Questions are being raised at the FCC on parts of the robocalling declaratory ruling, set for a commissioner vote June 6 (see 1905150041). The biggest questions are about the decision to press forward without seeking comment on what some see as a vague “reasonable analytics” standard for blocking even lawful calls, said lawyers involved in the proceeding. Consumer groups hope the FCC will approve the ruling.
The House and Senate Commerce committees are likely to begin focusing on whether to reauthorize the Satellite Television Extension and Localism Act, during two upcoming hearings, but those panels will only be a first act in the debate, lawmakers and lobbyists told us. Both committees are expected to have hearings during the first week of June on media market issues, seen as a way to set the stage for the STELA debate (see 1905150062 and 1905210071). Lawmakers' interest in talking about STELA has risen in recent months, particularly after Senate Commerce Chairman Roger Wicker, R-Miss., called recertification of the statute a must-pass bill (see 1902270018 and 1903150045). The 2014 STELA renewal expires at the end of 2019.
The FTC should add at least 500 new privacy staffers so agency enforcement can keep pace with the digital economy, Intel Global Privacy Officer David Hoffman blogged Monday. Intel released its latest iteration of a federal comprehensive privacy bill, declaring a “privacy crisis.” The Consumer Protection Bureau’s Division of Privacy and Identity Protection has about 50 full-time employees. About 500 employees are within Consumer Protection overall and about 600 within Competition.
An uptick in privacy complaints and the first investigations and fines mark the end of the first year of the EU general data protection regulation. GDPR became effective May 25, 2018. Data protection authorities (DPAs) told us they're seeing increased citizen awareness of the law as well as more inquiries from companies about compliance. While compliance appears to be on the rise, businesses continue to struggle with the rules, with some in America's tech sector calling for a complete review of the GDPR and urging the U.S. not to copy it.
While questions have come from its own eighth floor and from the Commerce Department about the role the FCC should take in orbital debris oversight, space experts tell us it's not clear who, if anyone, could fill the agency's role. Also last week, Commissioner Brendan Carr noted his hopes (see 1905090031) the agency gets input from expert agencies like NASA. He called this literally "rocket science," speaking on C-SPAN's The Communicators. Who should be the orbital debris czar "is the central question of the entire space traffic management debate," said Secure World Foundation technical adviser Brian Weeden. He was among the experts we interviewed.
The promise of a rapid buildout of 5G infrastructure, especially across rural communities, justifies moving the U.S. from a market with four major wireless providers to three, FCC Commissioner Brendan Carr suggested last week in an interview on C-SPAN. There appear to be enough commissioner votes to approve T-Mobile's buy of Sprint, following promises the combined company would commit to building out 5G infrastructure within three years to 97 percent of the U.S. population (see 1905200051). DOJ hasn't publicly weighed in.
The U.S. might blink on Huawei.
Weather delays from the rainiest 12 months on record, a shortage of tower crews and, to a slight degree, steel tariffs are making the post-incentive auction repacking tough for some broadcasters. FCC flexibility and increasing use of auxiliary antennas are keeping it largely on track for the moment, said broadcasters, attorneys, manufacturers, tower crews and the FCC. Though at the repack’s start, industry officials had been concerned that snowballing delays would become a big problem by the current phase (phase 3), they now predict big problems in 5 and 6, which have the tightest deadlines.
An FCC USF budget NPRM that stirred controversy over procedural and substantive issues is apparently being finalized and has been OK'd on a party-line vote. Some had been watching to see what Commissioner Brendan Carr would do, given that early on he hadn't commented publicly on the item. Last week, he broke that near-silence by signaling his support, during an episode of C-SPAN's The Communicators to have been televised this weekend and posted here.
Thee few commenters so far have differing takes on changes sought in April (see 1904260022) to rules for the reassigned number database (RND), approved by commissioners 4-0 in December. The FCC hopes to help combat unwanted and illegal robocalls to people with new numbers. Lawyers active in the proceeding said the comments don't offer the FCC much help in making a decision on the petitions for reconsideration.