Champions and critics of FCC ISP privacy rules sparred before Tuesday’s House vote on whether to kill those rules using the Congressional Review Act resolution of disapproval, with strategies including newspaper advertising and billboards. The measure “overturns an attempt by the FCC to expand its regulatory jurisdiction,” House Rules Committee Chairman Pete Sessions, R-Texas, said during its Monday evening meeting to establish the procedures by which it will go to the floor Tuesday.
Telco interests are applauding FCC commissioners' unanimous approval Thursday of an NPRM to reduce reporting requirements of international telecom service providers. The new rule -- which would eliminate the annual traffic and revenue report and streamline the circuit capacity report (see 1703020069) -- is "not just good policy, it is good for consumers," USTelecom said. It said ending "these arcane reporting requirements will enable providers to focus less on filling out unnecessary paperwork, and more on building, maintaining and upgrading America’s broadband networks." AT&T said FCC Chairman Ajit Pai "continues to deliver on his promise to eliminate unnecessary and burdensome regulatory requirements that provide little corresponding public interest benefits." The company said its own estimates have it spending more than 300 hours on information gathering and reporting for the reports. "On the infrequent occasion that this data is needed, it can be obtained far more efficiently through specific and targeted inquiries as opposed to mandatory annual reports," AT&T said. Pai and Commissioner Mike O'Rielly cited the NPRM as a return to the agency meeting its obligations under Section 11 of the Communications Act, which requires a biennial review of regulations, with O'Rielly adding he hoped to see the agency take further steps in cutting regulatory paperwork burdens. Comments on the NPRM will be due 30 days after its publication in the Federal Register, with replies due 15 days after that.
The FCC approved an NPRM and notice of inquiry targeting “spoofed” robocalls Thursday, with support from all three commissioners. Chairman Ajit Pai is picking up where ex-Chairman Tom Wheeler left off, targeting the automated calls. The Pai FCC is charting a different course than the Wheeler FCC, which approved an order and declaratory ruling on implementation of the Telephone Consumer Protection Act in June 2015 over dissents by Pai and Commissioner Mike O’Rielly. Both Republicans were concerned the policy call would lead to more class-action lawsuits against legitimate businesses (see 1506180046).
The Senate's 50-48 approval Thursday of a measure to kill FCC ISP rules spurred discussion of potential next shifts on the jurisdictional state of broadband. The vote is seen as a significant step for the Congressional Review Act resolution of disapproval (see 1703220071), which still needs to be considered on the House floor. If enacted, lawmakers say more steps will need to be taken as part of a strategy to return broadband’s jurisdiction to the FTC, as some say they want.
Industry commenters made closing arguments on petitions for reconsideration of the FCC's October ISP privacy rules with replies due Thursday. Congress is considering a Congressional Review Act resolution opposing the rules (see 1703150032). Observers expect the FCC to move forward, absent quick action on Capitol Hill.
A group of 21 Senate Republicans will join Sen. Jeff Flake, R-Ariz., in his introduction Tuesday of his Congressional Review Act resolution of disapproval to kill the FCC’s ISP privacy rules, said his aides, who had predicted the resolution may be coming this soon (see 1703060041). The text of the resolution -- which would kill the regulations and prevent the FCC from developing substantially similar ones -- is barely more than one page. The backers include GOP Whip John Cornyn, R-Texas, along with the others expected, but also Senate Commerce Committee Chairman John Thune, R-S.D., and other senior Republicans such as Sen. Orrin Hatch, R-Utah. Co-sponsors include Sen. Shelley Moore Capito, R-W.Va., Dean Heller, R-Nev., and Ted Cruz, R-Texas. Industry groups including the Chamber of Commerce, NCTA, USTelecom and CTA wrote Senate Commerce leaders backing the CRA. “If Congress employs the CRA to disapprove the rule, customers will still enjoy reasonable privacy protections under Section 222 of the Communications Act,” they said. The resolution “will reverse the FCC's broad regulatory overreach and restore certainty and consistency with privacy guidelines established by the Federal Trade Commission,” CTA President Gary Shapiro said in a statement. The heads of the 21st Century Privacy Coalition, which consists of communications companies, lauded the introduction. The FCC's "rules deviate substantially from the FTC's successful privacy model and are fatally flawed" and the "resolution will give the Administration the opportunity to hit the reset button and develop a holistic approach to privacy for the entire internet ecosystem that benefits consumers," said co-chairs Jon Leibowitz, a former FTC chairman, and Mary Bono, a former House GOP lawmaker. Capitol Hill Democrats and public interest groups called the CRA destructive (see 1702270035). House Communications Subcommittee Chairman Marsha Blackburn, R-Tenn., is leading efforts in the lower chamber on the CRA resolution. “We continue to discuss the issue with our colleagues in the Senate and are exploring all options moving forward,” a GOP House aide said.
Wednesday’s Senate Commerce Committee hearing comes as a referendum on the new chairmanship of FCC Chairman Ajit Pai, who received his nomination from the White House Tuesday for another five-year term at the agency following his term’s July 1, 2016, expiration. Pai met with President Donald Trump Monday (see 1703060055), and all eyes are on the administration for any information about forthcoming FCC nominations for the two open commissioner spots, one typically for a Republican and one for a Democrat.
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The question isn't whether to safeguard an open internet but how to do it, and regulating broadband under Title II of the Communications Act isn't the way, said USTelecom CEO Jonathan Spalter in an Axios commentary. "Application of these retro rules to our modern internet is the policy equivalent of using a sledgehammer to deal with a mosquito on your arm."