The FTC’s various rulemaking efforts are designed to put “market participants on notice,” and the commission is committed to activating all legal authorities necessary for enforcement, Chair Lina Khan said in a statement with Commissioners Rebecca Kelly Slaughter and Alvaro Bedoya in support of the agency’s five-year strategic plan, issued Friday.
The FCC's approval of some SpaceX satellites operating at lower altitudes didn't violate the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit ruled Friday in a docket 21-1123 opinion. The court also rejected Dish Network claims the FCC ignored harmful interference the SpaceX license modification would cause. The red flags Viasat raised about orbit congestion are "much too speculative," said the opinion by Judges Gregory Katsas, Robert Wilkins and Justin Walker. The opinion, penned by Katsas, said SpaceX might create additional expenses for Viasat for having to move its own satellites more frequently to avoid SpaceX satellites, but Viasat can't "fairly be described as having personally suffered a nuisance, aesthetic, or other environmental injury from congestion in outer space," as NEPA requires. The opinion said Balance Group, which joined Viasat in the NEPA arguments, lacked standing. The court said Dish's interference claims were based on different methods for assessing interference than FCC rules require. It said it lacks jurisdictional standing to address Dish criticisms of the requirement licensees get a favorable ITU finding, and Dish didn't press those issues before the commission. Viasat, in a statement, called the decision "a setback for both space safety and environmental protection. ... Had the Court forced the FCC to properly grapple with the complicated issues surrounding deployment of mega-constellations (in low earth orbit), we believe harmful impacts that otherwise may persist for decades or even centuries to come could have been avoided." It said it "will continue to strongly advocate for space safety and further encourage all industry participants to be responsible stewards of our shared orbital environment." Dish didn't comment. Oral argument was in December (see 2112030034).
The FTC’s various rulemaking efforts are designed to put “market participants on notice,” and the commission is committed to activating all legal authorities necessary for enforcement, Chair Lina Khan said in a statement with Commissioners Rebecca Kelly Slaughter and Alvaro Bedoya in support of the agency’s five-year strategic plan, issued Friday.
Action on a proposal to revive FCC collection of equal employment opportunity workforce diversity data using Form 395-B isn’t expected soon despite recent calls from public interest and diversity groups for swift action, industry and FCC officials told us. The National Urban League, Common Cause, the Multicultural Media, Telecom and Internet Council and others said in recent joint supplementary comments in docket 98-204 that the agency needs to act within six months to produce useful reports by mid-2024, but industry and FCC officials said they don’t anticipate action on the matter while the FCC is without a Democratic majority.
Pennsylvania and California commissioners pondered VoIP jurisdictional issues at livestreamed meetings Thursday. Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission Chairman Gladys Brown Dutrieuille dissented as members voted 2-1 for a petition by T-Mobile’s Sprint to discontinue CLEC and interexchange services while continuing VoIP service in the state (docket A-2021-3028993). The California Public Utilities Commission unanimously approved a rulemaking to consider changes to VoIP licensing requirements and other obligations (see 2208190030).
DOJ requested permission to participate in oral argument in support of 48 state attorneys general leading an antitrust lawsuit against Facebook (see 2203150046). The AGs, led by New York AG Letitia James (D), agreed to grant DOJ 10 minutes of their 25 minutes allotted for argument Sept. 19, said the filing Tuesday before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit in docket 21-7078. DOJ noted Facebook parent Meta hasn’t taken a position on the motion and won’t file a response. The U.S. has a “significant interest” in the application of antitrust law, and the district court’s order dismissing the states’ antitrust claims raises “significant and unjustified barriers” to Sherman Act Section 2 enforcement by “incorrectly analyzing anticompetitive conditions to ongoing deals under the more onerous standards reserved for unconditional, unilateral refusals to deal,” DOJ said.
DOJ requested permission to participate in oral argument in support of 48 state attorneys general leading an antitrust lawsuit against Facebook (see 2203150046). The AGs, led by New York AG Letitia James (D), agreed to grant DOJ 10 minutes of their 25 minutes allotted for argument Sept. 19, said the filing Tuesday before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit in docket 21-7078. DOJ noted Facebook parent Meta hasn’t taken a position on the motion and won’t file a response. The U.S. has a “significant interest” in the application of antitrust law, and the district court’s order dismissing the states’ antitrust claims raises “significant and unjustified barriers” to Sherman Act Section 2 enforcement by “incorrectly analyzing anticompetitive conditions to ongoing deals under the more onerous standards reserved for unconditional, unilateral refusals to deal,” DOJ said.
Industry experts say it’s not clear what will come next as a result of FCC letters asking wireless providers about their data collection practices. The letters, which Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel sent to providers last month, delve into data sharing and retention practices of providers (see 2207200064). They ask that responses be emailed directly to Rosenworcel. Industry lobbyists said the letters also could tie back to a broader Biden administration focus on data privacy in light of the Supreme Court decision in Dobbs v. Jackson, which overturned Roe v. Wade.
Industry experts say it’s not clear what will come next as a result of FCC letters asking wireless providers about their data collection practices. The letters, which Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel sent to providers last month, delve into data sharing and retention practices of providers (see 2207200064). They ask that responses be emailed directly to Rosenworcel. Industry lobbyists said the letters also could tie back to a broader Biden administration focus on data privacy in light of the Supreme Court decision in Dobbs v. Jackson, which overturned Roe v. Wade.
The Commerce Department should accept an exporter's evidence of entries to establish a separate rate in an antidumping duty case, or else conclude that it had no shipments and not review the company, the exporter, Ningbo Qixin, argued in an Aug. 18 reply brief to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit (Canadian Solar International, et al. v. U.S., Fed. Cir. # 20-2162).