President Donald Trump plans to nominate acting FTC Chairman Maureen Ohlhausen as a judge on the U.S. Court of Federal Claims, the White House announced Tuesday evening. Trump announced in October that he planned to nominate Paul Weiss antitrust lawyer Joseph Simons as FTC chairman, raising new questions about how long Ohlhausen would choose to remain (see 1710190001 and 1710190055). The White House has yet to formally submit nominations for Simons and two other intended nominees to the FTC -- former Consumer Financial Protection Bureau Assistant Director Rohit Chopra and Noah Phillips, chief counsel to Senate Majority Whip John Cornyn, R-Texas -- to the Senate. Ohlhausen said she will remain at the FTC until the Senate confirms her to the judgeship.
President Donald Trump plans to nominate acting FTC Chairman Maureen Ohlhausen as a judge on the U.S. Court of Federal Claims, the White House announced Tuesday evening. Trump announced in October that he planned to nominate Paul Weiss antitrust lawyer Joseph Simons as FTC chairman, raising new questions about how long Ohlhausen would choose to remain (see 1710190001 and 1710190055). The White House has yet to formally submit nominations for Simons and two other intended nominees to the FTC -- former Consumer Financial Protection Bureau Assistant Director Rohit Chopra and Noah Phillips, chief counsel to Senate Majority Whip John Cornyn, R-Texas -- to the Senate. Ohlhausen said she will remain at the FTC until the Senate confirms her to the judgeship.
FCC Chairman Ajit Pai’s proposal for an Office of Economics and Analytics is expected to be OK'ed at the Jan. 30 commissioners’ meeting largely as proposed, given the minority members' concerns may not be addressed. The item could face opposition from the two Democratic commissioners, Mignon Clyburn and Jessica Rosenworcel, industry and agency officials said. Clyburn in particular may make clear her concerns during next week’s meeting, the officials said. Republican Commissioner Mike O’Rielly told reporters Monday he's studying the proposal (see 1801220040).
FCC Chairman Ajit Pai’s proposal for an Office of Economics and Analytics is expected to be OK'ed at the Jan. 30 commissioners’ meeting largely as proposed, given the minority members' concerns may not be addressed. The item could face opposition from the two Democratic commissioners, Mignon Clyburn and Jessica Rosenworcel, industry and agency officials said. Clyburn in particular may make clear her concerns during next week’s meeting, the officials said. Republican Commissioner Mike O’Rielly told reporters Monday he's studying the proposal (see 1801220040).
The Food and Drug Administration on Jan. 24 released a series of draft and final guidance documents intended to assist importers in complying with its Foreign Supplier Verification Program regulations. A new, 108-page draft guidance on FSVP includes a series of questions and answers on all aspects of the rules, including who must comply and what specific criteria importers must apply when developing their FSVPs. FDA also released a small entity compliance guide with specific emphasis on FSVP’s modified requirements for small businesses, and another draft guidance on how importers should determine whether their supplier is implementing the equivalent to U.S. food safety controls.
Liability protections for third-party online content should be included in the North American Free Trade Agreement, said 55 scholars and groups of various regulatory persuasions in a letter Monday to trade heads of the U.S., Canada and Mexico. The internet was an "obscure electronic network" when NAFTA was negotiated and now is an essential part of the economy, said the Center for Democracy & Technology, Competitive Enterprise Institute, FreedomWorks, New America’s Open Technology Institute, Public Knowledge, R Street, TechFreedom and others. They urged that a new agreement include immunity provisions like Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act, which protects online companies from legal action for content on their sites. Immunity provisions make it easy for startups to launch new services, and advance consumers' free speech rights, the letter said. “The legal exposure of Internet businesses raises vitally important trade issues,” blogged Santa Clara Law professor Eric Goldman, who spearheaded the effort and has been critical of congressional legislation aimed at curbing online sex trafficking that would make exceptions to Section 230 protections (see 1801040050). "New rules on cross-border data flows, non-disclosure requirements for source code and algorithms, and highlighting the role of interoperability mechanisms to transfer data across borders" should be part of a new pact, said Software & Information Industry Association Vice President-Public Policy Mark MacCarthy.
Liability protections for third-party online content should be included in the North American Free Trade Agreement, said 55 scholars and groups of various regulatory persuasions in a letter Monday to trade heads of the U.S., Canada and Mexico. The internet was an "obscure electronic network" when NAFTA was negotiated and now is an essential part of the economy, said the Center for Democracy & Technology, Competitive Enterprise Institute, FreedomWorks, New America’s Open Technology Institute, Public Knowledge, R Street, TechFreedom and others. They urged that a new agreement include immunity provisions like Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act, which protects online companies from legal action for content on their sites. Immunity provisions make it easy for startups to launch new services, and advance consumers' free speech rights, the letter said. “The legal exposure of Internet businesses raises vitally important trade issues,” blogged Santa Clara Law professor Eric Goldman, who spearheaded the effort and has been critical of congressional legislation aimed at curbing online sex trafficking that would make exceptions to Section 230 protections (see 1801040050). "New rules on cross-border data flows, non-disclosure requirements for source code and algorithms, and highlighting the role of interoperability mechanisms to transfer data across borders" should be part of a new pact, said Software & Information Industry Association Vice President-Public Policy Mark MacCarthy.
Liability protections for third-party online content should be included in the North American Free Trade Agreement, said 55 scholars and groups of various regulatory persuasions in a letter Monday to trade heads of the U.S., Canada and Mexico. The internet was an "obscure electronic network" when NAFTA was negotiated and now is an essential part of the economy, said the Center for Democracy & Technology, Competitive Enterprise Institute, FreedomWorks, New America’s Open Technology Institute, Public Knowledge, R Street, TechFreedom and others. They urged that a new agreement include immunity provisions like Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act, which protects online companies from legal action for content on their sites. Immunity provisions make it easy for startups to launch new services, and advance consumers' free speech rights, the letter said. “The legal exposure of Internet businesses raises vitally important trade issues,” blogged Santa Clara Law professor Eric Goldman, who spearheaded the effort and has been critical of congressional legislation aimed at curbing online sex trafficking that would make exceptions to Section 230 protections (see 1801040050). "New rules on cross-border data flows, non-disclosure requirements for source code and algorithms, and highlighting the role of interoperability mechanisms to transfer data across borders" should be part of a new pact, said Software & Information Industry Association Vice President-Public Policy Mark MacCarthy.
Let the Broadband Deployment Advisory Committee reach consensus before acting on recommendations, Rep. Peter Welch, D-Vt., said in a Monday letter to FCC Chairman Ajit Pai. With BDAC to meet Tuesday and Wednesday, Welch responded to reports that committee leadership suggested the group move ahead without a consensus of working group members. "For the BDAC to be a successful policy instrument, it must function as a consensus body," Welch wrote. The National Association of Tribal Historic Preservation Officers (NATHPO) complained about a Jan. 16 FCC announcement and invitation to tribes and Native Hawaiian organizations to participate in conference calls Jan. 22 and 24 and Feb. 5 on wireless infrastructure. “The FCC refers to these conference calls as a continuation of … the process of government‐to‐government consultation on certain issues raised in the NPRM,’” NATHPO filed in wireless infrastructure and other dockets. “The FCC has not been conducting government‐to‐government consultation by offering open meetings to tribal representatives, including offering unstructured conference calls on short notice. Sending out an email message to hundreds of tribal representatives for a conference call, the first of which is less than one week away, is not government‐to‐government consultation.”
Let the Broadband Deployment Advisory Committee reach consensus before acting on recommendations, Rep. Peter Welch, D-Vt., said in a Monday letter to FCC Chairman Ajit Pai. With BDAC to meet Tuesday and Wednesday, Welch responded to reports that committee leadership suggested the group move ahead without a consensus of working group members. "For the BDAC to be a successful policy instrument, it must function as a consensus body," Welch wrote. The National Association of Tribal Historic Preservation Officers (NATHPO) complained about a Jan. 16 FCC announcement and invitation to tribes and Native Hawaiian organizations to participate in conference calls Jan. 22 and 24 and Feb. 5 on wireless infrastructure. “The FCC refers to these conference calls as a continuation of … the process of government‐to‐government consultation on certain issues raised in the NPRM,’” NATHPO filed in wireless infrastructure and other dockets. “The FCC has not been conducting government‐to‐government consultation by offering open meetings to tribal representatives, including offering unstructured conference calls on short notice. Sending out an email message to hundreds of tribal representatives for a conference call, the first of which is less than one week away, is not government‐to‐government consultation.”