Week of March 20, 2023
Today is the first day of Spring and while your NCAA bracket may be busted after the first weekend of the tournament, our loyal readers in the Washington, DC-area can at least bask in the beauty of peak cherry blossom season (Pro tip: Avoid driving anywhere near the Tidal Basin this week).
House Republicans are wrapping up their annual policy retreat today and tomorrow, and the Appropriations Committees in both chambers will continue their hearings with agency and department heads to justify their budget requests.
And, while the CEO of TikTok testifying before the House Energy & Commerce Committee would normally be the big news story of the week, former President Donald Trump took to social media over the weekend to announce that he expected to be arrested this week, following an indictment by the Manhattan district attorney. All is well, nothing to see here.
What We’re Watching:
House Prepares to Grill TikTok: The House Energy and Commerce Committee is gearing up for what is sure to be a grilling of TikTok CEO Shou Chew. The hearing was first reported months ago in an effort to showcase the Committee’s focus on consumer privacy issues in big tech, not to mention the wide-ranging national security concerns raised about the social media platform. According to the hearing memo, attention will focus on TikTok’s consumer privacy and data security practices, the platforms’ impact on kids, and its relationship with the Chinese Communist Party. The action further highlights congress’ laser focus on China, and demonstrates the nexus between strategic competition concerns, national security, and big tech.
Wyden Says AI Won’t Receive Section 230 Protections: Senator Ron Wyden (D-OR) affirmed in an interview late last week that content generated by AI, such as ChatGPT, will not receive liability protections under Section 230. The question arises from the oral arguments in the Supreme Court case Gonzalez v. Google, in which Justice Neil Gorsuch suggested that content generated by AI would go beyond picking, choosing, analyzing, or digesting content, and that it is not protected. Wyden, who co-authored the legislation in 1996, affirmed that AI applications would not receive protections and that companies would be responsible for their own technology. Wyden remarked in the interview that, “Section 230 is about protecting users and sites for hosting and organizing users’ speech” and “has nothing to do with protecting companies from the consequences of their own actions and products.” It remains to be seen which, if any, legislation will gain momentum in the committees of jurisdiction, and if AI-specific language will play a role.
Congress Zeros in on Sector-Specific Cybersecurity: Following last week's Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs hearing examining cybersecurity standards in the healthcare sector, the energy sector will receive the same treatment this week in the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee. This trend signifies a growing legislative interest into the sector-specific cybersecurity measures industries are putting in place to best prepare for the growing threat landscape. With the recent release of the Administration's National Cybersecurity Strategy, Members are taking a closer look at the widespread impacts of ransomware and cyber attacks related to privacy, civil liberties, national security, economic security, and more. Additionally, the House Oversight cyber subcommittee announced a hearing to review the Strategy, and the House Homeland cyber subcommittee will be hearing from industry stakeholders on the impact and private/public coordination efforts of CISA.
What’s Happening This Week:
Tech Hearings
House Energy and Commerce Committee hearing on TikTok - Thursday, March 23 at 10:00 AM ET
Senate Energy Committee hearing to examine cybersecurity in the energy sector - Thursday, March 23 at 10:00 AM ET
House Homeland Security Subcommittee hearing to review CISA - Thursday, March 23 at 10:00 AM ET
House Oversight Subcommittee hearing on the National Cybersecurity Strategy - Thursday, March 23 at 2:00 PM ET
House Armed Services Committee hearing on Science, Technology, and Innovation at the DOD - Thursday, March 23 at 3:30 PM ET
Select Committee on the CCP hearing to examine the CCP’s actions against the Uyghur genocide - Thursday, March 23 at 7:00 PM ET
Tech Events
The Government Executive Media Group - "Critical Infrastructure: Evolving to Stay Ahead of Cyber Threats" - Monday, March 20 at 1:00 PM ET
Washington Post Live - "U.S. Industrial Policy and Competitiveness" - Monday, March 20 at 2:00 PM ET
The Center for Strategic and International Studies - "The Future of Quantum - Building a Global Market" - Monday, March 20 at 2:00 PM ET
The Information Technology and Innovation Foundation - "Artificial Intelligence-Generated Art: Boom or Bust for Human Creativity?" - Tuesday, March 21 at 11:00 AM ET
The Government Executive Media Group and TD Synnex - "Scalable Security: Zero Trust Frameworks" - Tuesday, March 21 at 1:00 PM ET
Homeland Security Department - meeting of the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency Cybersecurity Advisory Committee to discuss current CSAC activities - Tuesday, March 21 at 1:00 PM ET
Export-Import Bank - meeting to discuss comments for inclusion in EXIM's Report to the U.S. Congress on Global Export Credit Competition - Tuesday, March 21 at 2:00 PM ET
The Center for Strategic and International Studies - "Innovation for Resilience" - Thursday, March 23 at 9:00 AM ET
What’s Interesting This Week:
Throw Me a Bone Here.... On March 22, 1960, the first patent on a laser was issued to Arthur Leonard Schawlow and Charles Hard Townes, who assigned it to Bell Telephone Laboratories. Still, no one has figured out how to attach these “lasers” to the heads of sharks…
