An open Internet lessens musicians’ dependence on big corporations, said FCC Commissioner Mignon Clyburn in a speech at the Future of Music Coalition Summit Monday. The FCC should determine its net neutrality policy before it focuses on the “the appropriate legal framework to achieve that result,” Clyburn said. “My focus will primarily be on the impact to consumers -- something that I fear has gotten lost in this debate.” Policies that incentivize creative work to be sold digitally are as important to the music industry as copyright laws, Clyburn said. “Without the proper regulatory environment in place, these works may never even get produced, let alone have need for the protection of copyright laws.” Musicians depend on a “level online playing field,” that “does not favor different types of content over another,” Clyburn said.
The Florida Chamber of Commerce backs AT&T's planned buy of DirecTV. Enhanced Internet connectivity "helps to create more opportunities for businesses and families through jobs and economic growth," it said in a letter posted Tuesday in FCC docket 14-90. Too many people don't have access to the speeds and bandwidth needed for today's competitive economy, it said. AT&T is committed to offering new, competitive choices for consumer options upon approval of this deal, it said.
FCC Commissioner Mike O’Rielly’s comments Monday that a Communications Act Title II approach could deter broadband investment are “evidence-free fears” that “have been refuted several times over,” said Free Press Policy Director Matt Wood in a statement to us. “Imagine how much less fearful he could be simply by examining the facts instead of ISP talking points!” O’Rielly spoke at an NTCA event (see 1410270035).
The “potential” for data breaches “grows apace as the number of connected devices multiplies,” said FTC Chairwoman Edith Ramirez in remarks prepared for Monday's Internet of Things Global Summit. “The risks those breaches pose intensify as we adopt more and more devices linked to our physical safety, such as our cars, our medical care, and our homes.” The FTC is “concerned that some companies are underinvesting in security,” said Ramirez. “We’ve found that some organizations fail to take even the most basic security precautions, such as updating antivirus software or requiring network administrators to use strong passwords.” Data security should be built into a company’s devices from the “outset, not as an afterthought,” she said. Data collectors should “follow the principle of data minimization,” which would limit data collection for a “specific purpose," said Ramirez. Companies should also “appropriately de-identify consumer data,” she said. “Those handling data should give consumers simplified choices for unexpected collection or uses of their data,” Ramirez said. “Transparency” is the most important goal for data collectors, she said. Privacy policies for businesses are “broken,” she said. “Too many companies use them primarily as tools to shield themselves from liability,” said Ramirez: “This must change.” She said such policies should “clearly lay out what data is being collected, how it is being used, and with whom it will be shared.” The FTC last week commended the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration for taking privacy and security concerns into account, in a rulemaking on vehicle-to-vehicle communication capability for passenger cars and light trucks (see 1410240027).
Objections from content companies to outside counsel for Dish Network, Netflix and others accessing confidential documents in the Comcast/Time Warner Cable and AT&T/ DirecTV deals are based on programmers’ disagreement with FCC policy rather than problems with Dish and Netflix filings, the two companies said in separate filings posted in docket 14-57 Monday (see 1410220058). “These Objections are frivolous,” said Dish. “There is no basis for the assertion that Dish’s outside counsel and experts are engaged in Competitive Decision-Making, and the assertion is, in fact, untrue.” The objections are “nothing more than the pretext for a collateral attack” on the FCC modified protective order in the transaction proceedings, Netflix said. Both companies said the objections should be denied, and that their lawyers need access to the contract data at the heart of the dispute. “The Video Programming Confidential Information is essential to the thorough evaluation of arguments made by the Applicants, DISH, and others in these proceedings,” Dish said.
Regulators shared several concerns at the ITU Plenipotentiary Conference last week in Busan, South Korea, FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler said in a Friday blog post. Wheeler and Commissioner Mike O’Rielly attended the conference, FCC officials said. “Virtually every regulator emphasized how important it is to get broadband to rural and remote areas of their countries -- to promote economic development, education and effective healthcare,” Wheeler wrote. “They understand that broadband access can unlock the potential for individuals to prosper in their local communities instead of migrating to urban centers in search of a better quality of life.” Another shared concern is “the difficulty of freeing spectrum for more efficient uses,” he said. “African countries, for example, are facing a 2015 deadline for their DTV transition, and we had several lively conversations on the ‘lessons learned’ from our experience just a few years ago.” A third concern is how to change regulation as part of the move away from a circuit-switched world, Wheeler said. “There was a lot of interest in the tech transitions activities underway at the FCC.”
As the FCC takes up net neutrality, it should not ban user-directed prioritization, Bob Quinn, senior vice president-federal regulatory, and other AT&T officials told FCC General Counsel Jonathan Sallet and Associate General Counsel Stephanie Weiner on Oct. 22, according to an ex parte filing the company made available to us Monday. To AT&T’s knowledge, no ISP offers or plans to offer paid prioritization for mass-market Internet services, but user-directed service could “offer significant consumer benefits,” such as allowing consumers to choose to prioritize health-monitoring or home alarm devices, the filing said. Communications Act Section 706 offers “ample authority” to deal with any problems posed by non-user-directed paid prioritization, the AT&T officials said.
The “complex nature” of Mozilla’s net neutrality proposal to classify broadband as a telecom service for edge providers “could create unexpected difficulties for enforcement" but should not disqualify it from consideration, Public Knowledge Senior Vice President Harold Feld and Vice President Michael Weinberg told FCC Chief Technology Officer Scott Jordan at a meeting Tuesday (http://bit.ly/1simO8r), said an ex parte filing posted Friday in docket 14-28. Any user-controlled prioritization “should truly be the result of user decisions and control, and should not involve payment from edge providers to ISPs for prioritization,” Public Knowledge said. Allowing a regulated service such as voice phone calling to operate within a specific specialized service could be permissible under strong open Internet rules, but would have to continue to operate under existing regulatory protections, they said. The commission doesn't necessarily have to address potential abuses under interconnection agreements, but open Internet rules should recognize the possibility and begin to take steps to address them, they said. The Mozilla petition is “legally riskier” than straightforward Communications Act Title II reclassification because it relies on untested definitions and relationships between ISPs and users, said Sarah Morris, senior policy counsel for the New America Foundation’s Open Technology Institute, at a meeting Monday that included Feld, Weinberg and an aide to Commissioner Jessica Rosenworcel, according to an ex parte filing (http://bit.ly/1sYNRJI) posted in the same docket. It said OTI and Public Knowledge said Title II reclassification with forbearance is the “soundest, clearest path forward.”
The FTC commended the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration for taking privacy and security concerns into account in a rulemaking on vehicle-to-vehicle communication capability for passenger cars and light trucks, in comments filed at NHTSA. In February, following extensive testing, the U.S. Department of Transportation said it was moving forward on vehicle-to-vehicle warning systems as part “the next generation” of auto safety improvements (http://1.usa.gov/1bkqG1L). The rulemaking has been of concern to the telecom industry because the spectrum band automakers will use, the 5.850-5.925 GHz band, is adjacent to a band targeted by the FCC for unlicensed use on a secondary basis (see 1409050030). The FTC said it supports “implementation of a deliberative, process-based approach to address privacy and security risks.” NHTSA appears ready to “ensure that the V2V system will contain multiple technical, physical, and organizational controls to minimize privacy risks, including the likelihood of vehicle tracking by commercial entities,” the FTC said (http://1.usa.gov/1D7RLCE). “The Commission appreciates NHTSA’s explanation of the substantial steps it took as part of its interim privacy impact assessment, and looks forward to reviewing the results of the final assessment.” NHTSA also appears to have the designed the system in a way that “limits the amount of data collected and stored to that which serves its intended safety purposes,” FTC said. “NHTSA’s attention to potential security issues is equally thorough and demonstrates a clear commitment to creating both a functional and secure communications system based on research efforts over more than a decade.” CTIA's comments said NHTSA lacks statutory authority to adopt Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards for mobile devices, apps or software (http://bit.ly/1xiapWG). The comments were filed in docket NHTSA-2014-0022.
Kerrisdale Capital Management again said results of Jarvinian's testing for Globalstar’s proposed terrestrial low-power service (TLPS) are inadequate and misleading. Testing by Allion shows that TLPS “could reduce the capacity of nearby unlicensed networks by as much as 60 or 70 percent,” Kerrisdale said in an ex parte filing posted Friday in docket 13-213 (http://bit.ly/1vTP4Vj). Engineering simulations also call into question the actual range of TLPS, it said. Independent simulations demonstrate that TLPS will never be able to match the throughput and capacity of a competently designed network “utilizing the many available 5 GHz band channels available today for free,” it said. Kerrisdale urged the FCC to consider the tests conducted by Allion as it assesses Globalstar’s request.