Republican lawmakers are eyeing further action in opposition to FCC data breach notification rules (see 2312130019), but what form this will take is unclear, Capitol Hill aides and lobbyists told us. GOP leaders say the rules sidestep a 2017 Congressional Review Act resolution of disapproval that rescinded similar regulations as part of the commission's 2016 ISP privacy order (see 1704030054). Republican FCC Commissioners Brendan Carr and Nathan Simington raised the CRA in their dissents as the commission approved the rules last week 3-2.

CTIA appeared to get some of what it sought on a robotexting order that FCC commissioners approved last week, which was posted in Tuesday’s Daily Digest. Opponents of tough new rules closing the lead generator loophole appeared to strike out. That decision led Commissioner Nathan Simington to a partial dissent. The Small Business Administration’s Office of Advocacy had asked the FCC to seek further comment (see 2312040028), an approach Simington endorsed (see 2312130019).

The FTC will “closely monitor” generative AI for enforcement opportunities to protect competition and consumers, agency staff said in a report issued Monday. Staff offered takeaways from an October roundtable where creative professionals discussed AI's benefits and risks. Their concerns touched on data collection without consent, undisclosed use of work, competition from AI-generated creators, AI-driven mimicry and false endorsements. “Although many of the concerns raised at the event lay beyond the scope of the Commission’s jurisdiction, targeted enforcement under the FTC’s existing authority in AI-related markets can help protect fair competition and prevent unfair or deceptive acts or practices,” the agency said.

Expect state legislative focus on children’s online safety to continue in 2024, the Computer and Communications Industry Association (CCIA) said Friday. State legislators introduced about 150 bills in more than 35 states dealing with children’s online safety in 2023, a CCIA report said. Prohibiting addictive algorithms and requiring age-appropriate design, age verification or parental consent were some of the items covered, the report said. The internet industry group raised concerns that states’ proposed laws conflict with the federal Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act, which requires users to verify their own age and doesn’t hold websites liable if the user gives incorrect information. Bills requiring age verification and parental consent for accessing certain websites also could create privacy and security concerns because companies would have to collect government IDs, credit cards or other personal information to comply, said CCIA State Policy Director Khara Boender. “And younger users could be barred from accessing information and communities of support.”

Industry and consumer groups clashed on whether the FCC should reclassify broadband internet access as a Title II service under the Communications Act in comments posted through Friday in docket 23-320 (see 2310190020). Commenters against reclassification warned that it would stifle innovation and competition. Supporters said the proposal would ensure consumers have equal access to broadband ahead of anticipated federal broadband deployment programs.

Twenty-seven Senate and House Democrats in a letter Friday urged the FCC to reinstate the collection of broadcaster equal employment opportunity data, seconding a Dec. 11 call for urgent action from Commissioner Geoffrey Starks and Rep. Yvette Clarke, D-N.Y. (see 2312110067). Although broadcasters were anticipating an EEO item since a 2021 Further NPRM (see 2306020056) and Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel said one was in the works during the 2022 NAB Show (see 2204250067), it hasn’t materialized. “In 2021, after nearly 20 years, the FCC took the important step of soliciting comment on how to recommence this important data collection using Form 395-B,” said the lawmakers' letter. “It is now time for the Commission to follow through.”

Four lead Republicans on the House and Senate Commerce committees and their Communications subpanels raised major concerns Friday with the FCC’s “deeply misleading” claims about the affordable connectivity program's efficacy. Some lobbyists think this is a problem given the Biden administration’s push for Congress to appropriate an additional $6 billion to fully fund the initiative through the end of 2024 (see 2310250075). Estimates peg ACP as likely to exhaust its initial $14.2 billion tranche from the 2021 Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act during the first half of 2024 (see 2309210060).

Rep. Kat Cammack of Florida and nine other House Commerce Committee Republicans had urged the FCC ahead of its Wednesday meeting against approving data breach notification rules that would sidestep a 2017 Congressional Review Act resolution of disapproval that rescinded similar regulations as part of the commission's 2016 ISP privacy order (see 1704030054). FCC Republican Commissioners Brendan Carr and Nathan Simington raised the CRA issue in their dissents against the data breach rules that the commission approved Wednesday 3-2 (see 2312130019). "These rules are substantially the same as those Congress disapproved of" in the ISP privacy order, Cammack and the other Republicans said in a letter to FCC Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel released Wednesday. "Therefore, it would be unlawful for the FCC to adopt these new rules." They cited "requirements for notification, content of customer notification, and recordkeeping," which "largely mirror" elements of the 2016 rules. "Given these similarities, we are shocked that the FCC is attempting to revive these rules after Congress explicitly rejected them," the lawmakers said. When "Congress overrules an agency, that action is final; no agency has the power to ignore the plain meaning of a Congressional statute."

The FTC has pursued administrative and judicial remedies against Meta to protect consumers’ privacy, consistent with its “statutory mandate” under the FTC Act, said the commission’s motion Wednesday (docket 1:23-cv-03562) in U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia.

U.S. District Judge John Koeltl for Southern New York in Manhattan denied a former Amazon third-party seller's motion to remand to New York Supreme Court its petition to vacate an arbitrator’s award in Amazon’s favor (see 2306130004), Koeltl’s signed memorandum opinion and order Tuesday (docket 1:23-cv-04869) said. The judge also denied Longyan Junkai Information Technology's motion to vacate the award but granted Amazon’s cross-motion to confirm the award. Longyan sought $461,000 in sales proceeds that Amazon seized, and the arbitrator let it keep, after Amazon deactivated the online store for allegedly selling counterfeit goods. “A party seeking to vacate an arbitration award faces a formidable task,” said the judge’s order. Longyan argued that the award should be vacated because it was irrational, in manifest disregard of the law and violated public policy. Longyan’s suggestion that the award was irrational “is not a valid basis for vacating an arbitration award” in the 2nd Circuit, the memorandum said. On the seller's manifest disregard claim, this isn't one of the exceedingly rare instances where an arbitrator acted in manifest disregard of the law, the order said. The judge also found that the award “does not run afoul of the public policy of any jurisdiction raised by the parties or basic notions of morality and justice,” it said.