Reps. Donald McEachin and Abigail Spanberger, both D-Va., touted existing broadband legislation and sought input on additional measures during a Thursday event in Disputanta, Virginia. FCC Commissioner Geoffrey Starks noted his ongoing concerns about updated language in the commission’s Rural Digital Opportunity Fund that won’t prevent ISPs that win bids for program funding from seeking additional support from state broadband programs but bars census block groups that received state subsidies for 25/3 Mbps from participation (see 2002070031). Industry and local representatives highlighted other barriers to rural broadband deployments.
DOJ is considering whether Section 230 creates the right incentives for platforms to maintain a safe internet, said Attorney General William Barr Wednesday. Tech companies are no longer underdog upstarts but titans of U.S. industry, he said during a workshop on Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act: “Given this changing technological landscape, valid questions have been raised on whether Section 230’s broad immunity is still necessary, at least in its current form.”
The National Institute of Standards and Technology is already expanding beyond the recently released “Version 1.0”of its privacy framework, including plans to create a “guide to help small and medium-sized businesses build in privacy” using the document, said Director Walter Copan at a Wednesday Center for Strategic and International Studies event. The framework, released last month, provides a set of privacy protection practices for companies and other entities to use, along with related risk management strategies. The framework can provide a guide for federal and state lawmakers as they aim to enact privacy standards, though NIST has been careful to stress its document is meant to be entirely voluntary, officials said.
Dish Network for competitive reasons isn't ready to publicly discuss its wireless “go-to-market strategy,” said Chairman Charlie Ergen on a Q4 earnings call Wednesday. “We’re not that stupid to disclose that,” said Ergen.
FCC Chairman Ajit Pai released a compilation of comments Wednesday supporting his proposal for converting 280 MHz of C band spectrum to 5G through an auction later this year. Whether the order will include aggregation limits is emerging as a key issue on the eighth floor at the FCC. FCC Democrats Jessica Rosenworcel and Geoffrey Starks both appear to favor some limits, while Commissioner Mike O’Rielly is a hard no, industry and FCC officials told us.
Foreign Investment Risk Review Modernization Act (FIRRMA) implementation is in its early days, with new rules taking effect last week, but it's generally assumed the number of transactions coming under Committee on Foreign Investment in the U.S. (CFIUS) jurisdiction will quadruple, said David Plotinsky, DOJ National Security Division principal deputy chief, at an FCBA CLE event Wednesday. He said the number of telecom deals subject to CFIUS also likely will quadruple, though there's less concern about deals on "the pipes" of telecom than on data. CFIUS experts said prospective deals now have to take CFIUS issues and possible mitigation steps into consideration early in the planning.
The FCC acknowledges in the draft bidding procedures notice for the 3.5 GHz citizens broadband radio service band it will provide compensation to DOD for sharing costs, as specified by the Commercial Spectrum Enhancement Act. Industry and government officials said DOD considered that critical, especially since CBRS could be a model for other bands. But there was some confusion whether the FCC would say CSEA language applied for the auction of priority access licenses, to start June 15 (see 2002040051). Commissioners will vote on the notice Feb. 28.
A proposed amendment to VeriSign's registry agreement with ICANN provoked a barrage of negative comments from some stakeholders and a fierce counterattack by the .com registry operator. The consultation, which ended Friday, sought input on a plan to amend the contract to allow VeriSign to raise the price for .com domains by a maximum of 7% annually in years in which there's no other price increase. Foes accused ICANN of, among other things, failing to act in the public interest. In return, VeriSign blasted domain speculators for undermining the process for their own gain.
Maine should fight a lawsuit by national ISP associations challenging a state ISP privacy law, said the American Civil Liberties Union and an ex-FCC official Tuesday. CTIA, NCTA, USTelecom and the American Cable Association sued Maine Friday in the U.S. District Court of Maine, before the regulations take effect July 1. Maine Gov. Janet Mills (D) signed the bill in June countering Congress' 2017 repeal of 2016 FCC broadband privacy rules, after bipartisan votes in the legislature (see 1906060050).
The FCC indicates it wants a nationwide 988 suicide crisis hotline implemented in 18 months (see 1912120044), but telecom interests want a longer phase-in. Some also are urging the FCC to take a second look at expanded use of 211 for the hotline instead, as was recommended by its North American Numbering Council advisory group (see 1905080020), according to recent comments in docket 18-336. The FCC didn't comment. Reply comments on the 988 designation NPRM adopted 5-0 in December (see 1912120044) are due March 16.