CTIA, NCTA and USTelecom seek "broad safe harbor that promotes voice service providers' good-faith efforts to combat abusive robocalls" (see 1908260021). They met with staff from the FCC Wireline and Consumer Affairs bureaus Wednesday, said a letter posted Monday in docket 17-97. Comcast said about 14.25 percent of calls originating on other voice providers' networks and bound for its residential subscribers had end-to-end call authentication, known as secure handling of asserted information using tokens (Shaken) and secure telephone identity revisited (Stir).
Governments should quicken their pace to increase tech regulation, Microsoft President Brad Smith said during an interview with C-SPAN's The Communicators, to have been televised this weekend. A strong federal privacy law is vital, but a global solution is best, he said, noting Microsoft is “pretty enthusiastic” about EU’s general data protection regulation. “Digital technology has gone longer with less regulation than almost any technology since the middle of the 1800s,” he said. “The market, consumers and even the industry itself would be better served for the long term with a different balance.” He noted the importance of data centers and Ireland, which he said is to data what Switzerland is to money. Ireland is a safe place with mild temperatures for data centers and a network of laws for protecting privacy and moving data, he said, noting about 35 percent of European data is stored in Ireland. Microsoft has more than 100 data centers in 20 countries, he said. It’s becoming the largest consumer of electricity in the world, the executive said. The weaponization of data starts with hacking by political states waging disinformation campaigns, Smith said, noting Microsoft spends $1 billion yearly on security.
Apple emphasized privacy Thursday in the U.S. launch of redesigned Maps. The app is “deeply integrated” into apps customers use daily, said the company, and with the iPhone, iPad, Mac and Apple Watch. No sign-in is required and it’s not connected to an Apple ID, said the company. Personalized features, such as suggesting departure time to make the next appointment, use on-device intelligence, it said. Data collected are associated with random identifiers that continually reset. Through “fuzzing,” Maps obscures a user’s location on Apple servers. Flight and transit details are among many features.
FCC Commissioner Geoffrey Starks’ chief concerns with the shift to ATSC 3.0 are the data privacy and security implications, he told the NAB joint board annual meeting. NEXTGEN TV’s features rely on consumer data collected by broadcasters and device makers, he said Monday, in remarks released the next day. “How will that data be kept secure? How will it be stored, anonymized, or sold? How will consumers be fully aware of what data are being collected and how it is being used?” There’s “an ever growing mountain” of evidence on the negative outcomes from artificial intelligence systems using algorithms to sift data and exhibiting biases for certain demographics, Starks said. “Widen your aperture to be aware of and conscientiously think through complex issues involving data and privacy that are going to dominate our shared future,” he told NAB.
One hundred companies participated in efforts to investigate illegal robocalls, and more "are explicitly requiring traceback cooperation as a condition of their contracts with other carriers," USTelecom said Tuesday, releasing the Industry Traceback Group's first progress report. ITG added Twilio, U.S. Cellular, XCast Labs and Voxology.
The FCC Wireline and Consumer bureaus want comments by Feb. 24, replies March 9, on a technical document for a reassigned numbers database to help telemarketers determine when numbers from previous customers have been reassigned so they can help avoid making unwanted calls, said a public notice Friday on docket 17-59. The North American Numbering Council met earlier this month to approve the technical requirements for the database (see 2001130045).
Lawmakers introduced legislation to end the intelligence community call detail records program (see 1911120042). Sens. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., and Steve Daines, R-Mont., and Reps. Zoe Lofgren, D-Calif.; Warren Davidson, R-Ohio; and Pramila Jayapal, D-Wash., introduced the Safeguarding Americans’ Private Records Act. It would permanently end USA Patriot Act Section 215. The bill would ban “warrantless collection of geolocation information by intelligence agencies.” It would allow attorneys “access to all documents, records and proceedings of Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court, to provide more oversight and transparency.”
The FCC Consumer Advisory Committee is expected to consider a Robocall Report Working Group recommendation Feb. 13 on gathering data and data sources about availability and effectiveness of call-blocking tools (see 1906060056), said a public notice in Wednesday's Daily Digest. CAC meets 2 p.m. in the Commission Meeting Room.
Washington state House members shared a plethora of questions Wednesday about the Senate’s proposed privacy bill, especially on enforcement and facial recognition. “This bill is not yet scheduled for executive session, so we have some time to work on it,” said Innovation, Technology and Economic Development Committee Chairman Zack Hudgins (D), concluding the hearing livestreamed from Olympia. “I have a list of about 20 items that I heard come up over and over again that we need to look at.” Members may not “love every word,” but the bill’s basic concepts are important, said Rep. Shelley Kloba (D), sponsor of the bill’s House version (HB-2742). Rep. Norma Smith, the committee’s ranking Republican, asked Microsoft Senior Director-Public Policy Ryan Harkins to explain why the company doesn’t support a private right of action here even though Microsoft Corporate Vice President Julie Brill seemed to support a limited such right at a recent U.S. Senate Commerce Committee hearing (see 1912040045). Hudgins said he had the same question, but citing time constraints, told Harkins and other witnesses to answer members’ questions later in writing. Witnesses raised concerns about the bill instead opting for enforcement by the state attorney general. Hudgins sees a “spectrum” of enforcement options, not a “binary” choice. Smith asked the Washington State Association for Justice if it has suggestions to trim the exemptions list, which she said exceed the pages devoted to consumer rights. Kloba asked Consumer Reports Policy Analyst Maureen Mahoney for more detail on her comment that there’s widespread noncompliance with the California Consumer Privacy Act. Members asked academic witnesses to get back to them about facial recognition queries. Smith asked how the bill would apply online, since it deals mainly with use on physical premises. Rep. Gael Tarleton (D) asked for more on how individuals use that technology. Rep. Vandana Slatter (D) asked about a facial recognition moratorium sought by the American Civil Liberties Union and others, including how long it would last and if studies would continue. The hearing was "to begin the discussion on the policy and to recognize the positive work done over the interim, ahead of the bill being voted out of the Senate," Hudgins emailed stakeholders Tuesday. "The legislature has less than half the time this short session to keep up with the rapid and evolving discussion on privacy. I hope to be a 'fast follower' of the Senate discussion so as to accelerate progress in the House." He and Smith told us the chambers remain at loggerheads (see 2001170021).
The Supreme Court denied Facebook certiorari Tuesday in a class-action lawsuit claiming its face-scanning technology violates Illinois privacy law. TechFreedom and Consumer Data Industry Association urged the court to strike down the suit, in Facebook v. Nimesh Patel et al., No. 19-706 (see 2001060012). The company declined to comment.