Congress must pass a privacy law to avoid the FTC pursuing a lengthy, piecemeal rulemaking that would fail to set comprehensive, national standards, former FTC officials said in interviews.
Paul Gluckman, Executive Senior Editor, is a 30-year Warren Communications News veteran having joined the company in May 1989 to launch its Audio Week publication. In his long career, Paul has chronicled the rise and fall of physical entertainment media like the CD, DVD and Blu-ray and the advent of ATSC 3.0 broadcast technology from its rudimentary standardization roots to its anticipated 2020 commercial launch.
Congress must pass a privacy law to avoid the FTC pursuing a lengthy, piecemeal rulemaking that would fail to set comprehensive, national standards, former FTC officials said in interviews.
Radio communications and TV "hobbyist" Roger Davis, a self-described “rural resident at the fringe” of a small TV market in eastern Ohio, sees the ATSC 3.0 transition “as an opportunity for broadcasters to serve rural populations in ways never before possible,” said his filing posted Thursday at the FCC in docket 16-142. His were the very first comments received in the FCC’s NPRM on all aspects of 3.0, five years into its voluntary deployment (see 2207060019). On the NPRM’s call for feedback on the market availability of 3.0 receivers, “my perception as a consumer is that while receivers are available, they are extremely limited in terms of choice at this time,” said Davis. He has been researching new TVs from several top manufacturers, “but I see that the ATSC 3.0 tuner capable models are restricted to higher priced units,” he said. Since NextGenTV stations “are generally simulcasting on lighthouse transmitters with no additional content or features, there is no compelling reason for me to switch to a new expensive television at this time,” he said. The 3.0-capable SiliconDust gateway device he bought in October 2020 “is fine for my hobbyist needs right now,” he said. But he worries that “much of the promise of ATSC 3.0 will be left behind as streaming options become more profitable and more prevalent,” he said. NextGenTV’s backers cite the current availability of many dozens of 3.0-capable TV models from LG, Samsung and Sony, at price points starting under $500, with approximately eight more models on the way from Hisense later this year. Comments in the NPRM are due Aug. 8, replies Sept. 6.
TCL denies Advanced Micro Devices allegations it violated Section 337 of the 1930 Tariff Act by importing smart TVs to the U.S. with graphics processing unit chips that infringe five AMD patents on GPU circuitry architecture, said TCL's filing Thursday in docket 337-TA-1318 at the International Trade Commission.
The recent arguments of 15 tech groups that self-repair or independent servicing of smartphones, laptops and other electronic devices would expose consumers to risk of injury, force public disclosure of manufacturer trade secrets or weaken safeguards against consumer data and privacy breaches were debunked in a May 2021 FTC report to Congress that found “scant evidence to support manufacturers’ justifications for repair restrictions.”
Right-to-repair advocates were caught unaware by a June 29 letter we stumbled on Tuesday in which 15 tech groups urged New York Gov. Kathy Hochul (D) to veto the nation’s first digital electronics repair legislation (S-4104/A-7006), after it cleared the New York Assembly on a 145-1 vote more than a month ago (see 2206030034). Hochul’s office largely has been silent about her bill-signing intentions. "The Governor is reviewing the bill," emailed a Hochul spokesperson Wednesday.
Administrative Law Judge Cameron Elliot at the International Trade Commission set Oct. 2, 2023, as the target date for completing the Tariff Act Section 337 investigation into allegations in a Broadband iTV April 22 complaint that set-top boxes from Comcast, Charter and Altice infringe four VOD and electronic program guide patents (see 2204280027), said an order he signed Tuesday in docket 337-TA-1315. Elliot’s order has five days of hearings scheduled to begin Feb. 6, and his initial determination in the case is to be ready by June 2.
The FTC is seeking comment on a proposal to update its 1974 amplifier rule by requiring sellers that make power claims in marketing amplifiers for home entertainment products “to calculate power output using uniform testing methods to allow consumers to easily compare amplifier sound quality,” said an NPRM released Tuesday. Comments will be due 60 days after the NPRM is published in the Federal Register.
Deputy Attorney General Lisa Monaco met Thursday with retail CEOs at the Retail Industry Leaders Association (RILA) annual summit in Washington, where she cautioned them to be “mindful” about the “blended threat” of sophisticated "cyber-criminal groups" and "nation-state actors" forming “alliances of convenience,” said a DOJ readout Friday. She encouraged retailers to bolster their cyber defenses and "proactively develop" relationships with their local FBI field offices, it said. Monaco also addressed “organized retail crime” with the CEOs, including how U.S. attorneys across the country are bringing federal charges to punish and thwart “aggravated retail theft,” said DOJ. Retailers "appreciated the opportunity to discuss a number of high priority issues with Deputy AG Monaco, including cybersecurity," emailed RILA President Brian Dodge. "We appreciate the department’s attention to organized retail crime and the role they are playing investigating and prosecuting large cases," he said. RILA represents Best Buy, Target, Walmart and other big-box retailers.
Micron Technology achieved “revenue records” for fiscal Q3 ended June 2 in most of its end-market enterprise segments, “despite supply chain challenges and COVID-19 control measures in China, which impacted our business on both the demand side and the supply side,” said CEO Sanjay Mehrotra on a quarterly earnings call Thursday. Micron’s expectations for calendar 2022 industry “bit demand” growth have “moderated since our last earnings call,” he said.
With inflation at a 40-year high, “there are concerns for the potential of a recession in the near future,” said Paychex CEO Martin Mucci on an earnings call Wednesday for fiscal Q4 ended May 31. “We continue to monitor key leading indicators for any signs of a change in the macroeconomic environment, but have not seen any signs of deterioration at this time,” he said.