The Office of Management and Budget approved for three years FCC information collection requirements in disabilities accessibility rules, the commission said in a notice to appear in Wednesday’s Federal Register (http://xrl.us/bm4xy5). It said that’s part of an October order requiring advanced communications services and makers of equipment used for ACS to “make their services and equipment accessible to individuals with disabilities, unless doing so is not achievable” and includes a waiver process. The CEA and Entertainment Software Association have sought waivers (CD March 27 p4).
GOP presidential candidate Rep. Ron Paul, R-Texas, called the Cyber Intelligence Sharing and Protection Act (CISPA) set to be considered by the House this week “Big Brother writ large.” That’s as 18 Democratic lawmakers wrote the sponsors of the bill, asking them to “address real and serious privacy concerns voiced by Americans, privacy advocacy groups, and colleagues in Congress.” HR-3523 will put “the resources of the private industry to work for the nefarious purpose of spying on the American people,” Paul said (http://xrl.us/bm4xu3). Calling CISPA the “new SOPA,” the Stop Online Piracy Act that was derailed in the face of strong opposition, Paul said CISPA is the “latest assault” on Internet freedom, “an Internet monitoring bill that permits both the federal government and private companies to view your private online communications with no judicial oversight -- provided of course if they do so in the name ‘cybersecurity.'” He said people should call their lawmakers and “urge them to oppose CISPA and similar bills that attack Internet freedom.” Meanwhile, House Homeland Security Committee Ranking Member Bennie Thompson, D-Miss., and 17 of his party colleagues wrote House Select Committee on Intelligence Chairman Mike Rogers, R-Mich., and Ranking Member Dutch Ruppersberger, D-Md., saying the manager’s amendment that they were developing should address the “real and serious” privacy concerns raised by lawmakers, privacy groups and others. Saying the bill lacks “necessary safeguards,” they said the “broad and ambiguous” language of CISPA raises “serious concerns” about what information relating to Internet activity would be shared, who in the federal government, including the intelligence community, would have access to the information, and the “purpose and manner in which that information will be used.” Without specific limitations, the measure would, for the first time, provide non-civilian federal agencies such as the National Security Agency “unfettered access to information about Americans’ Internet activities and allow those agencies to use that information for virtually any purpose,” the 18 lawmakers said (http://xrl.us/bm4xvh). Rep. Adam Schiff, D-Calif., separately said he'd offer an amendment to CISPA that would add privacy language minimizing the “collection of publicly identifiable information.” Information sharing procedures would have to be reviewed and approved by the U.S. attorney general. The language also would limit the purposes for which a federal agency could use cybersecurity information. However, three industry groups urged passage of CISPA and three other bills, saying “cybersecurity policy needs to be flexible and adaptable, given the difficulty of predicting the manner and means by which network providers will have to respond to cybersecurity threats.” The NCTA, CTIA and USTelecom in a joint letter to House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio, and Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., said the government should rely on industry “best practices to establish appropriate cybersecurity measures rather than impose prescriptive rules.” The groups also urged passage of HR-3834, the Advancing America’s Networking and Information Technology Research and Development Act; HR-2096, the Cybersecurity Enhancement Act; and HR-4257, the Federal Information Security Amendments Act.
The State Department renewed the charter for two years of a panel on international communications and information policy issues. The Advisory Committee on International Communications and Information Policy is comprised of communications and information technology “policy specialists” from U.S. telecom companies, associations, “policy institutions” and universities, said a notice to be published in Wednesday’s Federal Register.
The Hartford Public Library seeks a waiver of the deadline to file FCC Form 471, used to request discounts from the Universal Service Administrative Co.’s Schools and Libraries Division (http://xrl.us/bm4vhz). The rural Michigan public library said its application is complete “but was filed a day late due to special circumstances."
Government agencies must fully assess the potential impact that export control list reforms may have on compliance activities, the GAO said in a report Monday. It addressed reform of defense exports by the State Department and dual-use exports regulated by the Commerce Department. It follows a review from the State and Defense departments that recommended relaxing export restrictions on some satellites and their components (CD April 19 p7). Under the reforms, fewer items may require export licenses, “thereby reducing uncertainty as to whether export sales will be approved,” the report said. Some agency officials pointed out potential risks, like “an increased need for more end-use checks and the loss of information from reviewing exports through the licensing process prior to export."
The FCC wants to extend the Disaster Information Reporting System to include interconnected VoIP and broadband ISPs, said a notice published Monday in the Federal Register (http://xrl.us/bm4vg6). The agency is seeking approval from the Office of Management and Budget for the additional voluntary information collection, which it expects will take around 40 minutes per response. “Increasing numbers of consumers, businesses, and government agencies rely on broadband and interconnected VoIP services for everyday and emergency communications needs, including vital 9-1-1 services,” the FCC wrote, arguing it’s “imperative” DIRS be expanded to include these new technologies. DIRS lets telecom providers electronically inform the commission of damage to communications infrastructure, and request resources for restoration. Comments are due May 23 in OMB control number 3060-1003.
Tribune said it made a strategic investment of an undisclosed size in Journatic LLC, a company that provides local content to media companies and advertisers.
AT&T wants to include all the new mandatory consumer certifications on a single Lifeline application form, but needs to know what mandatory language to include, the company and USTelecom told an FCC Wireline Bureau official Wednesday (http://xrl.us/bm4vgh). “The longer it takes for Lifeline providers to obtain this mandatory language from USAC or the FCC, the less likely it is that these providers will be able to use a single Lifeline application form on June 1,” they wrote. The company and association expressed concern that some states that currently perform Lifeline eligibility determination on behalf of providers in their states might not meet the June 1 deadline to bring their processes into compliance with the FCC’s new eligibility rules.
Small cable systems that don’t have broadband access at their headend facilities should get a pass on emergency alert system (EAS) rule compliance, the American Cable Association said. The ACA asked the commission to set up a streamlined waiver process for such cable operators, in a petition for reconsideration (http://xrl.us/bm4vem). The group, which has small cable operators among its members, had asked that such small and remote systems be exempt from a recent FCC EAS order. The FCC didn’t grant a broad exemption but said it would review waivers on a case-by-case basis (CD Jan 12 p8). A streamlined waiver process for such cable systems with fewer than 501 subscribers could save them money and time preparing individual waivers, ACA said. “The cost to seek a waiver might exceed the construction costs from which these small system operators seek relief, and expecting operators of these small systems to renew their waivers every six month further adds to the overall cost."
It’s important for the FCC to correct some data input “errors” in the regression analysis impact calculations for West River Telephone and Kennebec Telephone, wrote both of South Dakota’s Senators and South Dakota’s House member on Friday (http://xrl.us/bm4vdv). “While the individual errors and support reductions for these companies may appear insignificant in relation to the overall FCC analysis, the loss of over $500,000 is significant to these companies.” Both companies stand to lose their USF support due to the incorrect data inputs, said Sens. John Thune, R, Tim Johnson, D, and Rep. Kristi Noem, R.