FCC Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel and other officials condemned Friday an alleged wave of hate texts following the presidential election's conclusion Tuesday night. The NAACP said Thursday it received reports of texts in multiple states, including Alabama, North Carolina, Virginia and Pennsylvania, from an unknown source, urging that recipients report to a plantation to pick cotton. The "messages represent an alarming increase in vile and abhorrent rhetoric from racist groups across the country, who now feel emboldened to spread hate and stoke the flames of fear that many of us are feeling after Tuesday's election results,” NAACP CEO Derrick Johnson said. “These messages are unacceptable,” Rosenworcel said. “That’s why our Enforcement Bureau is already investigating and looking into them alongside federal and state law enforcement.” The FBI said Thursday night it’s “aware of the offensive and racist text messages sent to individuals around the country and is in contact with the Justice Department and other federal authorities on the matter.” Cloud-based mobile phone service provider TextNow believes at least some of the messages came through its service in what it called “a widespread, coordinated attack.” As “soon as we became aware, our Trust & Safety team acted quickly, rapidly disabling the related accounts in less than an hour,” the company said in a statement. President-elect Donald Trump’s team sought to distance itself from the text messages amid criticism from the NAACP and others that his campaign’s rhetoric prompted the onslaught. Trump’s “campaign has absolutely nothing to do with these text messages,” a spokesperson said in a statement. The Biden administration condemned “these hateful messages and anyone targeting Americans based on their ethnicity or background.” Maryland Attorney General Anthony Brown (D) and New York AG Letitia James (D) both raised alarm bells about the text messages. “These messages are horrific, unacceptable, and will not be tolerated,” Brown said. “If you have been sent one of these texts, I am asking for you to please come forward and report it.” James called the messages “disgusting and unacceptable,” and also encouraged anyone “who has received an anonymous, threatening text message to report it to my office.” House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries of New York and other congressional Democrats also condemned the texts. There “are extremists in America who feel empowered” following Trump’s election to a second term to send the “racist, vile and threatening” messages, Jeffries said Friday. “We will not be intimidated by anyone.” House Communications Subcommittee member Rep. Yvette Clarke of New York urged “a full investigation into the source of these despicable messages and call for the perpetrators of this hateful scheme to be held accountable for their actions.”

Some industry groups raised concerns about proposed amendments to Colorado privacy rules concerning children and biometric data. The Colorado attorney general’s office held a rulemaking hearing Thursday to gather public comments on proposed draft amendments to the Colorado Privacy Act Rules (see 2409160036). The draft amendments, published Sept. 13, provide updated language to align with children’s and biometric privacy bills the Colorado legislature approved this year and create a process for issuing opinion letters and interpretive guidance. The proposed rules include definitions of “child” versus “minor,” as well as requirements for notifying consumers before collecting or processing biometric identifiers. Employers must also gain consent from employees before collecting and processing biometric identifiers. State Privacy and Security Coalition lobbyist Andrew Kingman said separate obligations for biometric data and biometric identifiers could be confusing. “Our comments really focus on how to simplify this so that consumers have a single notice or are directed to a single notice where all of that information can be easily comprehended,” he said during the hearing. Additionally, Kingman suggested deleting the reference to “minors” as a part of the children’s privacy policy, saying it is “impractical” to distinguish between a 22-year-old and a 17-year-old. Kingman also asked for modifications to the consent requirement in the employment context, noting that the interaction between an employer and employee differs from the interaction between consumers and controllers. Phoebe Blessing, manager of public policy with the Colorado Hospital Association, also recommended an exception to the new biometric collection amendments on employees, such as when employers use employees' biometric information for authentication purposes. “For example, many of our hospitals require the use of fingerprints to access medication cabinets and dispense drugs,” Blessing said. She also recommended an exception for when healthcare providers use a patient’s biometric information in relation to the treatment process. Several other citizens spoke at the hearing about concerns for privacy but lacked specific input regarding the proposed amendments. The AG office also posted written comments that were due later Thursday night.

The group behind recent FCC complaints against CBS and ABC over their news coverage filed an equal time complaint against NBC and its station WNBC New York Monday over Democratic presidential nominee Kamala Harris’ weekend appearance on Saturday Night Live (see 2411040057). The complaint from the Center for American Rights echoes points first raised by FCC Commissioner Brendan Carr and calls for “a substantial fine” against NBC. “Broadcasters cannot abuse their licenses by airing what amounts to a free commercial promoting one candidate the weekend before the presidential election,” said CAR President Daniel Suhr in a news release. FCC Commissioner Nathan Simington backed the complaint Monday, saying “I urge Commission leadership to take these credible allegations seriously,” but multiple broadcast attorneys told us NBC appears to have satisfied the FCC’s rules.

The Court of International Trade rejected importer Retractable Technologies' bids for a temporary restraining order and preliminary injunction stopping the collection of Section 301 duties on its needles and syringes. However, in a decision made public Nov. 4, Judge Claire Kelly did stop liquidation of Retractable's entries during the course of the company's suit, which challenges the legality of a Section 301 rate hike on needles and syringes.

The Competitive Carriers Association raised concerns about a Georgia Institute of Technology third-party mobile speed test app in the FCC’s broadband data collection mobile challenge process. The FCC’s Broadband Data Task Force and Office of Engineering and Technology sought comment on the app in September and replies were due Friday (see 2409170010). “CCA is concerned that allowing additional speed test apps alone will not solve the underlying issues that are undermining a vigorous and user-friendly challenge process as called for in the Broadband DATA Act and that are plaguing the Commission’s mobile availability maps,” said a filing posted Monday in docket 24-2. “The Commission must address these issues before it can expect CellWatch, the FCC Mobile Speed Test app, or future third-party apps to meaningfully contribute to the mobile challenge process,” CCA said.

A panel of the 5th U.S. Circuit Appeals Court on Monday gave little indication how it would rule as its three judges heard arguments on overturning the agency's Oct. 25 declaratory ruling authorizing E-rate funding for Wi-Fi on school buses (see 2312200040). Maurine and Matthew Molak of Texas brought the case, arguing that the ruling went beyond the commission’s authority to act under the Communications Act.

U.S. Supreme Court justices Monday appeared divided on telecom industry arguments that reimbursement requests submitted to the Universal Service Administrative Co.-administered E-rate program can’t be considered “claims” under the False Claims Act (FCA). Justices peppered lawyers for both sides with questions during oral argument as they heard Wisconsin Bell v. U.S., a case from the 7th U.S. Circuit Appeals Court (see 2410070047).

The Tuesday congressional elections could lead to significant turnover on the Senate Commerce Committee even beyond ranking member Ted Cruz, R-Texas, with four other panel members facing tough or potentially competitive reelection fights. The outcome of Cruz’s reelection bid against Rep. Colin Allred, D-Texas, has the biggest potential to alter the Senate Commerce dynamic because Cruz is poised to become panel chairman if he's reelected and Republicans gain a majority in the upper chamber (see 2411040049). Late polls suggested both of these results are more likely than not. It's less likely there will be substantial turnover on the Senate Judiciary, House Commerce and House Judiciary committees, as only a handful of those panels’ members face competitive contests.

The Court of International Trade rejected importer Retractable Technologies' bids for a temporary restraining order and preliminary injunction stopping the collection of Section 301 duties on its needles and syringes. However, in a decision made public Nov. 4, Judge Claire Kelly did stop liquidation of Retractable's entries during the course of the company's suit, which challenges the legality of a Section 301 rate hike on needles and syringes.

With more than $1.8 billion in federal cash from the broadband equity, access and deployment (BEAD) program on the line, USTelecom asked the California Public Utilities Commission to reconsider its rules for implementing the state’s BEAD initial plan volume 2. In a rehearing application (docket R.23-02-016) posted Friday at the CPUC, the national ISP association said it “cannot stand by and risk the Commission’s adoption of a collective set of requirements that will severely limit participation in and the overall effectiveness of California’s BEAD Program.” The commission should deny USTelecom's application, a consumer advocate urged.