FCC reversal of several cybersecurity-related proceedings and proposals further feeds expectations of an agencywide shift on cybersecurity policy under new Chairman Ajit Pai, industry executives and lawyers said in interviews. The Public Safety Bureau rescinded two cybersecurity items Friday amid a spate of Pai-directed actions (see 1702060062) -- a white paper on communications sector cybersecurity regulation issued two days before now-former Chairman Tom Wheeler's resignation and a notice of inquiry on cybersecurity for 5G devices. The FCC also removed from circulation a controversial cybersecurity policy statement adopting the Communications Security, Reliability and Interoperability Council’s (CSRIC) 2015 report on recommendations for communications sector cybersecurity risk management (see 1702030070).

FCC Chairman Ajit Pai's pilot project to make draft agenda items public three weeks before commissioner meetings drew applause from key policymakers, industry parties, former commissioners and others who said it should improve agency transparency. Some cautioned the move could add to pressure on the FCC as stakeholders flood the commission with last-minute concerns and proposals. Pai and fellow Republican Commissioner Mike O'Rielly said they believed the process will sharpen public feedback and improve agency decision-making.

Lawmakers gathered Wednesday to emphasize the importance of broadband to their 2017 priorities, particularly in infrastructure policymaking. The gathering, hosted by the Senate Broadband Caucus and House Rural Broadband Caucus, focused on the best ways Congress could help in deployment. Many lawmakers signed a letter this week stressing the need for broadband in infrastructure spending (see 1701310057). President Donald Trump said he wants such spending this year. FCC Commissioner Mike O'Rielly in a blog post Wednesday offered some cautions on broadband infrastructure public spending (see 1702010072).

FCC Chairman Ajit Pai said a new broadband deployment advisory committee (BDAC) would seek ways to spur the rollout of high-speed internet access networks and close the digital divide. He said the BDAC would be charged with identifying regulatory barriers to broadband infrastructure investment, and recommending actions to remove or reduce them. The panel also would draft a model code for localities to follow to encourage deployment, he said, announcing its formation in a statement at the commissioners' Tuesday meeting, followed by a news release and a public notice (documents here).

New Chairman Ajit Pai is likely to restructure the FCC to create an economics bureau, or something similar, industry officials said. The focus on economics comports with the long-standing Republican focus on cost-benefit analysis of orders and other agency actions. Pai, in his first news conference on his new job, said Tuesday he hasn’t made any decisions on process reform or agency restructuring (see 1701310056).

ISPs and the groups that represent them are proposing privacy principles to the FCC as an alternative to controversial 2016 rules. The principles include transparency, consumer choice, data security and the need for data breach notifications, a news release said. “These principles are consistent with the FTC’s privacy framework, which has proved to be a successful privacy regime for many years and which continues to apply to non-ISPs, including social media networks, operating systems, search engines, browsers, and other edge providers that collect and use the same online data as ISPs,” the Friday release said. “That framework has protected consumers’ privacy while fostering unprecedented investment and innovation. The principles are also consistent with the FCC’s May 2015 Enforcement Advisory, which applied to ISPs for almost two years while the FCC’s broadband privacy rules were being considered.” Advocates for Rural Broadband, Altice USA, the American Cable Association, AT&T, Charter Communications, Citizens Telephone and Cablevision, Comcast, Cox Communications, CTIA, ITTA, NCTA, NTCA, T-Mobile, USTelecom, Verizon, VTX1 Cos., the Wireless ISP Association and WTA were among those that endorsed the principles. “As we previously noted, the framework adopted last fall by the FCC significantly departed from the FTC regime, most importantly in the treatment of web browsing and app history data,” said Joan Marsh, AT&T senior vice president-federal regulatory, in a blog post. “The FCC’s order failed to recognize that consumers want their information protected based on the sensitivity of the information, not the entity collecting it. The FCC’s divergent, and illogical, approach will serve only to confuse consumers, who will continue to see ads based on their web browsing history collected by edge providers even after being told by their service provider that their consent is required for use of such information.”

The tech industry continued Monday to criticize President Donald Trump's executive order banning citizens from seven Muslim-majority countries from entering the U.S. for 90 days (see 1701290001). An analyst didn't see a lasting impact to the long-term relationship between tech executives and the administration, despite the strong backlash. Some Republicans who oversee telecommunications and technology issues defended Trump's moves, while a Democrat criticized them.

CTIA President Meredith Baker, NCTA President Michael Powell and USTelecom President Jonathan Spalter are to speak at 3 p.m. Wednesday at an event co-hosted by the Senate Broadband Caucus and House Rural Broadband Caucus, said an update invite sent Friday, listing the location as Capitol Visitor Center Room SVC 203-02. "Broadband infrastructure is critical to the viability of our 21st century economy and the future of American ingenuity and entrepreneurship," the invite said. "It has become the very foundation for invention and a necessary backbone that communities across the country need to succeed." Lawmakers also will make brief remarks, and Information Technology and Innovation Foundation President Rob Atkinson will moderate the discussion among association chiefs, the invite said.

Pressure escalated Friday for Congress to use a Congressional Review Act (CRA) resolution of disapproval to kill FCC ISP privacy rules, with a mix of industry groups asking Capitol Hill leaders to do so. Free-market groups sent a letter Thursday, spurring pushback from Hill Democrats and public interest groups. Some say it's more likely FCC Chairman Ajit Pai will act on the petition for reconsideration of the rules (see 1701260042).

New FCC Chairman Ajit Pai wasted no time addressing an extension of the lapsed waiver for small ISPs of the enhanced transparency requirements in the 2015 net neutrality order. Pai said in a statement he circulated for a vote an order that would waive the requirement for five years and extend it to businesses with fewer than 250,000 subscribers. Pai said he and Commissioner Mike O’Rielly already voted yes.