Enactment of the Clarifying Lawful Overseas Use of Data Act (HR-4943/S-2383) and the Supreme Court’s subsequent dismissal of the U.S. v. Microsoft “Ireland Warrant” case (see 1803230038 and 1804170040) mean more work ahead to determine the future of cross-border data rules, blogged Cisco Director-Cybersecurity and Privacy Eric Wenger. The act doesn't grant the U.S. government “sweeping new powers to reach data stored abroad,” as “governments have long claimed such authority,” Wenger said. “There is nothing specific in either the language of the [Cloud] Act or the leading decisions preceding its passage treating U.S. companies differently than companies headquartered abroad." There is “more work needed to ensure” the act and EU’s proposed e-evidence regulation “function effectively for law enforcement while protecting civil liberties,” Wenger said Friday. “To the extent authorities around the world spell out the circumstances under which they will directly compel providers to produce data stored beyond their borders, it is essential that they also address the potential conflicts of law with third countries.”
Notable CROSS rulings
The FCC should relax radio subcap rules, entirely removing limits on owning AM stations and relaxing limits on FM stations, said NAB in a letter to Media Bureau Chief Michelle Carey Friday. The proposal would allow licensees in the top 75 markets to own up to eight FM stations instead of the current five, and do away with FM subcaps in other markets. AM subcaps would be eliminated nationwide, and licensees in the top 75 markets could increase their limit to 10 FM stations by acting as incubators for new entrant broadcasters. Though some broadcast officials called this a compromise, National Association of Black Owned Broadcasters President Jim Winston said it would be “a drastic relaxation” of ownership rules that would hurt diversity and kill the AM band. The FCC is expected to address subcaps when it tackles the 2018 quadrennial review later this year.
CTIA asked the FCC to act on changes to rules for the 3.5 GHz citizens broadband radio service band at the July 12 commissioners' meeting. The Wednesday letter by President Meredith Baker said unless the FCC acts soon, the U.S. will fall behind other countries in the race to 5G. CTIA asked the FCC to approve rules based on its April proposal made with the Competitive Carriers Association (see 1804240067). The Public Interest Spectrum Coalition (PISC) pushed for small priority access licenses (PALs) in the band, with no major changes from the Obama administration rules.
In what some called an unusual move, FCC Commissioner Mike O'Rielly used the agency's blog Friday to defend each of the commission's media regulations under Chairman Ajit Pai against criticism that such actions are benefiting Sinclair. Recounting a trip last week to the Pearl TV-led ATSC 3.0 model-market project in Phoenix (see 1805090082), O'Rielly fleshed out his view that the Pai-led commission isn't trying to help only Sinclair, but broadcasters overall when circumstances dictate.
BOSTON -- Massachusetts Senate leaders presented a bipartisan case for net neutrality and ISP privacy rules Thursday in a closed-door bipartisan informational caucus, a day after the U.S. Senate disapproved of the FCC repealing net neutrality rules (see 1805160064). Against heavy industry lobbying, Massachusetts Senate Majority Leader Cynthia Creem (D) and Senate Minority Leader Bruce Tarr (R) aim to educate members about a proposal of their Special Senate Committee on Net Neutrality and Consumer Protection, Creem said in a Wednesday interview at the State House. Meanwhile, in Vermont, a state senator urged industry to bring lawsuits against a net neutrality bill passed Saturday.
Broadcaster PMCM will argue that its WJLP Middletown Township, New Jersey, should be assigned virtual channel 3 over the FCC’s objections, at the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit Thursday (see 1709280034). The broadcaster won a previous case against the agency to be allowed to relocate the station from Nevada to New Jersey (see 1212170043) after the DTV transition, but the FCC and the courts rejected the broadcaster’s arguments this time around. Since the case deals with arcane concepts such as virtual channels and the Program and System Information Protocol, broadcast attorneys told us it’s likely the court will defer to the FCC now. “The FCC’s insistence that WJLP utilize major channel number 33, rather than major channel number 3, is flatly inconsistent” with the commission’s own rules, PMCM said (in Pacer).
WILLIAMSBURG, Va. -- FCC Commissioner Mike O'Rielly said the U.S. is in a 5G race against rivals, some of which have government-run "industrial policy." The U.S. faces challenges from other nations "racing ahead" to try to take the lead in deploying next-generation networks and services that "will decide" wireless communications for the next 20-25 years, he said, responding to a question Saturday at the FCBA retreat where he appeared with Commissioner Brendan Carr.
Baseline data privacy legislation is unlikely to gain traction in the U.S. but American and international companies are likely to view EU General Data Protection Regulation compliance as a competitive advantage, GDPR experts told us. Microsoft and Accenture publicly committed to end-to-end, global GDPR compliance. Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg told House lawmakers his platform will comply globally with certain aspects of the GDPR, specifically on privacy controls and consent transparency (see 1804110065). “My hypothesis is companies that do not provide [GDPR compliant services] will begin to stand out in a negative way to consumers and their users,” said World Privacy Forum Executive Director Pam Dixon. “There is a possibility that companies are going to see a domino effect where they feel a lot of pressure to comply.”
A German Supreme Court ruling that Eyeo GmbH's AdBlock Plus isn't anticompetitive will have "very tangible commercial implications" for online advertising and publishers of online content in the U.S. and elsewhere, Hogan Lovells (Hamburg) trademark and unfair competition attorney Anthonia Ghalamkarizadeh told us. The April 19 decision means Eyeo is free to continue marketing AdBlock Plus, by far the most popular and widespread adblocker in the world, she emailed. The service has rivals and faces opposition from publishers that are finding methods other than ads to fund their online content, she and others said.
The Trump administration is developing a national spectrum strategy, NTIA Administrator David Redl said at a Commerce Spectrum Management Advisory Committee meeting Wednesday. The Obama administration took an active role on spectrum policy, promoting sharing over exclusive use licenses in many cases, but the Trump administration has been relatively quiet (see 1712270032). Redl said NTIA is working with the administration on a plan. FCC and industry officials welcomed the administration’s long-awaited deep dive.