The FCC Office of Engineering and Technology opened a new docket Friday, 22-137, for filings on the draft notice of inquiry on receiver performance teed up for the April 21 FCC meeting (see 2203310065).

Airline passengers with Arizona driver’s licenses or driver IDs can add a digital version of their credentials to Apple Wallet for display on an iPhone or Apple Watch to speed their way through airport security checkpoints at Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport, said the Transportation Safety Administration Wednesday. The new capability will be available initially only at Sky Harbor for TSA PreCheck passengers from Arizona, it said. TSA expects Sky Harbor to be “the first of many airports this year to feature this innovation,” it said.

The FTC and DOJ will host a series of listening sessions about the effects of mergers and acquisitions through May 12, the FTC announced Thursday. The agencies will host a session on media and entertainment April 27 and another on technology May 12. The first two sessions will be on agriculture and healthcare. FTC Chair Lina Khan and DOJ Antitrust Division Chief Jonathan Kanter will give opening remarks and attend each event with staff. The sessions tie into the agencies’ review of merger guidelines (see 2203100069).

The FTC and DOJ’s Antitrust Division will host an enforcers' summit April 4, the commission announced Thursday. FTC Chair Lina Khan, DOJ Antitrust Division Chief Jonathan Kanter and senior staff will discuss “modernizing merger guidelines and interagency collaboration,” the FTC said. The hybrid event will include in-person and virtual participation from international enforcers and state attorneys general. The agencies announced the joint merger guidelines review in January (see 2201180073).

EU officials agreed Wednesday to help keep Ukraine's telecom services operational and provide IT equipment to allow its government to continue functioning, the French Presidency announced. Telecom ministers urged private sector companies that can to provide the needed equipment. Officials also stepped up the fight against disinformation, saying online platforms, particularly social media companies, "have a decisive role to play in this area." All 27 EU countries urged tech companies to take additional voluntary actions to combat online disinformation and information manipulation. They also noted that while the telecommunications sector is one of the most advanced in cyberthreat preparedness, the Body of European Regulators for Electronic Communications and the EU Agency for Cybersecurity should identify the risks jeopardizing communications networks and infrastructure and determine how to make them more resilient. Officials also agreed to accelerate work on revising the network and information security directive. Meanwhile, the European Parliament published a report that criticized the bloc for its "general lack of awareness of the severity of foreign interference and information manipulation, overwhelmingly carried out by Russia and China," which is "exacerbated by loopholes in legislation and insufficient coordination" among EU members.

The FTC is seeking comment on a petition asking for more stringent requirements for FTC commissioner recusals and material conflicts of interest, says a notice for Thursday’s Federal Register. It could result in a higher likelihood of recusal for commissioners based on their backgrounds and prior work history. Industry groups sought the recusal of Chair Lina Khan in high-profile tech matters (see 2201110071). The FTC’s rule for commissioner disqualification should be amended to apply to enforcement proceedings and include specific procedures on time to respond to petitions, NetChoice, Americans for Prosperity, R Street Institute and several groups wrote the agency. The Hispanic Leadership Fund, the Innovation Economy Institute, the Institute for Policy Innovation, the James Madison Institute, the National Taxpayers Union and Young Voices signed. The rule should include review by the FTC ethics official and commissioners as well as “standards for determining recusal,” the petition says. Comments are due April 4.

Two California VoIP providers must turn over information the FTC is seeking in investigations about potentially illegal robocalls, the agency announced Monday. The companies can be held in contempt if they don’t comply. The U.S. District Court in Los Angeles ordered XCastLabs to comply with a civil investigative demand (CID), but the company delivered only a “small fraction of the required information” in February, the FTC said. A federal judge is compelling compliance. The U.S. District Court in San Diego ordered the production of similar information from Deltracon, based on a CID issued in January. Deltracon has since turned over the required information, the FTC said. XCastLabs complied with the court’s order and has been “been fully responsive” to the FTC’s CID, a spokesperson emailed. The agency sought documents the company doesn’t possess, XCastLabs said, noting it’s not a call center or wireless carrier. Deltracon didn’t comment.

Anticipating finalization of the proposed rule from the Food and Drug Administration to create a category of over-the-counter hearing aids (see 2112060002), GN Hearing announced the Feb. 25 availability of hearing-enhancement earbuds under the Jabra brand. Citing the FDA’s proposed rule to introduce an OTC hearing aid category, GN Hearing CEO Gitte Aabo said Tuesday it will “allow greater access and more affordable hearing treatment options.” The Jabra Enhance Plus earbuds, for iPhones only, have advanced hearing technology for people with mild-to-moderate hearing loss, said the company. They will be sold in select hearing care clinics for $799, it said, noting professional services required by state laws, including hearing tests, aren’t included in the cost. Battery life is given as 10 hours. The earbuds have been 510(k)-cleared with the FDA under the self-fit hearing aid regulation, the company said.

FCC Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel named Dean Brenner, a former Qualcomm executive, as chairman of the FCC’s Technological Advisory Council, replacing longtime chairman Dennis Roberson. The focus will be on 6G, Rosenworcel said. The U.S. “must lead the world in advancing ambitious 6G research and development," she said Wednesday: "Maintaining our leadership in high-priority emerging technology requires careful planning and execution. There are signals that need our attention, from the need for more spectrum to the vulnerabilities of supply chains to the changing dynamics of global standards development.” The new TAC scheduled its first meeting online for 10 a.m. EST Feb. 28. The FCC rechartered the group for a two-year term in July and asked for nominations for membership. The agency said then the first meeting was likely in October (see 2107230039). The group last met a year ago. Other members of TAC will be included in upcoming communications personals sections of this publication.

It would be “unacceptable” for states to “cede the responsibility for protecting consumers” who use over-the-counter hearing aids “to the companies supplying the product,” a bipartisan group of 40 state attorneys general wrote the Food and Drug Administration Friday in the agency’s rulemaking to create a category of affordable OTC hearing aids for U.S. adults with mild to moderate hearing loss. Comments in the rulemaking were due Tuesday in docket FDA-2021-N-0555 (see 2112060002). “We must be allowed to continue with our traditional consumer protection role and we strongly encourage the FDA to make that clear in the final OTC Rule,” said the AGs. The proposed rule also is “inadequate” in the precautions to be taken against sales of OTC hearing aids to minors and contains “deficient labeling requirements,” they said. “Without these proper guardrails to protect consumers’ health, OTC hearing aids could result in hearing loss or other consumer harm. The FDA should mandate age verification processes to protect those under 18 and ensure proper labeling to make clear that OTC hearing aids are only for those with mild to moderate hearing loss.”