ON THE SENATE FLOOR: The Senate this week will continue to consider nominations. Former Nebraska Gov. Pete Ricketts (R) was sworn in yesterday to replace Senator Ben Sasse (R-NE) who has taken the post of president at the University of Florida.
IN THE HOUSE: The House will spend most of the week considering a dozen non-controversial measures under suspension of the rules. Members will also take up legislation that would prevent drawdowns from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve until agencies provide a plan for increasing federal land open to oil and gas leasing. The bill, which may not make it to the president’s desk given Administration concerns with the measure, is notable because it will be considered under a modified open amendment process - something we haven't witnessed since 2016 and will test Speaker Kevin McCarthy's rules changes agreed to earlier in the month. Members who wish to offer amendments must submit them into the Congressional Record at least one day prior to consideration, which could begin on Wednesday.
House Committees: On Sunday, House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries notified his colleagues that an agreement had been reached with the Republican leadership on the ratios for House committees. Under the agreement, the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee will decrease proportionally by two seats on both sides of the aisle; the Education and the Workforce Committee will decrease by four seats each; and the Oversight and Accountability Committee will add a seat on both sides.
Jeffries does not expect any returning Democratic members to lose their committee seats, with the exception of the Ways and Means Committee. The ratio agreement announced last week for Ways and Means provides for 18 Democratic seats. Consequently, Democratic Reps. Jimmy Gomez (CA), Steven Horsford (NV), and Stacey Plaskett (VI) will lose their seats on the panel. Rep. Brendan Boyle (PA) will give up his Ways and Means seat but retain his committee seniority while he serves as ranking member of the Budget Committee.
Debt Limit: Now that the debt limit has been reached and Treasury is employing extraordinary measures to stay under the limit, there is increased focus on a limitation that Congress created in 1917. The most recent Congressional Research Service report on the topic, from November, can be found here.
COMMITTEE ACTION:
Tuesday, January 24
- Senate Judiciary Committee Hearing: "That’s the Ticket: Promoting Competition and Protecting Consumers in Live Entertainment."
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EVENT TODAY | Legal and Regulatory Challenges for Social Media
TUESDAY, JANUARY 24 at 10:00 AM ET
To watch live CLICK HERE
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In the months ahead, federal courts and lawmakers will take actions that could make social media platforms less attractive to digital advertisers. Platform-recommended content: In a First Amendment case, the Supreme Court will determine whether users can sue social media platforms for alleged injury resulting from content that platforms recommend to users. Content pushed to users is a critical user engagement tool that promotes increased ad revenues. Political censorship: The Court is also considering whether lawmakers can prohibit censorship of candidates or political viewpoints on social media platforms. Facebook, Google, Twitter and tech industry advocates worry that misinformation or extremist viewpoints will discourage digital advertisers. Platform common carrier risk: At the same time, Republicans, now in control of the House, are attacking social media platforms for alleged bias against conservative views and messages. State lawmakers and regulators are increasingly interested in treating social media as common carriers, imposing a type of "net neutrality" obligation on the content displayed or published on the social media "town square." FTC limits on data for targeted advertising: Apart from policy risks to the autonomy of social media platforms to design their products and services, the FTC is working on rules that could restrict the use of personal data for targeted advertising, presenting risk to social media's ability to monetize user engagement. Social media is dealing with a policy squeeze. As digital advertising slows in the current economic environment, legal and regulatory pressures further complicate the outlook for major social media platforms. We'll focus on the substantive risks and the timing of major actions and decisions. We hope you will join us. |
