The National Institute of Standards and Technology wants comment by Aug. 5 on its effort to identify and manage AI bias. NIST plans several virtual events on its proposal. The agency seeks to develop "voluntary, consensus-based standards" for managing AI bias and reducing the risk of "harmful outcomes that it can cause,” it said.
The FCC Enforcement Bureau wants comment by July 2 on selection of the industry-led robocall traceback consortium, said a public notice Thursday in docket 20-22. EB selected USTelecom as the registered traceback consortium in 2020 (see 2007270068). ZipDX submitted a letter of intent to be designated as the next registered consortium. The next consortium will be selected by Aug. 25.
An attempt to bundle Connecticut privacy rules into the state budget failed. The legislature sent the omnibus (SB-1202) to the governor Thursday after the House amended the bill Wednesday to strike privacy language similar to SB-893, a bill (see 2102250029) that didn’t pass before the legislature’s June 9 deadline.
A privacy measure under consideration in Connecticut “contains unworkable and inconsistent provisions and would substantially harm both businesses and consumers,” the Association of National Advertisers, American Advertising Federation, American Association of Advertising Agencies and Interactive Advertising Bureau wrote. Tuesday's letter was emailed to journalists Wednesday. The groups worry of rushing to passage of SB 1202 during a two-day special session, asking its provisions be removed from a budget rider.
The FCC Wireline Bureau directed the North American Numbering Council call authentication trust anchor working group to submit reports and suggest best practices on combating illegal robocalls, said a charge letter Tuesday. The first report, due Oct. 15, should include deployment of secure telephone identity revisited and signature-based handling of asserted information using tokens by small voice service providers "during the pendency of their extension from the Stir/Shaken implementation deadline," the letter said. The bureau asked NANC to identify barriers preventing small providers from implementing the Stir/Shaken framework and available technological solutions. The second report, due Feb. 15, should include best practices on how terminating voice service providers can protect subscribers using caller ID authentication information. By June 15, 2022, a document should include steps to encourage adoption of techniques by policymakers and providers in other countries to combat robocalls.
Telecom providers back USTelecom's robocall blocking petition for reconsideration (see 2105200074), in replies posted Tuesday in FCC docket 17-59. "Adopt a flexible approach to notification that would allow for, but not be limited to, returning specific [session initiation protocol] SIP codes when calls are blocked," CTIA said. "Rather than codifying unfinished standards work, the commission should defer to the ongoing, collaborative standards process." NCTA agreed and said the Jan. 1 implementation deadline "risks forcing providers to choose between offering consumers robust robocall mitigation tools or suspending such tools over concerns about compliance with return code mandates." Comments showed the "uncertain state of the standards" in the notification requirement, USTelecom said. An industry task force approval of industry standards is "at best, the beginning of the process," the telecom association said. Somos, the current toll-free numbering administrator and North American numbering plan administrator, echoed Lumen that there's "no value to notifying calling parties when their calls are blocked by analytic engines" (see 2106070051). Somos said calls blocked on the do not originate list shouldn't be included in notification to calling parties when such a call is blocked. Verizon said opposition to USTelecom's petition is based on "several flaws." The order on robocall blocking doesn't define what a legitimate caller or bad actor is, Verizon said, and "even some legal callers routinely take action to bypass blocking ... when they detect that their calls may have triggered blocking algorithms."
The FCC wants Privacy Act comment by July 16 on a matching agreement between the Universal Service Administrative Co. and the Tennessee Department of Human Services, says Wednesday's Federal Register. It lets officials verify eligibility of emergency broadband benefit program applicants beginning July 16 by determining whether applicants receive Medicaid or Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits. The FCC also wants comment by July 16 on a similar agreement with the Minnesota Department of Human Services, to Privacy@fcc.gov.
Facebook's oversight board will review company policy on sharing private residential information, it said Tuesday. The social media giant asked the panel for recommendations about its policy on privacy violations and image privacy rights, it said. The request noted potential harms linked to releasing personal information such as addresses, including “doxing” (releasing documents) for revenge or stalking. Facebook must send panel recommendations through its official policy development process and give regular updates; it must publicly respond and follow up on recommendations within 30 days of receiving them, the board said. It wants input by July 9 whether free speech is unduly restricted if Facebook bars users from sharing any private residential information; benefits and limitations of automated technologies in enforcing the policy; and how the company should treat private information about a public figure and how that should be defined.
The FCC concluded that education and outreach are the "best ways to facilitate voluntary adoption" of best practices issued by the commission's hospital robocall protection group, said a public notice in Monday's Daily Digest. The working group identified a "risk mitigation framework" for hospitals, voice service providers and governments to block and prevent suspected robocalls.
Third-party over-the-top video data is becoming harder to rely on and collect due to new privacy features enabling consumers to block advertising tracking, such as iPhone users’ ability to turn off personalized ads in iOS, a Parks Associates webinar was told Wednesday. Real-time data can be used to help retention for features such as statistics in sports programming and watch parties, said Verimatrix Product Management Director Sebastian Braun: That could be useful if wagering capability comes to TV. The webinar also heard about OTT churn (see 2106100048).