Calibra head David Marcus on Wednesday avoided committing Facebook to a moratorium on its cryptocurrency plans (see 1907150051), despite repeated calls from House Financial Services Committee Democrats at a hearing. Afterward, Chairwoman Maxine Waters, D-Calif., told us Marcus would leave Capitol Hill understanding her committee is serious about blocking the project until concerns are resolved. “We have oversight responsibility, and we’re going to live up to our responsibility,” she said.
The Enterprise Wireless Alliance is questioning why the FCC quietly stopped processing applications for Part 90 license renewals for the T band. A provision in the 2012 spectrum law mandates public safety agencies move off the 470-512 band by 2021 (see 1808020051). EWA complained the FCC won’t contingently renew the licenses and never released a notice saying it won’t renew licenses. The agency didn’t comment.
State commissioners hope the FCC takes note of coming NARUC resolutions (see 1907100028) on delaying some further changes to a billion dollar federal subsidy for poor people to get phone and broadband services. In interviews before their Sunday-Wednesday meeting to consider two such draft proposals, some expressed optimism the federal regulator might make changes midway through program revisions begun under the last presidential administration. Another telecom resolution, advocating no overall USF budget, lacks a sponsor and won't move forward unless it adds one, stakeholders noted this week.
House Commerce Committee leaders are eyeing a potential House vote as soon as next week on the compromise Stopping Bad Robocalls Act (HR-3375) after successfully advancing the measure out of the committee Wednesday. House Commerce voted 48-0 for the bill. Senate Communications Subcommittee Chairman John Thune, R-S.D., meanwhile, told us he's now more optimistic about the chances Capitol Hill negotiators will be able to reach a conference agreement to marry HR-3375 and his Senate-passed Telephone Robocall Abuse Criminal Enforcement and Deterrence (Traced) Act (S-151).
The right-to-repair debate “underscores the evolution” of device “ownership,” Walter Alcorn, CTA vice president-environmental affairs and industry sustainability, told the FTC’s “Nixing the Fix” workshop Tuesday. The commission organized the workshop to probe whether manufacturer restrictions on third-party repairs can undercut the consumer protections in the 1975 Magnuson-Moss Warranty Act.
Facebook’s cryptocurrency project Libra provides more incentive for Congress to pass comprehensive privacy legislation, Senate Banking Committee Chairman Mike Crapo, R-Idaho, told reporters Tuesday, after testimony from Facebook Calibra Head David Marcus. The platform won’t offer Libra until it receives proper approvals from U.S. and foreign regulators, Marcus told the committee, as expected (see 1907150051). Libra’s goal is to offer a secure, safe and low-cost way for people to transfer money internationally, he said, arguing a U.S. company should lead the push.
The FCC won Tuesday in a court challenge by former 700 MHz C-block spectrum licensee GLH in a defaulted debt case in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit. Still, GLH has options for reducing the payment demand by the regulator, said its lawyer. A judge appeared somewhat skeptical of FCC arguments at oral argument in January (see 1901090057).
Increased tech sector concentration is killing innovation, said House Antitrust Subcommittee Chairman David Cicilline, D-R.I. During Tuesday's hearing with Amazon, Apple, Facebook and Google, he cited examples of each company engaging in anticompetitive behavior to privilege their platforms. It was the second hearing on the topic since the House Judiciary Committee announced a bipartisan tech industry investigation (see 1906110072).
Several petitions for reconsideration and a stay request were filed against aspects of the FCC’s revamped FM translator interference rules. That's according to filings posted in docket 18-119 through Tuesday. The LPFM Coalition, radio consultants Skywaves Consulting, and full-power and LPFM licensees are among those challenging the translator interference rules on the 45 dBu contour limit on interference claims and arguing the rules violate the Local Community Radio Act (LCRA).
With a majority of commissioners seen likely to adopt the local franchise authority item on the Aug. 1 agenda (see 1907110071), locality and public, educational and government channel advocates see at best lemonade in that some PEG draft items didn't go as far as proposed in the NPRM. Many also still consider a legal challenge. That has long been expected (see 1812200042).