Politico

As the Kremlin moves to block or throttle more foreign websites and Russian citizens rush to deploy workarounds such as virtual private networks, concern is growing that Moscow plans to recreate Beijing’s tough restrictions — known collectively as the “Great Firewall” — that shield Chinese citizens from much of the broader internet. But Russia likely possesses neither the infrastructure nor the technical capabilities to mirror China’s relative success in walling off its citizens from the web.

Four trade groups and advocacy organizations representing the major tech companies spent roughly $2 million on Facebook advertisements opposing tech-related antitrust bills since the start of 2022. That number, which comes courtesy of an analysis of Facebook’s ad archives by Politico, will likely only increase as legislation to rein in the power of the tech giants moves through the House and Senate. Ad buys from tech trade group NetChoice made up the bulk of that spending.

Democrats reintroduced in both chambers a bill to examine the impact the first-ever law revamping Section 230 has had on marginalized sex workers, suggesting new efforts to reform the tech industry’s liability shield may face sustained headwinds from progressives. The reintroduced bill comes less than a month after senators advanced the EARN IT Act (

Sen Roger Wicker (R-MS) is very likely on his way out as the current ranking member on the Senate Commerce Committee. And all signs point to Sen Ted Cruz (R-TX) replacing him as ranking member — or chair, depending on how November 2022’s election shapes up — by this time in 2023. The Texas senator has a reputation as a political firebrand unconcerned with diplomatic niceties.

Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson, President Joe Biden’s pick to replace Justice Stephen Breyer on the Supreme Court, will inevitably have to weigh in in important cases related to technological issues including data privacy, intellectual property, telecommunications and antitrust if confirmed. Here are a couple cases where Jackson’s weighed in on key tech topics: Equal Rights Center v. Uber and Electronic Privacy Information Center v. Department of Justice.

Sen. Krysten Sinema (D-AZ)—widely seen as the key swing vote in the Biden administration’s quest to confirm Gigi Sohn as the fifth commissioner at the Federal Communications Commission—has finally (sort of) weighed in on Sohn’s promise to recuse herself from certain television broadcast copyright and retransmission issues. In questions for the record, which stemmed from Sohn’s unusual second confirmation hearing on Feb.