House Communications Subcommittee Vice Chairman Bob Latta, R-Ohio, blasted what he considers unnecessary federal regulation. “At the end of last year, the administration had nearly 4,000 new regulations pending, with almost 200 of these considered economically significant, meaning they would each carry a cost of at least $100 million a year,” Latta said in an op-ed for The Hill Monday. “Regulatory uncertainty -- both now and in the future -- continues to stagnate wages and prevents many of our businesses, small and large, from hiring.” He criticized regulation generally in the op-ed but has focused often on the FCC and telecom concerns. “With the regulatory cost per household totaling nearly $15,000 per year, or 23 percent of the national average family income, federal regulations are squeezing American families’ already limited wallets and curbing our nation’s prosperity,” Latta said.
Sen. Claire McCaskill, D-Mo., is gearing up for a potential Dec. 10 hearing on pay-TV industry billing practices, industry officials told us. McCaskill and her aides have wanted to hold the hearing for months, and Senate Commerce Committee Chairman Jay Rockefeller, D-W.Va., said she should lead it. Despite doubts from industry lobbyists about the hearing’s prospects, McCaskill had told us last month she was moving forward with plans for the hearing in December, and on Monday industry officials named Dec. 10 as the expected date. Spokespeople for McCaskill and Commerce didn't confirm Monday whether such a hearing may happen Dec. 10. One industry official said McCaskill is seeking witnesses from big cable, satellite TV, the American Cable Association and Public Knowledge. McCaskill chairs the Consumer Protection Subcommittee.
Sen. Ed Markey, D-Mass., urged Verizon and Cox Media Group to resolve a retransmission consent dispute affecting some 400,000 households in Massachusetts. “For many Massachusetts consumers, Black Friday was preceded by blackout Thursday and could be followed by further programming blackouts until Cox Media Group and Verizon come to agreement,” Markey said in a statement Monday. “That's not right -- the consumer shouldn't be caught in the middle. I urge both sides to continue working to resolve this dispute so consumers can access all of the programming they have paid for and expect from their video provider.” He had tweeted about his dismay Friday, arguing that consumers shouldn’t be “caught in [the] middle” of the fight.
The Senate Judiciary Committee rescheduled its hearing on sports blackouts for Thursday at 10:30 a.m. in 226 Dirksen. It had postponed the hearing twice previously. Several industry lobbyists have been dubious about the hearing’s prospects in recent weeks, speaking with the assumption that the issue was off the table this Congress. Witnesses weren’t announced. Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., is to preside, with legislation he has introduced to be the focus.
President Barack Obama signed the E-Label Act into law Wednesday, the White House said. The bill (S-2583) will allow device manufacturers to include a required FCC label digitally rather than on the physical device. The House approved the act Nov. 13 (see 1411140031). The bill said U.S. manufacturers and consumers of FCC-licensed devices "would prefer to have the option to provide or receive important Commission labeling information digitally on the screen of the device" and such an option "would give flexibility to manufacturers in meeting labeling requirements." Within nine months, the FCC is required to "promulgate regulations or take other appropriate action, as necessary, to allow manufacturers of radiofrequency devices with display the option to use electronic labeling for the equipment" in place of affixing physical labels to the equipment, the bill said.
House Communications Subcommittee ranking member Anna Eshoo, D-Calif., led a bipartisan letter Tuesday from House lawmakers to European Parliament officials cautioning them about a resolution to stem cross-border data flows. The resolution is "troubling" and "would deter continued innovation and investment from U.S. based Internet companies," said Eshoo. along with Rep. Jason Chaffetz, R-Utah, and others such as Reps. Zoe Lofgren, D-Calif., and Darrell Issa, R-Calif. "We support healthy competition and a fair playing field for Internet companies in the U.S. and around the globe and we believe these goals can be accomplished through the traditional regulatory process."
Public Knowledge lamented passage of Satellite Television Extension and Localism Act reauthorization legislation last week -- "exactly what we feared," it emailed supporters Monday, pointing to "a special interest provision straight from the cable industry that could drive up cable bill prices, reduce consumer choice, and hurt innovation across the TV industry." Public Knowledge referred to the bill's provision that would repeal the set-top box integration ban a year after enactment, a lobbying priority of NCTA and greatly feared and opposed by TiVo. "Now, devices like TiVo could be prevented from developing and competing in the video device marketplace," Public Knowledge said. "The rules previously in place ensured that all cable services and features remained available to consumers who chose to buy a third-party set-top box instead of rent a set-top box from their cable provider." It included a petition to the FCC: "We encourage the FCC to take action quickly on this in order to give consumers more choices and lower price options for set-top boxes and related devices consumers need for connecting to their service." The legislation also included language instructing the FCC to create a working group to find a CableCARD successor, which the agency has said it will do as soon as possible.
Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Patrick Leahy, D-Vt., asked MasterCard and Visa, in separate letters Tuesday, to potentially reclassify payment processing for cyberlockers as "illegal activity." Leahy cited a September report by the Digital Citizens Alliance and NetNames, which found that the centralized file hosting websites, often used for copyright infringement, earned revenue through payment processing by major credit card companies (see 1409190067). Leahy told Visa CEO Charles Scharf and MasterCard CEO Ajay Banga that the 30 cyberlockers analyzed in the report serve “no legitimate purpose or activity,” and that the companies should “swiftly review the complaints against those cyberlockers.”
The FCC soon will convene a working group to set up a successor standard in light of Satellite Television Extension and Localism Act reauthorization legislation which is to repeal the set-top box integration ban in a year. Both chambers of Congress passed STELA reauthorization last week (see 1411210036). "Recognizing the near-term enactment of STELAR [the STELA Reauthorization Act], I plan to direct the Commission staff to establish the Working Group as quickly as possible, consistent with the requirements of the Federal Advisory Committee Act," Wheeler told Sen. Ed Markey, D-Mass., in a letter Monday. "Once established, the Commission will provide assistance to the Working Group to promote as best we can a successful outcome of its collaboration and, upon receiving its report, will assess quickly the best path forward for implementing a new standard." The legislation included a provision telling the FCC to form such a working group. Wheeler praised Markey's "long-standing leadership" on the issue. Markey and Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., had initially opposed STELA reauthorization that included the integration ban repeal. “We appreciate Chairman Wheeler’s commitment to moving as quickly as possible to put in place a new standard in light of the upcoming repeal of the existing integration ban rule," they said in a joint statement Monday. "We believe we need to protect competition and choice in the set top box marketplace. Consumers should not have to pay high monthly fees to lease cable boxes forever." The legislation is awaiting President Barack Obama's signature.
Chairman Tom Wheeler touted FCC efforts to curb call completion problems. “The false ring signaling rule is already in effect, while the record retention and call completion performance reporting requirements will need OMB [Office of Management and Budget] approval before going into effect,” Wheeler said in a letter, released Friday and dated Nov. 4, to senators including Commerce Committee ranking member John Thune, R-S.D. “Recently, I circulated an Order to my fellow Commissioners to address five petitions for reconsideration that were filed in response to the Rural Call Completion Order. Once that Order is adopted, we will promptly make the necessary submissions to OMB.” Wheeler sent a similar letter to Sen. Tim Johnson, D-S.D. Wheeler emphasized the enforcement actions that the agency has been taking on this front and said the commission has tackled call completion problems on “multiple fronts.”