i2Coalition Internet Infrastructure Policy Brief: June 2026

Your brief update on important Internet policy issues

OUTLOOK

Congress struggled to complete work on a number of legislative fronts during the month of June. Progress stalled in large part due to significant Republican intraparty friction. The Senate recessed in late June, after, among other things, missing a June 12 extension deadline to reauthorize FISA Section 702. President Trump informed Congress that he would not sign a FISA reauthorization measure unless it included a voter I.D. bill –the SAVE America Act– which he and a group of allied conservative Republican members strongly support. Senate Majority Leader Thune called that condition unworkable because the SAVE America Act lacks sufficient support to pass in the Senate. Separately, Congressional Democrats made it clear that they would not vote in favor of FISA reauthorization as long as the President’s choice for acting Director of National Intelligence, Bill Pulte, whom they have cited as inexperienced in national security matters, remained in place. Again insisting that the SAVE America Act must be passed, the President stunned bipartisan leaders in both the House and Senate when he abruptly refused to attend a scheduled ceremony in the Capitol to sign into law a housing reform bill aiming to address voters’ affordability concerns, a measure that had passed both chambers by veto-proof majorities. The stalled legislative environment was compounded by the White House’s emergency request for $67 billion in military funding for the Iran conflict, which is deeply unpopular among voters. Upon returning to Washington in mid-July after the recess period, Congress will face ongoing unresolved challenges while accelerating the appropriations process to avoid threats of a government shutdown at the end of the current fiscal year on September 30. The House and Senate will also continue to work on the FY 2027 National Defense Authorization Act, the final text of which Congress aims to pass and send to President Trump for signature into law later this year. At month’s end, as President Trump and Americans prepare to celebrate the nation’s 250th anniversary on July 4, negotiations to end the US-Israel-Iran conflict are fragile, and talks to resolve the longstanding Ukraine-Russia war remain deadlocked.

TECH POLICY PRIORITIES 

Intermediary Liability/Content Moderation. Senators Ted Cruz (R-TX) and Ron Wyden (D-OR) introduced the JAWBONE Act, a bill that would create a cause of action against any government agency or employee that engages in jawboning, regardless of whether the activity succeeds, and allow plaintiffs to seek monetary damages. It would also require agencies to submit to Congress certain communications with companies, intending to strengthen oversight and accountability. The Senate Judiciary Committee’s planned online social media safety hearing with senior executive witnesses from several major platform services, including Instagram and YouTube, is now anticipated to take place in July. 

Federal Privacy. The House Energy and Commerce Committee held a June 3 hearing on the Republican-drafted comprehensive federal privacy bill, the Secure Data Act. The Committee also reached a bipartisan agreement on a kids’ online privacy and safety package, the KIDS Act, which passed the House on June 29 by a vote of 267-117. Senate Commerce Committee Chair Ted Cruz (R-TX) continued deliberating in June on the elements he will include in a Senate Commerce kids’ online safety and AI preemption bills package with possible plans to advance the proposals in the Committee in July. 

Copyright/IP. House Judiciary IP Subcommittee Chairman Darell Issa (R-CA) scheduled a June 30 hearing to examine the intellectual property protection and enforcement challenges that have arisen over the past four decades of the Internet, including issues surrounding piracy, counterfeiting, and abusive digital replicas. The Senate Judiciary Committee approved the NO FAKES Act, a bipartisan federal bill intended to protect individuals’ voices and visual likenesses from unauthorized, AI-generated digital replicas.

Antitrust/Competition. On June 29 by vote of 6-3, the Supreme Court struck down a federal law that bars the president from firing members of the Federal Trade Commission except in cases of “inefficiency, neglect of duty, or malfeasance in office.” That law, a majority of the justices ruled, violates the constitutional separation of powers between the three branches of government. The Senate Judiciary Committee scheduled Todd Blanche to testify before the Committee on July 15 regarding his nomination for Attorney General. Senators Grassley (R-IA), Klobuchar (D-MN), and a bipartisan group of co-sponsors reintroduced the American Innovation and Choice Online Act, which would prohibit covered platforms from self-preferencing their own products, misusing business user data, and blocking data portability efforts.

Broadband. The House Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Communications and Technology scheduled a June 30 NTIA oversight hearing at which discussion of the administration of the BEAD funding program will be front and center. The FCC initiated a rulemaking to review its E-rate program, which has subsidized Internet connectivity at schools and libraries. One novel aspect of FCC Chair Brendan Carr’s proposed E-rate review is a look at curbing the amount of screen time to which kids are exposed. 

Find Out More

For more in-depth updates on Internet policy, including issues that specifically impact your organization, please contact us about joining the i2Coalition.