Copyrightholders asked that countries from nearly every continent be included in the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative’s notorious markets list for piracy and trademark counterfeiting, in comments filed Friday. The copyright holders, including the Entertainment Software Association (ESA), Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA) and the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), said cyberlockers, peer-to-peer (P2P) networks and BitTorrent portals in Asia, Europe and North America are serious challenges to their industries.

Citywide government-owned broadband networks aren’t the only option for municipal participation in broadband deployment, broadband advocates said Monday during an Ars Technica online event. Municipal broadband networks have gotten national attention in recent months because of petitions filed by the Electric Power Board of Chattanooga, Tennessee, and Wilson, North Carolina, seeking FCC pre-emption of state laws restricting their ability to expand their municipal broadband networks.

The FCC seems likely to increase the broadband speed requirement for getting Connect America Fund funding, and the agency could increase the amount of E-rate funding, Commissioner Mike O’Rielly predicted in a speech Monday at an NTCA event. O’Rielly also urged the organization to push for USF reform this year so the commission would be able to move on to other issues, like allowing rate-of-return carriers to get CAF support as they want, O’Rielly said. He pledged to “do what I can to push for rate-of-return reform” by summer and called it “a necessary part of meeting our obligation under the statute to ensure that all consumers have access to reasonably comparable services at reasonably comparable rates.”

Charter Communications' pattern of moving public, educational and government channels from basic service tiers to higher up channel lineups, which PEG backers contend violates franchise agreements with municipalities, may be addressed by FCC deal conditions, said some advocates. In Northbridge, Massachusetts, St. Cloud, Minnesota, and elsewhere, Charter has made such PEG moves, said advocates for the channels.

While no firm decision has been made, the FCC could take up final net neutrality rules as early as its December meeting, industry and agency officials said. The FCC is scheduled to meet Dec. 11, which means Chairman Tom Wheeler has until at least Nov. 20 to decide.

Public performance rights headlined lobbying efforts for the music licensing industry, in Q3 lobbying disclosure documents filed last week. The Respecting Senior Performers as Essential Cultural Treasures Act (Respect) (HR-4772), the Songwriter Equity Act (SEA) (HR-4079) and the Department of Justice’s current review of consent decrees for performing rights organizations were lobbying emphases for a vast array of music stakeholders. DOJ’s consent decree review of the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers (ASCAP) and Broadcast Music Inc. (BMI) highlighted a divide between broadcasters who believe the decrees keep the potential monopoly power of PROs at bay and music publishers and songwriters who think the decrees give an unfair advantage to broadcasters (see 1409150067); (see 1408040070).

Large tech-sector U.S. and other companies are increasingly joining the EU lobby register as they build a stronger lobbying presence in Brussels and spend more on EU issues, according to interviews with experts and public disclosures. Getting a full picture of what businesses, associations, public interest groups, law firms and others spend on trying to influence EU institutions is difficult, said Olivier Hoedeman of research and campaign group Corporate Europe Observatory (CEO). Because the register is voluntary, the definition of what constitutes "lobbying" isn't uniformly interpreted, and there are no reporting deadlines, he said.

­­The FCC proposed a joint $10 million fine for two carriers for allegedly failing to protect their phone customers' sensitive information. TerraCom and YourTel allegedly breached the personal data of up to 300,000 consumers “through their lax data security practices and exposed those consumers to identity theft and fraud,” the FCC said Friday in a public notice (http://bit.ly/1wmkB3C). They placed hundreds of thousands of their customers’ personal, sensitive information on the Internet, said Travis LeBlanc, Enforcement Bureau chief. The personal information the companies apparently failed to protect include Social Security numbers, names and addresses, and driver’s licenses, he said Friday during a teleconference with reporters.

FCC Public Safety Bureau Chief David Simpson touted significant progress Friday in encouraging the adoption of next-generation 911 and text-to-911 functionality. Public safety answering points that haven’t adopted the technology already should “affirmatively prepare” to do so, he advised PSAPs. The FCC approved an order in August requiring all carriers and interconnected over-the-top text providers to be able to transmit text-to-911 messages by the end of the year (see 1408110069). All major wireless carriers are able to support text-to-911 functionality, “so it’s over to the PSAPs now to stand up,” Simpson said during an FCBA event.

A handful of companies and consumer advocates are lobbying Congress to stop what is now a bipartisan and bicameral provision from becoming law. The provision would kill the set-top box integration ban and is a top lobbying priority for NCTA. Lawmakers in both chambers have attached the repeal to their Satellite Television Extension and Localism Act reauthorization proposals, considered must-pass legislation before the Dec. 31 expiration.