FCC officials on Friday repeatedly and vociferously criticized a story by The Washington Post quoting critics who claimed Chairman Ajit Pai, as head of an independent agency, was inappropriately close to the Trump administration. FCC Chief of Staff Matthew Berry in tweets said the incorrect assertion Trump and Pai spent time together at the president's meeting with tech companies this week (see 1706220054) amounted to a "fake meeting," was "sloppy journalism" and "disgraceful" and gave it "4 Pinocchios," referring to the way the Post's fact-checking columnists rate inaccurate statements (see here, here, here and here). Pai policy adviser Nathan Leamer tweeted that the assertion about a Pai/Trump meeting was a "complete fabrication" and, after a Post correction online, tweeted it was "still baseless" (here and here). According to the FCC, Pai took part in the tech companies event but was in a separate breakout session from Trump in a different building. Reporter Brian Fung emailed us that the Post "promptly corrected the story after being notified of the mistake, which was unintentional." He said Consumer Watchdog advocate John Simpson, whom he quoted in the story, "continued to say the FCC chairman's involvement in the White House event was problematic in the first place, from his perspective." Commissioner Mike O'Rielly tweeted the story was "a nothingburger that fails to point out last Admin took wrecking ball to norm on interactions." And Leamer liked a tweet by Mercatus Center fellow Joe Kane saying: "I hear @AjitPaiFCC and @POTUS work in the SAME CITY!" The FCC didn't comment further.

AT&T's Washington chief sees more in common than not with major tech companies on some privacy issues. The company is "very much in favor" of the Balancing the Rights of Web Surfers Equally and Responsibility Act (HR-2520) by House Communications Subcommittee Chairman Marsha Blackburn, R-Tenn., as "I should have the same rules in place as Google has, as Amazon has," and the Browser Act "says that," said Senior Executive Vice President for External and Legislative Affairs Bob Quinn. "We’ll be in the same regulatory environment" at the FTC, he said on C-SPAN's The Communicators during a segment to be televised this weekend and to be put online. He noted the likes of Amazon and Google don't like the opt-in standard in the bill, which is "less important than the equal treatment and one regulator approach." Tech companies may be escaping some heat, as "in any debate, it's always better to be arguing about how you're going to regulate some other person than you are fighting the regulation," Quinn said: "I think they are going to be a little more defensive" as scrutiny may increase. ISPs compared to websites and apps may be "part of the same ecosystem, but [are] strikingly different in makeup," an Internet Association spokesman emailed us. "The ISP market has high entry barriers, burdensome or even nonexistent ability to switch providers, and consumers, according to FCC data, lack choice. In contrast, entry barriers at the edge are low and competition is just a click away." Meanwhile, AT&T may wrap up its buy of Time Warner by year's end, Quinn said. It's unclear how soon the full Senate will approve Makan Delrahim as DOJ antitrust chief, the executive said, after the Senate Judiciary Committee cleared him 19-1 (see 1706080025). "Timing of this is going to be tied up with a lot of other partisan disputes" on Capitol Hill, Quinn said of Senate approval: "It's not clear to us how far in that process we’re going to get" at DOJ and with any consideration of possible conditions before Delrahim takes over the Antitrust Division. "I think that conversation is just beginning," and AT&T produced all data and answered all questions the department sought, Quinn said. "That process will kick off this summer." At a meeting with tech, FCC and other officials Thursday, President Donald Trump praised AT&T (see 1706220054), after criticizing the deal on the campaign trail. DOJ declined to comment. On net neutrality, "the only way to ensure that is really through legislation," Quinn said. "Whatever this commission does, we’re in Washington, and we know the pendulum politically swings back and forth repeatedly in this town," he said of the FCC and "walk[ing] away once and for all" from Title II Communications Act common-carrier regulation of broadband service. "If the political pendulum swings the other way, we’re subject to the next FCC coming in and just backtracking." The company worried "use of Title II was going to lead to significant rate regulation," he recounted.

The FCC is proposing a $120 million fine against the Florida operator of what Enforcement Bureau acting Chief Michael Carowitz called "one of the most disruptive robocallers we've come across." It said Adrian Abramovich's Miami operation made more than 96.7 million spoofed robocalls in Q3 and ultimately made hundreds of millions of such calls. It said the fine was for violations of the Truth in Caller ID Act, with Abramovich using "neighbor spoofing" -- making it appear they were coming from phone numbers in the same area code and the first three digits of the recipient's phone number -- and purportedly selling vacation deals from travel and hospitality companies such as TripAdvisor, Expedia and Marriott. People who answered the calls were apparently transferred to foreign call centers that often tried to instead sell vacation packages involving time shares. The agency said the hospitality and travel companies weren't affiliated with the call centers. It said TripAdvisor contacted the FCC last year after receiving complaints. It said medical paging service Spok complained in 2015 about a major robocalling event disrupting its emergency paging service -- an event that was traced to Abramovich's Marketing Strategy Leaders. The bureau said the fine is based on 80,000 calls it reviewed. Chairman Ajit Pai said it was the first FCC large-scale spoofing enforcement action under the act. The enforcement action was approved Thursday 3-0, and multiple robocall items are on the July commissioners' meeting agenda, announced Thursday (see 1706220050). The bureau said Abramovich has 30 days to respond. The agency Thursday issued a citation to Abramovich for apparent violations of Telephone Consumer Protection Act robocall limits and federal wire fraud statute. He couldn't be reached for comment. Commissioner Mike O'Rielly, concurring, said Abramovich had an intent to defraud, likely not an intent to harm. He defended some manifestations of neighborhood spoofing: "There are positive aspects of VoIP that allow a consumer to use a local telephone number and I don't want to see that wiped out. It's not all bad."

The FCC approved 3-0 an NPRM seeking comments on rules that would allow law enforcement and community institutions to get from carriers quick access to the information they need to identify and thwart threatening callers. In April, the Consumer and Governmental Affairs Bureau gave Jewish community centers an emergency waiver to trace a wave of bomb threats (see 1703030062). Under the proposal, institutions facing harassing or threatening calls would be able to work with law enforcement to access caller ID information of anonymous callers more quickly than the current, case-by-case waiver process, FCC officials said. “The proposal would amend the FCC’s rules to ensure that law enforcement and threatened parties can quickly identify threatening callers without the regulatory delay of applying for and being granted a waiver of the rules,” said a Thursday news release. “The proposal lays out a path that protects consumer privacy by ensuring that caller information only be disclosed for truly threatening calls and that only law enforcement personnel and others responsible for the safety and security of the threatened party have access to otherwise-protected caller ID information.” Chairman Ajit Pai said there are valid reasons for rules that in general keep the calling information private. “Blocking caller ID information for calls made from domestic violence shelters can protect people at risk of injury or even death,” Pai said. “But the protections afforded by this rule can also be abused, as events earlier this year suggested. In these circumstances, the core value of public safety must outweigh any privacy interest a caller may have in his or her phone number.” When an incoming call “is a threat of serious and imminent unlawful action, and the phone number is blocked, it is critical for law enforcement to be able to quickly identify its origin,” said Commissioner Mignon Clyburn. “Their ability to obtain caller ID information can literally be a matter of life or death.” Commissioner Mike O’Rielly said he sought changes to the NPRM and it now asks for comment on how to define security personnel “to ensure that it is an appropriate set of professionals.”

Commissioners unanimously approved an NPRM Thursday, seeking comment on creating a new emergency alert system code for situations when police officers are in danger. The FCC is “uniquely positioned” to support police officers and “help save lives,” said DOJ Deputy National Blue Alert Coordinator Vincent Davenport, who addressed the commissioners before the vote. The item is “a significant step forward in protecting the lives of law enforcement officers,” Davenport said. “We are not just advancing a policy,” said Chairman Ajit Pai. “We are affirming a principle: that we have a collective responsibility to protect and serve those who protect and serve us.” Though the final draft of the NPRM wasn’t released, a news release and comments from the Public Safety Bureau indicate it changed little from the draft released about three weeks earlier. The item seeks comment on creating a new EAS code that will be used to inform the public in situations where an officer has been injured, killed or is under threat, and descriptive information about a suspect is available to disseminate to the public, said bureau staff. “A Blue Alert could quickly warn you if a violent suspect may be in your community, along with providing instructions on what to do if you spot the suspect and how to stay safe,” the release said. Some states have Blue Alert systems, and the proposed rules would create a “national framework” that states can opt into, Pai has said. Some EAS officials said it’s not clear there’s a need for an additional EAS code (see 1706190080).

The FCC “approved for filing” long-form applications by mostly smaller carriers for licenses on which they were the high bidders in the TV incentive auction. The approval moves bidders a big step closer to taking possession of the licenses. The licenses were bought by Carolina West Wireless, Cellular South, Chariton Valley Co-Op, CT Cube, East Kentucky Network, Inland Cellular, NE Colorado Cellular, Nsight Spectrum, Pine Cellular, SAL Spectrum, Spotlight Media and the Alaska Wireless Network, among others. The FCC approved 119 applications in all. Fifty bidders paid $19.3 billion for a total of 2,776 licenses. “The long-form applications … have been found, upon initial review, to be acceptable for filing,” said the Wednesday public notice by the Incentive Auction Task Force and Wireless Bureau. “The Commission may return or dismiss any application if it is found, upon further examination, to be defective or not in conformance with the Commission’s rules.” Petitions to deny are due July 3, oppositions July 11, replies July 18. Last week, the FCC cleared the first group of licenses purchased in the auction (see 1706140048).

The National Advertising Division is referring Verizon Fios ads to the FCC and FTC after it said Verizon didn't respond to a Comcast complaint. In a news release Tuesday, the investigative unit of the ad industry’s self-regulation system said Comcast challenged a variety of Internet speed claims in the Fios ads. Verizon didn't comment Wednesday.

NAB released a video arguing that the post-incentive auction repacking is too much of “massive, dangerous, expensive job” to accomplish in the time allotted. “Note to self: This is gonna be hard,” said the video’s hard-hat bedecked narrator after describing the height of broadcast towers as dwarfing cell towers and the Empire State Building. With current reimbursement funds and the few crews available, it isn't possible to make tower adjustments safely in the repacking timeline and it will disrupt viewers, the video said. “The math doesn’t add up,” the video’s narrator said. “Let’s work together to keep this free lifeline service accessible to all,” said the video said, available on YouTube. “Due to the high number of TV stations being relocated, the work and time necessary to complete the moves will far exceed the budget allocated by the Broadcaster Relocation Fund authorized by Congress,” an NAB spokesman emailed. “Congress should pass legislation to ensure their constituents do not lose access to local television and radio stations during this mandated station relocation due to a lack of funds or unreasonable time constraints for station relocation.”

The FCC's letting cable operators email customers annual notifications potentially could extend to the agency allowing for distribution to a customer's online account instead of email, or notices for retransmission consent elections moving to email, Commissioner Mike O'Rielly said in a statement released Wednesday alongside the electronic annual notice declaratory ruling. O'Rielly said the ruling "comports nicely with our overall push to recognize the current realities of business communications and realize efficiencies by permitting, or in some cases requiring, paper transmissions to go electronic." The ruling said emailing annual notices "will greatly ease the burden of complying" with Section 76.1602(b) of rules requiring cable operators notify subscribers at least annually, and on request, of services offered and pricing as well as installation and maintenance policies, with that relief especially felt by small cable operators. A coalition of local governments that wanted conditions on the NCTA/American Cable Association petition (see 1606130028), emailed us, “While local government supported the move to paperless notices, we felt that the cable industry’s petition, as filed, was short on consumer protections. While we continue to review the order, we believe on balance that the Commission and the industry took our concerns very seriously. That fact is reflected in that Order modified the petition to address many, if not all, of our concerns.”

FCC Chairman Ajit Pai named Rosemary Harold chief of the Enforcement Bureau. Harold returns to the agency after a stint at Wilkinson Barker. She inherits what industry officials say could be a tough job, sorting through the role enforcement will play under the Republican chairman. Pai and Commissioner Mike O’Rielly were critical of what they saw as an overly aggressive bureau under then-Chairman Tom Wheeler and then-Chief Travis LeBlanc (see 1701240064). The bureau’s priorities will include “protecting consumers against illegal robocalls and confronting unlawful interference with broadcast licensees,” Pai said in a Wednesday news release. Harold formerly was an aide to then-Commissioner Robert McDowell and deputy chief of the Media Bureau before leaving the FCC in 2011. Acting Chief Michael Carowitz will now be deputy chief, the FCC said. Pai now has largely rounded out the senior management team at the FCC.