The FCC hasn’t launched its new Office of Economics and Analytics (OEA), four months after commissioners approved it 3-2. Former officials and industry lawyers said they have heard virtually nothing about the office since it was approved over dissents by Commissioners Jessica Rosenworcel and Mignon Clyburn (see 1801300026). The FCC filed its plans with the Office of Management and Budget and with the union representing employees, commission officials said.
U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer should “do everything possible” to address China’s allegedly unfair trade practices without “imposing tariffs” or enacting measures that “might harm large numbers" of U.S. workers, consumers and businesses, said a Wednesday letter signed by 34 House Democrats and Republicans and released Thursday. The letter to Lighthizer comes before the USTR's office releases its final list of duties by June 15 and a day after the White House announced its decision to proceed with the tariffs on Chinese imports (see 1805290046).
Online platforms should strive for some degree of uniformity when deciding how to filter malicious content, said Facebook Global Politics and Government Outreach Director Katie Harbath Thursday. “You don’t necessarily want Facebook making one decision, Google making another decision, Twitter making another decision, too,” Harbath said at a Cato Institute event. “These are conversations we have to be having collectively, to be thinking about what are the right ways to be handling this.” Platforms should draw lines in deciding where regulation is the “right answer,” and where companies should self-regulate, she said.
One of the biggest issues in the FCC small satellites authorization streamlining rulemaking might be its definition of a smallsat, experts said at an FCBA event Thursday. The requirement that smallsats above a certain orbit have collision avoidance capabilities also could face pushback, said Spire counsel George John. Development of such propulsion technology for smallsats is still "getting there," he said.
A proposal to make California the first state with a surveillance transparency law cleared the Senate but divided senators Thursday. No member spoke against SB-1186 on the floor, and the vote was 21-15, getting the minimum number of supporters needed in the 40-member body to send the bill to the Assembly. Sheriffs continued to oppose the bill requiring local law enforcement to have public notice and comment before using new surveillance technologies (see 1804030043). Senate passage Wednesday of a net neutrality bill (see 1805300084) picked up more kudos, including from ex-FCC chairman Tom Wheeler and a New York state senator.
Tests demonstrate the 3.7-4.2 GHz band can be safely shared, the Broadband Access Coalition (BAC) commented in docket 13-1. The FCC is preparing a report to Congress on the spectrum, also known as the C-band, as required by the Mobile Now Act. This offer a preview of arguments to come, with Chairman Ajit Pai promising to tee-up a C-band NPRM for commissioners' July meeting (see 1805230031).
Decisions by the FCC and Media Bureau in a long-running Indiana FM translator interference dispute could indicate leanings in the upcoming proceeding on such complaints, said several radio attorneys, though others disagree. A bureau letter denying motions appears to take aim at efforts by Radio One disputing the validity of complaints against the translator and against arguments that full-power signals aren’t entitled to protection outside a station’s contour. Those are two of the more contentious items covered in an NPRM (see 1804270065).
To reduce the global threat of botnets dramatically, it’s vital the tech industry “support and reward” continuous development of innovative security technology, the secretaries of commerce and homeland security told President Donald Trump in a report released Wednesday (see 1801110006). It responded to a May 2017 executive order. The order directed the secretaries to lead a cybersecurity effort with the goal of “dramatically reducing threats perpetrated by automated and distributed attacks.” The agencies hosted two workshops, issued as many requests for comment and published a stakeholder inquiry through the president’s National Security Telecommunications Advisory Committee. The agencies consulted DOD, DOJ, the State Department, FBI, FCC and FTC, among other agencies.
Two more IP captioned telephone service providers opposed a draft order's cuts in their compensation rate, though they suggested smaller cuts as a backup. CaptionCall said the FCC shouldn't reduce a $1.95 per minute rate by 10 percent in each of the next two funding years -- to $1.75 on July 1, and to $1.58 on July 1, 2019 -- but the Sorenson Communications subsidiary floated a $1.75 rate for two years if the agency insists on an interim rate. ClearCaptions suggested $1.85 for FY 2018-19 and $1.75 for FY 2019-20. Hamilton previously offered a $1.75 rate for both years (see 1805250056). The draft seeks to reduce IP CTS funding approaching $1 billion per year.
Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., wants more answers from the FBI in a debate about the agency allegedly misleading Congress on encryption back doors (see 1805230027). Though the bureau repeatedly claimed in 2017 it couldn't unlock 7,775 devices, officials recently acknowledged the number is closer to 1,200.