Instacart charged Washington, D.C., residents “millions of dollars in deceptive service fees” and failed to pay “hundreds of thousands of dollars in District sales tax,” D.C. Attorney General Karl Racine alleged in a lawsuit Thursday. For 18 months, the grocery delivery app “failed to clearly disclose to consumers that optional service fees were added on their bills and led them to believe these fees were tips for their delivery workers,” Racine alleged in a D.C. Superior Court filing, noting the fees didn’t increase employee pay. Customer transparency is “incredibly important,” an Instacart spokesperson emailed, saying service fees are clearly marked. Racine’s complaint is without merit, the company said: “We’re disappointed with today's action by D.C. Attorney General Racine’s office and we welcome the opportunity to continue an open dialogue on these matters.”
North Carolina would spend $50 million on emergency broadband grants using federal COVID-19 funding, under a proposed budget revealed Wednesday by Gov. Roy Cooper (D). Kentucky will spend $8 million in federal coronavirus aid to reduce monthly internet costs for low-income parents of K-12 students, Lt. Gov. Jacqueline Coleman (D) said Tuesday. Kentucky will ask ISPs to respond by Sept. 15 to a request for proposals to provide high-speed internet for up to $10 monthly for the next two to three school years, with federal Lifeline to cover some longer-term costs. Lack of internet access “disproportionately affects communities of color and Kentuckians who live in poverty,” Coleman said. In Mississippi, Lt. Gov. Delbert Hosemann (R) and Public Service Commissioner Brandon Presley (D) tweeted support Wednesday for their state’s $75 million COVID-19 broadband bill (see 2008250003) that awaits the governor's signature by Monday. Gov. Tate Reeves (R) didn’t comment Wednesday.
Mississippi would spend $75 million on two COVID-19 broadband funds under a bill passed by the legislature Monday. The House voted 114-2 and the Senate voted 48-0 for SB-3054 to transfer $65 million for an electric cooperative broadband grant program and $10 million for grants to other kinds of broadband providers. Gov. Tate Reeves (R) didn’t comment Thursday. The Massachusetts Broadband Institute said Tuesday it extended until year-end a free wireless hot spot program as part of its coronavirus response (see 2004220035). The program was to end Sept. 1.
A trio of House Communications Subcommittee Democratic members from California -- Vice Chair Doris Matsui, Anna Eshoo and Jerry McNerney -- is seeking an FCC briefing “as soon as possible” on the communications-related impacts of recent wildfires and rolling blackouts in that state. The wireless industry amid the wildfires has been seeking a rehearing on a California Public Utilities Commission order requiring 72-hour backup power in certain high-threat fire areas (see 2008200038). The communications impacts of the wildfires and blackouts are especially concerning because “these events are taking place during the COVID-19 pandemic,” the three said in a letter to FCC Chairman Ajit Pai. “Communications outages mean that people are unable to call 9-1-1, let their loved ones know that they are safe, or receive lifesaving alerts, which may include information about alternative wildfire evacuation routes or other information specific to evacuations during the pandemic.” The lawmakers “strongly urge and expect your agency, which is charged with overseeing our nation’s communications networks to promote public safety, to be taking all possible steps to monitor the situation and help ensure that Californians stay connected during this time.” They want the FCC briefing to include information on wildfire and blackout-related outages in California reported to the agency since Aug. 14 and commission actions to monitor the situation and work with the state government and telecom providers. The Democrats also want to know about situations in which wireless emergency alerts were used to issue warnings and provide information on wildfires and the extent to which the FCC is working with the Federal Emergency Management Agency and others to ensure the WEA system is used “appropriately to protect the public” during the wildfires. The FCC didn’t comment.
Two fiscal committees cleared broadband bills to raise California’s speed standard under the state's broadband infrastructure fund (see 2008190008 and 2008180045). The Assembly Appropriations Committee voted 13-5 Thursday for SB-1130 to require at least 25 Mbps download and 25 Mbps upload speeds. The Senate Appropriations Committee voted 5-2 the same day for AB-570 to require at least 25/3 Mbps. The bills go next to the floor with an Aug. 31 deadline to clear the legislature.
California may not require net neutrality due to field preemption, said a group of free-market communications law scholars in an amicus brief Thursday in DOJ’s lawsuit against the state law (SB-822) at the U.S. District Court in Sacramento. “Whether it likes federal policy or not, California is not entitled to trample on the federal government’s exclusive authority over interstate communications, including the broadband Internet access services at issue here.” The brief included academics from TechFreedom, Free State Foundation, Phoenix Center and R Street Institute. California improperly “designated itself the nationwide regulator of the Internet,” said a separate amicus brief (in Pacer) by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, California Chamber of Commerce, Small Business & Entrepreneurship Council, Telecommunications Industry Association and CALinnovates.
North Carolina will spend $12 million to spread broadband in 11 rural counties through Growing Rural Economies with Access to Technology (Great) grants and COVID-19 stimulus funding, Gov. Roy Cooper (D) said Wednesday. Receiving Great grants, totaling $10 million, were Atlantic Telephone Membership, CenturyLink, CloudWyze, NfinityLink Communications, Roanoke Connect Holdings, Spectrum Southeast, Sky Wave and Zito Media. Spectrum Southeast also got $2 million in pandemic support. North Carolina is considering six more last-mile projects for stimulus funding, said Cooper's office.
Investigate Broadband VI for getting $1 million from the Connect U.S. Virgin Islands fund without meeting qualifications to receive the USF support, Viya said in a letter to the FCC Enforcement Bureau, posted Monday in docket 18-143. “Broadband VI already has taken Stage 1 support for which it did not qualify because it did not satisfy the fundamental eligible telecommunications carrier ('ETC') obligations of offering voice service and compliant Lifeline service during the support term,” alleged Viya, saying it’s part of a larger pattern of the company disregarding commission rules. The FCC should seek reimbursement, it said. "We are aware of Viya’s filing and are preparing a vigorous response," Broadband VI Chief Operating Officer David Zumwalt emailed us. "We strongly disagree with the claims." The COO added that Viya "enjoyed many decades of high-cost support which it stands to lose as a result of Connect USVI."
FCC failure to coordinate with states on the Rural Digital Opportunity Fund forced the Illinois Office of Broadband “to delay its preferred timeline for accepting applications and awarding [state] funds, so as not to jeopardize the plans of any potential bidders in Auction 904,” the Office of Broadband said in a Monday-posted filing in docket 10-90 about a Tuesday meeting with aides to Democratic Commissioners Jessica Rosenworcel and Geoffrey Starks. “These delays have come at a particularly inopportune time, just as the COVID-19 pandemic has heightened the importance of broadband in the daily life of all Americans.” A 25 Mbps download, 3 Mbps upload speed “is unlikely to meet the nation’s broadband needs over the coming decade,” the office added. An order on circulation at the FCC rejects the Illinois office’s petition for reconsideration of the RDOF order (see 2008100043).
The 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed a 2017 U.S. District Court ruling in Rutland, Vermont, that dismissed part (see 1712200043) of VTDigger’s Freedom of Information Act and privacy lawsuit against the Department of Commerce. The suit was aimed at FirstNet responsiveness to FOIA requests and a claim the government violated 2002 E-Government Act Section 208 by failing to do and publish a privacy impact assessment for the FirstNet state plan portal (see 1807300058). The 2nd Circuit heard oral argument in September (see 1909030025). The district court “did not err in concluding” FirstNet “is not subject to FOIA” and that “an agency need not search for records if it has reasonably determined that a search would be futile,” Judges Susan Carney, Raymond Lohier and John Walker ruled Friday (in Pacer). NTIA and Commerce, which aren’t exempt from FOIA, “adequately responded to plaintiffs’ FOIA requests. Based on sworn declarations from NTIA and DOC officials explaining why the agency would not have responsive records, the district court determined that the agency did not violate FOIA by declining to conduct a search.” VTDigger and other plaintiffs in the case are “evaluating our position” on the lawsuit and are “deciding how to move forward,” said National Security Counselors lawyer Kal McClanahan, who represents the plaintiffs, in an interview. The 2nd Circuit’s ruling was “not a good decision” from the perspective of transparency or privacy law given it turned the standard for FOIA cases “on its head.” The plaintiffs “will be taking steps in the future to see what can be done about it,” McClanahan said.