent laws and legal processes to get what they want in their effort to curb terrorist use of online platforms for propaganda, recruitment, financing and planning activities, said Llansó during a George Washington University discussion Wednesday. That day, a House committee passed on a party-line vote legislation targeting terrorist content online (see 1603230056).

The House Homeland Security Committee fast-tracked approval Wednesday of the Combating Terrorist Recruitment Act. It would counter terrorist groups’ online recruitment, but some committee Democrats were concerned the bill places too much emphasis on recruitment by Islamic terrorist groups. HR-4820, which Rep. Chuck Fleischmann, R-Tenn., filed Monday, would require the Department of Homeland Security to counteract online terrorist recruitment by using the “public testimonials” of former terrorists and their families in “counter-messaging” communications and community engagement efforts. House Homeland Security cleared HR-4820 16-5. Also Wednesday, a conference heard from panelists about spreading terrorism online (see 1603230039)

Major FCC policies could fundamentally tilt the communications playing field in favor of Internet edge and tech companies and against broadband providers, NCTA President Michael Powell said Wednesday. If the commission succeeds in its net neutrality, broadband ISP privacy and set-top box initiatives, the regulatory “bias” will facilitate the ability of edge/tech companies to enter telecom and video markets while restricting the ability of cable and telco providers to compete in the Internet space, said Powell, a former FCC chairman, at a Free State Foundation conference.

A three-hour FCC oversight hearing before the House Communications Subcommittee Tuesday became tangled in questions of FCC process and how commissioners can discuss items pending at the commission. Communications Subcommittee Chairman Greg Walden, R-Ore., helped trigger what became a fierce debate with his questioning. Senate Commerce Committee Chairman John Thune, R-S.D., raised the same issues in the last week (see 1603210052).

Privacy advocates called DOJ's unexpected request to delay the hearing in U.S. District Court in Riverside, California, (see 1603210011) a victory for Apple, which faced a court order to help the FBI open up a locked iPhone 5c of one of the shooters in the San Bernardino mass shooting. The advocates said if the FBI found a vulnerability that could help open up that phone, it should let Apple know so it could patch the hole.

Privacy advocates called DOJ's unexpected request to delay the hearing in U.S. District Court in Riverside, California, (see 1603210011) a victory for Apple, which faced a court order to help the FBI open up a locked iPhone 5c of one of the shooters in the San Bernardino mass shooting. The advocates said if the FBI found a vulnerability that could help open up that phone, it should let Apple know so it could patch the hole.

Privacy advocates called DOJ's unexpected request to delay the hearing in U.S. District Court in Riverside, California, (see 1603210011) a victory for Apple, which faced a court order to help the FBI open up a locked iPhone 5c of one of the shooters in the San Bernardino mass shooting. The advocates said if the FBI found a vulnerability that could help open up that phone, it should let Apple know so it could patch the hole.

A three-hour FCC oversight hearing before the House Communications Subcommittee Tuesday became tangled in questions of FCC process and how commissioners can discuss items pending at the commission. Communications Subcommittee Chairman Greg Walden, R-Ore., helped trigger what became a fierce debate with his questioning. Senate Commerce Committee Chairman John Thune, R-S.D., raised the same issues in the last week (see 1603210052).