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Senators on Wednesday debated a proposal to give news publishers the ability to negotiate with dominant tech platforms over the distribution of their content. But some media groups and advocates have argued the bill could hurt the small media outlets it appears to help.
Meanwhile, shares of new company Meta fell more than 20% after the company’s fourth-quarter results and earnings projections were released.
Let’s get to the news.
Journalism competition bill divides media groups
A proposal to give news publishers the power to negotiate with dominant tech platforms over the distribution of their content is dividing media groups, with some supporters saying the proposed solution could actually hurt the small local outlets it aims to help.
Members of the Senate Judiciary Antitrust Subcommittee clashed over the proposal during a hearing on Wednesday, despite a version of the bill introduced last year with bipartisan support.
Chairman of the subcommittee Amy KlobucharAmy KlobucharSenate Democrats Unveil Voter Count Law Reform Proposal Senate Group Moves Forward With Election Law Changes After Trump Remarks Trump Creates New January 6 Headache For GOP MORE (D-Minn.), who co-sponsored the Journalism Competition and Preservation Act (JCPA), said the proposal would help ensure the survival of local news outlets amid the continued rise of the “titans” of Google and Facebook digital ad revenue.
But rank member Sen. mike lee
Michael (Mike) Shumway LeeMcMullin independent overtakes Sen. Mike Lee in Utah Senate Republicans press feds for information on Texas synagogue hostage taker Put partisan politics aside – Child tax credit must be renewed immediately MORE (R-Utah) denounced the proposal as a misguided effort and suggested that at least some news publishers face problems because they did not take into account changing technology to adapt their models. commercial.
He also said the proposal could lead to a “cartel” of news, a concern also raised by some of the witnesses at the hearing and by public defenders who sent a letter to senators warning them against the bill. .
“The news giants with the greatest leverage would dominate the negotiations and small media outlets with diverse or dissenting voices would go unheard if not hurt,” a group of public interest advocates wrote in a letter to Klobuchar. and Lee.
Read more.
A MESSAGE FROM CISCO
How has privacy become essential for organizations around the world? Find out how organizations view privacy and privacy laws in Cisco 2022 Data Privacy Benchmark Study
Meta chaos
Shares of Facebook’s new parent Meta Platforms fell more than 20% in after-hours trading on Wednesday after the company released its latest earnings and guidance.
Shares of Meta fell from around $323 per share to $252. The company, which also owns Instagram and WhatsApp, predicted first-quarter 2022 revenue to be between $27 billion and $29 billion, below Wall Street’s forecast of $30 billion.
Meta attributed the lower estimate to a combination of factors, including privacy changes to Apple’s iOS and supply chain issues.
Facebook user growth slowed last quarter, with daily active users dropping from 1.93 billion to 1.92 billion. Most of this decline came from Africa and Latin America, a potentially worrying sign given that social media growth has stalled in North America and Europe for some time.
Learn more about the report.
FBI SAYS PEGASUS SPYWARE TESTED
The FBI tested the NSO Group’s Pegasus spyware for potential use in criminal investigations.
At the same time, Justice Department lawyers have questioned whether it could complicate prosecution efforts that may follow the FBI’s use of the spyware, people familiar with the matter. Recount The Washington Post.
The FBI confirmed to The Post that it had tested the technology developed by the Israeli company but said it had not been used “in support of an investigation”.
“The FBI works diligently to keep abreast of emerging technologies and crafts – not only to explore potential legal use, but also to fight crime and to protect both the American people and our civil liberties” , the FBI statement said.
“This means that we regularly identify, evaluate and test solutions and technical issues for a variety of reasons, including possible operational and security issues that they could land in the wrong hands,” he added. “There was no operational use in support of an investigation. The FBI was granted a limited license for product testing and evaluation only.”
Learn more here.
Biden’s FCC nominee back on schedule
Senators from the Commerce Committee will again have the opportunity to debate President Biden
Joe BidenBriahna Joy Grey: Biden Supreme Court Promises ‘Minimal’ Gesture to Black Voters House GOP Leader Says State of the Union Turnout Could Be Capped: Report Record Registration Numbers Send a clear message about healthcare affordability, access MORENominated by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) Gigi Sohn.
Chairman of the committee Maria Canwell
Maria Elaine CantwellU.S. lawmakers assess new COVID-19 stimulus funding for businesses Senate whistleblower report alleges aerospace industry safety oversight issues (D-Wash.) said the committee will meet next Wednesday, Feb. 9, to consider Sohn’s nomination.
It was originally scheduled to be discussed at a hearing on Wednesday morning, but was pulled from the schedule on Tuesday after the office of Sen. Ben Ray Luján (DN.M.) announced that the senator had been hospitalized after suffering a stroke last week. He is expected to make a full recovery.
His absence jeopardized Sohn’s nomination, given Sohn’s previous Republican rejection.
The committee also removed Federal Trade Commission (FTC) nominee Alvaro Bedoya from this week’s hearing, but the committee has yet to announce when Bedoya will be back on schedule for a vote.
The FTC and FCC are split 2-2 along party lines until the Senate confirms the nominees.
A MESSAGE FROM CISCO
How has privacy become essential for organizations around the world? Find out how organizations view privacy and privacy laws in Cisco 2022 Data Privacy Benchmark Study
PARTS
A chewable editorial: The America Competes Act: Let’s Make Sure It Helps Us Compete
Lighter click: The power of family
Notable web links:
Europe’s repression against these boring consent banners it’s huge (Protocol / Issie Lapowsky)
North Korea hacked it. So he Took of His Internet (Wired / Andy Greenberg)
The site sells famous songs as NFTs Without authorizationSparks Global Outrage (Motherboard / Edward Ongweso Jr.)
How? ‘Or’ What a company took over NFT trading (The Verge/Russell Brandom)
Tesla Drivers Report a push in ‘Ghost Braking’ (The Washington Post / Faiz Siddiqui and Jeremy B. Merrill)
One last thing: the SpaceX investigation
The US Coast Guard this week opened an investigation into an abandoned SpaceX launch after a Royal Caribbean cruise ship sailed too close to the spacecraft’s danger zone.
An operator was forced to abort the SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket mission Sunday night nearly 30 seconds before launch after the Royal Caribbean Harmony of the Seas cruise ship approached the rocket’s exclusion zone, according to Florida Today.
“We can confirm the cruise ship was Harmony of the Seas,” Coast Guard spokesman David Micallef told the outlet in a statement. “The Coast Guard is actively investigating Sunday’s cruise ship incursion and SpaceX launch delay.
“Our primary concern is the safety of mariners at sea, and we will continue to work with our federal, state and local port partners to ensure safe and navigable waterways,” he reportedly added.
That’s all for today, thanks for reading. Discover The Hill’s Technology and cyber security pages for breaking news and coverage. We will see you tomorrow.
