It’s a “real stretch” to say Ohio's privacy bill would protect consumer privacy, said American Civil Liberties Union Ohio Chief Lobbyist Gary Daniels in an interview. ACLU seeks a private right of action, but HB-376 requires only AG enforcement, which companies would be able to avoid by fixing any raised problems within 30 days, he said. ACLU prefers opt-in to the proposed opt-out approach, and the bill would give consumers only a right to request certain information, he said. Lt. Gov. Jon Husted’s (R) support for the bill doesn’t guarantee it passes the Republican-majority legislature because some legislators in his own party have clashed with him and Gov. Mike DeWine (R) over government authority responding to COVID-19, said Daniels. At a September hearing, HB-376 sponsors said they think the bill strikes the right balance between protecting consumers and being fair with businesses (see 2109280042).
Adam Bender
Adam Bender, Senior Editor, is the state and local telecommunications reporter for Communications Daily, where he also has covered Congress and the Federal Communications Commission. He has won awards for his Warren Communications News reporting from the Society of Professional Journalists, Specialized Information Publishers Association and the Society for Advancing Business Editing and Writing. Bender studied print journalism at American University and is the author of dystopian science-fiction novels. You can follow Bender at WatchAdam.blog and @WatchAdam on Twitter.
Massachusetts legislators heard bills to rein in facial recognition technology at a Joint Judiciary Committee virtual hearing Tuesday. Facial recognition dangerously facilitates government surveillance, and the technology discriminates against people of color, said Senate Majority Leader Cynthia Stone Creem (D). “This is happening,” said Creem, including in Massachusetts schools where districts are using facial identification on kids without parents’ knowledge. Her bill (S-47) would ban such government ID in public locations. Police could perform a facial recognition search with a warrant or in emergencies. Several municipalities including Springfield already ban facial surveillance, said state Rep. Orlando Ramos (D) in support of his similar H-135. The tech is “inconsistent, inaccurate and overall dangerous” for people of color who are frequently misidentified, he said. Current state law regulates law enforcement but not non-police entities like schools and public transportation, he said. Regulating government use of facial recognition is a “good start,” but Rep. Dylan Fernandes (D) is more concerned about a private company using the tech for profit, he said. His H-117 would cover anyone “including corporate affiliates, that collects, stores, or processes facial recognition data,” but not government. Facial ID could have “vast consequences for our society, but there are very few rules guiding it,” said Fernandes.
Verizon closed its Tracfone acquisition, the company said Tuesday. Verizon paid about $3.1 billion cash and 57.6 million shares, it said: If TracFone keeps achieving certain operating metrics, Verizon will pay up to $650 million more cash. “The addition of the TracFone brands firmly establishes Verizon as the provider of choice in the value segment,” said Verizon Consumer Group CEO Ronan Dunne. Conditions from the FCC’s Monday OK (see 2111220069) “can have real-life benefits for consumers -- if they’re vigorously followed and enforced,” said Democratic Sens. Richard Blumenthal, Conn.; Sheldon Whitehouse, R.I.; Dianne Feinstein, Calif.; Ron Wyden, Ore.; and Ed Markey, Mass. “This deal reflects the firm, important commitments public interest groups and we fought for to preserve Lifeline and budget services.” The completed deal lets Verizon be "aggressive in the prepaid sector without harming its postpaid branding," said GlobalData analyst Tammy Parker. It "should help reenergize the prepaid sector, amping up the competitive fervor" among national carriers' secondary brands including AT&T's Cricket Wireless and T-Mobile's Metro, she said. "On the negative side, despite consumer protections required by federal and state regulators, TracFone’s acquisition removes an independent service provider from the market."
Verizon expects to close on buying Tracfone this week following FCC OK Monday, the carrier’s spokesperson said. Three commissioners approved and Commissioner Brendan Carr concurred with the order clearing the wireless deal with consumer protection conditions. The California Public Utilities Commission last week conditionally approved the takeover (see 2111180068).
States should use “mind-blowingly huge” broadband dollars from the recently signed infrastructure law as a “hook to really do transformative change,” said Colorado state Sen. Kerry Donovan (D) at a livestreamed NewDEAL annual conference Thursday. The author of Colorado’s net neutrality law advised colleagues in the progressive state and local leaders group that rather than “write a policy that just says, here’s how we’re going to spend the dollars,” they can “address structural flaws that you’ll never be able to pass again if you don’t have the dollar figure tied to that policy.” That’s because the telecom industry “is one of the most challenging, well-resourced lobbying groups to ... take on,” she said. Government must step in where businesses won’t go, even if they won’t yet admit they won’t, said Florida state Sen. Loranne Ausley (D). “Now we have the money." Don’t exclude industry from talks, she cautioned: “I tried to get things done without bringing the industry to the table. It can’t be done.”
The California Public Utilities Commission unanimously cleared Verizon buying Tracfone (see our report here), leaving the FCC as the final regulatory approval needed for the acquisition that would affect many low-income customers. CPUC commissioners voted 5-0 at a virtual meeting Thursday to allow the deal. FCC officials told us they expect the agency to move forward in coming weeks, following the CPUC action.
The California Public Utilities Commission unanimously cleared Verizon/Tracfone. The FCC may be the only U.S. regulatory OK now needed for the multibillion-dollar takeover.
California will fund 18 middle-mile broadband pilot projects through this year's $6 billion broadband law before finalizing a statewide map, which is expected by Dec. 31, California Technology Department (CDT) Broadband Middle-Mile Initiative Deputy Director Mark Monroe said at a California Middle Mile Advisory Committee virtual meeting Wednesday. CDT asked California Public Utilities Commission staff to identify the “early wins,” which will help the state learn about building, design, leasing and connectivity issues that will inform future projects, said Monroe. Displaying a map showing the pilots spread through the state, Monroe said they will benefit urban, rural and tribal communities. "These 18 initial projects were not meant to exclude anyone or understate any communities' need” but reflect places where the CPUC had done enough work to move forward, he said. Monroe expects "a lot more" projects to be announced in Q1. The pilots represent a “critical first step” that make good on the governor and legislature's promise to move quickly, said Sen. Mike McGuire (D). Assemblymember Jim Wood (D) said he’s concerned about projects in the Bay Area and Los Angeles and Orange counties: “These projects are going to give people some angst.” He asked about the breakdown between unserved and underserved areas, but Monroe said he didn’t have those numbers. Assemblymember Sharon Quirk-Silva (D) said she’s "stunned and surprised at how well this process is moving forward."
The National League of Cities has been meeting with the Commerce Department and Economic Development Administration to ensure small and rural communities have access to grant dollars available for broadband under the recently enacted infrastructure bill, NLC Executive Director Clarence Anthony said at an NLC City Summit virtual news-media briefing Wednesday. “Most of that funding is going to be routed through state governments,” but local governments can compete for some grants, plus some state funding “is intended to be passed directly to localities,” said Director-Federal Advocacy Irma Esparza Diggs: Cities also will pay attention to digital equity programs.
The California Public Utilities Commission scaled back some conditions in its proposed conditional OK of Verizon/Tracfone before a planned Thursday vote. Administrative Law Judge Thomas Glegola issued a revised draft Tuesday after Verizon and Tracfone raised concerns in docket A.20-11-001 (see 2111050039). Verizon would have to participate in California LifeLine for 20 years rather than endlessly, as at first proposed. Another change increases to two years from six months how much time Verizon would have to migrate to its network all Tracfone customers currently on other networks. Citing global supply constraints, the revised draft allows Verizon to give 4G devices to LifeLine customers for the first year of the migration, but it would have to offer 5G handsets from then on. Verizon now would have until Dec. 30, 2025, to have at least 200,000 LifeLine subscribers. The first draft would have required that by June 30, 2023. The revised draft extended interim milestones. Glegola added findings that the applicants “failed to make commitments or provide certainty that former TracFone customers will have more options in terms of devices and plans without incurring additional costs” or “to make commitments to pass on any verifiable or quantifiable cost savings or service improvements to former TracFone customers despite claiming such benefits would occur as a result of the merger.” The Center for Accessible Technology, one intervenor that sought conditions, thinks the revised proposal “is thoughtful, incisive, and strong, and implements meaningful and enforceable mitigation measures that will help ensure that former TracFone customers and low-income customers will have access to low-cost telephone services after the merger closes,” Legal Counsel Paul Goodman emailed Wednesday. Lengthening the migration timeline is reasonable because “it’s more important that the migration be successful,” he said. The edits "provide additional flexibility for Verizon to offer free devices for TracFone customers during the transition" and "confirm that the combined company will participate in the state Lifeline program in meaningful ways," emailed The Utility Reform Network Managing Director-Telecom Brenda Villanueva. She praised the plan for requiring collaboration between the CPUC and combined company. Verizon didn’t comment.