Questions abound about President Donald Trump’s decision Thursday to put 10 percent List 4 Section 301 tariffs into effect on Chinese imports Sept. 1. Since Trump can’t legally impose List 4 by tweets, all eyes will await the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative notice soon to be published in the Federal Register detailing which product categories, if any, are spared from the final duties.
Multiple stakeholders are asking the FCC not to phase down Lifeline support for voice services under its USF program. The requests came in comments that were due Wednesday and posted through Thursday. They were in response to a joint petition by CTIA and others and a July 1 public notice in docket 11-42 (see 1907010055).
A DOJ complaint and proposed consent decree on the $6.4 billion Nexstar/Tribune deal (see 1907310077) is seen as flagging an Indianapolis top-four duopoly as a possible issue in the purchase, said industry analysts. The DOJ filing also argues that MVPD and digital advertising aren’t substitutes for broadcast advertising, a view at Justice that some broadcasters had thought might be changing after a May broadcast competition workshop (see 1905020068). “I think they are recognizing the way they view broadcasting belongs in the I Love Lucy era,” said NAB CEO Gordon Smith in an interview on C-Span’s The Communicators, recorded last week.
Senate Commerce Committee Chairman Roger Wicker, R-Miss., hopes to deliver draft privacy bill text by Labor Day, but he and ranking member Maria Cantwell, D-Wash., remain divided over including a private right of action (see 1907090049). Wicker acknowledged to reporters that Cantwell wants it included, but he told us it’s a “nonstarter.” A private right of action, which is included in the California Consumer Privacy Act for certain data violations, allows consumers individually to sue violators.
Digital companies such as Apple and Facebook have grown so large they're comparable to “robber barons” and “corporate nation-states,” said NAB CEO Gordon Smith on an episode of C-Span’s The Communicators, set for telecast Saturday. “There comes a time where a private interest gets so large it has a public impact,” said Smith. “It is time to put some guard rails on.” The former Republican senator said he agreed with Democratic Party presidential candidate Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., that “this is something Congress should seriously look at.”
FCC commissioners voted Thursday to release for comment an NPRM for a $20.4 billion Rural Digital Opportunity Fund. Commissioners Jessica Rosenworcel and Geoffrey Starks dissented in part, but all the commissioners and Chairman Ajit Pai said the new USF subsidies would play a big role in helping close the digital divide. The pushback from the two Democrats was expected (see 1907300072).
The Universal Service Administrative Co. (USAC) and its key role in overseeing and running the FCC’s new broadband mapping approach got bipartisan criticism Thursday from commissioners as they voted to adopt new broadband mapping procedures. There are questions about USAC's "competence and bandwidth" to fulfill the role it's being handed to control and maintain the mapping data, Commissioner Mike O'Rielly said. USAC didn’t comment.
The FCC approved updated anti-spoofing rules 5-0 Thursday but stopped short of excluding short codes from the rules, a late change sought by CTIA (see 1907290054). Commissioner Jessica Rosenworcel raised concerns that the agency isn’t doing enough to fight robocalls. Other commissioners supported the item without quibbles. The order implements part of Ray Baum's Act. “The new rules will allow the agency to bring enforcement actions against bad actors who spoof text messages and those who seek out victims in this country from overseas,” said an FCC news release. The rules also now cover texting.
Despite last-minute opposition from lawmakers, the FCC didn't pull from Thursday's meeting agenda an order on overhauling the way it subsidizes participants in its Rural Health Care (RHC) program (see 1907310055). Industry stakeholders also had asked for a delay or revisions to the draft in docket 17-310, which will adjust the way rates are determined when providing telehealth subsidies to rural healthcare providers (see 1907230005).
Both an FCC commissioner and critics of the agency's approval Thursday of a local franchise authority (LFA) order anticipate its being challenged in court. Commissioner Geoffrey Starks, who along with Commissioner Jessica Rosenworcel dissented in the 3-2 vote, said he has "no doubt" about litigation. Emailed NATOA General Counsel Nancy Werner, "There will be litigation over the final order."