Federal Communications Commission (FCC)

The New York Public Service Commission will hold Altice to a “higher standard” on disaster resiliency, after problems in the cable company’s response to Tropical Storm Isaias, Chairman John Rhodes said Thursday at a Senate-Assembly joint hearing on utility and communications failures. In California, where wildfires are blazing, the wireless industry sought rehearing Wednesday of a California Public Utilities Commission order requiring 72-hour backup power in certain high-threat fire areas (see 2007160065).

A key federal appeals court vacated some FCC conditions on Charter Communications' buys of Time Warner Cable and Bright House Networks. Then-FCC Commissioner and now-Chairman Ajit Pai and Commissioner Mike O’Rielly originally voted against the deal curbs. Appellants are several consumers and the Competitive Enterprise Institute.

The FCC lacks authority to act on NTIA’s petition for a rulemaking on Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act (see 2008030025), Vimeo said in comments to the agency in RM-11862. The FCC received 177 comments by Wednesday afternoon, almost all from individuals. The Computer & Communications Industry Association, NetChoice and Engine told us they plan to comment in opposition to NTIA’s petition.

The satellite industry expects at least some changes to the FCC International Bureau earth station siting guidance that's the subject of a reconsideration petition, given the seeming unintended consequences of it, we're told. Since it's about staff guidance and not an order, the outcome isn't exactly clear. The Satellite Industry Association had petitioned for changes.

California’s net neutrality law could remain unenforced for months despite litigation resuming this week. A federal court set a schedule Thursday that would delay the state law at least until Q4, and it could be much longer if DOJ and industry win preliminary injunction against the state (see 2007300041). Timing remains hazy for enforcing Vermont’s frozen law. Net neutrality advocates say the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit in Mozilla v. FCC allowed state laws; others disagreed.

A draft order circulated to eighth-floor offices Thursday would reduce a Dec. 1 increase of the Lifeline program’s minimum service standard for mobile broadband. Currently, the MSS is to go from 3 GB monthly to 11.75 GB monthly on that date. The draft would instead shift it to 4.5 GB per month. It will “permanently clean up the mess” from the 2016 order that instituted the formula leading to the larger increase, Chairman Ajit Pai said. The agency waived a similar increase, from 3 GB to 8.75, in 2019. The metric has to rise to keep up with consumer data use, but increases that are too large prevent providers from keeping Lifeline affordable, Pai said.

FCC hires Tom Struble from R Street Institute as legal adviser, Office of Engineering and Technology ... With Trustworthy Accountability Group and Joint Industry Committee for Web Standards combining, Internet Advertising Bureau chief Mike Zaneis will be CEO for the combined organization, to be called TAG, while Jicwebs' Jules Kendrick is managing director-U.K. and Europe; deal to be completed in September ... David Lieber from Google says he joins TikTok public policy team to work on privacy; company doesn't comment further.

Amid talk of federal regulation of social media platforms' editorial privileges, FCC Commissioner Mike O'Rielly called it "First Amendment gibberish" to argue such regulation is pro-free speech. He spoke to the Media Institute Wednesday, also seeking less regulation of other industries and to get localities out of cable franchising. The social media regulatory step would curtail free speech through government action, he said in prepared and actual remarks.

Legislators so far are reacting along party lines to NTIA’s petition (see 2007270070) that the FCC help crack down on social media. Even GOP lawmakers who were somewhat supportive cautioned regulators not to run afoul of the First Amendment.

DOJ Antitrust Division chief Makan Delrahim promotes Taylor Owings to division acting chief of staff and senior counsel, succeeding outgoing COS William Rinner, who's senior counsel until planned departure from the department "in the coming months" ... Verizon Public Sector names Jennifer Chronis, ex-Amazon Web Services, to lead Federal business; Michael Maiorana, Verizon Federal lead, leaving the business effective Dec. 31 ... Corning taps Chief Legal and Administrative Officer Lewis Steverson to lead new Office of Racial Equality and Social Unity, tasked with building diversity “within the walls of Corning” and in its “communities.”