It’s encouraging that Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg endorsed the concept of “more specific rules” in Communications Decency Act Section 230, Senate Commerce Committee Chairman Roger Wicker, R-Miss., told us after Wednesday’s hearing. “We may be getting somewhere,” he said, though he noted it wasn’t an endorsement of the Republican bill pushing the concept (see 2009220064).
The FCC released its draft order Wednesday reallocating the 5.9 GHz band to sharing with Wi-Fi and cellular vehicle-to-everything, with no set-aside dedicated to short-range communications (DSRC). Other items were also posted. The order is considered a win for wireless ISPs and Wi-Fi advocates. ITS America said it will fight. The Department of Transportation is reviewing the order, a spokesperson said.
It’s inequitable for regions with similar privacy values, like the U.S. and EU, to “point fingers” about upholding privacy rights, FTC Commissioner Noah Phillips said Tuesday on effects of the Schrems II decision (see 2009250071). Policymakers should recognize shared privacy values while drawing the line against countries that don’t respect privacy, he told a U.S. Chamber of Commerce event. “We have so much more in common with Europe than that which separates us, and I think that needs to be a critical part of the conversation.” Countries with data localization standards ought to be the “barriers to trade” that allies focus on, he said.
The FCC approved a 5G Fund as expected Tuesday, with partial dissents by Commissioners Jessica Rosenworcel and Geoffrey Starks (see 2010230056). Commissioners also approved revised TV white spaces rules 5-0, raising additional questions in a Further NPRM, including on the use of the Longley-Rice irregular terrain model for looking at interference (see 2010220048).
The FCC approved an order making further changes to wireless infrastructure rules Tuesday, with dissents from Commissioners Jessica Rosenworcel and Geoffrey Starks as expected (see 2010220048). The order addresses equipment compound expansions as part of collocations, clarifying that an infrastructure modification doesn’t cause a “substantial change” if it entails excavation or deployments up to 30 feet outside macro tower compound boundaries (see 2010060060). Commissioner Brendan Carr indicated there were some changes from the draft. The FCC moved quickly, with a Further NPRM OK’d in June (see 2006090060).
FCC Chairman Ajit Pai said Tuesday the agency thinks it's on a strong legal foundation for whatever challenge may come after its 3-2 approval of a net neutrality remand order, despite an expected legal challenge or reconsideration petition (see 2010150026). The two Democratic commissioners dissented. There also were full or partial dissents to decisions ending some ILEC unbundling and resale requirements with varying transition periods for different network elements, a robocalls enforcement order wireless infrastructure rules and the 5G Fund creation (see 2010270034). But there was no clash on other orders. No approved order texts were released Tuesday.
The lead item at the FCC’s Nov. 18 commissioners’ meeting would reallocate the 5.9 GHz band for Wi-Fi and cellular vehicle-to-everything, with no set aside for dedicated short-range communications (DSRC), which has occupied the band for 20 years (see 2010270061). Pai also proposed votes on internet-based telecommunications relay service (TRS) rules, program carriage disputes, a proposed unified license for numerous satellite and blanket-licensed earth station operations and a draft NPRM seeking comment on use of the 17.3-17.8 GHz band for satellite downlinks. Pai said the NPRM also would propose including the 17.3-18.3, 18.8-19.4, 19.6-19.7, 27.5-28.35 and 28.6-29.1 GHz bands in an “extended Ka-band,” with routine license application processing criteria for earth stations communicating with geostationary orbit satellites.
Sony Electronics wants broadcasters to use their new ATSC 3.0 opportunity to begin beaming 4K programming with HDR over the air, Nick Colsey, vice president-business development, told the prerecorded ATSC broadcast conference Monday during the virtual NAB Show New York event. Broadcasting in 4K HDR will “make the biggest difference” in sowing 3.0 consumer adoption, he said.
Giving laptops and hot spots to students who lack good internet won’t solve distance learning problems exacerbated by COVID-19, state and local officials said Monday. The California Senate Education Committee and the Special Committee on Pandemic Emergency Response jointly held a hearing Monday about online learning gaps. Earlier in the day at the virtual Mountain Connect conference, Chattanooga public and private officials said they’re using municipal broadband to provide free fiber internet to students in low-income households.
The FTC’s cases against Facebook and Google show a paradigm shift in privacy enforcement, Consumer Protection Bureau Director Andrew Smith told an FCBA event Monday. The Facebook case (see 1907240042) provided a new model for relief, while the Google case, which involved Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA) allegations (see 1909040066), established a new approach for liability, said Smith. The broader message in the Google case is that if users are violating the law, the platform can’t necessarily escape enforcement when there’s knowledge of the violations, he said.