What Libra pushback means for startups. Congressional leaders in the House and Senate are planning to hold hearings this week about Facebook's recently launched Libra cryptocurrency. The hearings, as well as recent legislative and administrative responses to the digital currency proposal, could potentially impact blockchain and cryptocurrency startups. 

Big Story. Trump administration targets social media sites. The White House criticized digital platforms over allegations of political bias during a social media summit this week. President Donald Trump and conservative lawmakers and activists have lashed out at major tech platforms over claims that they silence right-wing voices and viewpoints. 

This Week in Startups. With Congressional leaders on recess this week in observance of Independence Day, we thought it would be a good time to look at some of the topical policy issues affecting startups, including a renewed push against Section 230. 

Big Story. Examining the benefits of Section 230. In the last week, industry, business, and academic leaders from across the political spectrum have stood up to defend the wide range of benefits arising from Section 230 protections.

Big Story. Lawmaker targets content moderation practices. Sen. Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) introduced legislation this week that would impose a ‘politically neutral’ standard on internet platforms, upending critical protections that have allowed the Internet ecosystem to thrive.

Big story. One-year anniversary of net neutrality repeal. This Tuesday was the one-year anniversary of the Federal Communications Commission’s repeal of the net neutrality rules going into effect, and advocates of the protections marked the occasion with a new push to reverse the FCC’s decision.

Big Story. Tech giants under antitrust scrutiny. The Trump administration is reportedly launching a major antitrust probe to determine whether Amazon, Apple, Facebook, and Google have misused their market power. Under a series of arrangements, the Federal Trade Commission and the Department of Justice have reportedly divided up oversight of the four companies. The DOJ will now have authority over any potential antitrust investigations into Google and Apple, while the FTC will have oversight of Facebook and Amazon.

Big Story. FCC broadband access report scrutinized. The Federal Communications Commission released its 2019 Broadband Deployment Report this week, which said that more Americans than ever before now have access to high-speed broadband.

Big Story. Tech companies warned about doing business in China. U.S. intelligence officials have reportedly been briefing tech executives about the dangers of conducting business in China, including warning them about the theft of intellectual property and the possibility of cyber attacks. The meetings come as the Trump administration continues to warn companies against doing business with Chinese firms amidst an ongoing trade dispute between the two countries.

Big Story. Trump administration moves against Chinese tech firms. President Donald Trump issued an executive order prohibiting U.S. companies from purchasing or using telecoms equipment produced by a foreign adversary, an announcement that paves the way for a ban on Chinese-owned telecommunications firm Huawei.

The Big Story. FTC supports national data privacy framework. Members of the Federal Trade Commission pushed lawmakers on a House Energy and Commerce subcommittee to create a national data privacy framework that would regulate how tech companies handle and use consumer data.

The Big Story: Supreme Court debates hearing Google-Oracle case. The U.S. Supreme Court has asked the Trump administration for its opinion on whether it should hear the long-running Oracle v. Google copyright infringement case involving the Android operating system and access to software interfaces. The justices did not give the Justice Department a deadline to respond.

The Big Story: Censoring online content. Sri Lanka’s government blocked social media throughout the entire country to prevent the spread of extremist or misleading online content after a series of devastating bombings at churches and hotels on Easter Sunday killed over 250 people. 

The Big Story: Europe moves to further regulate online platforms. European countries moved this week to further regulate social media platforms, while the EU Council officially approved a divisive new copyright directive.

The Big Story: Dealing with harmful online content. Dueling congressional committees this week held hearings on online hate speech and digital censorship as the United Kingdom released a sweeping plan to require social media companies to be more proactive in removing harmful content from their sites.

The Big Story: Net neutrality bill gaining momentum. The House Energy and Commerce Committee voted to advance the Save the Internet Act, legislation to reinstate the FCC’s 2015 net neutrality protections, which kept the Internet a level playing field for startups. A vote by the full House is expected next week.