The FCC Consumer Advisory Committee meets Feb. 22, when it's expected to discuss its role and responsibilities and issues the agency wants it to address, said a public notice Tuesday announcing renewal of its charter and appointment of members (see personals section, this issue).
A 2013 FCC proceeding that opened the door for in-flight voice and data services via mobile wireless frequencies (see 1312130061) was grounded for want of a common ground solution, said an all-commissioner order in Monday's Daily Digest. It said because of the strong pushback from pilot and flight attendant interests and disagreements on the best approach for expanding access, there's no value in continuing the rulemaking.
President-elect Joe Biden should exclude Big Tech executives, lobbyists, lawyers and consultants from his Cabinet, wrote 32 advocacy groups Monday. The next administration “must confront the threats posed by the monopolistic Big Tech companies that have exploited consumer privacy, threatened our democracy, stifled innovation, and profited from the pandemic,” they wrote, saying the government can’t hold Silicon Valley accountable if it relies on industry affiliates. Public Citizen, the Center for Digital Democracy, Electronic Privacy Information Center, Fight for the Future, Future of Music Coalition and Open Markets Institute signed.
ViacomCBS will sell its Simon & Schuster publishing business to Bertelsmann, the parent of Penguin Random House, for $2.18 billion, it said Wednesday. It said proceeds will go into strategic growth priorities like video streaming, and paying down corporate debt. The deal, expected to close next year, got criticism. Robert Thomson, CEO of rival News Corp, which bid for Simon & Schuster, said Bertelsmann "is not just buying a book publisher, but buying market dominance as a book behemoth." Open Markets Institute said DOJ should challenge the deal "to make clear that no further consolidation of power will be allowed in America’s book publishing industry, which is already too concentrated." It urged DOJ "immediately take steps to break Amazon’s power over the sale and distribution of books in America, which is the ultimate source of the pressures on America’s authors, editors, and publishers."
No major changes were made to the FCC's final NPRM on expanding the contribution base for internet-based telecommunications relay service, we found in our comparison to the draft. Commissioners voted to include video relay service and IP relay service during their meeting last week and said they intend to revisit funding arrangements in the future because VRS is now the second-largest TRS program (see 2011180058).
FAA is accepting comment for 30 days on proposed certification of 10 unmanned aircraft systems as “special class aircraft,” the agency said Monday. The agency published Federal Register notices for 3D Robotics, Airobotics, Amazon, Flirtey, Flytrex, Matternet, Percepto, Telegrid, Wingcopter and Zipline electric-powered drones weighing 5 to 89 pounds.
With many Americans holding holiday gatherings online, the FCC warns that videoconferencing software can be “vulnerable to security breaches,” said Dave Savolaine, a commission consumer education and outreach specialist, on an agency webinar Friday. Password-protecting videoconference calls can prevent intruders from planting malware on devices, he said. He recommends that video call hosts log in before guests arrive to prevent unwanted visitors. Use platforms’ “waiting room” feature "to see who’s knocking on the door before they’re let in,” said Savolaine. The host should lock the video meeting once all expected visitors arrive, he said. “This isn’t just so you don’t have to listen to that one relative who may be obnoxious at your holiday gathering. This is also for the safety of your devices.”
“We have seen this digital divide morph into a monstrous COVID-19 divide," said FCC Commissioner Geoffrey Starks told the Rainbow Push Coalition and Citizenship Education Fund. The industry and agency’s failure to create inclusive policies are worsening the pandemic for Americans who were struggling when it hit, Starks said. “It is time -- in fact, it is past time -- for the tech and telecom sector to take account for issues of equity and fairness,” he said Thursday. Starks cited disparities in how COVID-19 affects minorities and how improved tech and telecom policy could address those problems by providing better access to telehealth and improving access to broadband to help Black-owned businesses digitize. “A disproportionate number of people of color do not have a home broadband connection,” Starks said. “The FCC must meet its obligation to promote ownership by women and people of color,” he said. He noted an NPRM on circulation (see 2010280062) would change FM booster rules to allow for geotargeted FM radio content that he said “holds the promise” to promote minority ownership. “It has the potential to provide a method for stations owned by socially disadvantaged groups to better serve their communities, create opportunities for small businesses to advertise in a more cost effective manner to a targeted audience, and for FM stations owned by people of color and women to increase advertising revenue,” Starks said. The NPRM “will soon be released,” he said.
The exemption for voice service providers found to meet certain implementation benchmarks from the June 30 caller ID authentication implementation deadline is effective Nov. 17, said an FCC Wireline Bureau public notice in Wednesday's Daily Digest. The exemption was part of the caller ID authentication order adopted Sept. 29 (see 2009290052).
IEE Sensing asked the FCC to grant a waiver of Part 15 rules to permit equipment certification of the VitaSense sensor to provide unattended child detection functions in a completely stopped vehicle. “Such a waiver would well serve the public interest by saving lives, without creating any risk of harmful interference,” the company said in a Monday petition. The device operates across 4 GHz of spectrum at 60-64 GHz.