Supreme Court pick Neil Gorsuch appears highly skeptical about broad deference justices have given expert agencies, and he has cited the FCC as a prime example. Gorsuch, the 10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals judge whom President Donald Trump tapped to fill the seat of the late Justice Antonin Scalia, is seen by FCC watchers as a likely vote to rein in the deference the high court has given agencies under its 1984 Chevron precedent, including in the 2005 Brand X broadband ruling.
FCC suggestions Friday of upcoming relief for broadcasters of incentive auction prohibited communications rules aren't enough, according to interviews with their lawyers and filings in docket 12-268. Attorneys told us Friday that they welcomed the release of more information about the repacking (see 1701270064). There were few surprises in the transition scheduling plan and accompanying post-auction procedures public notice, many lawyers said.
The Trump administration is reportedly preparing executive orders aimed at reducing the U.S. role in the United Nations and other international organizations. The administration is proposing a reduction of at least 40 percent in remaining U.S. funding toward international organizations, The New York Times reported last week. In the communications world, the U.S. is preparing for the next World Radiocommunications Conference in 2019, which falls under the ITU, a UN organization. Industry observers say it may too early to tell whether U.S. advocacy at WRC is in question, especially since the administration has yet to release any documents on reducing UN support. Some saw reason for concern.
CTIA promotes Matt Gerst and Jackie McCarthy to assistant vice president-regulatory affairs; Kathryn Dall’Asta is now associate general counsel ... NCTA hires Virginia Zigras, ex-aide to Rep. Tony Cardenas, D-Calif., as vice president-government relations ... Charter Communications adds Colleen King, ex-Wiley Rein, as vice president-regulatory affairs ... New title at FTC for ex-NTIA's Juliana Gruenwald (see 1701250073) is public affairs specialist, working on tech and privacy issues ... Electronic Frontier Foundation hires as staff technologist Erica Portnoy, ex-Google ... Joining Facebook: Hugo Barra, ex-Xiaomi, to lead all virtual reality efforts, including Oculus team.
The FCC Public Safety Bureau’s white paper on communications sector cybersecurity regulation is highly unlikely to influence the commission’s cybersecurity policies under new Chairman Ajit Pai, said industry lawyers and lobbyists in interviews. The white paper, which the FCC issued two days before former Chairman Tom Wheeler resigned, said the commission can’t rely on organic market incentives alone to reduce cyber risk. The federal government needs to assert “appropriate” regulatory oversight over ISPs’ cybersecurity practices in the absence of clear market incentives to drive improvements, said now-former Public Safety Bureau Chief David Simpson in the white paper (see 1701180082). The agency issued various other actions in the final days of Wheeler's tenure (see 1701240020).
The end of the incentive auction is expected to bring a flurry of broadcast dealmaking, from licensees that didn't get what they wanted from the auction, pent-up demand, and the likelihood of ownership deregulation, said broadcast attorneys, analysts, broadcasters and brokers in interviews. “A confluence of events” will drive the coming rush of broadcast M&A, said Patrick Communications broadcast broker Gregory Guy Friday. When that dealmaking occurs likely will depend on when the auction and the accompanying anti-collusion quiet period end, said Wiley Rein broadcast attorney Ari Meltzer. The quiet period could potentially be partially or fully relaxed before the auction is complete, attorneys and FCC officials suggested (see 1701190041).
With the final stage rule satisfied and the incentive auction's end in sight, broadcasters need to start getting ready for the repacking, and a relaxation of anti-collusion rules and accompanying quiet period would be a big help, said broadcasters and their lawyers in interviews Thursday. Though the FCC already may be calculating optimized new channel assignments and letters announcing them are expected to go out in weeks, the assignment amounts to “an empty suggestion if you can't talk to anyone,” said broadcast attorney Jack Goodman. Broadcasters also are waiting on the FCC to issue its transition plan, which went through the notice and comment process in the fall (see 1610170063).
Internet freedom advocates should highlight how support for their policy positions would further the goals of the incoming administration of President-elect Donald Trump, to generate that administration’s interest, policy experts said Wednesday. A turnaround in messaging on internet freedom-related issues would be wise given the imminent shift from President Barack Obama's administration, particularly in light of international trends, a New America event heard. Its Open Technology Institute recommended in December that the new administration build on the pro-internet freedom agendas of the Obama and George W. Bush administrations, including bolstering the multistakeholder model of internet governance. The Trump administration should ensure bilateral and multilateral agreements are “compatible with global internet freedom” and that domestic U.S. policies advance internet freedom, OTI said. Trump’s agenda should focus on fostering strong encryption and surveillance reform that defends privacy, OTI said: He should promote the need for free flow of information, including increasing domestic access to broadband.
The incoming administration of President-elect Donald Trump will mean changes for the FCC and FTC, but also hopefully will come with more certainty that can withstand the next administration shift, said panelists Thursday at an event hosted by the Information Technology and Innovation Foundation and the Technology Policy Institute. They singled out net neutrality and rules on privacy as critical issues that merit stable regulatory grounding.
Independent programmers might have gained a bit of leverage in carriage talks with a few major multichannel video programming distributors after last month's FCC administrative law judge advisory ruling that Cablevision discriminated when it retiered Game Show Network in 2011 (see 1611230046), some cable industry insiders and experts told us. The ruling has ramifications for only a select group of MVPDs that also own content, such as Comcast and -- if its bid to buy Time Warner goes through -- AT&T, said one independent network executive. But those pay-TV operators are likely going to take extra steps to rationalize and justify retiering indie networks, and networks might be emboldened to be slightly more aggressive in their asks, the executive said. Cablevision in its purchase by Altice USA agreed to sever common control between its distribution operations and programming interests (see 1605040010).