Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas called for a "legislative fix" to the de minimis exception "and the exploitation of that exception," the first time the administration has clearly said it hopes Congress will restrict the program that allows purchasers to import up to $800 worth of goods per day without paying tariffs.

Officials with the 12 GHz for 5G Coalition remain hopeful that FCC action in coming months will allow use of the lower 12 GHz band for fixed-wireless deployments, they said in interviews. In addition, should the FCC act soon, the band could still play a part in some state proposals under the broadband equity, access and deployment (BEAD) program, the officials said. The coalition had hoped for action early in 2024 (see 2312270045).

The creator of an automatic speech recognition (ASR) app criticized the long period he and other small providers have endured waiting for FCC approval before they could begin offering IP captioned telephone services supported by the Telecom Relay Services Fund. Rogervoice founder-CEO Olivier Jeannel spoke with an aide to Commissioner Nathan Simington about the need for an “emergent rate” for small providers of IP CTS service. The company applied for certification in March 2022 and the FCC acted in January, said a filing posted Wednesday in docket 03-123. “The nearly two-year wait for Commission action on their applications has made it all the more challenging to break into the IP CTS market, where established providers have had that much more lead time to develop and market their ASR-based captioning services,” Rogervoice said.

Mississippi will appeal a preliminary injunction of an age-verification law to the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, state Attorney General Lynn Fitch (R) said in a Wednesday notice at the U.S. District Court for Southern Mississippi. In addition, the state sought a stay pending appeal. The court put enforcement of the law on hold Monday (see 2407010062). Under the law, parental consent is needed for minors younger than 18 who access social media. The court said NetChoice showed a high likelihood of success in its complaint that raised constitutional concerns with the law. "On appeal, the Attorney General will show that this Court’s injunction cannot be squared with the Act’s targeted scope, with its focus on (and regulation of) non-expressive conduct of covered online platforms, or with precedent on facial challenges," the state said in an accompanying memo. "The Attorney General will also show that the harm to the State from enjoining the Act’s enforcement substantially outweighs any harm to NetChoice and its members from complying with the Act."

The U.K. must reassess whether it should investigate cotton imports from China suspected of being made with forced labor after an appellate court ruled last month that the country’s National Crime Agency wrongly decided against opening the probe.

The U.K. must reassess whether it should investigate cotton imports from China suspected of being made with forced labor after an appellate court ruled last month that the country’s National Crime Agency wrongly decided against opening the probe.

Community health experts and consumer advocates encouraged increased investment in broadband access and devices that can be used for telehealth during a Broadband Breakfast webinar on Wednesday. In addition, panelists discussed the benefits of community or public investment in broadband as a way of improving health outcomes. They also noted potential steps regulators could consider for protecting patient data.

The U.K. must reassess whether it should investigate cotton imports from China suspected of being made with forced labor after an appellate court ruled last month that the country’s National Crime Agency wrongly decided against opening the probe.

California state senators pushed back on two digital equity bills Tuesday. Multiple Communications Committee members during a livestreamed hearing raised concerns about the Assembly-passed AB-2239, which would ban digital discrimination as the FCC defines it. Also, the committee scaled back the Assembly-approved AB-1588, which had proposed to update the California LifeLine subsidy program to support broadband for low-income households. The committee directed the LifeLine bill’s sponsor to find a compromise with industry opponents and other stakeholders over the summer recess that runs from July 3 to Aug. 5.

Trade groups and major companies that make electric cars, light trucks and heavy trucks told the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative that domestic industry is not ready to take over from Chinese suppliers of graphite, artificial graphite and electric vehicle battery cells on the timelines the Section 301 tariff modifications propose.