April 2023 U.S. Tech Policy Roundup

Kennedy Patlan, Rachel Lau, and Carly Cramer work with leading public interest foundations and nonprofits on technology policy issues at Freedman Consulting, LLC. Alondra Solis, a Freedman Consulting Phillip Bevington policy & research intern, also contributed to this article. The U.S. Department of Commerce in Washington, D.C. This month, artificial intelligence continues to demand public attention and spark policy debate. Just as several prominent tech leaders, including Elon Musk and Bill Gates, called for a six-month hiatus in the development of more advanced AI technologies, the Biden administration took action through a National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) Request for Comment focused on “what policies will help businesses, government, and the public be able to trust that Artificial Intelligence (AI) systems work as claimed – and without causing harm.”. Meanwhile, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) said he is leading a charge to introduce AI regulations on Capitol Hill.  At the agency level, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) announced appointments for its recently launched Space Bureau and International Affairs. Meanwhile, the House Judiciary Committee subpoenaed the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) regarding its investigation into Twitter. An accompanying letter from Rep. Jim Jordan (R-OH) claimed that the agency “failed to comply with the committee’s request for all documents and communications related to the probe” and stated that the agency made “inappropriate and burdensome” demands of the company.  In privacy-related news this month, the Biden administration and the Department of Health and Human Services’ Office for Civil Rights proposed a new rule…April 2023 U.S. Tech Policy Roundup