The RAIN, LoRa, Wi-Fi, WiSUN and Z-Wave alliances asked the FCC to force NextNav to pause a field test of its 900 MHz 5G positioning, navigation and timing (PNT) network in Santa Clara County, California (see 2512110060). The commission should also amend NextNav’s experimental license to require it to provide additional information on interference and to submit periodic reports, said a filing Monday in docket 25-110.
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries and 15 other Democratic members of New York’s congressional delegation urged NTIA on Friday to allow the state “to retain and use BEAD non-deployment funds for broadband adoption.” BEAD’s non-deployment funding, which some estimates have found to account for $20 billion of the program’s $42.5 billion total, has faced challenges from the Trump administration and some congressional Republicans. President Donald Trump earlier this month issued an executive order that directs NTIA to potentially curtail non-deployment BEAD funding for states that the administration determines have overly burdensome AI laws (see 2512120048).
Instacart said Monday it will immediately end what it called price testing following a Consumer Reports (CR) study that the organization said proved it used personal data to set its online grocery prices. However, Instacart also denied its "pricing tests" included surveillance pricing or dynamic pricing, "and were never based on supply or demand, personal data, demographics, or individual shopping behavior.”
New York Gov. Kathy Hochul (D) on Friday evening signed comprehensive AI legislation with chapter amendments she negotiated with bill sponsors, as expected (see 2512190016, 2511170054 and 2512100008).
The initial round of 2022 quadrennial review comments last week included Fox seeking elimination of the dual network rule and MVPDs advocating for the FCC to adopt DOJ’s market definitions for broadcasting, as well as the expected calls from broadcast station owners to eliminate ownership limits. Opponents of deregulation in docket 22-459 included conservative entities Newsmax and CPAC, along with a coalition of public interest groups, independent film trade groups and academics arguing that the FCC must study broadcast markets.
U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer said the Trump administration will recommend renewal of USMCA only if 20 issues can be resolved, and maybe more, as he told Congress this isn't an exhaustive list.
The Pennsylvania Commonwealth Court last month found that Mexico discriminated against non-Mexican steel conduit in government procurement through, among other things, state-owned bank loans, energy subsidies, "unfair transshipment schemes" and "permitting misclassification of steel conduit" (Wheatland Tube v. Foreign Country of Mexico, Pa. Cmwlth. # 496).
Consumer Reports and other groups raised the stakes on an earlier claim that Instacart is using personal data to set grocery prices, unbeknownst to customers. On Tuesday, Consumer Reports and More Perfect Union called on the FTC and state attorneys general to investigate, presenting a petition with 40,000 signatures and charging Instacart with deceptive or unfair pricing practices in violation of the FTC Act.
New York Gov. Kathy Hochul (D) vetoed a controversial state health data privacy bill (S-929) on Friday, an aide to Assembly sponsor Linda Rosenthal (D) told us.
Attorneys at Grunfeld Desiderio filed an application for a temporary restraining order last week against the liquidation of entries in various cases that were assessed tariffs imposed under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act. In its response filed on Dec. 16, the U.S. repeatedly cited the Court of International Trade's recent decision to deny an injunction against liquidation in other cases seeking IEEPA tariff refunds on the grounds that the trade court has the power to order reliquidation of finally liquidated entries in Section 1581(i) cases (see 2512150029) (Strato Technology Solutions v. United States, CIT Consol. # 25-00322).