The White House will draft data privacy legislation if asked, said National Economic Council Special Assistant to the President Abigail Slater Thursday. Regulating social media is a conversation worth having, she told a Washington Post event. Officials should weigh Europe’s approach to internet regulation while injecting American standards and values, said Slater. President Donald Trump said Wednesday he’s open to working with Democrats to regulate social media (see 1811070053).
Telecom equipment provider CommScope's purchase of consumer electronics company Arris for about $7.4 billion is expected to face smooth regulatory sailing. CommScope is getting a $1 billion minority ownership investment assist from the Carlyle Group, which used to own a stake, the equipment maker announced Thursday. CommScope CEO Eddie Edwards said the deal would position the two companies to take advantage of the rise of 5G and the IoT. Edwards will remain chief of the combined company (see the personals section).
Windstream knocked the FCC's recent Connect America Fund Phase II auction to allocate $1.49 billion in cumulative broadband-oriented subsidies over 10 years for fixed services in legacy high-cost ILEC areas (see 1808280035). CEO Tony Thomas said $122 million in support for satellite service was effectively wasted. He doubted two wireless ISPs receiving $501 million total can meet buildout requirements. WISP officials disputed that view; the FCC vowed to enforce buildout duties.
It would be “malpractice” for any company to accept AT&T’s demand that Dish Network pay for a guaranteed number of HBO subscribers regardless of how many want the channel, said Dish Chairman Charlie Ergen on a Wednesday earnings call. HBO went dark on Dish last week (see 1811010016).
Sinclair, Tribune and several other broadcasters agreed on a consent decree with DOJ connected with an investigation into sharing advertising sales “pacing” information, according to Sinclair, Tribune, broadcast attorneys and a Justice official. The department is expected to file the settlement in court Thursday, Sinclair said. The consent decree will resolve the DOJ investigation, Sinclair said.
That “middle-of-the-road” House Republicans CTA supported lost in Tuesday's midterms was “one of the greatest tragedies of the night,” President Gary Shapiro told us Wednesday. Of the 91 House and 12 Senate candidates backed by CTA’s political action committee, roughly 10 were defeated, said Shapiro.
Having oppositely controlled chambers of Congress bodes well for bipartisan negotiation on regulating online privacy, tech trade group executives told us Wednesday. Industry allies agreed Republicans and Democrats remain far apart on specific policy. President Donald Trump in a post-election news conference said he’s open to working with Democrats on regulating social media companies, though he called Silicon Valley’s alleged anti-conservative bias a “serious problem.”
New York voters removed a big obstacle to passing a state net neutrality bill by flipping the state Senate in Tuesday’s election. Fresh Democratic trifectas there and elsewhere could encourage more state action to counter recent FCC decisions on net neutrality and privacy, some said. And broadband and net neutrality supporter Phil Weiser will be attorney general in Colorado, where additional local governments cleared ballot initiatives on municipal broadband. Incumbents and Republicans performed strongly in state commissions with elected commissioners.
FCC Chairman Ajit Pai likely faces a more complicated next two years than his first two, after Democrats retook the House (see 1811070054), if Pai stays through President Donald Trump's term. With some races still unsettled, Democrats hold a slim majority in the House and Pai will encounter the same dynamic as many predecessors after their parties lost control of the House, Senate or both. Most industry officials agreed FCC work likely will slow slightly on some of bigger, controversial items.
Voters delivered a split decision Tuesday in elections to Congress, as expected (see 1811050050 and 1811070002). The division between a Democratic House and Republican Senate reduces the likelihood for legislative progress on some divisive telecom issues but possibly opens up opportunities for compromise on others, officials and lobbyists said in interviews. The election resulted in turnovers to leadership of House and Senate telecom-focused committees. Many said they are now watching the tight race between Senate Commerce Committee ranking member Bill Nelson, D-Fla., and Republican Gov. Rick Scott.