Comments on privacy to NTIA show “urgency, and a desire for American leadership” there, and that a “patchwork regulatory landscape” won’t work, Administrator David Redl said Tuesday at Mobile World Congress in Barcelona. “We want to build consensus around a fundamentally American approach to privacy, built on the same bedrock principles that so many nations share,” Redl said. “We’ve been talking with dozens of stakeholders to better understand what the problems are, what we can agree upon, and how we can move forward.” The model must ensure people trust technology that's part of their lives, he said. Privacy and prosperity are both possible, he said. “Focusing on risks and outcomes is preferred to notice-and-consent approaches,” Redl said. “Few consumers bother to read long legal notices -- and it’s our view that giant compliance departments aren’t going to lead to better privacy outcomes for consumers. We don’t want companies creating checkboxes and regulators critiquing web design.” Redl touched indirectly on who will be allowed to provide telecom network equipment in the U.S. (see 1902260019). The administration is considering rules against equipment by Chinese providers (see 1902220066). Booths at MWC show many options for 5G equipment, he said. “When network operators around the world are deciding which equipment they’re going to use, their first thought should be: Do I value my customers’ privacy and data security?” Redl said: “Our four largest wireless carriers have clearly answered affirmatively.”
FTC Commissioner Rohit Chopra warned Congress against “deleting” state privacy laws with a pre-emptive federal standard. Regulations at risk include Illinois’ biometric privacy law, Vermont’s data broker law and California’s new privacy law (see 1902250067), Chopra said Monday. He cited findings from then-Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan (D) claiming the “majority of State Attorneys General have publicly opposed preemption of state data breach laws.” He argued federal pre-emption of state predatory lending laws “allowed some of the worst financial industry abuses to spread, making the foreclosure crisis even worse.” Congress should enact pre-emptive federal privacy legislation, TechNet said Monday, unveiling “pro-innovation” principles. The new federal standard should provide more data control to consumers, increase industry transparency and grant the FTC proper resources, TechNet said. CEO Linda Moore cited the need for a federal law with 16 states considering laws.
The FTC should “review in detail” a recent complaint alleging Facebook improperly targeted children for in-game purchases (see 1902210038), Sens. Ed Markey, D-Mass., and Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., said Thursday. The company’s response to a January letter from the lawmakers on child manipulation was “inadequate,” the legislators said. Friday, the platform didn’t comment and the agency confirmed it received the complaint.
Facebook will brief House Democrats who aired concerns about alleged exposure of users’ personal health information (see 1902190058). Facebook isn’t an anonymous platform, and it centers around real-name identity, a spokesperson emailed. Group access to user information is “intentionally clear,” the company said: “There is value in being able to know who you’re having a conversation with in a group, and we look forward to briefing the committee on this.”
The U.S. solicitor general urged the Supreme Court to affirm an appellate court ruling that a litigant in a private junk fax lawsuit can't attack validity of an FCC order that could have been challenged under the Hobbs Act when issued. "Such collateral attacks would undermine the interests of the United States and regulated parties in conclusively determining the validity of covered agency actions," said an SG/DOJ brief joined by the FCC and posted Friday, in PDR Network v. Carlton & Harris Chiropractic, No. 17-1705. PDR argued a 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals Hobbes Act ruling stripped a district court of jurisdiction to review an FCC "unsolicited advertisement" decision under the Telephone Consumer Protect Act (see 1901090045). Carlton & Harris, which sued PDR after receiving its fax advertising a digital version of a physician's reference book, filed its brief Feb. 7 urging the high court to dismiss the case or affirm the 4th Circuit ruling. Business interests and others filed amicus briefs in the docket, including the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, which backed broad rights to contest FCC TCPA decisions (see 1901160030).
Privacy legislation is a growing focus in states beyond California, especially in light of the EU general data protection regulation (see 1901100018), said Abbie Gruwell, National Conference of State Legislatures policy director, at an FCBA lunch Wednesday. Connecticut, Delaware, Nevada and Oregon have approved similar laws giving people more control of how their data is used, she said. Lots of legislators are asking about how data brokers work “and how they can be regulated,” Gruwell said: “Disclosure is a good first step.” Among other trends is legislation on wiretapping, location data and biometric data, Gruwell said: States “are trying to keep up with technology.” They're moving away from regulating data use by specific industries to “overarching data-privacy laws,” but “nobody else has come close to California yet,” she said. Many of the state telecom bills this year are focusing on small cells, said Angelina Panettieri, National League of Cities principal associate-technology and communications. Some of the legislation is “interesting,” she said. In Mississippi, one bill would allow public utilities and rural co-ops to offer broadband, she said: “They sort of moved further towards the center of pre-emption.” Maryland has two small-cell bills, one endorsed by industry and chambers of commerce and the other by municipal groups, she said. “We’re still waiting to see what’s happening there.” Bethanne Cooley, CTIA senior director-state legislative affairs, highlighted legislation aimed at speeding siting of small cells and cutting deployment costs. Estimates are industry will need more than 800,000 small cells in the next few years, Cooley said. “If we’re paying $100,000-plus per small cell, we’re never going to get to 5G and we are in a race,” she said. So far, 21 states have passed pro-industry bills, she said. Small-cell measures are alive in five states with about “a half dozen” more to come during the 2019 session, she said. “All bills are different,” she said. CTIA is telling the states that despite work the FCC is doing on siting, and an FCC shot clock, they need to pass their own legislation, Cooley said.
Josh.ai scene-based integration with Savant Systems keeps data local rather than communicating commands to the cloud, unlike mainstream smart speakers, CEO Alex Capecelatro told us. “We hear all these stories about getting ads served based on the ads that are given,” said the executive: “We keep things local, we never sell data, we never target ads." With a client roster including celebrities and CEOs, “We want to make sure they can trust the system,” he said. One Josh feature deletes a command after it’s given to give users the assurance that “nothing is tracked,” he said. The Savant integration is the first step toward a full-native integration similar to ones the voice control company has coming out later this year with Crestron and Control4. Scene-based control limitations are the required exact commands to trigger an event, said Capecelatro.
The U.S. Chamber of Commerce is the latest to suggest legislation seeking a federal privacy law (see 1902130058), saying "that would protect consumers and eliminate a confusing patchwork of state laws." After working "with nearly 200 organizations" on this, it recommends the FTC enforce such a law. The agency could "impose civil penalties on businesses that violate transparency, opt-out, or data deletion provisions" under FTC Act Section 5, the Chamber said Wednesday. The group doesn't "discuss its members, but we worked with organizations of all sizes -- small, medium, and large businesses -- and from various sectors, such as retail, telecommunications, transportation, healthcare, financial services, and the insurance industry." So emailed a spokesperson when asked to identify those it worked with on the plan and say whether they back the proposal. Among others with proposals are BSA| The Software Alliance, the Center for Democracy & Technology, Cisco and Information Technology and Innovation Foundation. Software & Information Industry Association Senior Vice President-Public Policy Mark MacCarthy said the Chamber's plan "is a productive step forward as Congress considers new national privacy legislation." The proposal "has more holes than Swiss cheese. In fact, it's almost all hole and no cheese," tweeted Omer Tene, International Association of Privacy Professionals chief knowledge officer. "If this reflects industry/civil society negotiations, businesses should quickly pivot to prep for #CCPA. 10 months to go." The 2018 California Consumer Privacy Act will be enforced from Jan. 1 (see 1902010015).
The FCC Consumer and Governmental Affairs Bureau Tuesday sought comment on a NorthStar Alarm Services petition seeking Telephone Consumer Protection Act clarity. The company asked the commission to clarify that “calls using recorded audio clips specifically selected and presented by a human operator in real-time, a tool generally referred to as ‘soundboard technology,’ do not deliver a ‘prerecorded message’” under the TCPA, the bureau said. Comments are due March 15, replies March 29 in docket 02-278.
Congress should develop a law that recognizes privacy as a “fundamental human right,” Cisco said Thursday. CEO Chuck Robbins called for a global standard that allows “ethical movement” of data among countries. U.S. law should ensure customers that “enforcement of privacy rights will be robust without costly and unnecessary litigation,” Cisco said.