FCC Chairman Ajit Pai urged tribes to pursue 2.5 GHz licenses when a six-month tribal opportunity opens Feb. 3. Tribal officials told us the level of attendance at the Tuesday workshop where Pai spoke shows they're interested. In July, the agency revised rules over partial dissents of Commissioners Jessica Rosenworcel and Geoffrey Starks. The FCC gave only the tribes a shot at seeking licenses before auction.
House Communications Subcommittee members told us they are figuring out their path forward on media policy legislation, before a Wednesday hearing on bills aimed at improving media ownership diversity (see 2001090048). Senate Commerce Committee leaders are also seeking a path forward on their planned examination of media policy. Lawmakers in both chambers want to address media issues they couldn’t tackle last year during the Satellite Television Extension and Localism Act reauthorization process (see 1912310001). Those talks resulted in a skinny renewal that addressed few additional issues (see 1912190068).
It’s “absolutely fair to say” the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act FTC rule “lacks clarity,” Commissioner Noah Phillips told reporters Monday. The agency is reviewing COPPA for potential changes, which spurred discussion about how the agency defines child-directed content (see 1912120062). “I also think it’s important to ask what the statute requires and then what is the proposed thing you think would add clarity,” Phillips said after a TechFreedom event.
As the first largely online U.S. census approaches, nonprofits, telecom providers and media companies are heightening efforts to safeguard its integrity and increase participation. Many groups historically vulnerable to undercounting, including rural residents, low-income and homeless populations, and ethnic minorities, overlap with those underserved by broadband, said interviewees this month.
A Supreme Court decision to hear a challenge by the American Association of Political Consultants questioning a 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruling in a key Telephone Consumer Protection Act case could have much bigger implications, TCPA lawyers told us Monday. DOJ also asked the court to hear the case. AAPC sought to have the entire ban thrown out on constitutional grounds, in Barr v. American Association of Political Consultants, docket 19-631. The high court granted cert Friday.
LAS VEGAS -- In the last policy panel at CES 2020, attention turned to whether some tech companies are too large and government should break them up. Earlier last week, FTC Chairman Joe Simons emphatically called it a terrible idea to break up a company just because it’s big (see 2001070054). Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., a candidate for president, made breaking up big tech a campaign focus.
There’s no timeline for reintroducing a Senate bill that would create a legal framework for autonomous vehicles, Sen. Gary Peters, D-Mich., told us Thursday. Members are actively engaged, and the legislation remains a priority for Senate Majority Whip John Thune, R-S.D., a Thune aide said Friday.
The FCC doesn’t need to clarify or firm up noncommercial educational station underwriting rules, said broadcasters and their attorneys in interviews last week. Underwriting violations led to a $76,000 penalty for two stations connected with the University of Arkansas last week (see 2001070048). The Enforcement Bureau noted the agency hasn’t adopted “quantitative guidelines” for underwriting announcements and the FCC “affords some latitude” to licensees that exercise reasonable good faith judgment.
With the FCC's Jan. 30 meeting agenda not including a draft order for a C-band auction, as earlier anticipated (see 1912130061), parties in the proceeding now expect one to land in February. Consensus isn't universal, and action could come later. Commissioners meet publicly Feb. 28, that month's last business day.
LAS VEGAS -- Most cities aren’t that “smart” yet and are struggling to keep on top of technology, CES was told. Localities face challenges securing vast amounts of data they receive in an interconnected world.