July 2023 U.S. Tech Policy Roundup

Rachel Lau, Kennedy Patlan, and J.J. Tolentino work with leading public interest foundations and nonprofits on technology policy issues at Freedman Consulting, LLC. Alison Talty, a Freedman Consulting Phillip Bevington policy & research intern, also contributed to this article. In July, all eyes were on Congress as lawmakers in both chambers attempted to advance the annual National Defense Authorization Act before the August recess. Policymakers aimed to ensure that proposals on artificial intelligence, social media oversight, and other tech-related policy were included in the package.  This month, the Department of Commerce added spyware vendors Cytrox and Intellexa to a trade blacklist due to national security risks. The move followed President Joe Biden’s executive order on commercial spyware restrictions this spring. The Biden administration also received good news from the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals, which granted a temporary stay of an injunction that restricted the Biden administration from communicating with social media companies about “protected free speech.” In seeking the stay, the Justice Department expressed concern that the ban on contacting platforms could threaten national security. The July 4 order had already begun impacting the administration’s relationships with the platforms, including the administration’s efforts to thwart election inference, voter suppression, and disinformation.  At the agency level, Federal Communications Commissioner nominees Anna Gomez (D), Geoffrey Starks (D), and Brendan Carr (R) were approved by the Senate Commerce Committee. In July, the Senate Commerce Committee also received a briefing on AI by Federal Trade Commission (FTC) officials, laying the groundwork for potential…July 2023 U.S. Tech Policy Roundup