The Trump administration hasn't contacted FCC Inspector General David Hunt and Commerce Department IG Peggy Gustafson about the possibility of removing them from their positions, they told Senate Commerce Committee ranking member Bill Nelson, D-Fla., in letters dated from this week and provided to us Wednesday by a Nelson spokesman. But the administration told some IGs they would be held over only temporarily, some IGs told Nelson. Senate Commerce held a hearing focused on IGs Wednesday, with testimony from Gustafson, confirmed to the position in December, as well as Homeland Security Department IG John Roth, Transportation Department IG Calvin Scovel and National Science Foundation IG Allison Lerner.
CTA declined comment on the amici brief signed by dozens of tech companies backing the states of Washington and Minnesota in their fight to keep President Donald Trump’s now-suspended immigration executive order from being reinstated (see 1702060016). “We have not yet reviewed the brief,” CTA President Gary Shapiro emailed us Tuesday. “We stand by our initial statement” two days after the order was first released (see 1701290001) that blocking access en masse of employees of U.S. companies who are lawful visa and green card holders based on religion or national origin raises constitutional issues, Shapiro said. He also testified at last week’s Senate Commerce Committee hearing on reducing unnecessary regulatory burdens that he thinks the immigration order isn’t good for business (see report in the Feb. 2 issue of this publication). Eight more companies, for a total of 135, filed letters of joinder Tuesday adding their support to the tech industry's amici brief against the immigration order. They are Akamai, Credo Mobile, Fitbit, Molecule Software, PostMates, QuantCast, SoundCloud and SpotHero. Oral argument on the Trump administration’s emergency motion to stay a lower court’s temporary restraining order that blocked enforcement of the immigration order was scheduled for 3 p.m. PST Tuesday at the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco.
Major wireless carriers detailed their efforts to improve 911 indoor location accuracy pursuant to a FCC order in January 2015 (see 1501290066). AT&T, Sprint, T-Mobile and Verizon reported on their plans and actions to implement new regulatory obligations, including to meet certain indoor accuracy benchmarks for 911 calls, in filings (here, here, here and here) posted Monday and Friday in docket 07-114 that provided extensive technical information. Under the rules, "nationwide wireless carriers are required to generate either a Dispatchable Location ('DL') or X/Y location information within 50 meters for a certain percentage of wireless calls to 9-1-1 within specific timeframes," Sprint explained. "Dispatchable Location solutions provide the verified street address, plus additional location information from the planned National Emergency Address Database ('NEAD') that will help locate, with increased accuracy, a wireless device placing a call to 9-1-1. By developing Dispatchable Location solutions, wireless providers are leveraging evolving wireless technologies, such as WiFi and Bluetooth, to help improve the ability of first responders to efficiently and safely respond to wireless 9-1-1 callers that may be located indoors." The four carriers also "agreed to fund and implement a NEAD containing the locations of wireless access points to help provide a Dispatchable Location to public safety answering points," Sprint said.
India again ranked near the bottom among 45 “global economies” included in the U.S. Chamber of Commerce Global Intellectual Property Center’s annual IP index report (here). GIPC ranks the 45 countries based on patents, trademarks, copyright, trade secrets, enforcement and international treaties. GIPC ranked India at 43, ahead of Pakistan and last-place Venezuela. India ranked in either last place or next-to-last in GIPC’s previous four index reports. The U.S., UK, EU-member nations and Japan continued to rank at the top of the index, with those nations holding all but two of the top 10 spots. The U.S. ranked at No. 1, while Singapore and South Korea ranked at No. 8 and 9, respectively. “Emerging markets, such as India, have made incremental gains and embraced positive rhetoric with their [intellectual property rights] IPR policies, but they have not yet followed up with the legislative reforms innovators need,” GIPC Executive Vice President Mark Elliot said in a news release (here). “Some developed countries, including Canada and Australia, continue to implement policies that undermine their proud traditions of IP-led innovation. And even world leaders such as the U.S. have room to grow and improve.”
CTA declined comment on the amici brief signed by dozens of tech companies backing the states of Washington and Minnesota in their fight to keep President Donald Trump’s now-suspended immigration executive order from being reinstated (see 1702060016). “We have not yet reviewed the brief,” CTA President Gary Shapiro emailed us Tuesday. “We stand by our initial statement” two days after the order was first released (see 1701290001) that blocking access en masse of employees of U.S. companies who are lawful visa and green card holders based on religion or national origin raises constitutional issues, Shapiro said. He also testified at last week’s Senate Commerce Committee hearing on reducing unnecessary regulatory burdens that he thinks the immigration order isn’t good for business (see report in the Feb. 2 issue of this publication). Eight more companies, for a total of 135, filed letters of joinder Tuesday adding their support to the tech industry's amici brief against the immigration order. They are Akamai, Credo Mobile, Fitbit, Molecule Software, PostMates, QuantCast, SoundCloud and SpotHero. Oral argument on the Trump administration’s emergency motion to stay a lower court’s temporary restraining order that blocked enforcement of the immigration order was scheduled for 3 p.m. PST Tuesday at the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco.
CTA declined comment on the amici brief signed by dozens of tech companies backing the states of Washington and Minnesota in their fight to keep President Donald Trump’s now-suspended immigration executive order from being reinstated (see 1702060016). “We have not yet reviewed the brief,” CTA President Gary Shapiro emailed us Tuesday. “We stand by our initial statement” two days after the order was first released (see 1701290001) that blocking access en masse of employees of U.S. companies who are lawful visa and green card holders based on religion or national origin raises constitutional issues, Shapiro said. He also testified at last week’s Senate Commerce Committee hearing on reducing unnecessary regulatory burdens that he thinks the immigration order isn’t good for business (see report in the Feb. 2 issue of this publication). Eight more companies, for a total of 135, filed letters of joinder Tuesday adding their support to the tech industry's amici brief against the immigration order. They are Akamai, Credo Mobile, Fitbit, Molecule Software, PostMates, QuantCast, SoundCloud and SpotHero. Oral argument on the Trump administration’s emergency motion to stay a lower court’s temporary restraining order that blocked enforcement of the immigration order was scheduled for 3 p.m. PST Tuesday at the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco.
President Donald Trump’s immigration executive order blocking citizens of seven Muslim-majority countries from entering the U.S. for 90 days (see 1701290001) “is inflicting substantial harm on U.S. companies.” So said an amici brief (in Pacer) signed by dozens of prominent tech companies filed Sunday at the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco backing Washington and Minnesota in their fight to keep Trump’s now suspended order from being reinstated.
President Donald Trump’s immigration executive order blocking citizens of seven Muslim-majority countries from entering the U.S. for 90 days (see 1701290001) “is inflicting substantial harm on U.S. companies.” So said an amici brief (in Pacer) signed by dozens of prominent tech companies filed Sunday at the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco backing Washington and Minnesota in their fight to keep Trump’s now suspended order from being reinstated.
President Donald Trump’s immigration executive order blocking citizens of seven Muslim-majority countries from entering the U.S. for 90 days (see 1701290001) “is inflicting substantial harm on U.S. companies.” So said an amici brief (in Pacer) signed by dozens of prominent tech companies filed Sunday at the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco backing Washington and Minnesota in their fight to keep Trump’s now suspended order from being reinstated.
Emergency 911 apps for smartphones may not be safe, cautioned public safety, phone companies and others, in comments last week in FCC docket RM-11780 about a National Association of State 911 Administrators (NASNA) request for a proceeding on how smartphone 911 apps may interface with 911 systems (see 1612190055). Mobile apps are “not ready to replace traditional voice calls and SMS messages to 9-1-1, APCO commented. Apps could one day enhance 911, but critical issues must first be addressed, it said. The National Emergency Number Association supported an FCC proceeding, agreeing the apps are an opportunity but also a challenge for public safety. The apps must be held to the same standards as other parts of 911 systems, NENA said. AT&T said mobile 911 apps hold promise, but it has seen that certain apps can interfere with the normal operations of 911 calling provided by mobile service providers. “Wireless carriers cannot be the gate keepers for these third-party emergency services apps over which the carrier has no control,” AT&T commented. But it said there’s no legal basis for the FCC to assert authority over 911 apps, and it would be better to develop industry standards. NTCA also raised concerns about FCC legal authority, saying the FTC may be better positioned to act. ACT|The App Association agreed the FTC is a more appropriate venue. It commented that FCC actions could stunt growth of the app industry: “Emergency communications are no exception to the app revolution, and the Commission should ensure that its policies enhance, rather than disrupt, the benefits that this innovative ecosystem can bring to 911 communications.”