Overnight Tech: Dems grill FCC chair | Senators move to crack down on robocalls | House bill would roll back internet privacy rule

FCC CHIEF ON THE HOT SEAT: Democrats grilled the new Republican chairman of the Federal Communications Commission on Wednesday, at his first hearing before Congress since taking over the agency.

In his first month on the job, Chairman Ajit Pai has quickly begun rolling back a number of Obama-era initiatives and regulations, and faced tough questions from Dems at the Senate Commerce Committee hearing.

Topping the agenda, was Pai’s decision not to conduct an FCC review of the $85 billion proposed AT&T-Time Warner merger.

Pai decided that an FCC review of whether the merger was in the “public interest” was not necessary because the companies were not transferring any broadcast licenses in the deal. The Justice Department will still conduct its own antitrust review.

But when pressed by Sen. Brian Schatz (D-Hawaii) on that decision, Pai said he would be willing to have the agency’s lawyers review his conclusion and share their findings with the committee.

{mosads}The FCC chief said he was confident he made the right decision to not review the merger, but would share the legal analysis.

Sen. Tom Udall (D-N.M.) also questioned if President Trump’s feud with CNN, one of Time Warner’s most prominent networks, over its coverage would affect how the administration judges the merger.

Pai told lawmakers he had no conversations with the Trump administration regarding the merger and would “commit to following all the appropriate protocols and ethical requirements” in reporting any conversations.

Udall also prodded Pai on Trump’s comments regarding the media, asking the chairman if he agreed that the press is an “enemy of the American people.”

Pai declined to answer saying that he didn’t want to, “wade into the larger political debates,” but that he supported the First Amendment.

Read more here.

Please send your tips, comments and constructive criticism to Ali Breland (abreland@digital-staging.thehill.com) and Harper Neidig (hneidig@digital-staging.thehill.com) and follow us on Twitter: @alibreland, @hneidig  and @HilliconValley. We’re also on Signal. Email or DM us for our numbers.

PAI ON AT&T-TIME WARNER MERGER: FCC Chairman Ajit Pai in February decided that the agency did not need to review the merger to see if it is “in the public interest” because no FCC broadcast licenses would be transferred in the $85 billion deal. The Justice Department will still conduct its own antitrust review.

But the FCC chairman’s decision sparked criticism from Democrats, who pressed him on the matter during his first appearance before Congress as the agency’s chief on Wednesday.

In response to questions before the Senate Commerce Committee, Pai said he would be willing to let agency lawyers review his decision that the FCC did not need to conduct a “public interest” analysis.

He said he was confident in his decision but would share the lawyers’ conclusions with lawmakers.

Read more here.

ENEMY OF THE PEOPLE FOR $2OO: During an oversight hearing before the Senate Commerce Committee, Sen. Tom Udall (D-N.M.) asked Pai if he shares Trump’s belief that the press is an “enemy of the American people.”

Pai responded by saying that he didn’t want to “wade into the larger political debates,” but that he believes “every American enjoys the First Amendment protections guaranteed by the Constitution.”

Read more here.

BLACKBURN TAKES AIM AT INTERNET PRIVACY RULES: Rep. Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.) will introduce her own bill to block the Federal Communications Commission’s 2016 broadband privacy rules from going into effect. Blackburn’s spokeswoman confirmed to The Hill that the chairwoman of the House Commerce Committee’s technology panel would be introducing a resolution to use Congressional Review Act (CRA) authority to invalidate the privacy rules on Wednesday afternoon.

The CRA is a tool that allows Congress, with presidential approval, to eliminate regulations that were recently passed by government agencies. Sen. Jeff Flake (R-Ariz.) introduced his own version of the resolution in the Senate earlier this week.

Read more here.

SENATORS MOVE TO CRACK DOWN ON ROBOCALLS: Sens. Ed Markey (D-Mass.) and Mike Lee (R-Utah) introduced a bill on Wednesday aimed at cracking down on robocalls from government contractors. The bill, dubbed the Help Americans Never Get Unwanted Phone Calls (HANGUP) Act, would remove loopholes that exempt government contractors and federal debt collectors from robocall regulation, the lawmakers said.

“When Congress passed the [Telephone Consumer Protection Act], the goal was clear: consumers should not be subject to unwanted robocalls and robotexts on their phones,” Markey said in a statement.

Read more here.

WIKILEAKS PUTS APPLE ON DEFENSIVE: Apple says it has already fixed many of the iPhone and iPad security flaws mentioned in the WikiLeaks dump of CIA hacking strategies and other files.

“While our initial analysis indicates that many of the issues were already patched in the latest iOS, we will continue work to rapidly address any identified vulnerabilities,” the company said in a written statement on Wednesday. “We always urge customers to download the latest iOS to make sure they have the most recent security updates.”

Read more here.

ON TAP:

The Federal Trade Commission holds an event on artificial intelligence and blockchain technology at 9 a.m.

National Telecommunications and Information Administration webinar on BroadbandUSA at 2 p.m.

IN CASE YOU MISSED IT:

Trump talks immigration with Steve Jobs’s widow

Google hiring head of Republican political advertising

Industry groups push Congress to roll back internet privacy rules

GOP senator offers measure to undo FCC internet privacy rules

WSJ: Samsung planning US expansion

Experts say WikiLeaks exaggerating contents of CIA documents

CIA responds to WikiLeaks document dump

Hacker who targeted Ohio football website sentenced to two years in prison

Researchers find major flaws in encrypted chat app popular in WH