The FirstNet Authority Board picked a new CEO to replace Ed Parkinson, who left last year, members said at the board’s quarterly meeting Wednesday (see 2205040047). FirstNet didn't identify the successor to Parkinson, who took the helm in March 2020 and had the role on an acting basis starting in 2018. The new CEO “has been identified and selected, an offer has been accepted,” said FirstNet Chairman Stephen Benjamin and the announcement will come after security and administrative clearances, he said. The quarterly meeting was streamed from Austin.

The Senate Finance Committee's chairman and ranking member said it's time to turn their attention to customs modernization, with both saying any bill will need to both enhance enforcement and make legitimate trade move faster and with more certainty.

Commissioner Chris Nelson isn’t convinced eligible telecom carrier (ETC) designation is no longer necessary, the South Dakota Republican said at NARUC’s winter conference Tuesday. Telecom association officials on Nelson’s panel said Congress sees that the ETC process has run its course. Nelson and a District of Columbia consumer advocate raised concerns about possible impacts to service quality as telcos abandon state-regulated copper networks.

FCC nominee Gigi Sohn and most Senate Commerce Committee Democratic supporters strongly defended her record and decried what several called an extensive “smear campaign” against her during a Tuesday confirmation hearing, but comments from panel Democrat Jacky Rosen of Nevada about law enforcement groups’ vehement opposition to her candidacy threw her prospects into renewed doubt. All participating Commerce Republicans voiced strong opposition to Sohn Tuesday, as expected (see 2302130001), citing the same concerns as at the nominee’s previous two confirmation hearings and more recent matters that conservative media outlets raised since President Joe Biden renominated her in January. Republicans repeatedly tried to directly correlate her role as an Electronic Frontier Foundation board member and the group’s past actions, but avoided raising reports on EFF’s sex worker policy positions that her supporters claim were instances of veiled homophobia (see 2301310062).

SmartBiz “knowingly plays a significant role in connecting scammers to consumers in Florida and elsewhere,” said Florida Attorney General Ashley Moody (R), in a Friday response (docket 1:22-cv-23945) in U.S. District Court for Southern Miami in Florida, asking the court to deny the telecom company’s Feb. 2 motion to dismiss. Moody sued SmartBiz in December for violating the Telemarketing and Consumer Fraud and Abuse Prevention Act and other statutes, plus the FTC's Telemarketing Sales Rule.

Rep. Paul Tonko, D-N.Y., filed the Betting on Our Future Act Thursday in hopes of banning most advertising of sports gambling entities as a partial counter to the Supreme Court’s 2018 strikedown of a federal ban on online sports betting. Tonko’s legislation would bar sports betting advertising “on any medium of electronic communication subject to the jurisdiction of” the FCC. “In the years since the Supreme Court legalized sports betting, these unfettered advertisements have run rampant, with betting companies shelling out billions to ensure they reach every screen across America,” Tonko said. “These ads pose a particularly dangerous threat to adolescents and young adults unaware of the risks involved in gambling, and to individuals prone to addiction.” Congress “must take the necessary steps to reel in an industry with the power to inflict real, widespread harm on the American people,” he said. The New York State Broadcasters Association swiftly came out against the bill. “We oppose legislation that bans both mobile sports and casino sportsbook advertising in the” U.S., said NYSBA President David Donovan in a statement. Advertising “has stimulated local economies in areas lacking job opportunities. Advertising revenue from these ads helps broadcast stations meet the needs of their communities by financing local news and public affairs programs.” A “ban on sports wagering advertising prevents all responsible adults from receiving information about a legal product in New York, raising significant constitutional issues,” he said: “There are more effective options available to address issues concerning problem gambling and protecting children.”

Maryland legislators are weighing a bill modeled on Florida and Oklahoma telemarketing laws, which go beyond the federal Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA). At a livestreamed hearing Thursday, Del. Vaughn Stewart (D) joked that he “plagiarized” his HB-37 from Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R). The proposed Maryland mini-TCPA would require express written consent from consumers for robocalls and autodialing, with exemptions for nonprofits, political campaigns, business-to-business calls and isolated, nonroutine calls. The bill would ban calls between 8 p.m. and 8 a.m. and calling more than three times in 24 hours. And it would prohibit caller ID spoofing and using voice alteration technology for fraud or deception. Stewart said he’s open to amending the bill to exempt informational calls that companies make to their own customers. Proposed limits on autodialers are “admittedly more strict” than the federal TCPA, said the delegate, but they mirror Florida and Oklahoma laws. Del. Christopher Adams (R) asked if there weren’t already industry solutions to robocalls. Stewart said they’re not foolproof and his bill would complement those efforts. Del. Steven Arentz (R) raised concerns the measure may be “almost impossible to enforce.” The bill won’t “be a panacea,” but it will reduce spam calls and text, said Stewart: Florida spam calls declined after the state enacted its law. CTIA opposes HB-37, which could have “unintended consequences” preventing calls people want to receive, said lobbyist Rob Garagiola of Compass Advocacy. Industry is putting much effort into technology that stops spam call and texts, he said. AARP Maryland’s Karen Morgan supported the bill: “We’re drowning in robocalls.” The Senate Finance Committee heard testimony on its version of the same bill (SB-90) last week.

The U.S. District Court for Western Louisiana should dismiss a lawsuit from Missouri and Louisiana claiming Biden administration officials colluded with Big Tech to censor social media content because the states’ First Amendment claims are “meritless,” DOJ argued Wednesday in docket 3:22-cv-01213.

The Court of International Trade should dismiss a penalty case against defendant Zhe "John" Liu since the statute of limitations had run out by the time the case was filed, and because the government has not established how Liu was connected to the allegedly fraudulent scheme, Liu argued in a Feb 7 brief at the Court of International Trade (U.S. vs. Zhe "John" Liu, CIT # 22-00215).

Intelsat and SpaceX officials gave high marks to a draft updated version of the Satellite and Telecommunications Streamlining Act and refiled Secure Space Act (HR-675), in written testimony before a planned Wednesday House Communications Subcommittee hearing on the bills. Representatives from the FCC and Planet Labs gave more measured but positive reviews. Witnesses also spoke positively about the Leveraging American Understanding of Next-Generation Challenges Exploring Space Act (HR-682) and two other draft satellite bills the subcommittee will review Wednesday: the draft Advanced, Local Emergency Response Telecommunications Parity Act and draft Precision Agriculture Satellite Connectivity (PASC) Act. The hearing will begin at 10:30 a.m. in 2322 Rayburn.