The FCC might act on business data services (BDS) regulation in April, though it could take longer, industry representatives told us this week. "They could act as soon as April," said one stakeholder. Asked about the speculation, an attorney emailed, "I also heard a rumor about April, but the FCC staff members I spoke to were noncommittal about timing. I would be a little surprised if they got it on the April meeting agenda." Asked about potential BDS action, another industry representative emailed: "Possibly in next several months, FCC releases NPRM to deregulate BDS." BT lobbied all three FCC commissioners against "precipitously writing rules" on BDS and technology transitions "that would kill competition" (see 1703060053). The FCC declined comment Tuesday.
The Communications, Security, Reliability and Interoperability Council (CISRIC) will meet March 15 at 1 p.m. in the FCC meeting room, said a commission public notice Monday.
A March 13 workshop on the post incentive auction transition will feature reviews of the procedures for filing applications for construction permits, procedures for receiving reverse auction winnings and reimbursements, and a Q&A with FCC staff, said a public notice released Monday by the Incentive Auction Task Force and the Media Bureau.
The Supreme Court decided not to hear the case of a transgender high school student who challenged a Virginia county school board over a policy that restricts bathroom access to individuals based on their biological sex. Dozens of major technology companies, including Apple and Microsoft, last week filed an amici brief supporting student Gavin Grimm against the Gloucester County School Board (see 1703020037). The high court, which had scheduled oral argument later this month, said it remanded the case to the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals for further consideration "in light of the guidance document issued by the Department of Education and Department of Justice on February 22." The departments withdrew guidance issued last year that required public schools to let transgender students use bathrooms based on their gender identity (see 1702230035). A district court upheld the school's bathroom policy, but the 4th Circuit overturned that decision last year.
The Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) is asking the FCC to reconsider a November order by the Consumer and Governmental Affairs Bureau rejecting a petition by the group for an exemption from the prior express consent requirement of the Telephone Consumer Protection Act for autodialed or prerecorded “mortgage servicing” calls to wireless phones (see 1611150046). MBA reported on meetings with aides with the three FCC commissioners to discuss its Dec. 15 application for review of the order. “As we discussed during our meeting, the Order was an inappropriate exercise of delegated authority because the Petition presented a novel legal issue of first impression deserving of full Commission consideration, not a minor or routine matter or one that is settled in nature for the Bureau to decide,” said a filing on one of the meetings, in docket 02-278. “For this reason alone, the Petition deserves full consideration by the Commission untainted by the Bureau’s hasty Order.”
BT pressed its concern about possible FCC business data service action. "BT urged caution against precipitously writing rules regarding BDS and technology transition that would kill competition and further expand and strengthen the dominance of incumbents, highlighting that caution, scrutiny and fresh data are in order in light of the rapid concentration taking place in the telecommunications industry," said its filings Monday in docket 05-25 on meetings with aides to Chairman Ajit Pai and Commissioner Mignon Clyburn (here and here). BT met earlier with an aide to Commissioner Mike O'Rielly (see 1703020048). In separate meetings with the Pai and Clyburn aides, Incompas discussed the status of BDS-related proceedings, according to filings (here and here)
New Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross quietly met with House Commerce aide David Redl, most likely to discuss picking Redl as next NTIA administrator, industry officials said Monday. Redl is viewed as a top candidate for the post (see 1702240049) with support from industry and within the federal spectrum community. The industry officials said that doesn’t guarantee Redl will be named, but he's now the most likely candidate for the key communications position. Senate Commerce Committee Chairman John Thune, R-S.D., has made clear his support for David Quinalty, his communications aide, for the job (see 1703010071). “I would think that the administration would want to counter the criticisms that so many political positions remain unfilled,” a former NTIA official said. Ross was sworn in as secretary last week (see 1702280048). A department spokesman declined to comment. Redl didn't comment.
Acting FTC Chairman Maureen Ohlhausen should become permanent chair over Utah Attorney General Sean Reyes, said Technology Policy Institute President emeritus Thomas Lenard in an opinion piece Friday for Morning Consult. Lenard said it appears that Reyes (see 1702220046) is being considered for the post not just because he's an outsider but also because of his "desire" to reopen an FTC investigation closed in 2013 (see 1503260030) into Google's alleged anticompetitive behavior, citing The Wall Street Journal. "Choosing candidates because of their views on a specific company is not a good precedent for a law-enforcement agency that is supposed to make evidence-based decisions," said Lenard. He said it would "taint" Reyes if appointed because he'd be viewed as favoring some companies over others and any Google probe may be perceived as politically motivated. Lenard said most successful FTC chairmen such as James Miller, Timothy Muris and William Kovacic, all Republicans, have had Washington experience, and the president "could hardly do better than Ohlhausen.”
The FCC Consumer and Governmental Affairs Bureau gave Jewish community centers an emergency waiver Friday so they can trace bomb threats. The JCCs sought a waiver of 64.1601(b) of rules, “which prohibits terminating carriers from passing the calling party number (CPN) to a called party where a privacy indicator has been triggered by the caller,” a public notice said. “Access to the CPN could assist in identifying individuals placing threatening calls to those facilities.” Senate Minority Leader Charles Schumer, D-N.Y., sought action in a waiver request and an FCC spokesman had said Chairman Ajit Pai was "very concerned" about the threats (see 1703010065). Schumer indicated 69 threats have been made to 54 JCCs in 27 states since the beginning of 2017, the bureau said. “Given the exigent circumstances and number of recent threats cited, we separately grant, on an emergency and temporary basis, a waiver of section 64.1601(b) as applied to threatening calls made to JCC facilities,” the bureau said. “We seek comment herein on whether to extend that waiver on a permanent basis, including ways to best facilitate the ability of law enforcement to identify individuals making such threatening calls while maintaining the privacy of callers who utilize CPN blocking for lawful purposes.” Comments are due in docket 91-281 March 17, replies March 24. "I am pleased that we are taking quick action to address this issue and hope that this waiver will help Jewish Community Centers, telecommunications carriers, and law enforcement agencies track down the perpetrators of these crimes," Pai said in a statement. Schumer applauds "the FCC’s decision to grant a special waiver to targeted JCCs, which will help us track down and identify perpetrators making threatening calls that frighten communities and waste the precious resources of local law enforcement,” he responded. "Already, one suspect has been taken into custody and I am hopeful today’s decision will help catch and deter any future copycats. All communities and entities targeted by intimidation and fear deserve access to all of the tools needed to ensure these criminals are brought to justice."
The FCC imposes more costly information collection requirements on companies than do other agencies, and it doesn’t adequately monitor paperwork burdens its rules create, said Commissioner Mike O’Rielly in a blog post Friday. According to the Office of Management and Budget, “as of the end of February, the FCC has 423 active collections demanding 457,355,706 responses each year requiring a total of 73,200,049 hours to complete at a total cost of $798,204,803.” The agency with the next highest such cost is the Department of Agriculture with $397,848,225, O’Rielly said. “While I support data driven decision making and the need to ensure accountability, I have to question how much of this cost is truly justified,” O’Rielly said. “I’ve observed that every new FCC policy seems to require a brand new data collection.” The commission should act to remove paperwork burdens that it knows are duplicative or unnecessary, O’Rielly said. The FCC also should “complete a holistic data review” to determine which collections are needed or could be streamlined. “I am also troubled that the Commission does not currently track burdens by industry segment or even by size,” O’Rielly said. The Office of Communications Business Opportunities doesn’t track the paperwork burden on each type of small business regulated by the FCC, and that data should be tracked going forward, O’Rielly said. The FCC should also “enthusiastically embrace -- whether required to do so or voluntarily” a White House Executive Order that would create regulatory reform officers and task forces, O’Rielly said. “While seemingly repetitive of efforts already underway, it has some unique proprieties that could generate new reform ideas not considered or explored before.” The FCC "must be careful not to place undue burdens on companies whether in specific rulemakings, or as the product of cumulative Commission actions,” O'Rielly said.