A petition asking the FCC to change the rules for the signals FM boosters are allowed to transmit to make geotargeted radio ads and content possible is widely supported and considered a likely candidate for eventual FCC approval, said broadcasters and their lawyers in recent interviews. Some big broadcasters have concerns, but that may not derail the whole proceeding, stakeholders said.
Businesses dissatisfied by final California privacy rules might sue the state, but an expected November ballot vote on another privacy proposal and other factors could discourage them, business privacy attorneys said this week. The Software & Information Industry Association raised constitutional concerns with the California Consumer Privacy Act and regulations released Tuesday. SIIA General Counsel Chris Mohr told us Thursday it’s “not in a litigation posture at this time.” Rumored suits probably would be a long, uphill fight, said Perkins Coie’s Dominique Shelton Leipzig on an Information Systems Security Association (ISSA) webinar Wednesday.
The FCC may wait a bit before taking up any NTIA petition for rulemaking to clarify the scope of the tech industry’s liability shield (see 2005290058), observers predicted in interviews this week. The Association of National Advertisers said it’s ready to defend marketers’ interests if threatened. A tech industry representative and academics told us President Donald Trump’s executive order last week sets a dangerous precedent and could compromise independent agencies.
COVID-19 highlights the need for federal baseline privacy legislation, which companies could have used to give consumers clarity about how data is used during the pandemic, FTC Commissioner Christine Wilson told the Brookings Institution Wednesday. The demand for privacy legislation has never been greater, she said.
Broadband stakeholders differed on whether the FCC should reconsider letting wireless ISPs and DSL providers bid at the gigabit tiers in the Rural Digital Opportunity Fund phase I auctions, in recent interviews. Some want more stringent evaluation of short-form applications. Others appreciate the hurdles the agency set for such providers. Commissioners vote Tuesday on an RDOF auction procedures public notice (see 2005190058).
The FCC is expected to act on the wireless infrastructure ruling teed up for a commissioner vote Tuesday. That's despite concerns from local and state governments and calls from Commissioners Jessica Rosenworcel and Geoffrey Starks to consider delay. It's unclear how the two Democrats will vote, though both are expected to raise concerns at the meeting. Officials expect some tweaks based on ex parte filings by opponents and proponents of the item, but broader eighth-floor discussions are just getting started.
China may be “attempting to drive a high-tech wedge” between the U.S. and U.K. via concerns about the national security implications of allowing equipment from Huawei on telecom infrastructure, Sen. Tom Cotton, R-Ark., told the U.K. House of Commons’ Defense Select Committee Tuesday. Cotton and other U.S. lawmakers criticized the U.K. allowing Huawei on “non-core” parts of communications infrastructure but bar it from “sensitive locations” like military bases (see 2001280074). Recent media reports claim the U.K. government may be planning to change that.
The move to open-radio access networks in wireless is a natural evolution, follows trends in other industries and could help the U.S. make networks more secure, speakers said during a Hudson Institute webinar Tuesday. The FCC postponed a March 26 summit on 5G-focused O-RAN technology because of coronavirus concerns (see 2003120071) and hasn’t set a new date, a spokesperson confirmed now. In February, Attorney General William Barr said the O-RAN is “just pie in the sky” and a “completely untested” approach that would “take many years to get off the ground.”
Senate Intellectual Property Subcommittee Chairman Thom Tillis, R-N.C., Tuesday voiced support for an update to the Digital Millennium Copyright Act, and ranking member Chris Coons, D-Del., also appeared on board with an update (see 2005280038). Witnesses sought changes, other than the Internet Association.
Cities struggling with COVID-19 asked the FCC Tuesday to delay a planned June 9 FCC vote on CTIA and Wireless Infrastructure Association proposals for wireless infrastructure clarity until they have more time to respond. A few local governments filed in support of the rules (see 2005290052). House Commerce Committee Democrats and Republicans delivered diverging opinions about FCC plans to consider the declaratory ruling next week.