Some email providers are taking small steps to improve their security by offering better encryption services amid revelations about National Security Agency surveillance practices, experts with several Washington advocacy groups told us. Following new revelations early this week, Yahoo said it will make Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) encryption standard for all users starting Jan. 8 (http://bit.ly/1bWY1Fm). That announcement is overdue, and other email providers aren’t doing enough, experts said. Our informal survey found ISPs show wide disparity in the levels of encryption available to users.

Lawyers, developers and researchers have had to find alternate sources or delay work until the government reopens because several key government websites are down or not updating, said people who rely on government websites to do business. With the FCC website inaccessible, lawyers have had a significant disruption in business, several attorneys told us. And pulling down the FTC’s site has made it hard for those who use it for regulation compliance information, an industry association representative told us.

Massachusetts wireless deregulation is needed to spur innovation and continue to grow the state economy, service providers told us in interviews. House Bill 2930 (http://1.usa.gov/19Sq0EC) would take away the Massachusetts Department of Telecommunications and Cable’s jurisdictional control over wireless services. The deregulation would occur only in municipalities that do not have more than two service providers. It would not affect state consumer protection laws, enhanced 911 service and the DTC’s authority to administer the federal Lifeline and Link-Up programs or the Connect America Fund.

The National Institute of Standards and Technology’s planned release of a preliminary version of the Cybersecurity Framework was put on hold by the government shutdown. Industry observers told us they anticipate the agency will be able to release the new version soon after it reopens after the shutdown ends. Although the shutdown furloughed all but 8 percent of NIST’s staff, the framework is seen to be one of the components of President Barack Obama’s cybersecurity executive order least affected by the shutdown (CD Oct 9 p7). The order had mandated NIST release the preliminary framework for public comment by Oct. 10. The Department of Commerce, which oversees the agency, said in a statement it will “reevaluate the release date when government operations are fully restored.” Industry observers said they anticipate the preliminary framework will not be fundamentally different from a draft NIST released prior to a framework development workshop in September.

Organizations hoping to apply for a low-power FM station license when the filing window opens have found resources outside the FCC to aid them in the weeks the agency has been shut down, they said. Applicants said they aren’t able to access the website for the window, which, until the government shutdown occurred, was set to open Tuesday. Some organizations are ready to file a complete, accurate application as soon as the FCC re-opens, while others said blocked access has prevented them from obtaining information necessary for preparing their applications. The shutdown had canceled the agency’s LPFM webinar earlier this month, and the lack of the commission’s online tools was causing applicants problems (CD Oct 4 p2).

Utility companies want to work with public safety to build FirstNet, but need certainty and could turn elsewhere if the network takes too long to construct, said Brett Kilbourne, vice president of the Utilities Telecom Council, on a Broadband Breakfast webinar Tuesday. Building FirstNet will be comparable to building the first Transcontinental Railroad, will take at least 10 years to complete and will cost some $20 billion, predicted Bill Vallee, Connecticut’s broadband policy coordinator.

The most-pirated movies aren’t available for lawful viewing online, said George Mason University’s Mercatus Center. Senior Research Fellow Jerry Brito jumped into an ongoing debate between search engines and content owners, saying in a statement Tuesday that “despite what the content industry might like to see, search engines are just telling it like it is.” The MPAA criticized the study’s premise and its data.

The FCC under Chairman nominee Tom Wheeler should make it a point soon after Wheeler and Michael O'Rielly are sworn in to lay out its view of how competition should be regulated, said ex-Chairman Reed Hundt during a Technology Policy Institute panel Tuesday. “Adopting a fundamental competition policy is one of the first orders of business for the new commission.” In a paper (http://stanford.io/16KZBGr) referenced repeatedly at the event, he said the FCC should let the market work, but be ready to step in with regulation to address bottlenecks and protect competition as needed (CD Sept 30 p11). AT&T Senior Executive Vice President Jim Cicconi said the commission should focus instead on large communications policy projects like the IP transition and the incentive auction. “Where I get nervous is when the FCC tries to operate like a mini antitrust agency,” said Cicconi. “They're not the expert agency when it comes to antitrust and competition."

A warrantless cellphone tracking case heard by the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court (SJC) last week could have repercussions for future legislation on privacy in the state, said privacy lawyers and stakeholders in interviews. The amicus briefs and oral argument raised questions on how the third-party doctrine has allowed government entities to get access to more personal information and how technologies have changed over the years. If the SJC ruled to restrict warrantless cellphone tracking, it would be the second state to interpret the Fourth Amendment to enhance privacy protections, said Jessie Rossman, ACLU Massachusetts staff attorney.

U.S. phone surveillance received another green light, as key lawmakers remain divided on the best ways to move forward with the program. Multiple Democrats and Republicans in both houses of Congress have expressed intentions to end the bulk collection of phone metadata, a push expected to gain momentum once the government shutdown ends. The Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court also gave the leadership of the Senate Judiciary Committee more information about how the court handles government requests for surveillance authority, saying the FISC often significantly tweaks them.