Future Section 230 cases before the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals face "an extreme risk of judicial activism to overturn the existing 5th Circuit precedent and disrupt decades of Section 230 jurisprudence," Santa Clara University law professor Eric Goldman blogged Tuesday. Pointing to the dissent issued Monday in a 5th Circuit denial of an en banc rehearing motion involving a lawsuit against messaging app Snapchat (see 2312180055), Goldman said the seven dissenting judges' goal "seems to be to urge the Supreme Court to take this case." Written by Circuit Judge Jennifer Walker Elrod, the dissent criticized the 5th Circuit's previous "atextual interpretation" of Section 230, "leaving in place sweeping immunity for social media companies that the text cannot possibly bear." "Declining to reconsider this atextual immunity was a mistake," Elrod wrote.

Comments are due Jan. 16, replies Feb. 12, regarding possible harmonization of access to customer proprietary network information under the SIM swap and port-out fraud rules adopted at the FCC's November meeting (see 2311150042), according to a notice in Thursday's Federal Register.

The FCC's barring SpaceX from the Rural Digital Opportunity Fund program "is a really odd decision" that makes sense only as part of a political weaponization of the agency against company owner Elon Musk, Commissioner Brendan Carr said Thursday during an interview with podcast Tesla Talk. Carr's words echoed his dissent in the RDOF decision (see 2312130027). "Twelve of the last 16 years, the administrative state has been controlled by Democrats," he said. "That's where all the action happens these days." The National Labor Relations Board, FTC and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service actions against Musk companies stem from the White House's "green light. ... You don't need to find some smoking gun memo that tells every agency what to do. ... It's clear enough." The FCC finding that SpaceX technology isn't reliable "doesn't seem credible," he said, adding it's "far from clear" the broadband, equity, access and deployment program will reach all who are unconnected, due to its fiber focus. On the other hand, deploying Starlink would have made money go further, Carr argued. The White House has a "hate/need relationship" with Musk, requiring his technological capabilities for priorities such as connectivity and spaceflight, but in areas where it doesn't need to lean on him, it engages in regulatory harassment, Carr said. The U.S. Supreme Court "needs to tighten down on the discretion it gives to agencies," he added. The FCC didn't comment. Independent presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. on Thursday retweeted a Carr post about agencies targeting Musk. He added that President Joe Biden's administration "is weaponizing federal agencies against its political opponents [and] now they’ve got the FCC going after" Musk. The White House didn't comment.

Smartphones and TVs saw notable price drops in the U.S. between November 2022 and last month, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics consumer price index unadjusted data released Tuesday. TV prices fell 9.5% year over year, while smartphones were down 14% and computers, peripherals and smart home assistant pricing fell 4.6%. Residential phone service rose 4.7% year over year, while cable, satellite and livestreaming TV service costs were up 4.3%. Wireless phone service costs declined 2.8% year over year, but internet service was up 3.7% as was video purchase/subscription/rental, which rose 3%. BLS said September prices for all items rose up 3.1% year over year before seasonal adjustment.

Dish Network followed the FCC-set verification procedure when enrolling people in the emergency broadband benefit (EBB) program, the company said Tuesday in a docket 20-445 request for review appealing a Universal Service Administrative Co. decision about unqualified people being enrolled. USAC's national verifier confirmed those subscribers as eligible. Yet USAC is acting against Dish, AT&T and other providers after the FCC Office of Inspector General found deficiencies in the verification process (see 2111220058), Dish said. It argued USAC lacks legal authority to retroactively apply new criteria to subscribers, as it has solely an administrative role and there aren't FCC orders or directions setting the criteria USAC is now applying. Even if some EBB recoupment is warranted, USAC's analysis "is incomplete and relies on faulty assumptions," Dish said. It added USAC "significantly overstates" the potential recovery amount. Portions of Dish's appeal were redacted.

Steptoe & Johnson formally changed its name to Steptoe, the law firm said Friday.

NCTA representatives raised concerns about proposed data breach reporting requirements, set for a Dec. 13 FCC commissioner vote. The filing was the first in the data breach docket since the draft order was circulated (see 2311220047). “By expanding both the data covered by the rules and the types of harms that might trigger reporting and notification, the proposed regime would substantially increase the volume of reporting and customer notifications, lead to considerable notice fatigue by customers, and unnecessarily increase the burdens on providers, without producing any meaningful benefit or valuable insight to the Commission or other federal agencies,” said the filing, posted Wednesday in docket 22-21. NCTA met with aides to Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel and Commissioner Anna Gomez, joined by representatives of Comcast, Charter Communications and Cox Enterprises.

The FCC Enforcement Bureau and four state attorneys general signed memorandums of understanding on privacy, data protection and cybersecurity, the first time such enforcement partnerships have been crafted, the FCC said Wednesday. The FCC and Connecticut, Illinois, New York and Pennsylvania’s Democratic AGs will coordinate efforts and share expertise and resources under the pact, said the federal agency. The FCC and state AGs “share close and common legal interests in working cooperatively to investigate and, where appropriate, prosecute or otherwise take enforcement action in relation to privacy, data protection, or cybersecurity issues” under sections 201 and 222 of the Communications Act, said the MOUs. FCC Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel said, “Defending consumer privacy is an all-of-government responsibility and a shared challenge.” More states are welcome to join the partnership, she added. FCC Enforcement Bureau Chief Loyaan Egal said the agreement “will allow us to maximize our efforts to address risks arising from the misuse or mishandling of sensitive data we entrust with service providers and the continued threats posed by cybercriminals and foreign adversaries.” New York AG Letitia James (D) said, “This partnership between state and federal enforcement leaders will help strengthen our ability to protect consumers’ privacy and hold companies that violate the law accountable.” Also applauding the collaboration was Illinois AG Kwame Raoul (D), who noted, “Similar state and federal partnerships have allowed us to successfully target perpetrators of illegal robocalls.”

Feb. 5 is the deadline for C-band clearing reimbursement claims up through the end of 2023 to be submitted to the C-Band Relocation Payment Clearinghouse, with July 1 the deadline for reimbursement of costs incurred in 2024, the FCC Wireless Bureau ordered Tuesday. The bureau deferred action on deadlines by which the clearinghouse had to process claims and by which it was to complete its work. It said too many variables outside the clearinghouse's control could influence its ability to make a determination on a claim within a 90-day span, and called setting a final deadline "premature."

The FCC has released a new version of its disaster information reporting system, effective immediately, the Public Safety Bureau said Monday. The legacy DIRS system was decommissioned, the bureau said: DIRS “has been modernized to enhance security and network features to better ensure the integrity of the system.”