Complaints are increasing about alleged MVPD violations of the requirement to give subscribers a 30-day notice before a channel lineup change, but top FCC aides told us there has been no indication either FCC Chairman Ajit Pai or the Media Bureau is planning a proceeding and it's unlikely there will be one. Joseph Van Eaton of Best Best, representing communities in Arizona and Wyoming seeking a declaratory ruling that Charter violated the advance notice rule, said he expects the agency to issue a public notice soon on that petition. The FCC didn't comment. Experts and insiders said it's not clear the agency will take up or clarify the 30-day notice rule (see 1802160017).
Small Entity Regulatory Relief Opportunity Act, Pirate Radio Bill Could Get Mixed Reviews at Hearing
Two of the four communications-related bills to be considered during a Thursday House Communications Subcommittee hearing -- the Small Entity Regulatory Relief Opportunity Act (HR-3787) and the draft Preventing Illegal Radio Abuse Through Enforcement (Pirate) Act -- are likely to get a mixed reception from witnesses, based on written testimony. Some subcommittee Democrats also may criticize the bills, a House Democratic aide said. House Communications also will examine the National Suicide Hotline Improvement Act (HR-2345) and the Rural Reasonable and Comparable Wireless Access Act (HR-2903) during the hearing, which is to begin at 10:15 a.m. in 2322 Rayburn (see 1803150055).
The digital divide is the FCC's “top policy priority” and the Connect America Fund reverse auction is “a milestone” in modernizing a key USF program, FCC Chairman Ajit Pai told an American Cable Association conference Wednesday. Pai slammed Title II Communications Act regulation of broadband service, which he said was the result of “Silicon Valley giants” claiming small ISPs such as ACA's members “posed a greater threat to a free and open internet” than Google, Facebook and Twitter.
A court reversal of parts of a 2015 FCC robocalling order is likely to stand, said attorneys involved in or following the case on Telephone Consumer Protection Act regulatory restrictions. They said the current commission and most industry petitioners appear satisfied with the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit ruling Friday, which shot down two key agency decisions and affirmed two others in ACA International v. FCC, No. 15-1211 (see 1803160006). If some parties do appeal, the prospects the ruling will be overturned appear dim, they said. Continuing robocalling disputes are expected to play out at the FCC and in trial courts.
FCC Commissioner Mignon Clyburn Wednesday urged the FCC to postpone a vote on wireless infrastructure rules, slated for Thursday. The draft order, developed by Commissioner Brendan Carr, faced criticism from tribal groups concerned about the consultation process and groups representing local governments. With snow still falling in Washington on Wednesday, the FCC said the meeting is to start at 9:30 a.m., unless the Office of Personnel Management delays the opening of the federal government, in which case it will start at 11:30 a.m.
Trump administration officials' repeated citations of the national security implications of maintaining U.S. leadership in 5G innovation are a sign Congress needs to act on broader telecom policy issues that would help sustain that dominance, lawmakers and industry officials told us. The administration mentioned 5G deployment in its December national security strategy (see 1712180071 and 1712270032).
Sunday’s pedestrian fatality involving an Uber self-driving SUV in Tempe, Arizona (see 1803190024), spotlighted what could be “glaring limitations” in laws and regulations for driverless car technologies, Andrew Maynard, director-Arizona State University’s Risk Innovation Lab, emailed us Tuesday. The Lab works with local authorities on autonomous driving. Though it’s too early to tell how the incident will affect rules and liability, speculation has begun about whether Uber or the driver is liable, said the professor, “or even whether the pedestrian who was killed is to blame.”
With Sens. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., and Rand Paul, R-Ky., opposed, anti-sex trafficking legislation (see 1803150039 and 1803080039) is slated for debate and a vote on the Senate floor Wednesday. The Senate 94-2 Monday approved a motion to invoke cloture on the motion to proceed to SESTA-FOSTA (the Stop Enabling Sex Traffickers-Allow States and Victims to Fight Online Sex Trafficking package). The House version of the bill, which includes Senate bill language and two amendments introduced by Wyden, will be up for Senate debate.
Facebook officials began briefings on Capitol Hill Tuesday amid lawmakers' rising scrutiny of allegations that political data analytics firm Cambridge Analytica misused private information of more than 50 million Americans on behalf of President Donald Trump's 2016 election campaign. Lawmakers were demanding hearings on the claims, though Facebook said it suspended Cambridge Analytica and affiliate Strategic Communication Laboratories (SCL) for violating its guidelines for user data collection (see 1803190056). Cambridge Analytica's board said Tuesday it suspended CEO Alexander Nix pending a full independent investigation into claims about the company's actions. The FTC, meanwhile, began an investigation into data-scraping claims, three informed people confirmed to us.
The growing importance of internet technology issues such as privacy and cybersecurity means traditional regulatory battlegrounds like retransmission consent matter less and less, said NCTA President Michael Powell Tuesday. He used a Media Institute luncheon to expand on his concerns about tech companies (see 1803060022). Consumers and lawmakers are worried about burgeoning tech issues while the telecom industry is “trapped” in outdated fights, Powell said. The issues that “dominate” the attention of lawmakers and the public “all emanate from the internet,” he said. He doesn't expect action from lawmakers or the FCC on retrans anytime soon.