CBP officials raised the prospect of an indefinite delay to their plans to add a new data element for the Chinese postal code to cargo release filings, after customs brokers and software developers raised concerns about the new requirement during a regular bi-weekly call to discuss ACE on Oct. 27.
Consumer Watchdog raised concerns with recent changes to draft California privacy rules required by the 2020 California Privacy Rights Act. The California Privacy Protection Agency (CPPA) board is scheduled to weigh proposed rules at meetings Friday, Saturday and Nov. 4 (see 2210240068). The agency “needs to get these rules right and these last-minute proposals would weaken otherwise tough rules in favor of California privacy rights,” Consumer Watchdog’s Justin Kloczko said Tuesday. One concerning change removes a proposed requirement that a business displays whether it processed a consumer’s opt-out, said the privacy advocate’s report. “But this simple notification will protect consumers from going through additional opt-out steps if they are unsure their rights have been honored” and will help them “flag websites for enforcement by the CPPA if those rights are not honored.” The consumer group is also concerned with the board proposing to delete a requirement that businesses identify third parties that collect personal information. “Consumers deserve to know who exactly will be handling their personal information when exercising their rights,” Kloczko said.
Consumer Watchdog raised concerns with recent changes to draft California privacy rules required by the 2020 California Privacy Rights Act. The California Privacy Protection Agency (CPPA) board is scheduled to weigh proposed rules at meetings Friday, Saturday and Nov. 4 (see 2210240068). The agency “needs to get these rules right and these last-minute proposals would weaken otherwise tough rules in favor of California privacy rights,” Consumer Watchdog’s Justin Kloczko said Tuesday. One concerning change removes a proposed requirement that a business displays whether it processed a consumer’s opt-out, said the privacy advocate’s report. “But this simple notification will protect consumers from going through additional opt-out steps if they are unsure their rights have been honored” and will help them “flag websites for enforcement by the CPPA if those rights are not honored.” The consumer group is also concerned with the board proposing to delete a requirement that businesses identify third parties that collect personal information. “Consumers deserve to know who exactly will be handling their personal information when exercising their rights,” Kloczko said.
House Republican Conference Chair Elise Stefanik of New York and Rep. Mike Gallagher, R-Wis., filed the Foreign Adversary Communications Transparency Act on Tuesday on bid to counter the influence of the Chinese government and other foreign governments on U.S. telecom infrastructure. Stefanik’s office cited the U.S. government’s Monday filing of charges against two Chinese intelligence officers with attempting to obstruct the DOJ’s criminal investigation into Huawei (see 2210240059) as an impetus for filing the measure now. Senate Intelligence Committee Chairman Mark Warner, D-Va., and House Commerce Committee ranking member Cathy McMorris Rodgers, R-Wash., separately raised concerns about the Chinese government’s interference.
Industry groups welcomed a draft FCC notice of inquiry on the status of caller ID authentication technology for non-IP networks and providers’ progress in transitioning non-IP networks to IP technology (see 2210060062). Commissioners will consider the item Thursday. NTCA wanted additional language that would seek comment on whether the adoption of new rules could further the transition to IP and the feasibility of adopting non-IP authentication standards.
CTIA told the 9th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals that the FCC Office of General Counsel's August amicus on the National Lifeline Association's challenge of the California Public Utilities Commission's requirement that wireless providers charge no co-payment to participate in the state's Lifeline program "sets forth a novel and unduly narrow view" of the Communications Act's Section 332 preemption (see 2210210073). OGC's arguments would "embolden California and other states to set prices for wireless services" and "needlessly burden the same consumers that universal service programs are designed to protect," CTIA said in a filing posted Friday in case 21-15969. The group raised concerns about states having a "backdoor" to "seek ratemaking authority from the FCC."
Sierra Nevada Corp. (SNC) asked the FCC to act on its 2018 proposal to use 95 GHz spectrum for enhanced flight vision systems (EFVS) on aircraft. The Haystack Observatory at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology raised objections (see 2203250061). “Time is now of the essence for the FCC to act,” said a filing posted Friday in docket 19-140. “SNC’s customers require regulatory certainty and the reassurance that will only come when permanent rules for EFVS radar are put into place,” the company said: “The international community is waiting for FCC action. The International Civil Aviation Organization and the European Union have been engaged in efforts to provide spectrum protection for EFVS in the millimeter wave bands, including 95 GHz. … By acting now, the FCC can take the lead on these international efforts.”
A 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals decision Thursday in the Telephone Consumer Protection Act case Wakefield v. ViSalus (docket 21-35201) could lead to smaller verdicts in a variety of such lawsuits because it affirms that lower courts should analyze and reduce damage awards that are “unconstitutionally excessive.”
Issues central to the case involving defendant Peerless Network in its legal fight with plaintiffs Qwest, Level 3 and Global Crossing should be referred to the FCC “under the doctrine of primary jurisdiction,” said the plaintiffs in a legal brief Thursday (docket 1:21-cv-03004) in U.S. District Court for Colorado. The case was moved last week into a proceeding under a magistrate judge for alternative dispute resolution (see 2210130069).
The Commerce Department must revisit its countervailing duty rate calculations for the Electricity Tax Act and the Energy Tax Act and its finding that Germany's KAV program is de jure specific, the Court of International Trade ruled in an Oct. 12 opinion made public Oct. 20. However, Judge Claire Kelly upheld the remaining points of contention in the case brought by BGH Edelstahl Siegen. including whether Commerce properly initiated the CVD investigation, the finding that the administrative record is complete, and "the determination that the provisions of the Electricity Tax Act and the Energy Tax Act, the EEG and KWKG Reduced Surcharge Programs, the ETS Additional Free Emissions Allowances, and the CO2 Compensation Program are countervailable subsidies."