The FCC's abdicating its internet oversight authority in 2017 largely neutered the agency's ability to protect online privacy and to require ISPs to address lengthy outages, Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel said Tuesday as she announced the agency was moving to take that authority back. Reclassification of broadband as a service under Title II would end having to often jury-rig legal justifications for actions the agency is taking, she said, saying October's agenda will include a draft NPRM on reinstating the agency's 2015 net neutrality rules. The move met loud criticism, including from inside the FCC, as well as support.
A recent FCC Media Bureau Audio Division notice of apparent liability confirms that agency permission isn’t needed for gradual changes in noncommercial educational broadcaster governing boards, said Wiley broadcast attorney Kathryne Dickerson in an interview and blog post. In an August NAL proposing a $20,000 forfeiture (see 2308280071) for Olympia, Washington, translator owner Northwest Rock N Roll Preservation Society (NWR), the Audio Division rejected an accusation that the broadcaster had changed ownership without the FCC’s go-ahead because the multiple changes to the NWR board had happened over time rather than all at once. “We find that, because the nature of the changes to the NWR board were gradual, no unauthorized transfer of control of NWR occurred,” said the NAL. Though the agency made a similar ruling in a tentative conclusion in a 1989 notice of inquiry, it has never adopted the policy as a formal ruling, Dickerson said. In the August NAL, the agency said that though it isn’t bound by the 1989 NOI, the FCC “has hewed to them in later policy-making decisions.” With biennial ownership reports due soon, that acknowledgment should give some certainty for many NCE stations unclear on their status, Dickerson said. The decision is particularly notable because the NWR board gradually underwent a total changeover between 2010 and 2022, without FCC authorization, Dickerson said. The NAL's providing clarity on the agency’s view of such changeovers could save many NCE organizations time and money in preparing their ownership reports, Dickerson said.
Congress should continue to fund the affordable connectivity program, the FCC may not be the right entity to regulate AI and the agency's spectrum auction authority should be restored, said former FCC chairs and commissioners at the Multicultural Media, Telecom and Internet Council’s 2023 virtual Former Chairs’ Symposium Tuesday. Panelists -- including former acting Chairwoman Mignon Clyburn and former Chairman Richard Wiley -- also discussed diversity, the failed Standard/Tegna deal, and the confirmation of nominee Anna Gomez. Gomez is “a mainstream Democrat” who will “work well on a bipartisan basis,” said former Commissioner Jonathan Adelstein. “She’s not particularly ideological even though she’s been a strong fighter.”
House Judiciary Committee Republicans accused Democrats of trying to censor testimony Thursday in a way that mirrors how they allege the federal government colluded with social media companies to censor legitimate news stories.
Wiley hires former FCC Deputy Bureau Chief Diane Holland as partner-telecom, media and tech … Nexstar signs multiyear contract extensions with President-Networks Sean Compton and President-Distribution and Strategy Dana Zimmer; Nexstar's 8-K filing Monday said Compton’s contract runs through September 2027, Zimmer’s through September 2026 ... Colohouse collocation, cloud, bare metal and managed services provider announces Aptum Technologies’ Ross Woodham as chief legal officer.
An FCC draft order on FM6 low-power TV stations is expected to change little from the draft version and to be unanimously approved Thursday, FCC and industry officials said. The stations -- sometimes called “Franken FMs”-- broadcast primarily audio content that can be picked up with FM radio receivers and “will get to stay on the air and continue serving the public,” said Wiley broadcast attorney Ari Melzer, who represents several FM6 broadcasters.
The U.S. Supreme Court’s 6-3 decision last week in the student loan case, Biden v. Nebraska, didn’t touch on communications law, but it delves deeper into the "major questions doctrine" laid out a year ago in West Virginia v. EPA (see 2206300066). Legal experts told us the opinion, by Chief Justice John Roberts, appears to further expand when the doctrine may apply and moves the court further away from the Chevron doctrine. The case also has implications for the most controversial items addressed by the FCC, including net neutrality, experts said.
Industry breathed a sigh of relief after a California state court delayed enforcement of California Privacy Rights Act regulations Friday. The California Chamber of Commerce (CalChamber) said the ruling by the California Superior Court in Sacramento righted an unfair situation for businesses. “Significant portions” of CPRA remain enforceable, despite the court’s ruling, said California Privacy Protection Agency (CPPA) Executive Director Ashkan Soltani.
Umair Javed, chief counsel to FCC Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel, left the agency, he confirmed on LinkedIn. Javed, who joined Rosenworcel’s staff from Wiley in 2017, had been recusing himself from work on various items for several months, industry officials said. Javed is seen as a potential replacement for FCC nominee Anna Gomez if she leaves her position as head of the U.S. delegation to the World Radiocommunication Conference before the start of the conference Nov. 20 (see 2306010075). The FCC didn't comment.
Wiley announces former Senate Commerce Committee staffer Crystal Tully as special counsel in the firm’s Telecom, Media and Technology Practice … Data center developer CyrusOne says CFO Katherine Motlagh will leave June 1; Senior Vice President-Finance Michael Schafer becomes interim CFO on Motlagh’s departure while the company launches a search for her permanent successor ... Gray Television promotes Senior Managing Vice President Sandy Breland to executive vice president-chief operating officer, succeeding Bob Smith, retired … Private equity firm Welsh Carson adds Dun & Bradstreet’s Andrew Hausman, also former IDC, as an operating partner-technology group.