FCC Proposes To Speed Approval of Foreign Investments in Communications Companies
The FCC approved 5-0 to launch a rulemaking to speed up Team Telecom review of international companies' buys of U.S. licensees. In a key change from an NTIA proposal, the NPRM, as expected (see 1606150019), proposes time limits. It would be a 90-day time frame for executive branch review, “with an additional one-time 90-day extension in rare circumstances provided the Executive Branch provides a status update every 30 days,” the FCC said.
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Commissioner Mike O’Rielly, who pressed for changes last year, successfully pushed for time limits, FCC officials said. The NPRM also seeks comment on whether there are some categories of applications that shouldn't be referred to Team Telecom for review, said an FCC news release. “Taken together, these proposals are intended to facilitate a more streamlined review process and provide increased certainty for applicants, while still continuing to ensure the Commission considers national security, law enforcement, foreign policy, and trade policy concerns as part of its public interest review.”
“The trouble with the Team Telecom process, heretofore, has been the back and forth and back and forth and back and forth, as one agency said, ‘Well, listen, we’ve got these type of questions,'” Chairman Tom Wheeler said during a news conference after the meeting. Now companies have a forum for providing information needed by various agencies, Wheeler said. “The expectation is that we’ll be able to cut the time by 50 percent.”
Wheeler conceded the FCC can't dictate how much time another agency spends reviewing a particular transaction. “Nothing has changed on that,” he said. “We can’t say, “Hello, FBI, you have two and a half weeks.’ What we can say is ‘Hey, FBI, here’s our process. Here’s how long it’s taking. You need to fit into this process.’” Wheeler said: “We can set out time lines, we can’t set other peoples’ time lines. But if they want to participate in this process, they’ve got to be on our time line.”
Troy Tanner, deputy chief of the International Bureau, said the FCC can move forward without input from other agencies if they're slow to complete a review. “This is our process,” Tanner said. “These are applications filed with us.” The FCC seeks advice through Team Telecom, but can grant or deny an application as it sees fit, he said.
"There are some important issues to be worked out, such as the extent to which the commission should be aggregating or storing any sensitive information that may be filed, and if so, how best to maintain appropriate security and confidentiality," said O'Rielly. "I expect we will receive substantial, useful feedback on these issues and others in the weeks to come."
Commissioner Mignon Clyburn said she pushed to have the FCC ask questions about a proposed requirement that companies provide a large amount of data upfront, coordinated by the commission. “No doubt there may be other viable alternatives to this proposal -- such as applicants certifying the completeness of their applications to the commission -- so I asked that we seek comment on such alternatives as well as on the parameters of FCC staff review,” Clyburn said. The NPRM also seeks comment on how the FCC should treat the information provided and whether it should be presumed to be confidential, she said.
Commissioner Ajit Pai supported the NPRM in general, but said it raised some troubling questions. The proposal would require submission of data “in a form and location that permits them to be subject to lawful request or valid legal process under U.S. law,” he said. “In its proposed form, this certification may stray beyond existing law by extending federal jurisdiction over communications that are not normally subject to U.S. government process.”
The executive branch also asked the FCC to apply its proposed certification requirements to “applicants not currently subject to Team Telecom review,” Pai said. It's unclear whether applicants would have to submit responses to the FCC or other agencies, he said. “Unfortunately, I do not currently have confidence that the commission can protect the sensitive commercial information that will be included in companies’ answers.”
The changes proposed “are smart steps and they build on our efforts last year to provide more clear-cut guidance regarding investment in our nation’s broadcast stations,” said Commissioner Jessica Rosenworcel. “I believe they can be put in place without compromising national security objectives.”