Industry urged the FCC to tread lightly in bolstering slamming and cramming rules targeting providers making unauthorized changes to consumers' preferred telecom providers or inserting unauthorized charges on phone bills. Major telco, cable and billing interests expressed concerns about potential new regulations teed up in a July NPRM (see 1707130054), while consumer groups were more supportive. Comments were posted in docket 17-169 Wednesday and Thursday. Replies those days in docket 17-97 on a July notice of inquiry (see 1707130054) also saw the telco industry and consumer groups at odds on whether the FCC should mandate a call authentication standards framework.

Administration and oversight of the Lifeline USF program drew criticism during Thursday's Senate Homeland Security Committee hearing, as expected (see 1709130053), and committee leaders sought major improvements. Chairman Ron Johnson, R-Wis., and ranking member Claire McCaskill, D-Mo., indicated they will hold off on a legislative response until the national verifier program and other fixes instituted in the FCC 2016 Lifeline overhaul order fully roll out. McCaskill had said she would consider a possible bill, depending on results of the hearing, including a restructuring and budget cap (see 1709060063).

Administration and oversight of the Lifeline USF program drew criticism during Thursday's Senate Homeland Security Committee hearing, as expected (see 1709130053), and committee leaders sought major improvements. Chairman Ron Johnson, R-Wis., and ranking member Claire McCaskill, D-Mo., indicated they will hold off on a legislative response until the national verifier program and other fixes instituted in the FCC 2016 Lifeline overhaul order fully roll out. McCaskill had said she would consider a possible bill, depending on results of the hearing, including a restructuring and budget cap (see 1709060063).

​President Donald Trump signed an executive order Wednesday blocking Canyon Bridge Fund’s $1.3 billion acquisition of Lattice Semiconductor, supplier of smart connectivity products for Ultra HD and other applications, on national security grounds, said the White House. Canyon Bridge is a private equity fund with investors that include China Venture Capital Fund Corp., which is “owned by Chinese state-owned entities that manages industrial investments and venture capital,” said a White House statement. Trump blocked the sale under 1950's Defense Production Act, which authorizes the president to “suspend or prohibit certain acquisitions that result in foreign control of a United States business if he concludes, among other things, that there is credible evidence that the foreign interest exercising control might take action that threatens to impair the national security of the United States,” said the White House. Cited national security risks include “the potential transfer of intellectual property to the foreign acquirer,” the importance of semiconductor “supply chain integrity” to the U.S. government and the fact that the U.S. government buys Lattice products. Lattice representatives didn’t comment. The company's 8-K filing Sept. 1 at the SEC said the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States would recommend to Trump that he should block the deal. “Lattice remains of the view that the proposed transaction does not raise any national security concerns that cannot be addressed by the comprehensive mitigation measures that Lattice and Canyon Bridge have proposed to implement,” the company said then.

Sen. Mark Warner, D-Va., has asked the FTC to investigate the June cyberattack on Equifax that resulted in 143 million Americans' information being exposed (see 1709080019, 1709110035 and 1709120055). "This information -- critical to opening a new bank account or taking out a loan -- will expose Americans to identity theft, tax fraud, extortion, and other risks," he wrote in a Wednesday letter to acting FTC Chairman Maureen Ohlhausen. Meanwhile, House Commerce Chairman Greg Walden, R-Ore., and Digital Commerce and Consumer Protection Subcommittee Chairman Bob Latta, R-Ohio, formally invited Equifax CEO Richard Smith to testify on Oct. 3. The company didn't comment. Warner, who co-founded the Senate Cybersecurity Caucus and is a member of the Banking, Budget and Finance committees, said the breach "raises serious questions about whether firms like Equifax adequately protect the enormous amounts of sensitive data they gather and commercialize." Warner cited security issues raised by Equifax's actions before and after the breach, "including use of potentially insecure content management software and improperly configured web encryption" that flagged its Equifaxsecurity2017.com domain as a phishing site among web browsers. He was alarmed by the credit reporting service's handling of customer inquiries by requesting some personal data and providing a simple PIN when customers want to place a credit freeze. He said when viewed as a whole, including past breaches by other credit bureaus, "these lapses may potentially represent a systemic failure by firms." The FTC said it received the letter but declined to comment.

Sen. Mark Warner, D-Va., has asked the FTC to investigate the June cyberattack on Equifax that resulted in 143 million Americans' information being exposed (see 1709080019, 1709110035 and 1709120055). "This information -- critical to opening a new bank account or taking out a loan -- will expose Americans to identity theft, tax fraud, extortion, and other risks," he wrote in a Wednesday letter to acting FTC Chairman Maureen Ohlhausen. Meanwhile, House Commerce Chairman Greg Walden, R-Ore., and Digital Commerce and Consumer Protection Subcommittee Chairman Bob Latta, R-Ohio, formally invited Equifax CEO Richard Smith to testify on Oct. 3. The company didn't comment. Warner, who co-founded the Senate Cybersecurity Caucus and is a member of the Banking, Budget and Finance committees, said the breach "raises serious questions about whether firms like Equifax adequately protect the enormous amounts of sensitive data they gather and commercialize." Warner cited security issues raised by Equifax's actions before and after the breach, "including use of potentially insecure content management software and improperly configured web encryption" that flagged its Equifaxsecurity2017.com domain as a phishing site among web browsers. He was alarmed by the credit reporting service's handling of customer inquiries by requesting some personal data and providing a simple PIN when customers want to place a credit freeze. He said when viewed as a whole, including past breaches by other credit bureaus, "these lapses may potentially represent a systemic failure by firms." The FTC said it received the letter but declined to comment.

Sen. Mark Warner, D-Va., has asked the FTC to investigate the June cyberattack on Equifax that resulted in 143 million Americans' information being exposed (see 1709080019, 1709110035 and 1709120055). "This information -- critical to opening a new bank account or taking out a loan -- will expose Americans to identity theft, tax fraud, extortion, and other risks," he wrote in a Wednesday letter to acting FTC Chairman Maureen Ohlhausen. Meanwhile, House Commerce Chairman Greg Walden, R-Ore., and Digital Commerce and Consumer Protection Subcommittee Chairman Bob Latta, R-Ohio, formally invited Equifax CEO Richard Smith to testify on Oct. 3. The company didn't comment. Warner, who co-founded the Senate Cybersecurity Caucus and is a member of the Banking, Budget and Finance committees, said the breach "raises serious questions about whether firms like Equifax adequately protect the enormous amounts of sensitive data they gather and commercialize." Warner cited security issues raised by Equifax's actions before and after the breach, "including use of potentially insecure content management software and improperly configured web encryption" that flagged its Equifaxsecurity2017.com domain as a phishing site among web browsers. He was alarmed by the credit reporting service's handling of customer inquiries by requesting some personal data and providing a simple PIN when customers want to place a credit freeze. He said when viewed as a whole, including past breaches by other credit bureaus, "these lapses may potentially represent a systemic failure by firms." The FTC said it received the letter but declined to comment.

​President Donald Trump signed an executive order Wednesday blocking Canyon Bridge Fund’s $1.3 billion acquisition of Lattice Semiconductor, supplier of smart connectivity products for Ultra HD and other applications, on national security grounds, said the White House. Canyon Bridge is a private equity fund with investors that include China Venture Capital Fund Corp., which is “owned by Chinese state-owned entities that manages industrial investments and venture capital,” said a White House statement. Trump blocked the sale under 1950's Defense Production Act, which authorizes the president to “suspend or prohibit certain acquisitions that result in foreign control of a United States business if he concludes, among other things, that there is credible evidence that the foreign interest exercising control might take action that threatens to impair the national security of the United States,” said the White House. Cited national security risks include “the potential transfer of intellectual property to the foreign acquirer,” the importance of semiconductor “supply chain integrity” to the U.S. government and the fact that the U.S. government buys Lattice products. Lattice representatives didn’t comment. The company's 8-K filing Sept. 1 at the SEC said the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States would recommend to Trump that he should block the deal. “Lattice remains of the view that the proposed transaction does not raise any national security concerns that cannot be addressed by the comprehensive mitigation measures that Lattice and Canyon Bridge have proposed to implement,” the company said then.

Senate Commerce Chairman John Thune, R-S.D., said Wednesday he wants to introduce and mark up autonomous vehicle legislation before the Columbus Day break, or Oct. 9, and remained hopeful he can resolve differences, namely with Sen. Gary Peters, D-Mich., over whether to include trucks in a bill. Thune told reporters after a hearing on self-driving trucks that he wants the bill to "strike the right balance" and be bipartisan. "There's a real need, I think, for Congress to act in this space," he said. "We'll make the ultimate determination on what the final draft bill is that we end up filing here soon."

​President Donald Trump signed an executive order Wednesday blocking Canyon Bridge Fund’s $1.3 billion acquisition of Lattice Semiconductor, supplier of smart connectivity products for Ultra HD and other applications, on national security grounds, said the White House. Canyon Bridge is a private equity fund with investors that include China Venture Capital Fund Corp., which is “owned by Chinese state-owned entities that manages industrial investments and venture capital,” said a White House statement. Trump blocked the sale under 1950's Defense Production Act, which authorizes the president to “suspend or prohibit certain acquisitions that result in foreign control of a United States business if he concludes, among other things, that there is credible evidence that the foreign interest exercising control might take action that threatens to impair the national security of the United States,” said the White House. Cited national security risks include “the potential transfer of intellectual property to the foreign acquirer,” the importance of semiconductor “supply chain integrity” to the U.S. government and the fact that the U.S. government buys Lattice products. Lattice representatives didn’t comment. The company's 8-K filing Sept. 1 at the SEC said the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States would recommend to Trump that he should block the deal. “Lattice remains of the view that the proposed transaction does not raise any national security concerns that cannot be addressed by the comprehensive mitigation measures that Lattice and Canyon Bridge have proposed to implement,” the company said then.