California's privacy agency should try to counter inequity and manipulation, said academics at California Privacy Protection Agency (CPPA) informational sessions this week (see 2203290062). The CPPA board held the second day Wednesday of a virtual hearing to gather background information for an upcoming rulemaking to implement the California Privacy Rights Act (CPRA), which is the sequel to the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA). Across the country, the Maryland House Economic Affairs Committee weighed a bill Wednesday to set up a privacy study group to make recommendations for comprehensive legislation next year.
Russia's Ukraine invasion is creating potential business opportunities, and also possible bottlenecks, for the commercial space industry, per a Washington Space Business Roundtable panel talk Wednesday. Quilty Analytics founder Chris Quilty said a recent dip in investor funding for commercial space could just be a blip, depending on the performance of the market overall and of a wave of space companies recently going public.
Noncommercial educational stations that haven’t had the chance to participate in the ATSC 3.0 transition could receive temporary, internet-only channels to allow their content to be received by 3.0 devices, said Pearl TV Managing Director Anne Schelle in an interview.
The FCC Communications Security, Reliability and Interoperability Council working groups reported on their progress during a virtual meeting Wednesday, CSRIC’s first since December. FCC Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel reshaped the council last year (see 2104150056), with more emphasis on 5G security and open radio access networks.
FCC commissioners will tackle a notice of inquiry on receiver standards at their April 21 meeting, Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel said Wednesday. The only other item she discussed is a Further NPRM on wireless emergency alerts. The NOI wasn’t a surprise -- Rosenworcel told the Mobile World Congress in a recent speech it was on the way (see 2203010070).
The Senate voted 51-50 along party lines Wednesday to discharge Alvaro Bedoya’s nomination to the FTC. Vice President Kamala Harris cast the tie-breaking vote. Democrats are hopeful he can be confirmed to the commission before the Senate leaves for recess at the end of next week. The Senate appeared likely to delay a discharge vote on FCC nominee Gigi Sohn until at least next week, lawmakers and aides told us Wednesday.
Continued uncertainty about the prospects for Senate confirmation of Democratic FCC nominee Gigi Sohn and its implications for ushering in a 3-2 Democratic majority are unlikely to be a major factor at a Thursday House Communications Subcommittee oversight hearing on the agency, lawmakers and other observers told us. Subpanel members instead plan to focus on the FCC’s successes since the beginning of 2021 and telecom policy items that lawmakers believe they can reach a bipartisan consensus on before the coming midterm election campaign. The partly virtual hearing will begin at 10:30 a.m. in 2123 Rayburn.
Russia didn’t offer any “swap” or “concession” in exchange for the U.S. release of Russian cyber hacker Aleksei Burkov in August, FBI Cyber Division Assistant Director Bryan Vorndran told the House Judiciary Committee at a hearing Tuesday. The division can’t comment on the wisdom of the release because it’s the Secret Service’s case, he said.
Policymakers and community leaders should focus on digital inclusion and equity as part of their efforts to boost broadband adoption and access to devices, panelists said Tuesday during Next Century Cities’ virtual bipartisan tech conference. Some panelists highlighted the interconnection between civic engagement and broadband access.
Getting Congress to approve rules that include wireless as part of the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act was one of the “greatest moments” in his long career in Washington, Jonathan Adelstein, president of the Wireless Infrastructure Association, said at the South Wireless Summit, streamed from Nashville Tuesday. Wireless came very close to being left out of the broadband spending in the act, he said. Adelstein sees a continuing bias in the White House in favor of fiber over wireless, he warned.