Google urged the FCC to adopt an incumbent-informing capability framework for the 3.45 GHz band and extend it into the adjacent citizens broadband radio service band, in a conversation with an aide to Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel. “We also urged expeditious, evidentiary-based action by the Commission to make 60 GHz regulations more flexible for innovative, unlicensed, low-power radar applications,” said a filing, posted Friday in docket 15-319.
The FCC Media Bureau wants to refresh the record on requiring electronics manufacturers and MVPDs to make closed caption display settings “readily accessible,” said a public notice Monday on docket 12-108. A 2015 further NPRM sought comment but didn’t lead to action. The call for a refreshed record is a response to comments in other accessibility dockets suggesting “issues persist” and on “the discoverability and ease of use challenges” at a recent FCC forum (see 2112020075), the PN said. It's seeking comment on requiring the settings controlling how captions are displayed to be easy to access, and the extent of authority to do so under the 1990 Television Decoder Circuitry Act. The PN asks which entities should be responsible for compliance and whether “both manufacturers and MVPDs should be obligated to facilitate the ability of consumers to locate and control closed captioning display settings?” Comments are due 30 days after Federal Register publication, replies in 15 more days.
The FCC should act on wireless multichannel audio systems rules, teed up in an April NPRM (see 2104220056), including for unlicensed operations, Shure told Office of Engineering and Technology staff. Shure presented results of a new survey by the Professional Audio Manufacturers Association, which found 94% of organizations usually use fewer than 50 mics and aren’t eligible for a license under Part 74 rules. “There are many professional users operating on an unlicensed basis -- Part 74 licensees are far from the only professionals in this domain,” said a filing posted Friday in docket 21-115. “It underscores the importance of permitting unlicensed wireless microphone users to use WMAS devices if there is to be a viable market for WMAS operations.”
The FTC should issue a rule banning “surveillance advertising” as an “unfair method of competition,” Accountable Tech said in a petition filed with the agency Monday. The FTC voted in September to allow the public to petition the agency to issue rulemakings (see 2109150061). Comments on the Accountable Tech petition are due Jan. 26. Accountable Tech cited what it called the anticompetitive practices of platforms like Google, Facebook and Amazon involving targeted advertising. These “giants” have grown “lucrative empires by tracking users” across platforms and third-parties and are “building comprehensive data profiles in order to micro-target audiences with more and more invasive ads,” the filing said. Dominant companies can “unfairly extract and monetize more user data, unfairly integrate that data across business lines and actively suppress competition,” the filing said. Digital ads are a major reason consumers are able to access free online content, emailed Hinch Newman's Richard Newman: “Overly broad restrictions on customized advertising could potentially act as a sledgehammer that both deprives consumers of meaningful choices as well as the ability to access a broad range of online content.” The companies didn’t comment. The agency declined to comment.
The FCC Media Bureau granted iHeartMedia’s request for permission to be up to 14.99% foreign-owned, said a declaratory ruling Wednesday in docket 21-141. The Committee for the Assessment of Foreign Participation in the U.S. Telecom Services Sector gave iHeart’s request the nod in October. The radio broadcaster’s ownership request was triggered by the discovery that Bahamas and U.K.-based investor Global Media & Entertainment Investment had increased its stake. GMEI asked the FCC to allow it to own an even larger share of iHeart over iHeart’s objections but withdrew that request in November (see 2111040057). That left iHeart’s request unopposed, the Media Bureau said. The approval is subject to conditions requested by the foreign-ownership committee that are standard for broadcasters requesting such approvals, including a requirement to notify DOJ about collection of personal data.
The FTC ordered an online advertising platform to pay $2 million to settle allegations the company “collected personal information from children under 13 without parental consent.” OpenX Technologies violated the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act Rule when it knew it was reviewing hundreds of child-directed applications and collected personal information of children under 13, the agency said. Commissioners voted 4-0 to approve the order. Commissioner Noah Phillips highlighted some “areas of concern,” in a concurrence. There’s no “obvious reason” to require OpenX to provide notice to its clients about the data allegations other than to “perhaps further penalize OpenX,” he said. He noted the FTC sought $7.5 million from OpenX in its stipulated order but settled for $2 million due to its inability to pay. “OpenX secretly collected location data and opened the door to privacy violations on a massive scale, including against children,” said Consumer Protection Bureau Director Samuel Levine Wednesday. An attorney for the company didn’t comment Thursday.
The Build Back Better Act would grant the FTC “unprecedented and unjustified” broad civil penalty authority under FTC Act Section 5, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and some 85 organizations wrote the Senate Wednesday. The letter references HR-5376's sections 31501 and 31502, which would fund a new FTC data privacy and security bureau (see 2111190042). The new civil penalty authority would “constitute a major policy shift in FTC enforcement authority that erodes due process and will impose significant new costs on companies that are acting in good faith when serving consumers,” they wrote. Retail, advertising and business groups signed the letter. The Chamber has been critical of policy changes under FTC Chair Lina Khan (see 2112030042). The agency didn’t comment. Groups signing the letter are funded by some of the largest monopolies, including Amazon, Google and Facebook, said Sarah Miller, executive director of the American Economic Liberties Project, in a statement: “Big Tech and giant corporations got used to being above the law and now they want to keep it that way. Democrats in the Senate must join Chair Lina Khan in standing up to these blatant efforts to undermine law enforcement.”
The FTC is considering issuing an FTC Act Section 18 rulemaking to limit privacy abuses and ensure “algorithmic decision-making” doesn’t result in “unlawful discrimination,” OMB said. This came in the commission’s annual regulatory priorities submission to OMB, which recently published the submissions. “Algorithms are used everywhere, and their malicious use causes real harm to Americans every day,” Sen. Brian Schatz, D-Hawaii, said in a statement. He said he was glad to see Chair Lina Khan and the agency "take this step to crack down on companies using discriminatory algorithms.”
Italian antitrust regulators fined Amazon the U.S. equivalent of about $1.3 billion Thursday for harming competitors in the e-commerce logistics services market. The Italian Competition Authority said Amazon harmed competitors by forcing third-party sellers to use its logistics service. The regulator imposed behavioral remedies: “Amazon will have to grant sales benefits and visibility on Amazon.it to all third-party sellers which are able to comply with fair and non-discriminatory standards for the fulfilment of their orders.” Amazon "strongly" disagrees with the decision, and "we will appeal," a spokesperson emailed. "The proposed fine and remedies are unjustified and disproportionate." Small and medium-sized businesses have multiple channels to sell products online and offline, the company said: "We constantly invest to support the growth of the 18,000 Italian SMBs that sell on Amazon."
European and U.S. competition agencies will share information to maximize efforts to enforce antitrust laws and regulate digital markets, officials from both regions said Tuesday. FTC Chair Lina Khan, DOJ Antitrust Division Chief Jonathan Kanter and European Commission Executive Vice President Margrethe Vestager issued the statement at the EU-U.S. Joint Technology Competition Policy Dialogue. The collaborative effort will include “sharing insights and experience with an aim towards coordinating as much as possible on policy and enforcement,” they said: Agencies will “explore new ways to facilitate coordination and knowledge and information exchanges to ensure that enforcement authorities are sufficiently equipped to address new challenges together.”