The USF Q4 contribution factor is “illegal and should be rejected,” said Consumers' Research as it asked the 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals to vacate the FCC approval (see 2109100069), said a petition in its challenge (both in Pacer, No. 21-3886). The approval “exceeds the FCC’s statutory authority,” the group said. Congress' "standardless delegation" to the FCC to raise and spend money for USF violated the Constitution because "the revenues raised ... are taxes," it said. The group said the Universal Service Administrative Co., which administers USF programs, is a private company and the appointment of its board directors by the FCC chair violates the Constitution's appointments clause if it's determined that USAC isn't a private entity. The group also said the FCC failed to comply with the Administrative Procedure Act's rulemaking and Federal Register Act's publication requirements. The agency didn’t comment.
The Justice Department moved for a voluntary remand in a duty evasion case after finding out that the parties to the investigation were not provided with certain documents in the investigation. DOJ argued that the remand should be granted since the parties should have the chance to make arguments to CBP based on this withheld information to inform the ultimate evasion decision (Norca Industrial Company, LLC et al. v. U.S., CIT #21-00192).
A federal district court denied two Alaska shipping companies' bid for an expedited temporary restraining order against CBP penalties for seafood shipments found to be in violation of the Jones Act. In a Sept. 28 opinion, Judge Sharon Gleason of the U.S. District Court for the District of Alaska held that the plaintiffs, Kloosterboer International Forwarding and Alaska Reefer Management, were unlikely to succeed in the case since the pair did not have a tariff filed to cover the transportation route in question.
The National Environmental Policy Act, passed during the space race, never mentions outer space and refers explicitly to "man's environment" and "the human environment," making it clear its jurisdiction is on Earth, TechFreedom told the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit Tuesday. The group's amicus brief (in Pacer, docket 21-1123) backed the FCC. Appellants Viasat and Balance Group are challenging on environmental grounds the agency's approval of a license modification granted SpaceX (see 2106020036). Even if NEPA did apply to space, TechFreedom said, environmental harm arguments raised by Viasat and Balance "are overstated and speculative." Counsel for the appellants didn't comment.
Ohio should be firm but fair with businesses on privacy, Republican sponsors of a comprehensive state bill said Tuesday. Ohio House Government Oversight Committee members questioned sponsors but didn’t vote at HB-376’s first hearing. Lt. Gov. Jon Husted (R) unveiled the bill in July that would apply to businesses with at least $25 million revenue in the state (see 2107130049). Consumer Reports (CR) raised concerns the bill won’t adequately protect users. Minnesota also weighed privacy legislation this week.
Few consumers' phone service will likely be affected if their provider hasn't filed in the FCC robocall mitigation database, experts said in recent interviews. Some had raised concerns that consumers may be unable to make calls if their provider failed to file in the database by the June 30 deadline (see 2104200042).
Ohio should be firm but fair with businesses on privacy, Republican sponsors of a comprehensive state bill said Tuesday. Ohio House Government Oversight Committee members questioned sponsors but didn’t vote at HB-376’s first hearing. Lt. Gov. Jon Husted (R) unveiled the bill in July that would apply to businesses with at least $25 million revenue in the state (see 2107130049). Consumer Reports (CR) raised concerns the bill won’t adequately protect users. Minnesota also weighed privacy legislation this week.
Requiring a CBP protest to obtain a refund under exclusions from Section 301 tariffs usurps the authority of the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative and unlawfully hands it over to CBP, importers ARP Materials and Harrison Steel Castings argued at the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit (ARP Materials, Inc., et al. v. United States, Fed. Cir. #21-2176).
The FCC's limiting part of the 5.9 GHz band to just cellular vehicle-to-everything use is raising “unanticipated intellectual property” issues, said representatives of Continental Automotive Systems in a call with an aide to FCC acting Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel. “Parties obligated to comply with FCC regulations must be able to do so legally in compliance with the U.S. Patent Laws,” said a filing posted Thursday in docket 19-138. Some C-V2X standard patent holders “refuse to license automotive industry participants such as Continental, or only will do so on unreasonable and discriminatory terms,” the company said.
The FCC's limiting part of the 5.9 GHz band to just cellular vehicle-to-everything use is raising “unanticipated intellectual property” issues, said representatives of Continental Automotive Systems in a call with an aide to FCC acting Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel. “Parties obligated to comply with FCC regulations must be able to do so legally in compliance with the U.S. Patent Laws,” said a filing posted Thursday in docket 19-138. Some C-V2X standard patent holders “refuse to license automotive industry participants such as Continental, or only will do so on unreasonable and discriminatory terms,” the company said.