A privacy watchdog is asking a federal court for a temporary restraining order prohibiting President Donald Trump's election commission from collecting voters' data before completing and publicly releasing a privacy impact assessment. It also claimed the information would be stored in an insecure federal website. The Presidential Advisory Commission on Election Integrity, which is investigating Trump's unsupported claim of massive voter fraud, last week sent a request to all 50 states and the District of Columbia seeking the information, but most state election officials already have said they won't share the data or will share only what's publicly available.
President Donald Trump's May executive order aimed at improving the resilience of the internet and communications ecosystem was given good marks by cybersecurity experts at a New America Open Technology Institute event Friday, but they said the order (see 1705110058) fell short in several areas, including giving state and local governments a role and developing a broader international alliance.
GAO found continuing "weaknesses" in Lifeline USF program management despite FCC and Universal Service Administrative Co. efforts to improve controls over finances and enrollment by low-income consumers. There are also broader problems in USF contribution system oversight and the commission's use of a private bank account rather than the Treasury Department to store $9 billion in USF net assets, said a May 30 GAO report released Thursday. Policymakers and others disagreed on the extent to which the previous FCC's actions already were addressing some of the issues, but Chairman Ajit Pai made it clear he plans to do more.
House Commerce Committee ranking member Frank Pallone, D-N.J., urged the DOJ and FBI to investigate whether comments on the FCC May NPRM on a potential rollback of the 2015 net neutrality order and reclassification of broadband as a Communications Act Title II service filed under stolen identities violated federal law. Fourteen people claimed last month that comments were submitted fraudulently under their names in support of a rollback of the rules (see 1705250064). Additional claims since allege comment astroturfing and filings using false names (see 1705310019 and 1706070017). Pallone said in a Wednesday letter to Attorney General Jeff Sessions and acting FBI Director Andrew McCabe he's concerned by reports that about 450,000 identical comments submitted to docket 17-108 used information obtained from data breaches. “I am deeply concerned that the sheer number of these potentially false comments suggest a coordinated attempt to materially mislead the FCC, and therefore a coordinated attempt to break federal law,” Pallone told Sessions and McCabe. “I urge you to take swift action to investigate who may be behind these comments and, if appropriate under applicable federal law and regulations, prosecute the people behind these fraudulent comments.” Pallone and other House Democrats wrote commissioners and Department of Homeland Security National Cybersecurity and Communications Integration Center Director John Felker seeking information about the May distributed denial-of-service attacks on the FCC website believed to have affected comments in the net neutrality proceeding (see 1705170067 and 1706260059). Separately this week, the commission released its response to other members of Congress on the attack (see 1706280044).
Ligado's proposed terrestrial broadband operations still "pose a significant interference risk" for parties getting real-time National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration weather and environmental data and to certified GPS receivers, aeronautical safety satellite communications and Iridium end users, despite Ligado's protests to the contrary, said aviation and weather interests in a docket 11-109 FCC filing posted Tuesday. They said Ligado continues to try to gloss over filings showing potential for harmful interference and "to discount the import and validity" of the Transportation Department's ongoing Adjacent Band Compatibility evaluation. They said the FCC shouldn't act on the satellite company's requests until the agency addresses those interference issues, and had input from other federal agencies. Signers of the filing included AccuWeather, Aerospace Industries Association, Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association, Airlines for America, American Geophysical Union, American Meteorological Society, Gogo Business Aviation, Helicopter Association International, International Air Transport Association, Iridium, the National Weather Association and Thales. Ligado said it has "worked with the Commission and interested parties for nearly two years to resolve interference concerns, including signing cooperation agreements with major GPS companies that ensure Ligado is compatible with GPS and will not interfere with aviation safety or NOAA’s operations. Safety of life is paramount, and that’s why we have collaborated extensively with the FAA to protect aviation safety and provide the industry with an advanced level of connectivity currently unavailable today. Additionally, we have proposed that NOAA use a fiber cable and cloud-based delivery system for its weather data. This proposal and Ligado’s commitment to protect NOAA’s own operations will allow an auction of the 1675-1680 MHz band and preserve NOAA’s mission. Today’s filing contains no new information, no new technical analysis, no new data. It is simply a re-packaging of the same old complaints, all of which have already been amply addressed in the record.” In an ex parte filing posted Tuesday in docket 11-109, Ligado recapped a phone call with the Wireless Bureau employees about aviation industry concerns (see 1706210030) in which it said the concerns raised previously were discussed as part of the Radio Technical Commission for Aeronautics review and presented to the Federal Aviation Administration.
Commissioners approved 3-0 rules on first-line review by the FCC of state plans to opt out of FirstNet. Commissioners said the rules give states a legitimate choice and path forward if they don’t want to set up their own networks. Earlier this week, FirstNet and AT&T transmitted plans to states and territories (see 1706190072).
FCC commissioners approved 3-0 a notice of inquiry on ways to improve broadband deployment, competition and innovation in residential and commercial multiple tenant environments (MTEs). Commissioners also unanimously approved a payphone order and NPRM that would waive certain auditing and reporting duties while the agency considers eliminating the requirements. Both Wireline Bureau items were adopted at the commissioners' meeting Thursday.
Senate Homeland Security Committee Chairman Ron Johnson, R-Wis., told us he will seek a bipartisan answer to reduce duplicative and conflicting cybersecurity regulations and empower a central agency or individual to oversee that coordination with the private sector. "We've got to consolidate our efforts," he said after a Wednesday hearing on the issue. Representatives from the health, financial, state and technology sectors said businesses and agencies face multiple regulators and redundant efforts to ensure cybersecurity compliance or sometimes are unsure whom to go to for guidance.
Numerous state attorneys general and some others opposed an NCTA/USTelecom request for FCC clarification of broadband speed disclosure rules to ensure harmonization and industry flexibility in light of state mandates (see 1705160063). The American Cable Association, Adtran and CenturyLink backed the cable/telco petition. Comments were posted Monday and Friday in docket 17-131.
CTA, CTIA, the Wireless Infrastructure Association and other industry commenters told the FCC it needs to adopt rules to speed wireless siting if it wants to ensure the rapid deployment of 5G and the IoT. Comments were due on the FCC’s NPRM and notice of inquiry on wireless siting Thursday. Groups representing local and state government urged caution, noting the role they have in protecting the interests of local citizens. Comments largely mirrored those filed earlier this year on a Mobilitie petition asking the agency to pre-empt state and local authority over rights of way (ROWs) (see 1703080011).