Expect the FCC to allow its Communications Decency Act Section 230 rulemaking proceeding to stagnate through the transition to President-elect Joe Biden's administration, experts said in interviews. It would be unwise to move forward without a clear majority and could create unnecessary work for staff, they said.
Democrats defended the record of Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., this week, after she announced she’s stepping down as top Democrat on the Senate Judiciary Committee (see personals section, Nov. 25). Dick Durbin, Illinois, who's next in line, said he will seek the position while remaining minority whip. Sheldon Whitehouse of Rhode Island, who ranks behind Durbin, said he’s looking forward to a caucus decision.
PC component shortages continued to dog HP and Dell in their October quarters as the supply chain buckled under the weight of heavy consumer demand for telework and remote-learning connectivity tools, the vendors reported on their Tuesday evening investor calls. IDC ranked HP and Dell second and third behind Lenovo in calendar Q3 global PC share.
Wireless ISPs are expected to drive deployment of priority access licenses in the citizens broadband radio service band, likely being the first to deploy after the FCC finishes assigning licenses from the PAL auction that ended Aug. 25. Some larger auction bidders are starting to lay out plans. Experts and others said in interviews that auction winners will likely start to use their licenses in Q1, after the FCC finalizes channel assignments and conveys the licenses.
Intel denies “each and every” Philips allegation that its video processors infringe four Philips high-bandwidth digital content protection (HDCP) patents and that it violated Section 337 of the 1974 Trade Act when it imported the components into the U.S. (see 2010190036). So said the chipmaker Friday in docket 337-TA-1224 at the International Trade Commission, responding (login required) to the Philips complaint and the Oct. 16 notice of the Section 337 investigation into the allegations.
Huawei's proposed "New IP" sparked charges the company and possibly the Chinese government are trying to hijack the internet. ICANN, ITU and others said the protocol's specifications and purported uses are so hazy it can't be considered as an internet replacement. Huawei said it's trying to improve existing IP versions 4 and 6 and denied it's working for the Chinese government. The project's link to Huawei, however, "is a guarantee, in the current geopolitical environment, that it will be politicized," blogged Internet Governance Project founder Milton Mueller.
All FCC action on the Telephone Consumer Protection Act isn’t focused on Facebook v. Duguid, to be argued before the Supreme Court Dec. 8, an FCBA webinar heard Thursday. Experts hope that case provides long-awaited clarity on what constitutes an automatic telephone dialing system (ATDS) under the TCPA (see 2011100052).
The three Republicans vying to succeed House Commerce Committee ranking member Greg Walden of Oregon told us they intend to largely maintain his approach to telecom policymaking during the next Congress, which is expected to include more debate on net neutrality. Walden announced his retirement plans last year, sparking debate about Communications Subcommittee Republicans’ future path (see 1911260048).
Communications Decency Act Section 230 needs to be updated, and one gap is the lack of transparency about content moderation decisions and algorithms, Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg and Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey told the Senate Judiciary Committee Tuesday. Chairman Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., told us he wants to treat the addictive nature of social media apps, particularly with young people, as a public health issue. He likened Big Tech to Big Tobacco.
Social media companies need guidance on moderating content, Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., told us in response to questions about Tuesday’s hearing with Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg and Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey. Graham’s Earn It Act (S-3398), co-led by Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., would establish a commission led by the attorney general to develop voluntary best practices for social media companies (see 2008050039).