Presentations to the FCC Advisory Committee on Diversity and Digital Empowerment and presentations by the ACDDE to the agency will be treated as exempt for ex parte purposes, said a public notice in docket 17-208 Monday. “This treatment is appropriate because presentations to the Committee will not result directly in the promulgation of new rules.” Though the ACDDE may address issues relevant to ongoing FCC proceedings, the FCC won’t use information submitted to or by the panel in considering those matters, the PN said.

Corrections: Senate Commerce Committee Chairman John Thune, R-S.D., told us he's interested in bringing up the Stop Enabling Sex Traffickers Act (S-1693) for a Senate Commerce Committee markup soon (see 1710270058) ... An Internet Governance Project paper is titled, "In Search of Amoral Registrars: Content Regulation and Domain Name Policy" (see 1710270001).

NTIA urged the FCC to account for federal government telecom needs in streamlining the processes for copper retirements and telecom service discontinuances under Section 214 of the Communications Act. The Commerce Department agency supports proposals in an FCC April NPRM for streamlining the process and suggested ways to "accommodate the needs" of federal agency communications customers. "The technology transition will require federal agencies -- on a possibly very short timetable -- to purchase new IP-compatible customer premises equipment (CPE) or to install new equipment to ensure that agencies’ existing CPE and systems can interoperate with IP-based services," said NTIA comments posted Monday in docket 17-84. "While the Commission should aggressively reduce or eliminate unjustified regulatory barriers to network evolution, it must also take steps to assure that before a service is discontinued or a facility is retired (1) federal customers are aware of the prospective change and its potential service implications for them, (2) carriers have acquainted themselves with their federal customers’ situation and needs, and (3) carriers have taken reasonable steps to ensure that federal users will continue to be served adequately after discontinuance." The FCC Thursday put a draft item on the tentative agenda for a Nov. 16 vote (see 1710270040).

FCC commissioners approved temporary rules providing immediate relief to schools and libraries contending with “devastation” caused by Harvey, Irma and Maria. It makes "available targeted support to schools and libraries that are forced to rebuild facilities and replace equipment damaged by the Hurricanes, and provide increased flexibility for eligible services to be restored through service substitutions,” said a Monday order in docket 02-6. “We also make additional E-rate support available for schools that are incurring additional costs for eligible services, e.g., for increased bandwidth demand, because they are serving students that have been displaced by the storms, even though they may not be contending with substantial physical damage.” The storms together caused an estimated $150 billion-$200 billion in damage to areas of Texas, Florida and Georgia “and to virtually all of Puerto Rico and the United States Virgin Islands,” the agency said. Commissioner Mike O’Rielly said the FCC should work with Congress to determine whether the USF programs could be reimbursed through funding targeted to hurricane relief. “Because of our budget limitations, providing additional funding from universal service generally comes at the expense of other recipients,” O’Rielly said.

Large internet edge providers could get drawn into common-carrier regulation along with broadband ISPs due to concerns on both sides of the political spectrum, suggested Harold Feld, Public Knowledge senior vice president, at an NTCA conference Thursday. "What we have seen is that both from the left and the right, nobody is happy; everybody believes the platform is discriminating against them -- they’re not going after the awful guys who are on the other side," Feld said on a recorded clip forwarded by an industry attendee. "So I personally think that we may be headed toward some kind of overall common carriage in this universe for not just the traditional ISPs but for some of these larger platforms as well. I frankly think that they would be much better off embracing it rather than trying to maintain a world where they maintain editorial discretion but try not to use it too much."

The FCC's enforcement procedures are in need of reform, Verizon said in comments on a Sept. 18 NPRM. The NPRM proposes (see 1709180057) creating uniform procedural rules for certain complaint proceedings "delegated to the Enforcement Bureau and currently handled by its Market Disputes Resolution Division (MDRD) and Telecommunications Consumers Division (TCD)." Verizon said the FCC should harmonize procedural rules that apply to Section 208 formal complaints, Section 224 pole attachment complaints and disability access complaints, as proposed in the NPRM, but look at other changes as well. Other commenters urged the FCC to take a more cautious approach. Additional changes are needed, Verizon said in comments filed in docket 17-245. The FCC “should discontinue its recent misapplication of the continuing violation theory,” Verizon said. “It should publish a manual with its enforcement procedures, so that all parties know how the Commission will handle enforcement matters. It should provide drafts of Notices of Apparent Liability (NAL) to investigation targets and allow those targets to respond before the Commission votes on the NAL.” The FCC also should require a vote on consent decrees at the request of any two commissioners, Verizon argued. But groups representing people with disabilities asked the FCC to act with care. “Formal complaints, along with requests for dispute assistance (47 C.F.R. §14.32), and informal complaints (47 C.F.R. §14.34), help people with disabilities gain access to telecommunications,” said the filing led by Telecommunications for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing. NCTA said the FCC shouldn’t further limit information from utility pole owners available to companies that choose to file pole attachment complaints. Such information is “integral to the resolution of pole attachment complaints and promotes settlement, and, as the current rules recognize, is largely within the knowledge and control of the utility pole owner,” NCTA said. “The Commission should ensure that any changes provide adequate due process and do not hinder parties’ ability to fully and effectively participate in formal complaint proceedings,” NCTA said. The Edison Electric Institute, which represents electric utilities, also advised caution. The FCC “should be wary of emphasizing the speed of resolution of complaints over the fundamental fairness of the complaint resolution process,” EEI said. “The Commission’s highest priority should be ensuring that the complaint resolution process remains fundamentally fair to the parties.”

FCC Commissioner Brendan Carr told Free Press the agency is committed to publishing guidelines on protecting constitutional rights of FCC meeting attendees, the group said in a filing posted Thursday to docket 17-179. The group sought "clarification" on the issue. There have been some instances of journalists and others saying they mistreatment at FCC meetings (see 1706220056). Free Press also asked for public hearings and a comprehensive report about the effects of recent hurricanes on communications networks. The agency should collect data on how restoration efforts differed by region, and on whether “restoration redlining was taking place, whereby wealthy and white neighborhoods are reconnected faster than poorer and more ethnically and racially diverse neighborhoods,” it said. Free Press also said the agency should seek public comment on net neutrality consumer complaints and asked Carr to vote against Sinclair buying Tribune and relaxing media ownership rules.

Correction: The name of Atlantic-ACM senior partner is Aaron Blazar (see 1710250041).

Federal judges questioned AT&T more extensively than the FCC about the company's challenge to partial telecom forbearance orders that left ILECs subject to unsubsidized USF voice service obligations. At oral argument (audio) Thursday in AT&T v. FCC., No. 15-1038, AT&T counsel Benjamin Softness of Kellogg Huber was subjected to questioning for 22 minutes by the three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit, while the FCC attorney only had 11 minutes (both had been allotted 15 minutes). Chief Judge Merrick Garland disputed AT&T arguments that were based on census block data the company didn't submit before the agency's decisions, and that the FCC carried a particular evidentiary burden cited by the company. AT&T noted afterward it's appealing two FCC orders concerning eligible telecom carrier obligations and designations, with CenturyLink joining as a petitioner and USTelecom as an intervenor. "Compelling providers to provide service in costly-to-serve areas while refusing to provide them with high-cost universal service support violates the Communications Act’s statutory command that the FCC provide 'sufficient' support," emailed AT&T. "These unfunded mandates cause carriers like AT&T to divert capital dollars to maintain [plain old telephone service], a service that few consumers want, instead of using their capital to expand broadband service." The FCC declined comment.

Sen. Ed Markey, D-Mass., and five other Senate Democrats urged Verizon and Univision Wednesday to settle their retransmission dispute, which resulted in a blackout (see 1710190034). They asked FCC Chairman Ajit Pai to bring Univision and Verizon to negotiations to end the dispute. The National Hispanic Media Coalition and others also pressed for a resolution (see 1710200052). “This retransmission dispute is particularly serious in light of the ongoing humanitarian crisis in Puerto Rico” after Hurricane Maria, the senators said in a letter to Pai, Univision CEO Randy Falco and Verizon CEO Lowell McAdam. “As the situation in Puerto Rico changes, access to Spanish-language news programming is crucial. We believe the public interest would be best served if carriage is restored by the parties at the earliest possible time so that consumers are no longer caught in the middle.” The other senators signing the letter were Cory Booker, D-N.J.; Ben Cardin, D-Md.; Bob Casey, D-Pa.; Robert Menendez, D-N.J.; and Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass. Univision shares the senators’ "concern regarding access to Spanish language information and news," a spokesman said. "Univision remains ready to enter into a fair deal that recognizes the value of Spanish-language programming. We hope that Verizon returns to the table to negotiate with us in good faith to bring Univision networks back to Verizon customers." A Verizon spokesman referred us to the company's earlier letter to Pai that said Univision has "consistently insisted on unreasonable terms" (see 1710190034).