President Donald Trump signed a host of executive orders Monday that could affect FCC policy going forward and have already led newly minted FCC Chairman Brendan Carr to scrub the agency’s processes of references to diversity, equity and inclusion and scrap the FCC’s diversity committee. The executive orders include a pause on the TikTok divestiture rule, a freeze on new regulations, a return of the Schedule F rule making it easier to replace federal workers with political appointees, and policies requiring information sharing with the new Department of Government Efficiency. Another order issued Monday officially designated Carr as chairman.
Tencent's investment in Skydance Media should give the FCC pause, considering Tencent is a member of DOD's list of Chinese military companies operating in the U.S., the Center for American Rights said Tuesday. CAR petitioned the agency to put conditions related to Chinese control on any approval of Skydance's proposed purchase of Paramount Global (see 2412170038). CAR said the fact DOD considers a Skydance founding investor to be a “Chinese military company” should refute the FCC presumption that foreign-ownership interests of 5% or less aren't generally contrary to the public interest. It said the FCC could condition approval on New Paramount having board diversity through board members coming from different geographies, industries, backgrounds and political persuasions; its locating of executive and editorial staff in cities besides New York and Los Angeles; creation of an "independent, empowered, balanced ombudsman"; or committing to "an ideologically diverse hiring pipeline." Chicago-based CAR last fall filed news distortion complaints against CBS over the network's interview with Vice President/Democratic presidential nominee Kamala Harris (see 2410170051) and an equal-time complaint against NBC and its WNBC New York over Harris' appearance on Saturday Night Live just prior to Election Day (see 2411050049).
The National Chamber of the Textile Industry of Mexico and the U.S.-based National Council of Textile Organizations sent a Jan. 13 joint letter to Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum expressing their gratitude to the Mexican government's recent tariff changes for apparel goods.
The Trump administration will have the opportunity to pause or terminate Health and Human Services’ proposal to modify the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) Security Rule, compliance attorneys said Monday.
The U.S. government stressed that it plans to continue an ongoing legal battle to enforce the beneficial ownership information reporting requirements in the Corporate Transparency Act, which a federal court paused last month under a nationwide injunction (see 2412270046 and 2412300031)
Participation in BEAD bidding could vary widely among states, officials at broadband trade groups, state telecommunications organizations and other entities tell us. For example, some states, including Pennsylvania, could face low participation rates owing to onerous bidder requirements. In other instances, local rules facilitate BEAD participation.
The Border Trade Alliance released a Dec. 30 letter it sent to the Mexican Embassy asking that nation to pause its regulatory changes that end tariff-free treatment of apparel and textile home goods that are imported into Mexico but destined for U.S. consumers. The same change also increased the tariffs on 121 apparel goods from China to 35% (see 2412240009).
Companies subject to the Treasury Department’s paused beneficial ownership information (BOI) reporting requirements are in a “state of bewilderment” after the Corporate Transparency Act rules were temporarily reinstated earlier this month only for them to be quickly placed back under a nationwide injunction last week (see 2412270046), Holland & Knight said in a Dec. 27 client alert. For now, the law firm said there “appears to be a set path forward and a reprieve from imminent compliance obligations” under the rules, which would have required most companies to submit BOI reports to the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network in January as part of a government initiative to prevent sanctioned parties and others from hiding assets in the U.S.
A nationwide injunction stopping the Corporate Transparency Act’s beneficial ownership information (BOI) reporting requirements from taking effect was reinstated last week, making it so certain companies won't have to comply with the law's reporting rules next month.
FCC Commissioner Brendan Carr’s recent warning letter to Disney CEO Bob Iger (see 2412240021) appears politically motivated, could be read as a reversal of Carr’s past stances on sticking to the text of FCC rules and evokes the long-defunct fairness doctrine, according to former FCC commissioners, academics and attorneys we interviewed. President-elect Donald Trump has selected Carr to head the FCC.