FCC Chairman Ajit Pai got pledges from top ISPs, including all major carriers and cable operators plus telcos, to keep everyone online for the next 60 days amid the coronavirus. Pai spoke with the companies Thursday, he said Friday; see our report here. Companies and trade associations endorsed the pledge. Commissioners Jessica Rosenworcel and Geoffrey Starks said that's a good start, but the agency needs to do more.
A day after NAB canceled its April show at the Las Vegas Convention Center (see 2003110036), the coronavirus continued turning life upside down Thursday for many in various business and public sectors. In excess of 1,500 U.S. cases of COVID-19 were confirmed through Thursday afternoon, including 39 deaths. The spread was on pace to surpass 2,000 confirmed U.S. cases by the start of the weekend.
The status of existing data protection rules and Privacy Shield in Britain is unclear following the nation's Jan. 31 departure from the EU, privacy attorneys told us. The two sides are in a transition period until Dec. 31 to allow them to negotiate a new relationship. During that time, the EU general data protection regulation will apply in the U.K., and companies won't need to take immediate action, a U.K. Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) FAQ says. It's anyone's guess how the talks will pan out and what they will mean for data protection rules between the U.K. and EU or the U.K. and the U.S., lawyers said.
With the FCC expected in April to tackle order on the 6 GHz band, CTIA remains committed to licensed use of part of the band, Jen Oberhausen, director-regulatory affairs, said during a Multicultural Media, Telecom and Internet Council teleconference Thursday. CTIA is fighting what some think is a losing battle to get the FCC to reconsider a plan to open all the spectrum for unlicensed use (see 2003050058).
As fears about the spreading coronavirus increase, stakeholders are upping requests (see 2003060036) for additional government actions on telehealth and remote patient monitoring. Gov. Gretchen Whitmer (D) said Thursday Michigan plans to give Medicaid patients easier access to telehealth services during the pandemic. That will expand "opportunities for safe, quality care through telemedicine," she said.
Washington state lawmakers couldn’t agree on a privacy bill for the second straight year, appearing to run out of time on the session's last day, amid a growing public health crisis. A related facial recognition bill was still alive Thursday afternoon. Maryland legislators punted privacy and net neutrality proposals until next year, legislators told us Thursday. California Attorney General Xavier Becerra (D) sought comments Wednesday on a second set of revisions to proposed regulations to implement the California Consumer Privacy Act.
The largest auction in the history of high-band spectrum is over with the close of the assignment phase a week ago, with Verizon the biggest bidder, the FCC said Thursday. The auction of 37, 39 and 47 GHz spectrum brought in more than $7.5 billion in net bids. The major wireless carriers dominated. The FCC will pay out $3.1 billion for existing licensees to leave the band, leaving net proceeds of more than $4.4 billion. This was the FCC’s third high-band auction, after earlier sales of 24 and 28 GHz band spectrum.
FCC staffers are being encouraged to work from home starting Friday and have been told to remove perishables from agency refrigerators and take their plants home, Chief of Staff Matthew Berry emailed staff Thursday in a memo obtained by Communications Daily. The agency also released a public notice Thursday banning all visitors from its facilities unless they receive special permission from the Office of Managing Director. It declined to detail what that permission may entail.
FCC Inspector General nominee Chase Johnson faced questions Wednesday during a Senate Commerce Committee nomination hearing. Jon Tester, D-Mont., asked why the FCC has taken no action after a staff investigation of Mobility Fund-II coverage maps found the maps provided by carriers didn't match actual 4G LTE coverage (see 1912040027). During a markup, some bills were OK'd.
If Congress won’t pass Section 230 legislation for combating child exploitation (see 2003090065), the alternative is a liability protection carve-out, Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., told reporters Wednesday after a committee hearing. He introduced legislation with Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., Senate Judiciary Committee ranking member Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., and Sen. Josh Hawley, R-Mo., that would alter the Communications Decency Act section. Companies would have to comply with best practices for filtering child abuse content or face lawsuits from victims. The legislation would establish a commission of government officials, industry representatives and experts to certify best business practices.