The FCC Advisory Committee on Diversity and Digital Empowerment will be chaired by Anna Gomez, of Wiley Rein, and working groups will be chaired by Beasley Media CEO Caroline Beasley, Comcast Vice President-Global Public Policy Rudy Brioche, and Brookings Institute Fellow Nicol Turner-Lee, said a public notice on docket 17-208 Thursday. Beasley will head the Access to Capital Working Group, Brioche the Digital Empowerment and Inclusion WG, and Turner Lee the Diversity in the Tech Sector one. The rechartered ACDDE holds its first meeting Wednesday.
FCC Commissioner Brendan Carr taps Media Bureau’s Ben Arden as acting legal adviser-media issues ... FCC Chairman Ajit Pai designates Anna Gomez, Wiley Rein, to chair rechartered Advisory Committee on Diversity and Digital Empowerment, representing the Hispanic National Bar Association, and Heather Gate, Connected Nation, vice chair ... Scott Patrick, ex-Baker Hostetler, becomes executive director, NTIA Office of Spectrum Management ... Eric Null, New America Open Technology Institute, says he’s becoming Open Access’ U.S. policy manager, effective in mid-November ... Acting Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kevin McAleenan leaving government.
CTA applied to register the NEXTGEN TV logo as a certification mark Sept. 25, the day before introducing it publicly as the linchpin of the industry’s go-to-market strategy for ATSC 3.0 TVs (see 1909260021), said newly posted records at the Patent and Trademark Office. The logo “is intended to certify that the goods to which the mark will be applied have been evaluated to meet certain use and performance standards, namely that the goods are ATSC 3.0 standard compliant,” said the application that Wiley Rein filed on CTA’s behalf. The association will “later provide” a copy of the “standards governing the use of the certification mark on or in connection with the goods/services in the application,” it said. Details remain murky on the performance metrics that would minimally qualify a TV to bear the logo.
Attention is turning to the California attorney general’s rulemaking to implement the California Consumer Privacy Act, after lawmakers made minor CCPA tweaks in their session ended this month (see 1909160045). The law takes effect Jan. 1, but enforcement won’t start until the earlier of July or six months after AG Xavier Becerra (D) issues rules. Neither businesses nor consumer privacy groups got everything they wanted, and will be watching the AG rulemaking closely, they said in interviews last week.
FCC Commissioner Brendan Carr names Joseph Calascione, Office of Economic Analysis, acting legal adviser-wireline issues, replacing Jamie Susskind (see 1907110069) ... Atlantic Council announces Trey Herr, ex-Microsoft, as director, Cyber Statecraft Initiative ... Access Partnership names Michael Clauser, ex-Analog Devices, global head-data and trust.
FCC Administrative Law Judge Jane Halprin doesn’t yet have a long record, but her decisions so far indicate some trends, said Wiley Rein broadcast attorney Ari Meltzer in a blog post Monday. Halprin’s taking up of the stalled cases involving Sinclair Broadcast (see 1906270068) and Lake Broadcasting (see 1905310053) demonstrates she doesn’t allow matters to linger, Meltzer said. She also issued “strongly worded” decisions in those cases, indicating she takes issues involving candor seriously, Meltzer said: “As, perhaps, should be expected of someone who served 14 years as Ethics Counsel.” Halprin will preside over a prehearing conference Tuesday for a case on possible issues of candor and radio licensee Entertainment Media Trust (see 1906050063). Halprin’s reaction to the mid-hearing withdrawal of one of the principals in the Lake case also shows her to be “a stickler for process,” Meltzer said. “We may learn a lot more about Judge Halprin based on how she conducts her first hearing as an ALJ, and we will also be looking to see how she handles inter-party disputes, such as carriage complaints.”
The FTC isn’t equipped to handle modern enforcement challenges, Rep. Anna Eshoo, D-Calif., told us, saying there’s a strong case for creating a new data privacy agency. Eshoo and Rep. Zoe Lofgren, D-Calif., are drafting a bill that would create such an agency modeled after the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (see 1906250033).
Regulatory uncertainty about the 5.9 GHz band's future threatens the progress auto industry OEMs and some state transportation departments are making in deploying vehicle-to-everything technology (V2X) for safety purposes, Global Automakers (GA) said in a call Thursday with reporters, arguing its case for a flexible-use licensing regime for the band. How much traction the auto industry proposal has at the FCC is unclear. The industry narrative about using the band to save lives "is a powerful one," but it's also somewhat undercut by relative lack of dedicated short-range communications (DSCR) in the band, said Competitive Enterprise Institute Senior Fellow Marc Scribner.
Wiley Rein hires Antonio Reynolds as partner, Telecom, Media & Technology Practice; also working with practice areas including Blockchain Technology, FTC Regulation and Privacy, Cyber & Data Governance ... Retail Industry Leaders Association appoints from WorldatWork Melissa Sharp Murdock as vice president-communications and media relations ... GSMA appoints Colt Technology Services' Stephanie Lynch-Habib chief marketing officer, effective Sept. 9.
Pillsbury Winthrop hires Shaalu Mehra, from Gibson Dunn, as partner-leader, global technology policy ... Senate confirms Keith Krach, ex-DocuSign, as undersecretary of state-economics and Privacy Shield spokesperson ... Senate Judiciary Committee OKs Edward Felten for member, Privacy and Civil Liberties Oversight Board.