Week of February 13, 2023
Happy “Super Bowl Monday,” where the American workforce is expected to have more than 18 million “sick days” following last night’s game. And, while we enjoyed seeing commercials for electric vehicles, learning Rihanna is not afraid of heights, and watching an enjoyable football game while crushing some wings hot off the smoker, your Franklin Square team is present and accounted for as we kick off another week of the 118th Congress.Note to any hot air balloon hobbyists amongst our readership: now may not be a good time to launch. Following the recent cross country journey of a Chinese surveillance balloon, the Pentagon announced that US fighter jets have shot down four “objects” in the last week. If this is an alien invasion, it is off to a poor start. This is a political headache for the Biden Administration as both political parties on Capitol Hill are demanding more information from the White House.The Weekly Newsletter will be off next week while Congress is out, and return Monday, February 27 to keep you up to date on all the happenings in Washington.
What We’re Watching:
Congress Focuses on Children’s Privacy: Last week’s State of the Union address included a call for Congress to pass data privacy protections. Biden reiterated his support for a national data privacy protection framework and, specifically, called for action on children’s privacy protections. This week, the Senate Judiciary Committee is holding a hearing entitled “Protecting Our Children Online,” with a witness panel comprised of advocates for enhancing more robust safeguards for underage online activity. While industry groups continue to hope for reintroduction of last year’s bipartisan ADPPA legislation that was crafted by the current Chair and Ranking Member of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, the more narrowly focused issue of children’s online privacy seems like it could be a viable alternative to a more comprehensive reform package.
White House, Congress Ready China Defenses: The Biden Administration is expected to release its executive order on limiting U.S. investments in China in the coming months. The executive order is expected to include restrictions on American funds that are used to fund advanced technology development in China. Additionally, the U.S. Treasury is working with other countries to ensure they are in agreement with the restrictions, so as not to finance Chinese advanced technology with international allied investment. Pressures for executive and congressional action on China competition continue to increase, as Congress held numerous hearings last week examining the current threats posed by China in several industries.
Round Three for FCC Nominee Gigi Sohn: President Biden renominated Gigi Sohn for the third time earlier this year to fill the final vacancy on the Federal Communications Commission. After being met with harsh resistance from Senate Republicans, Sohn has not been able to cross the threshold for confirmation. The Senate Commerce Committee will host their third nomination hearing with Sohn next Tuesday, despite not being required to do so. Sohn is expected to again be asked about her personal political leanings, which many Republicans argue are too political to serve on the FCC. Notably, Sohn has been criticized for her involvement on the board of Electronic Frontier Foundation, which opposed passage of FOSTA-SESTA to amend Section 230 protections of Communications Decency Act. Although the Senate Democrats have a more favorable majority in the 118th Congress, it remains to be seen if Sohn will garner enough votes to pass out of the Senate.
What’s Happening This Week:
Tech Hearings
Senate Judiciary hearing on protecting children’s privacy - Tuesday, February 14 at 10:00 AM ET
The Senate Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs Committee hearing on crypto and digital assets - Tuesday, February 14 at 10:00 AM ET
The Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee hearing on Gigi Sohn nomination to the FCC - Tuesday, February 14 at 10:00 AM ET
The Senate Budget Committee hearing on climate-related economic risks - Wednesday, February 15 at 10:00 AM ET
Tech Events
The Bipartisan Policy Center - "2023 Top Cybersecurity Risks" - Monday, February 13 at 10:00 AM ET
The Brookings Institution - "Gonzalez v. Google and the fate of Section 230" - Tuesday, February 14 at 11:00 AM ET
The Government Executive Media Group's Federal Computer Week holds a Zero Trust workshop - Wednesday, February 15 at 9:00 AM ET
The Federalist Society for Law and Public Policy Studies - "Cryptocurrency Regulation in the Aftermath of FTX" - Wednesday, February 15 at 3:00 PM ET
The Brookings Institution - "Mitigating climate risk through localized data” - Wednesday, February 15 at 2:00 PM ET
The Potomac Officers Club - fourth annual Artificial Intelligence Summit - Thursday, February 16 at 8:30 AM ET
The Government Executive Media Group - "How Federal Agencies Can Get Ahead and Stay Ahead in the Post-Quantum Cryptography Era" - Thursday, February 16 at 1:00 PM ET
Future of Privacy Forum - “13th Annual Privacy Papers for Policymakers” - Thursday, February 16 at 5:30 PM ET
What’s Interesting This Week:
The First Electronic Computer is How Old?.... On February 14, 1946, the much-anticipated Electronic Numerical Integrator and Computer (ENIAC) was unveiled at the University of Pennsylvania. Considered the first fully electronic computer (as compared to electro-mechanical designs) ENIAC calculated 5,000 operations per second — 1,000 times faster than its contemporaries. ENIAC occupied over 1,500 square feet of space, weighed 30 tons, and used 18,000 vacuum tubes.
