The intelligence community provides classified information to social media companies to help counter malicious foreign actors on platforms, said Department of Homeland Security National Protection and Programs Directorate Undersecretary Christopher Krebs Friday. Krebs didn’t specify what information is provided at the Washington Post-Hewlett Packard event on Russian interference. Representatives from Facebook, Twitter and YouTube confirmed to the House Judiciary Committee last week that each of the platforms removed Russian-linked accounts and content related to election interference (see 1807170043).
Sinclair told FCC Chairman Ajit Pai it didn’t have the time or authority to withdraw the deal to buy Tribune after a hearing designation order (HDO) circulated, said an email from General Counsel Barry Faber to Pai Wednesday. It was filed the next day and posted Friday in docket 17-179 as an ex parte by Commissioner Jessica Rosenworcel’s office. The email mentions a Tuesday call between Faber and Pai. The draft HDO was announced July 16 (see 1807190060) and released Thursday.
It's "extremely troubling" the FCC proposed a 15-year telco separations freeze "without any consideration of the recommendation" from federal-state joint board members, emailed Colorado Public Utilities Commissioner Wendy Moser, the state member who sponsored a NARUC-passed resolution backing a two-year freeze (see 1807180018). “Given that the majority of the Joint Board rests with the state members, and all that is needed for a recommended decision is a majority, the FCC should take the Joint Board recommended decision as submitted by the states. The FCC can then decide whether to adopt it or explain why not. ... Given the simplicity of the process, one has to wonder what the FCC is trying to accomplish in acting contrary to Congress' intent of having a Joint Board in the first place.”
The proposed auction of the upper 37 GHz band, to be looked at in a Further NPRM teed up for a vote at the Aug. 2 commissioners' meeting, would be the first in which the FCC would sell spectrum that licensees would hold on a co-primary basis with federal agencies. The FNPRM, primarily focused on the 39 GHz band, doesn’t fully address how this would work, though the issue was raised in an earlier proceeding. Commissioner Mike O’Rielly and some industry officials told us the auction raises potentially troubling issues on what exactly companies would be buying if they aren’t by themselves the primary licensee.
House Majority Whip Steve Scalise, R-La., is on the cusp of refiling his Next Generation Television Marketplace Act, expected to help shape Capitol Hill’s upcoming debate on Satellite Television Extension and Localism Act reauthorization, lawmakers and lobbyists said in interviews. The recertification process is unlikely to start in earnest until the 116th Congress convenes in 2019, but media industries affected by STELA in recent months began discussing factors that could shape debate (see 1804030061). The 2014 STELA recertification extended the statute through 2019 (see 1411200036 and 1412040067).
Congressional Black Caucus members Reps. G.K. Butterfield, D-N.C., and Barbara Lee, D-Calif., emphasized during a Multicultural Media, Telecom and Internet Council event they intend to continue pressuring companies at all levels in the tech sector to increase hiring of racial minorities. Butterfield launched the CBC's Tech 2020 initiative more than three years ago to improve diversity in the industry, including setting clear, public goals to measurably increase the number of African-Americans at all levels within tech companies (see 1505200007). Others from Capitol Hill and state legislatures also emphasized the importance of increasing diversity in tech, highlighting interest in Hill work on net neutrality and privacy. MMTC also heard about FCC issues (see 1807190055).
Commenters urged NTIA to improve the quality of broadband data collection in mapping efforts with the FCC. Many state and local interests and others said data must be more accurate, with many seeking increased granularity. Wireless groups stressed the importance of including mobile broadband. NTIA posted more than 50 comments Thursday that responded to its request for input after Congress gave the agency $7.5 million to help the FCC update its broadband map, currently focused on fixed service and based on Form 477 data. Others previously sent us comments suggesting improvements while noting data limitations and cost concerns (see 1807170052 and 1807180049).
Though Fox had raised concerns about the regulatory heavy lifting that a deal for its nonbroadcast assets with Comcast might represent (see 1806260038), antitrust issues and the DOJ's AT&T/Time Warner appeal likely didn't play a notable role in Comcast taking itself out of the Fox running, some experts told us. But others see the AT&T/TW appeal raising notable regulatory concerns for the MVPD. Comcast didn't comment.
Massachusetts state senators passed a net neutrality and ISP privacy bill with bipartisan support. Lawmakers voted 37-0 Thursday for a slimmed-down proposal (SB-2610) that would establish an ISP registry with ratings and a seal for ISPs that meet or exceed privacy and net neutrality standards. It also would require state agencies to prefer internet services from ISPs that meet or exceed those standards. Industry opposed the proposal, which still needs House and gubernatorial OK. The FCC declined comment.
Pirate radio operators should watch out because the FCC will stop you, Commissioner Mike O’Rielly told a Multicultural Media, Telecom and Internet Council conference Thursday. Commissioner Brendan Carr also spoke at the conference on a panel with O'Reilly, taking questions from former Chairman Richard Wiley of Wiley Rein.