The Commerce Department Bureau of Industry and Security's handling of emerging and foundational technologies drew rhetorical fire on a Center for Strategic and International Studies webinar. Experts said Friday the lengthy process is impeding Committee on Foreign Investment in the U.S. work. “It’s a hard list," said Wiley's Nova Daly of BIS work to come up with information on such technologies that need curbs when involving certain other countries. "Emerging technologies shift and change.” Putting controls on emerging and foundational technologies is "a requirement by law," the expert added. "It will help CFIUS do its job in terms of being able to make sure we don't lose those critical technologies.” The Foreign Investment Risk Review Modernization Act (FIRRMA) let CFIUS review transactions involving such tech. Because of some BIS delays in issuing those controls, CFIUS may not have a clear definition for what technologies to target, experts say. Making CFIUS partly dependent on BIS “was a really bad idea, and I think it needs to be re-looked,” said David Hanke, who helped draft FIRRMA and now is at Arent Fox. “There needs to be more agility, there needs to be more speed, the ability for [Treasury] to see something coming, and whether or not it's covered by BIS and the commerce control list, to be able to designate that in a quick manner.” Thomas Feddo, Treasury's CFIUS lead, cautioned critics from placing too much blame on BIS. “I'm not an export controls expert. I wish Commerce was here to defend themselves,” he said. “I think they might make some argument that they're making a great deal of progress.” Feddo said CFIUS doesn't necessarily need BIS to designate critical technologies for the committee to target transactions. BIS didn't comment Monday. A BIS spokesperson Friday pointed to its notice that day announcing six additional emerging technology controls. The agency hasn't issued foundational tech final controls (see 2008260013).
A draft order on streamlining and standardizing the process by which FCC applications from foreign-owned companies are reviewed by the “Team Telecom” executive branch agencies is expected to be approved unanimously at Wednesday’s commissioners' meeting, said commission and industry officials.
The FCC Advisory Committee on Diversity and Digital Empowerment has had to adjust its focus to grapple with COVID-19 and its outsize effects on minorities and small business owners, members told its Friday meeting. “We’ve had to tweak our plans,” said Beasley Broadcast CEO and Access to Capital working group head Caroline Beasley. “Getting access to capital to buy a broadcast property in the world of COVID is literally impossible.” The pandemic “illustrated as nothing else has the importance of connecting communities,” said FCC Chairman Ajit Pai.
Hearst Television advances Alvin Lustgarten to senior vice president-technology and information services ... Teradata promotes Hillary Ashton to chief product officer ... Gannett taps Mayur Gupta, ex-Freshly, for chief marketing and strategy officer; he resigns from Gannett board ... VideoAmp adds from Omnicom Media Jonathan Steuer as executive vice president-TV strategy and currency ... Workforce Logiq hires consultant William Rolack as vice president-diversity and inclusion.
With Hogan Lovells under new CEO Miguel Zaldivar (see this section, Dec. 20), it's promoting as planned communications attorney Michele Farquhar to Washington office managing partner (see this section, April 9); law firm says now Ari Fitzgerald takes over from Farquhar as head, Communications practice group and Mark Brennan does likewise at Technology, Media and Telecoms sector group, which itself has Technology led by John Brockland and Telecoms led by Angus Coulter.
Next Generation Mobile Networks Alliance names telecom industry executive Anita Dohler CEO-board member, taking over from Peter Meissner, retiring and will "remain active" as senior adviser, NGMN board ... U.S. Chief Information Officer Suzette Kent reportedly departing next month; White House doesn't comment ... Booz Allen adds cybersecurity experts Kevin Richards, ex-Marsh, as executive vice president, leading Strategic Cyber Readiness and Response teams, and Tony Sharp, ex-FedEx, as senior vice president, running Security Architecture and Engineering team.
California’s privacy law sequel qualified for the Nov. 3 election, with more than 623,212 signatures validated, California Secretary of State Alex Padilla (D) said Wednesday, one day before the deadline to approve ballot initiatives. “We’ve come a long way in the two years since passing the landmark California Consumer Privacy Act, but during these times of unprecedented uncertainty, we need to ensure that the laws keep pace with the ever-changing ways corporations and other entities are using our data,” said Alastair Mactaggart, author of CCPA and the new California Privacy Rights Act. CPRA is “the important next step in ensuring that privacy rights are sustained now and well into the future,” said California Senate Majority Leader Robert Hertzberg (D). Mactaggart sued Padilla over a deadline snafu that could have kept CPRA off the ballot (see 2006120060). In a Friday ruling on that suit, the California Superior Court in Sacramento supported Mactaggart and listed possible remedies. CCPA enforcement starts Wednesday, but it’s unclear if the Office of Administrative Law will approve by then the final rules, submitted earlier this month by Attorney General Xavier Becerra (D), said Wiley privacy attorney Duane Pozza on a Thursday webinar. If not, enforcement would be based solely on the text of the CCPA law, he said. “We’ll have to see what the attorney general does” on the first day of enforcement, he said: Becerra could focus on a few cases, announce broader investigations or send warning letters to businesses that would be “made public and put people on notice about the kinds of things they’re looking at.”
Association for Unmanned Vehicle Systems International hires Michael Robbins -- who remains chief operating officer at Moak Group -- as a consultant in newly created role at the association: executive vice president-advocacy and government affairs ... CPB promotes Jacquie Gales Webb to vice president-radio ... Kelly Miller, ex-Banner Public Affairs, joins FTI Consulting Telecom, Media & Technology team as senior director ... XR Association hires from Booz Allen Joan O’Hara for senior director-public policy.
Utilities Technology Council board promotes Sheryl Riggs to president-CEO, from interim since January; directors extend officers' terms for another year due to postponement of UTC’s annual conference, which will now be held virtually ... Lerman Senter promotes David Burns to member and hires Art Harding, ex-Foster Garvey, as counsel ... FeganScott adds Melissa Ryan Clark, ex-Tadler Law and a lawyer with experience with privacy and data breaches, as of counsel.
Wiley will move to a newly constructed building at 2050 M St. NW in Washington, D.C., said real estate developer Tishman Speyer. Wiley, currently at 1776 K St. NW, is leasing 166,000 square feet on floors three through seven of the new location, an 11-story, 340,000-square-foot building that also houses CBS’ Washington bureau. The move is “the DC market’s largest relocation deal so far in 2020,” said Tishman Speyer.