The Competitive Carriers Association, NTCA and the Rural Wireless Association raised questions about an NPRM set for a vote at the April 17 commissioners’ meeting proposing to bar use of money in any USF program to buy equipment or services from companies that “pose a national security threat” to U.S. communications networks or the communications supply chain. But that hasn’t translated into ex parte meetings at the FCC. RWA raised concerns Monday in a filing in new docket 18-89. China experts said concerns are legitimate.
LAS VEGAS -- The FCC Media Bureau is “outlining” NPRMs on dispensing the additional repacking reimbursement funds, will soon issue a public notice announcing a secondary reimbursement allocation, and is planning to tackle kids' video rules and retrans reform in 2018, said Media Bureau Video Division Chief Barbara Kreisman on a panel at the NAB Show Monday. The commission is also “actively working” on policies to address interference between FM translators and full power stations, Audio Division Chief Albert Shuldiner said.
Facebook will require identity and location disclosure for political advertisers, it announced Friday, also endorsing a key bill to thwart foreign interference in elections and becoming perhaps the first major tech company to do so. "Election interference is a problem that's bigger than any one platform, and that's why we support" the Honest Ads Act (see 1803260045), CEO Mark Zuckerberg said Friday. "This will help raise the bar for all political advertising online." The bill would pave the way to apply some disclosure rules to online ads that are now required for ads on more traditional media. The Cambridge Analytica intrusion and Facebook's role also came up at length at a panel discussion Friday (see 1804060057)
Expect incoming FTC members to open debate on what constitutes harm to consumer privacy, an issue in the background with only two sitting commissioners, former FTC Consumer Protection Bureau Director David Vladeck said Friday. It’s likely that President Donald Trump’s FTC nominations (see 1803270046) will be confirmed in the next month or so, George Mason University law professor James Cooper said alongside Vladeck at a GMU event. Because the commission has been deadlocked with only two seated commissioners, acting Chairman Maureen Ohlhausen, a Republican, and Democrat Terrell McSweeny, the administration’s policy changes haven’t been realized, Cooper said.
A court upheld FCC orders requiring ILECs provide some unsubsidized voice service during a USF transition to broadband-oriented high-cost support, dealing a loss to telco interests. A panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit Friday cited deference to regulators in denying incumbent telco challenges that argued the FCC improperly granted them only partial forbearance from the voice duties before new USF mechanisms are in place (see 1607120073). The panel questioned AT&T's attorney more extensively than the government's at oral argument (see 1710260054).
While the federal judge overseeing the AT&T/Time Warner antitrust trial last week signaled interest in the sides setting arbitration terms that differ from what TW’s Turner offered (see 1804040022), experts told us it’s doubtful DOJ will suddenly find itself amenable to a behavioral condition to fix competition is- sues in the deal. Some see the possibility of U.S. District Judge Richard Leon of Washington imposing that remedy. Others question if that’s possible. DOJ, AT&T and TW didn’t comment.
New local number portability administrator iconectiv appeared confident its systems would work as it prepared for its initial regional takeover of operations from Neustar. Many stakeholders were quiet and some parties were wary, particularly given disagreement over a plan for a contingency rollback to the incumbent. If there's a breakdown, Ericsson-owned iconectiv believes the FCC can require Neustar to restart its number-porting operations over its existing systems until there's a fix, something the incumbent disputes. Neustar said it's working for a smooth handoff.
Signs are growing that the Senate is likely to move quickly on confirmation for a nominee to succeed FCC Commissioner Mignon Clyburn upon her expected departure, given Republicans’ strong interest in securing a second full term for Commissioner Brendan Carr and bringing on a full FTC slate, communications lobbyists told us. Clyburn isn't expected to announce her departure date until the White House nominates her successor (see 1803290043).
Any international space traffic management rules regime likely has to start with individual countries crafting STM rules governing the mushrooming of big smallsat constellations and of other commercial space missions and then standardizing those rules, space experts said Wednesday evening at an FCBA CLE. Oversize STM attention is being paid to the relatively unlikely collision of operating objects when the far bigger problem facing satellite operators is from orbital debris, said OneWeb Mission Systems Engineering Director Tim Maclay.
The FTC isn't strong enough to be the only consumer protection cop policing online platforms, Commissioner Terrell McSweeny said Thursday, while blasting as unjustified Congress’ 2017 decision to repeal FCC broadband privacy rules. Speaking at a New America event, McSweeny said it’s “100 percent the right question to ask” how Cambridge Analytica could have allegedly abused private data of 87 million Facebook (see 1804050024) users in spite of a 2011 FTC consent decree that the social network agreed to following privacy concerns.