The cellphone industry won more than a slim partial victory late Friday when U.S. District Judge James Cain for Western Louisiana in Lake Charles dismissed, on federal preemption grounds, all claims that the industry covered up information showing that many cellphones don’t comply with the FCC’s specific absorption rate (SAR) limitations for how much RF radiation is absorbed into the human body.

The Supreme Court on Monday granted review of two cases concerning questions about whether it's constitutional for public officials to block critics on social media.

The White House National Security Council led a 6G summit Friday at the National Science Foundation’s Alexandria, Virginia, headquarters aimed at ensuring the U.S. leads the coming wireless technology’s standards research development and deployment. Officials in part cited a need to prevent China from gaining a foothold on the emerging technology like it has on 5G. FCC Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel pushed during the summit for restoring the FCC’s spectrum auction authority as one means of cementing the U.S.' 6G role.

Montana is right to try to ban TikTok across the state, but it’s unclear how such a prohibition can be enforced at the state-level, Republican senators told us in interviews last week. Consumer groups and the tech industry condemned the Montana measure as unconstitutional.

Most reply comments supported FCC grant of a waiver request by the Wi-Fi Alliance of rules for the predictive propagation models that an automated frequency coordination system must employ in the 6 GHz band (see 2303210039). Only the National Wireless Communications Council (NWCC), which represents a diverse group of 6 GHz incumbents, filed reply comments in opposition.

The California Assembly Communications Committee cleared amended bills including on video franchising, local broadband permits and low-income benefits at a webcast hearing Wednesday. Also, the committee unanimously passed a consent agenda including bills on 911 public education (AB-296) and grants for emergency communications on fairgrounds (AB-415). The committee voted 10-2 to send to the Appropriations Committee a bill (AB-41) aimed at tightening digital equity requirements in the state’s video franchise law. Sponsor Chris Holden (D), who chairs the Appropriations panel, said the 2006 Digital Infrastructure and Video Competition Act approach of self-regulation through competition failed to spread services to everyone within franchise areas. The California Broadband & Video Association thinks the proposed replacement, the Digital Equity in Video Franchising Act, would be “generally unfeasible,” said Legislative and Regulatory Advocacy Director Amanda Gualderama. The state cable association was joined by USTelecom in opposition. The Communications Committee voted 13-0 for AB-965, which would set a 60-day shot clock for local governments to decide broadband permit applications or have them deemed granted. It will go to the Local Government Committee next. Supporters included Crown Castle, CTIA, USTelecom and the Wireless Infrastructure Association. But the California Municipal Utilities Association raised concerns it duplicates previous rules including the FCC’s small-cells order. The Assembly panel voted 13-0 for AB-1231 to allow low-income consumers to stack benefits from California LifeLine, federal Lifeline and the affordable connectivity program. It goes next to Appropriations. "The bill is needed because the CPUC has prohibited Californian consumers from combining their California LifeLine and ACP benefits to maximize the amount of data they receive,” said TruConnect Chief Compliance Officer Danielle Perry, who is also a National Lifeline Association board member. The Utility Reform Network worries the bill doesn’t provide enough accountability on providers, said TURN lobbyist Ignacio Hernandez: Lawmakers should strengthen it or allow the CPUC to make rules. The commission already has an open proceeding on the issue, he noted. Supporting AB-1231, Communications Committee Chair Tasha Boerner Horvath (D) said she thinks the CPUC has overly restricted access for low-income people.

Senate Communications Subcommittee ranking member John Thune of South Dakota, Commerce Committee ranking member Ted Cruz of Texas and nine other panel Republicans pressed NTIA Thursday to “revise or issue a new” notice of funding opportunity for the $42.5 billion broadband, equity, access and deployment (BEAD) program “to address” a range of GOP concerns. They want the agency to respond by May 4 (see 2304200001). Many of the BEAD NOFO concerns Senate Commerce Republicans raised in its Thursday letter to NTIA Administrator Alan Davidson echoed what they cited during a June hearing (see 2206090072).

The Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act does not apply to criminal cases, the Supreme Court of the U.S. held in an April 17 opinion, opening Turkish state-owned Halkbank up to criminal prosecution for conspiring to evade U.S. sanctions on Iran. Justice Brett Kavanaugh, the author of the opinion, said the text of the FSIA, which the bank claimed protected it from prosecution, clearly shows it only addresses civil suits. Six of the court's justices sided with Kavanaugh, with Justices Neil Gorsuch and Samuel Alito dissenting (Turkiye Halk Bankasi A.S. v. U.S., Sup. Ct. # 21-1450).

The Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act does not apply to criminal cases, the Supreme Court of the U.S. held in an April 17 opinion, opening Turkish state-owned Halkbank up to criminal prosecution for conspiring to evade U.S. sanctions on Iran. Justice Brett Kavanaugh, the author of the opinion, said the text of the FSIA, which the bank claimed protected it from prosecution, clearly shows it only addresses civil suits. Six of the court's justices sided with Kavanaugh, with Justices Neil Gorsuch and Samuel Alito dissenting (Turkiye Halk Bankasi A.S. v. U.S., Sup. Ct. # 21-1450).

U.S. Magistrate Judge Thomas Hixson for Northern California in Oakland sided with the plaintiffs in the multidistrict litigation against the major social media companies, when he decided during a remote discovery hearing Wednesday (see 2304180048) to limit the scope of the court's Rule 502(d) order that will govern discovery as the MDL moves forward.