The U.S. is using "magical thinking" as the basis for its defense in the case against the legality of tariffs imposed under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act, said Rick Woldenberg, CEO of Hand2Mind and Learning Resources, the plaintiffs in the suit currently at the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit.
Tech companies could be in violation of the FTC Act if they weaken security standards in response to demands from foreign law enforcement, FTC Chairman Andrew Ferguson said Thursday in letters to several companies.
NEW ORLEANS -- Recent changes to NTIA's $42.5 billion BEAD program are creating uncertainty for states, some broadband experts said during the National Association of Telecommunications Officers and Advisors’ annual policy conference here Tuesday. Concerns were raised about federal funds potentially supporting satellite broadband in areas where residents have shown little interest in it and about NTIA’s decision to remove its preference for fiber.
Femtech offers groundbreaking innovations in women's health but also poses serious privacy threats, data protection lawyers said. Even the EU, with its General Data Protection Regulation and AI Act, and the U.K., with its version of the GDPR, may not always provide adequate protection for the highly sensitive personal data that femtech apps collect and use, they added.
Industry groups pressed the FCC to avoid imposing new rules designed to close a “gap” in the commission’s Stir/Shaken authentication rules, making it harder for scammers to hide their identities. Some said the wrong rules could slow the IP transition. Commissioners in April approved an NPRM (see 2504280038) addressing the issue. Reply comments were due Friday in docket 17-97.
The security of patient data shared with the Trump administration’s HealthTech Initiative will depend on participating companies’ existing controls, not regulation, attorneys at Orrick said Friday (see 2508040021).
T-Mobile defended the FCC's bureau-level order approving the company’s buy of spectrum and other wireless assets from UScellular. Along with Array Digital Infrastructure, the new name for UScellular, T-Mobile asked the FCC to reject an application for review filed by the Rural Wireless Association, the Open Technology Institute at New America, the Benton Institute for Broadband & Society and the Communications Workers of America (see 2507310041).
California’s plan to launch a home broadband pilot under its LifeLine program received mixed reactions from industry and consumer advocates. Groups were split over legal authority, service standards and who should be required to participate in the program, which was proposed by California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) Commissioner Alice Reynolds and is expected to be considered during the agency's August 28 meeting.
The FCC NPRM looking at potential changes to the commission’s enforcement of the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) and the National Historic Preservation Act (NHPA) has numerous changes between it and the draft Chairman Brendan Carr circulated. Industry officials expect the FCC to move quickly since NEPA reform has been a top focus of the Donald Trump administration, they said Friday.
The FCC’s new direct final rule process doesn’t give enough time and information to the public, provides too much authority to the bureaus, and is of questionable legality, said local governments, public interest groups and civil rights groups in filings in docket 25-133 last week. All the comments objected to the DFR process, rather than specific rules the process is being used to eliminate in orders voted at the FCC’s July (see 2507240055) and August (see 2508070037) meetings.