Despite the near elimination of an account for ACE development in the proposed fiscal year 2018 budget (see 1705230031), CBP is requesting additional funding for ensuring the system continues to operate smoothly, according to its FY 2018 budget justification (here). The proposed budget includes an “increase of $45.1 million” in FY 2018 for “ACE Core Functionality,” including funding for additional “software sustainment teams.” CBP is also requesting substantial increases in funding required to implement mandates in the Trade Facilitation and Trade Enforcement Act of 2015.

ORLANDO -- Commissioner Mignon Clyburn said the FCC mustn't ignore interests of state and local government as it moves toward new rules for speeding up the siting of wireless facilities. Clyburn also said she remains hopeful the FCC will retain some rules on net neutrality, Wednesday at the Wireless Infrastructure Association meeting, which also heard the agency may act soon on infrastructure-related rules (see 1705230057).

AT&T favors the approach outlined by House Communications Subcommittee Chairman Marsha Blackburn, R-Tenn., in her Browser Act. HR-2520 would subject ISPs and edge providers to strict privacy rules at the FTC, with opt-in required even of web browsing data use. Blackburn hinted this week that some in the Senate and some House Democrats may have interest in the bill (see 1705230042), which surprised many due to its strong opt-in provisions.

Fight for the Future is calling a cease-and-desist letter it received for FFTF's Comcastroturf.com "exactly why we need Title II net neutrality protections that ban blocking, throttling, and censorship." The letter, which says it is from LookingGlass Cyber Security Center on behalf of Comcast, says the Comcastroturf.com domain is too close to "Comcast," violating the company's trademark, and the site should be reassigned to the cable operator. The site allows people to search if their names were attached to comments filed with the FCC in favor of a Communications Act Title II regulation of broadband rollback and to sign a petition demanding an investigation. FFTF said in a news release Tuesday if such a rollback happens, "there would be nothing preventing Comcast from simply blocking sites like Comcastroturf.com that are critical of their corporate policies. It also makes you wonder what Comcast is so afraid of? Are their lobbying dollars funding the astroturfing effort flooding the FCC with fake comments that we are encouraging Internet users to investigate?” FFTF, Demand Progress and Free Press are behind the Battle for the Net website that sends a form letter to the FCC opposing the Title II rollback. Comcast said it "supports strong, legally enforceable net neutrality rules and does not and will not block websites or content. Title II does not equal net neutrality." It also said, "Like most major brand owners, Comcast protects our company and brand names from being used improperly on the Internet by third parties. We use an established outside vendor to monitor for websites that use our name and brands without authorization, and the vendor routinely sends out notices to those sites. That is what happened here. This particular site also raised other legal issues supporting further investigation (for example, the site appears to collect personal information and has no posted privacy policy). After reviewing the site further, we do not plan additional action at this time.”

Fight for the Future is calling a cease-and-desist letter it received for FFTF's Comcastroturf.com "exactly why we need Title II net neutrality protections that ban blocking, throttling, and censorship." The letter, which says it is from LookingGlass Cyber Security Center on behalf of Comcast, says the Comcastroturf.com domain is too close to "Comcast," violating the company's trademark, and the site should be reassigned to the cable operator. The site allows people to search if their names were attached to comments filed with the FCC in favor of a Communications Act Title II regulation of broadband rollback and to sign a petition demanding an investigation. FFTF said in a news release Tuesday if such a rollback happens, "there would be nothing preventing Comcast from simply blocking sites like Comcastroturf.com that are critical of their corporate policies. It also makes you wonder what Comcast is so afraid of? Are their lobbying dollars funding the astroturfing effort flooding the FCC with fake comments that we are encouraging Internet users to investigate?” FFTF, Demand Progress and Free Press are behind the Battle for the Net website that sends a form letter to the FCC opposing the Title II rollback. Comcast said it "supports strong, legally enforceable net neutrality rules and does not and will not block websites or content. Title II does not equal net neutrality." It also said, "Like most major brand owners, Comcast protects our company and brand names from being used improperly on the Internet by third parties. We use an established outside vendor to monitor for websites that use our name and brands without authorization, and the vendor routinely sends out notices to those sites. That is what happened here. This particular site also raised other legal issues supporting further investigation (for example, the site appears to collect personal information and has no posted privacy policy). After reviewing the site further, we do not plan additional action at this time.”

Issues about white area feed distribution of Liberman should be dealt with in a complaint based on that, instead of the broadcaster trying to inject the matter into its carriage complaint, Comcast said in an FCC docket 16-121 filing posted Monday. Citing Liberman's raising of white area feed matters (see 1705170005), Comcast said that's outside of Liberman's original complaint or what was presented in the record, and called it "gamesmanship." It said Liberman is instead trying to resurrect its bid for the same relief using "new unsubstantiated allegations and ... dubious facts." If the Media Bureau wants to address white area carriage matters, it should find that feed was treated as an adjunct to broadcast carriage in market negotiations and subject to the retransmission consent regime, where it could be subject of a separate complaint, the operator said. Liberman outside counsel Markham Erickson of Steptoe & Johnson said the Media Bureau "was wrong as a matter of law to hold that Liberman does not qualify as a 'video programming vendor' when it acts as a broadcaster, and we hope that the Bureau will reverse its earlier determination." Liberman noted that its EstrellaTV network reaches more markets in white areas than in broadcast markets and that Comcast is the only major MVPD that doesn't broadly distribute it, he said. "The sole reason for such disparate treatment, of course, is Comcast’s ownership of Telemundo and NBCUniverso."

The high-profile FCC net neutrality comment period, spanning months going into the August congressional recess (see 1705180029), could distract lawmakers from other telecom priorities, Democrats told us. Lawmakers of both parties hope to avoid such derailment, but Democrats said they plan to commit time to mobilizing net neutrality defenders to comment. Hill reaction split along partisan lines to last week’s 2-1 NPRM vote.

The high-profile FCC net neutrality comment period, spanning months going into the August congressional recess (see 1705180029), could distract lawmakers from other telecom priorities, Democrats told us. Lawmakers of both parties hope to avoid such derailment, but Democrats said they plan to commit time to mobilizing net neutrality defenders to comment. Hill reaction split along partisan lines to last week’s 2-1 NPRM vote.

Security measures and responses at the FCC's Thursday meeting, including less seating than usual and the "manhandling" of a reporter after the meeting, are under fire, with questions of whether they may have been aimed at stifling any uproar about the net neutrality vote -- something the FCC denies. "This is very chilling and very intimidating to the public, whether you're for the rules or against," said former Commissioner Gloria Tristani, who attributed the problems to "very heavy-handed security." The National Press Club (NPC) described as "completely unacceptable" an incident in which it said John Donnelly of CQ Roll Call was pushed into and held against a wall by security using their backs when he was trying to talk to Commissioner Mike O'Rielly and then was forced to leave the building.

Atlas Tool Works Chief Alignment Officer Zachary Mottl championed the border adjustability provisions of the House GOP tax plan during a May 18 House Ways and Means Committee hearing on tax reform. In written testimony (here) and during the hearing, Mottl said such tax provisions can neutralize a skewed international taxation playing field in which most U.S. trading partners use value-added or goods-and-services taxes averaging 17 percent, acting as tariff and subsidy replacements. He pointed out that when Mexico abolished most taxes on U.S. goods through NAFTA, it also raised its value-added tax rate, “erecting a new tax ‘wall’” against U.S. goods. “Exports are cheaper due to the VAT rebate combined with the domestic tax cuts,” Mottl said. “Imports are more expensive because the VAT is applied with no offsetting domestic tax reduction for foreign suppliers.” Countries often “replace” tariffs lowered through trade agreements with consumption tax increases and cuts in non-border-adjustable taxes, while maintaining similar overall tax revenue, he said.