FCC To Hold Privacy Workshop After Net Neutrality Order, Wheeler Says
Recognizing FCC approval of net neutrality regulations raised questions about preserving the privacy of customer information, including the FTC's role (see 1502240070), FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler said his agency will hold an April workshop for stakeholders to discuss how best to move forward. Wheeler did not give more specifics Tuesday night as he spoke at the Center for Democracy & Technology’s annual dinner. The agency Wednesday didn't provide more information.
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Erik Stallman, director of CDT’s Open Internet Project, said he expects the agency workshop to deal with issues like the FTC loss of jurisdiction over broadband service after it was reclassified in the order as common carriage. Changes to FCC privacy rules that better tailor them to broadband could also be discussed, Stallman said. Details in the order -- which the agency hopes to release Thursday (see 1503110048) -- will drive much of what needs to be done, Stallman said. Wheeler also said at the event that the FCC and the FTC are trying to work more closely together. The FTC didn't comment.
Wheeler was feted at the event. CDT had backed a Communications Act Title II net neutrality approach. CDT President Nuala O’Connor called Wheeler “a man of courage,” but told him during a one-on-one conversation on stage that the group has concerns about privacy issues after the net neutrality vote.
Wheeler mentioned privacy as he laid out his priorities for his remaining 22 months as chairman before a new administration potentially leads to a change at the agency's helm. He also cited increasing the availability of spectrum, promoting competition and advancing such public safety issues as E-911. “Twenty-two months is a short amount of time to get a lot done,” he said.
Wheeler also again explained the evolution of his thinking in backing a Title II approach, having initially contemplated basing rules on Telecom Act Section 706. He said his senior adviser and former Public Knowledge president Gigi Sohn “dragged” him to meetings around the country with consumers and innovators. Those meetings helped him recognize the inadequacy of basing net neutrality rules on Section 706’s “commercially reasonable” standard, which could be seen as one considering what’s reasonable commercially instead of what would protect an open Internet, Wheeler said.
Wheeler, a historian, noted that he is leading the agency “during the greatest network revolution of the last 15 years.” A priority in his remaining time in the chairman's office, Wheeler said, is to unleash the potential of broadband by making sure it’s available to those with lower incomes and to residents in rural areas. He cited the agency’s efforts to make Internet access more available to schools and libraries through December’s E-rate order (see 1412110049), as well as a potential Lifeline overhaul. He had noted that at the December commission meeting, there seemed to be enough support on the commission to add broadband coverage to Lifeline subsidies. A priority is increasing access for people with disabilities, he said.
With the increasing importance of Wi-Fi for broadband access, he said, “you’re going to have to have enough spectrum,” said Wheeler. Competition, he said, “is the consumer’s best protector and the innovator’s best friend.”