Some recent court decisions have “nibbled away” at the concept of Chevron deference, attorneys from the FCC Office of General Counsel said at an FCBA CLE Monday evening. The legal principle that courts should give deference to expert agencies on matters of interpreting legislation is “in flux,” said Litigation Division Chief Jacob Lewis. “Chevron lives, it’s still healthy,” Lewis said, but the doctrine is facing “more serious challenges.
Emergency alert system participants must create an FCC user name within the commission registration system to use the 2017 EAS test reporting system (ETRS), the Public Safety Bureau said in a public notice Monday. The bureau will release a PN in July announcing the deadline for EAS participants to have updated their information in the ETRS, it said. Participants need to create a user name as part of an improvement to the ETRS system that stems from the 2016 nationwide EAS test, the PN said. “Filers will now use a single account to file on behalf of multiple FCC Registration Numbers,” the PN said. “The ETRS was designed to increase the reliability and value of the EAS, while minimizing reporting burdens on EAS Participants."
Commissioners unanimously approved an NPRM Thursday, seeking comment on creating a new emergency alert system code for situations when police officers are in danger. The FCC is “uniquely positioned” to support police officers and “help save lives,” said DOJ Deputy National Blue Alert Coordinator Vincent Davenport, who addressed the commissioners before the vote. The item is “a significant step forward in protecting the lives of law enforcement officers,” Davenport said. “We are not just advancing a policy,” said Chairman Ajit Pai. “We are affirming a principle: that we have a collective responsibility to protect and serve those who protect and serve us.” Though the final draft of the NPRM wasn’t released, a news release and comments from the Public Safety Bureau indicate it changed little from the draft released about three weeks earlier. The item seeks comment on creating a new EAS code that will be used to inform the public in situations where an officer has been injured, killed or is under threat, and descriptive information about a suspect is available to disseminate to the public, said bureau staff. “A Blue Alert could quickly warn you if a violent suspect may be in your community, along with providing instructions on what to do if you spot the suspect and how to stay safe,” the release said. Some states have Blue Alert systems, and the proposed rules would create a “national framework” that states can opt into, Pai has said. Some EAS officials said it’s not clear there’s a need for an additional EAS code (see 1706190080).
A proposed Blue Alert emergency alert system code for law enforcement officers in danger (see 1705190048) could unnecessarily duplicate things the EAS can do and may not be utilized by many broadcasters, EAS officials said in interviews. “This may be a solution looking for a problem,” said Ed Czarnecki, senior director-global government affairs for EAS equipment manufacturer Monroe Electronics. DOJ’s Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS) Office has said the new BLU EAS code would increase urgency of response to such alerts. The COPS Office requested the dedicated alert code, the draft NPRM said.
Public safety items will dominate the FCC's June 22 meeting. Commissioners tentatively will vote on a special emergency alert system code for imminent threats against law enforcement and changes to caller ID rules to allow those receiving threatening calls and law enforcement to get identification information quickly. Such items focus on "help[ing] law enforcement and first responders," Chairman Ajit Pai blogged Thursday.
The FCC reached a $55,000 settlement with Tegna over false broadcast of emergency alert system tones by WTLV Jacksonville, Florida, said a consent decree released Tuesday. The company will admit to misusing the EAS tones and implement a compliance plan. The matter was kicked off by an August complaint about WTLV airing an advertisement for the Jacksonville Jaguars that used an EAS tone “accompanied by the sounds of howling winds and thunder claps” and a voice saying, “This is an emergency broadcast transmission. This is not a test. Please remain calm. Seek shelter,” an FCC news release said. The ad was broadcast four times before a WTLV staff member informed station management of the rule violation.
The high-profile FCC net neutrality comment period, spanning months going into the August congressional recess (see 1705180029), could distract lawmakers from other telecom priorities, Democrats told us. Lawmakers of both parties hope to avoid such derailment, but Democrats said they plan to commit time to mobilizing net neutrality defenders to comment. Hill reaction split along partisan lines to last week’s 2-1 NPRM vote.
The FCC will vote June 22 on a proposal to create a special “Blue Alert” emergency alert system code for notifications about threats to law enforcement, Chairman Ajit Pai announced Friday at a news conference at the Department of Justice. Operating similar to an Amber Alert, the new code “would be used by authorities in states across the country to notify the public through television and radio of threats to law enforcement and to help apprehend dangerous suspects,” said an FCC news release. “My proposal would give state and local authorities that option to use a dedicated alert code to send the warnings to the public, broadcast, cable, satellite, and wireline video networks,” Pai said. The draft NPRM was circulated to the eighth floor Thursday, Pai said. Twenty-seven states already have blue alert plans, but the FCC proposal would create a “nationwide framework” that states could adopt, the release said. The FCC’s Blue Alert proposal stems from federal legislation, the Rafael Ramos and Wenjian Liu National Blue Alert Act of 2015, the release said. The act, “directs cooperation with the FCC,” and is being implemented by DOJ’s Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS) Office, the release said. “The COPS Office has expressed the need for a dedicated EAS code for Blue Alerts,” the release said. The Blue Alerts may provide extra warning for police and enable them to defend themselves or catch dangerous criminals, said acting Director for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement Chief Tom Homan at the news conference, saying Friday was “a good day for law enforcement, a better day for American communities.”
House Communications Subcommittee ranking member Mike Doyle, D-Pa., has “concerns” about transition to the ATSC 3.0 broadcast standard and its impact on affordability, he said at a hearing Wednesday on emergency alerts and featuring testimony from NAB Chief Technology Officer Sam Matheny and Qualcomm Director-Engineering Farrokh Khatibi. Chairman Marsha Blackburn, R-Tenn., pressed Matheny on whether NAB prefers mandates or market forces to guide the transition. “We are not looking for a mandate,” Matheny told her.
The FCC could consider a "phased approach" to the transition to ATSC 3.0 and could be open to changes to broadcaster public interest requirements, said Media Bureau Chief Michelle Carey at an ATSC conference (see 1705170033) Wednesday, saying the agency is "drilling down" into comments on the ATSC 3.0 NPRM. ATSC 3.0 is a "top priority," Carey said, saying the recent comments created a "robust record" and staff are working on the new standard as fast as they can.