The victims of foreign cyberattacks, including the theft of personal information, would be able to sue those countries under a new law, the Homeland and Cyber Threat Act, introduced by Sen. John Kennedy (R-La.).

According to Kennedy Thursday (Nov. 18), while the Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act of 1976 allows American individuals to sue foreign governments in a U.S. federal court in some instances, but not among the instances anticipated were cyberattacks.

“Americans who fall prey to our adversaries’ cyberattacks have no legal recourse under current law,” said Kennedy. ”Our citizens are powerless to act against foreign governments that damage their property or reputation.”

The new legislation would add cyber attacks to the list and includes a list of foreign actions that would be grounds for such cyber-attack suits:

1. “Accessing U.S. computers or electronics without authorization;
2. “Damaging a U.S. computer by sending unauthorized information;
3. “Using or sharing information (without consent) obtained by the conduct described above; and
4. “Providing material support for any of the above activities.” ■

Republican Senators John Kennedy (La.) and Marco Rubio (Fla.) have introduced a bill that would deny some Chinese companies access to U.S. capital markets, including some familiar names in the suspect tech category. 

Also Read: FCC Confirms China Telecom Revocation Proceeding

The American Financial Markets Integrity and Security Act would ban what it calls "malign" Chinese companies, which it defines as ones on the Department of Commerce's Entities list or the Defense Department's list of Chinese military companies, the former includes Chinese network tech company Huawei and telecoms China Mobile and China Telecommunications.

Kennedy and Rubio said that while the U.S. government has sanctioned the companies, they are still allowed to "operate in the U.S. capital market system while being involved in the Communist Party’s military, espionage, human rights abuses, 'Military-Civil Fusion Strategy' and the 'Made in China 2025' industrial policy."

Also Read: FCC Flags More China Telecoms

“The Chinese Communist Party shouldn’t find ready investors on U.S. soil," said Kennedy. "This is a national security priority."

Co-sponsors of the bill, all Republicans, include Sens. Mike Braun (Ind.), Tom Cotton (Ark.), Ben Sasse (Neb.) and Rick Scott (Fla.).

Another Republican, Rep. Mike Gallagher (Wis.) has introduced a House version of the bill.

The Senate floor saw a reprise of some online political theater Thursday (Oct. 1), both in the sense that it was streamed and in the subject matter at issue.

Sen. John Kennedy (R-La.) took to the floor to seek unanimous consent (UC) to pass legislation that would reform the Sec. 230 immunity that social media and other websites have from civil liability over their moderation of third-party content.

Republicans, led by the leader of their party, President Trump, argue the immunity has allowed the Twitters and Facebooks of the world to censor conservative political speech and they want to put a stop to it.

Related: Hawley Slams Big Tech in Call for Bill Vote

Kennedy said that social media was an American invention with many virtues and advantages, including bringing the world closer and giving people a voice and accumulating a vast amount of knowledge. But there was a "but."

He said that it has a downside, one of which was that it had become an "endless electronic brawl" thanks to that Sec. 230 immunity, which allows social media site algorithms to promote content to "push our buttons" without repercussion.

He called for a vote on his Don't Push My Buttons Act, which he said was simple. It said that if a social media platform uses algorithms based on the information they have collected about its users to push their hot buttons by continuously showing information that reaffirms their point of view without showing other points of view, that is "fine" and "legal," but that will no longer enjoy Sec. 230 liability. 

As was the case with the last Sec. 230 reform bill for which UC was sought, Sen. Ron Wyden (R-Ore.), author of Sec. 230, rose to oppose. A single "no" kills the UC, which is a fast track vote.

Wyden said he guessed only a small circle of Beltway insiders had seen the bill, the passage of which "would make a mockery of the proposition of open public debate on significant laws." He said the bill leaves more questions than answers, including who would be targeted by the bill.

He said for reasons too numerous to mention, he objected. 

It was only last week that Sen. Josh Hawley sought a UC on his own Sec. 230 bill, leading to Wyden's opposition.

In both the case of Hawley and Kennedy, the effort was to make a point rather than gain passage since there was no way such bills would draw no opposition from Democrats.

FCC chair Ajit Pai got some tough, but not surprising, grilling on the C-Band auction at a Senate Appropriations Committee subcommittee hearing Tuesday (June 16). 

He testified in person, sporting a mask (See above) though not wearing it while testifying.

Related: Divided FCC Votes to Proceed with C-Band Auction 

Leading the charge was Financial Services and General Government chairman Sen. John Kennedy (R-La.), one of the harshest critics of the FCC decision to give satellite companies close to $10 billion in incentive payments to exit the spectrum by 2021 and 2023 instead of the 2025 deadline the FCC set. 

The FCC Democrats opposed the incentive payments.

Those satellite companies have pledged to clear the first 120 MHz of spectrum in 46 partial economic areas (PEAs) by Dec. 5, 2021, then 120 MHz in the remaining PEAs and the other 180 MHz by Dec. 5, 2023. 

Kennedy pressed Pai on why the FCC did not just use its authority to mandate they get off in 2021, particularly since it was already giving those operators over $4 billion in relocation costs, whenever they exit. 

Pai said that exiting early meant the spectrum would be more valuable for wireless companies eager to get their hands on it for 5G, and so it would draw a higher price at auction, and more money for the treasury, than if the wireless operators did not clear off until 2025. 

Kennedy did not seem assuaged, returning again and again to the point that the FCC could have just mandated they exit by 2021 and kept that $10 billion for building out rural broadband. 

Kennedy asked Pai whether the FCC had the authority to mandate that exit. Pai did not provide an answer and Kennedy shot back that as a good lawyer Pai knew the answer was yes. 

Kennedy seemed nonplussed that the FCC had not required foreign satellite companies using some of their moving expenses money to buy satellites to "buy American." Pai said the FCC did not have the authority to do so.

Pai got some help from ranking subcommittee member Sen. Chris Coons (D-Del.), who pointed out that the money going to the treasury could go to rural broadband if Congress decided it should go there, and Pai agreed, saying he supports that.  

Coons asked if the satellite companies had agreed not to sue the FCC over the auction as part of the deal to exit early. Pai said no, that was not a condition of the payments, though he later said that they had forfeited the right to sue in accepting payments. 

Coons said maybe he had missed something but that threat of legal action was the critical issue: "We're going to pay you billions of dollars, you're not going to sue, and you're going to move." 

Related: FCC Seeks Comment on C-Band Exit Costs 

Pai said the smaller satellite companies had filed for review, but that that was always going to happen and their case was week. He said that the incentive payments had "dramatically reduced" the risk of lawsuits by the larger carriers. 

Coons said the best argument Pai had for the payments was that it was going to make the potentially auction-delaying lawsuits go away.

Pai said that incentivizing the carriers to exit spectrum early has three key public benefits: 1) 5G services years before they otherwise would, including services such as telehealth and remote learning that have become so important during the pandemic; 2) American leadership in 5G (Pai cited a story he had tweeted this week about China spending $1.4 trillion to "seize the mantle of 5G leadership; 3) a thriving innovation economy--"talent is fickle, capital is fickle," he said.

Sen. John Kennedy (R-La.) is asking the FCC to hold foreign satellite operators to what Kennedy said was their pledge to buy American, which he said appears to be slipping. 

In a letter to FCC chairman Ajit Pai, Kennedy said that funds from the C-Band auction going to compensate satellite operators for their move out of the free-up spectrum should go to support U.S. manufacturers. 

Related: FCC Seeks Comment on C-Band Spectrum Costs

The FCC voted March 3 to allow 280 MHz of spectrum to be auctioned for 5G, and satellite operators and others to be compensated for the move out.

“Given that U.S. taxpayers are effectively footing the bill for these assets—assets that are already owned by the taxpayer—it makes good sense to require an investment in the American industrial base. In order to ensure that these funds are used most effectively in supporting U.S. economic growth and a continuity of service—especially in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic—I urge the FCC to institute a ‘Buy American’ request to all satellite operators,” he wrote. 

He said foreign satellite operators initially promised to purchase satellites from American manufacturers as they moved to new spectrum, but said they are "now planning to invest in launch vehicles, ground equipment and satellites produced by foreign manufacturers." 

Kennedy wants the FCC to step in to insure they buy American. 

Kennedy has long been critical of payments to those foreign satellite operators out of the proceeds from the auction of C-Band satellite spectrum for 5G, money he would have preferred going to the U.S. treasury. 

An FCC spokesperson had on comment on whether foreign satellite operators had made that pledge or if the FCC would hold them to it if they did, adding: "[W]hen we receive the letter, we will review."