The early weeks of January have brought a blizzard of state bills focused on protecting kids online, including requiring age verification on porn and social media websites. Some industry groups have long raised privacy concerns with such mandates, arguing they could require that users submit sensitive information confirming their age or parental status to consent to a child’s access.
AT&T’s FirstNet will provide “unmatched network support for federal and local first responders” around the National Mall during Donald Trump's inauguration next week, a spokesperson emailed on Wednesday. “We are pre-positioning several deployable network assets from the dedicated FirstNet fleet around the National Mall and surrounding areas to provide enhanced network coverage for public safety on FirstNet should they need it,” the spokesperson said: “In a capability unique to FirstNet,” AT&T has also “cleared and locked” Band 14 spectrum on cellsites around the National Mall and surrounding areas “meaning first responders have their own ‘VIP lane’ and public safety communications is protected from spectators’ network congestion.”
Anne Neuberger, White House deputy national security advisor-cyber and emerging technology, and her counterparts from countries in Scandinavia and the Baltics agreed Wednesday to “deepen cooperation on protecting undersea cable” after recent suspected sabotage incidents in the region, the Biden administration said. The White House said Neuberger and other officials raised “concerns about the range of threats to the security of undersea cable infrastructure, whether communication networks or energy." Participants “intend to increase coordination,” including on procedures “for sharing real-time situational awareness and incident information within national governments, across Allies, and between public and private sector stakeholders, including incorporating private sector disruption notifications.” They will “encourage commercial cable operators, where possible, to establish a repository or database to collect and share information between operators regarding accidental cable faults/damage, completed repair work, time taken to repair, and reasons for any repair delays,” the White House said.
Communications Daily is tracking the lawsuits below involving appeals of FCC actions. New cases are marked with an *.
Colorado will step in if the federal government pulls back on privacy enforcement under the second Trump administration, the state’s AG Phil Weiser (D) told Privacy Daily. In an interview, he said privacy will continue to be a priority for the state in 2025, with Weiser hoping to raise awareness with businesses and consumers about their duties and rights under the Colorado Privacy Act (CPA).
The FCC and National Domestic Violence Hotline (NDVH) have signed a memorandum of understanding creating “a formal partnership dedicated to supporting survivors of domestic violence,” said an agency news release Monday. “This partnership will focus on creating resources and training materials to ensure that survivors are aware of their rights and can access the support they need,” it said. “By working together to provide resources, training, and outreach, we can empower survivors to access the essential communication tools they need to rebuild their lives,” said FCC Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel in the release. Under the MOU, the FCC and the NDVH will collaborate on guides to help domestic violence survivors use the agency’s line separation rules and emergency communications support services. The FCC “will educate The Hotline’s staff on relevant rules and services,” and the NDVH “will train FCC contact center personnel on trauma-informed approaches to supporting survivors,” the release said. “By combining their expertise, the FCC and The Hotline aim to empower survivors and promote their safety and well-being through access to essential communication services and support.”
Supplemental coverage from space (SCS) service is in dire need of additional spectrum, AT&T Assistant Vice President-Public Policy Navid Motamed said Monday during an FCBA CLE. Regulatory and company speakers also noted that SCS issues of cross-border interference and coordination need to be settled. While some nations are crafting SCS rules frameworks, others are in a wait-and-see stance.
The U.K. Information Commissioner's Office Monday welcomed government plans that "turbocharge" AI across the nation during the next decade. Prime Minister Keir Starmer backed a set of 50 recommendations in an AI Opportunities Action Plan aimed at positioning the U.K. ahead of the world on the technology.
Privacy protections might be sidelined during the Trump administration in order to focus on other emerging technology, said Mallory Knodel, founder of the Social Web Foundation, in a Friday piece for TechPolicy.Press.
A trio of public safety groups urged the FCC to require telecom providers to “implement, host, maintain, and operate” a secure, two-way outage dashboard providing updated information on 911 outages. The Association of Public-Safety Communications Officials, the National Association of State 911 Administrators and the National Emergency Number Association said the existing system isn’t working. “Unfortunately, the Commission’s current outage reporting rules combined with the practices of the service providers often result” in emergency communications centers (ECCs) “not being notified of outages or receiving notifications that are either irrelevant to the ECCs’ jurisdiction, provide limited information, are not updated in a timely manner, or are formatted in a way that it is difficult and time-consuming for the ECCs to parse through during an outage situation,” said a filing this week in docket 15-80. ECCs “should be notified of outages and disruptions that could impact communications … even if the outage does not meet the high thresholds that trigger a notification requirement in the existing rules,” they added.