Address a Meredith TV station’s policy against advertisements encouraging cord cutting, as a condition of approving Gray Television buying Meredith’s stations, asked an informal objection posted Friday in FCC docket 21-234 from Mr. Antenna. The Las Vegas-based company that installs outdoor TV antennas advertised on KVVU-TV Henderson, Nevada, until June, when Mr. Antenna was told KVVU would “no longer accept advertising from vendors whose products presented a ‘cord-cutting’ alternative to cable service,” the objection said. KVVU is part of Gray/Meredith broadcasting. “The reason given for the change in policy was that Meredith’s retransmission consent income is tied to cable subscribership,” the filing said. Gray and Meredith didn’t comment Monday.
The FCC Wireline Bureau removed Zoom's application for its proposed buy of Five9 from streamlined treatment "for further consideration of the transaction," said a public notice posted Monday in docket 21-316 (see 2108100058). Zoom didn't comment.
The FCC warned consumers about a fake emergency broadband benefit program website, in a consumer alert posted Friday. The website and its affiliated social media page have been disabled and the FCC is “now working with law enforcement agencies to address this issue.” The website, run by “WiFi Freedom USA," mirrored the agency's EBB website and falsely claimed it provided devices and services related to the program, the advisory said. Consumers who provided personal information or made payments on the website were advised to visit IdentityTheft.gov.
The FTC Competition Bureau will begin recommending “enforcement action” Sept. 27 against companies that “fail to file” proposed transactions with the commission and DOJ “when retirement of debt is part of the consideration for the deal,” acting bureau Director Holly Vedova said in a Thursday blog post. Competition “is concerned” informal agency staff interpretations provided to companies about whether specific types of deals require going through the review process “may not reflect modern market realities or the policy position of the Commission,” Vedova said. “We are currently in the process of reviewing the voluminous log of informal interpretations to determine the best path forward,” but “previous informal interpretations” that “gave the impression that companies could avoid filing by paying off a target company’s debt, instead of paying the company with cash … missed the mark.” Some “merging parties have responded by structuring deals in ways that they believe fall outside of the filing requirements,” she said.
NTIA established two new broadband offices, the agency said Wednesday. The Office of Internet Connectivity and Growth will run the agency's broadband activities, including its grant programs and BroadbandUSA. Douglas Kinkoph will lead the office after being head of NTIA's broadband program since 2015. Establishment of the Office of Minority Broadband Initiatives codifies the agency's work on its minority broadband initiative since 2018, NTIA said.
DOJ and the Departments of Commerce and Homeland Security are among 10 agencies planning to expand facial recognition technology use through fiscal 2023, GAO reported Tuesday. Expansion plans include new face-scanning systems, pilot testing and upgrading existing systems, GAO said. DHS’ Customs and Border Protection is collaborating with the Transportation Security Administration on efforts to “automate the identity verification process at airports for travelers,” GAO said. It surveyed 24 agencies, 18 of which reported using face-scanning technology in fiscal 2020.
The FCC extended from Friday to Sept. 27 the deadline to submit applications to fill tribal vacancies on the Native Nations Communications Task Force. “Elected leaders from federally recognized Tribal governments or governmental entities” are eligible, said a notice listed in Tuesday’s Daily Digest. They will serve through October 2022 when its term expires.
The FCC Precision Agriculture Task Force will next meet Sept. 14, said Chairman Teddy Bekele during a virtual task force meeting Thursday. It met to discuss its end-of-the-year report's draft executive summary. The September meeting will be the "official deadline" for working groups to submit final drafts to the task force, Bekele said. A final draft of the full report is expected during the task force's following meeting on Oct. 14.
The FTC should investigate Tesla’s “misleading advertising and marketing” of its self-driving features, Sens. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., and Ed Markey, D-Mass., wrote Chair Lina Khan Wednesday. “Tesla’s marketing has repeatedly overstated the capabilities of its vehicles, and these statements increasingly pose a threat to motorists and other users of the road,” they wrote. No fully self-driving vehicles are on the market, but the company titled a 2019 YouTube video “Full Self-Driving,” they wrote, citing other examples. The company didn’t comment. The FTC confirmed receiving the letter.
Representatives of Broadcom, Cisco and Facebook spoke with Office of Engineering and Technology acting Chief Ron Repasi and others from OET about launching the Open Automated Frequency Coordination Software Group for the 6 GHz band (see 2108100022), said a filing posted Friday in docket 18-295.