Two key House subcommittees will get their first chance to question agency leaders as they push forward several high-profile Democratic-led initiatives, including restoring net neutrality, proposing new children’s privacy protections and exploring artificial intelligence partnerships.

Here’s an overview of what to look for:

Both agencies face resistance from Republicans in the House of Representatives to their proposed budget increases. But the FTC faces even more resistance.

The agency requested $535 million for next year, which would increase the budget by $105 million from last year. But Republican leaders in the House of Representatives have opposed the proposal, and last month budget officials in another committee introduced a bill that would cut the budget by $37 million. The bill also included a series of provisions aimed at limiting the agency’s regulatory powers.

Chairman of the FTC Lina Khan In her prepared testimony, she said the cuts would be “devastating” for the agency and “would require both unpaid furloughs and likely staff reductions.”

The FCC is in a less precarious position. The agency has requested a budget of $448 million for next year, up $58 million from last year. Though House Republicans have been reluctant to grant that request in full, budget officials last month gave preliminary approval to a $26 million increase.

Chairman of the FCC Jessica Rosenworcel said the full request “would ensure that the Commission can meet its legal mandates and uphold the core values ​​of our laws … all while keeping pace with ever-changing and advanced technologies.”

The FCC hearing marks the first time the agency has testified before the House Energy and Commerce Committee since it reinstated Obama-era “net neutrality” rules in April, a key partisan point of contention. The session could give Republicans a chance to pressure the FCC on how far it plans to take its expanded oversight under the new order.

Rosenworcel said in her testimony that the move ensures that “the nation’s communications expert has fundamental oversight of the most important communications network of our time.”

Republican Bob Latta (R-Ohio), whose subcommittee is hosting the session, will focus on the decision. In prepared remarks, he criticized the move because it “allows the agency to impose burdensome regulations that make it harder for providers to deploy broadband.”

A memo from the Republican majority on the House committee indicates that the agency’s anti-discrimination rules will also be a key focus during the session.

Congressional negotiations over federal privacy legislation are once again in disarray. But Tuesday’s hearing with the FTC will give House Republicans a chance to question the agency about its own efforts to create stronger data privacy protections through ongoing regulation.

Republican Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R-Wash.), chair of the full Energy and Commerce Committee, has long opposed efforts by the agency to address the problem with sweeping new rules and has called on Congress to fill any regulatory gaps with legislation.

The McMorris Rodgers Privacy Act, which was recently repealed at the last minute due to a markup, would have notably forced the FTC to halt its rulemaking process. The agency has also proposed a major update to the enforcement of federal children’s privacy laws.

“I welcome broad federal legislation to establish basic consumer protections for all Americans and build on the FTC’s own numerous enforcement actions,” Khan said in her testimony.

The FTC’s New GOP Contingent

The FTC hearing marks the first time the agency’s two new Republican commissioners, Melissa Holy Oak And Andrew Fergusontestifying before Congress since he joined the agency this year.

The FTC’s previous two Republican commissioners clashed with Khan over her policy priorities and management of the agency, with one publicly criticizing the chair in an op-ed when she stepped down.

House Republicans have since voiced many of their concerns, and Tuesday’s session could show whether the new commissioners share those sentiments and, more broadly, how much they agree with Khan’s direction for the agency.

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Apple removes VPN apps at the request of Russian authorities, app makers say (TechCrunch)

Big Telecom Guns for Key Biden Policy (Politico)

Senate committee holds hearing on privacy-focused AI (The Hill)

Microsoft Orders Employees in China to Use iPhones for Work, Ditch Android (Bloomberg)

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Data workers describe tech industry exploitation in DAIR report (TechCrunch)

Cyclists Can’t Decide Whether to Fear or Love Self-Driving Cars (Trisha Thadani and Gerrit De Vynck)

‘We don’t want to leave people behind’: AI helps disabled people in surprising new ways (CNN)

• Zaman QureshiFormerly of the advocacy group Real Facebook Oversight Board, he is joining Accountable Tech as a campaign fellow. He will continue to co-chair the youth-led advocacy group Design It For Us. Peter ChandlerFormerly senior vice president of federal policy and government relations at TechNet, joins the Internet Works technology group as its first-ever executive director.

• The House of Representatives Committee on Energy and Commerce will hold hearings with commissioners from the FCC and FTC at 10 a.m. and 10:30 a.m., respectively.
• The Federalist Society is hosting an informal meeting with the FTC’s Holyoak on Wednesday at noon.
• The Senate Commerce Committee will hold a hearing titled “The Need to Protect Americans’ Privacy and the AI ​​Accelerator” on Thursday at 10 a.m.
• The Congressional Internet Caucus Academy will host an event titled “Tech Platforms and the First Amendment: Impact of Supreme Court Rulings” on Friday at noon.

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