NTIA will host a May 9 roundtable as a first step in a Department of Commerce initiative to map gaps in cross-border data flows and to measure the economic impact of limiting the free flow of data, the department said in a notice to be published in the Federal Register soon. "The goal of this roundtable is to get input from stakeholders on what additional data and analysis on cross-border data flows is necessary." It's "generally accepted" that data usage and flows between countries expand economic opportunity, while restrictions to such flows could harm economies, the notice said. "But there is relatively little supporting data or evidence." NTIA will post a detailed agenda on its website before the meeting, which is scheduled for 8:30 a.m. to noon at the Bureau of Labor Statistics Conference Center, 2 Massachusetts Ave. NE.

NTIA Friday released a draft privacy best practices guide for drone users that appears to have the support of several civil liberties and industry stakeholders. The seven-page document, which emerged after numerous meetings among a wide range of stakeholders since last summer, will be discussed at a May 18 meeting, said the agency, which has only facilitated such meetings, in an email to participants. NTIA’s email said Amazon, the Center for Democracy and Technology, CTA and New America’s Open Technology Institute are among 11 stakeholders that support the draft. NTIA canceled an April 8 meeting to give several participants more time to work on the nonbinding guide (see 1604050027). The document outlines what private and commercial operators should do to inform the public about the potential collection, use, storage and sharing of data collected by their drones. It also says operators should monitor and adhere to changing federal, state and local laws about drone use and privacy and security matters. A small section says the best practices won’t apply to news agencies that use drones since they would be protected under the First Amendment. “These proposed draft principles recognize the value of drones for beneficial purposes, but also address in a practical way the privacy concerns they raise,” said Future of Privacy Forum CEO Jules Polonetsky, a participant, in a statement. “Much careful negotiation and compromise went into ensuring privacy issues could be addressed in a way that is practical, so operators both large and small can comply.” The May 18 meeting will be 2-5 p.m. at the American Institute of Architects boardroom, 1735 New York Ave., NW.

The Electronic Frontier Foundation said it will appeal a decision by a federal judge that the FBI isn't violating the Constitution by issuing National Security Letters (NSLs) with accompanying gag orders that prohibit electronic communications providers from even revealing they received such a letter. EFF said in a Thursday news release it will appeal the March 29 decision, which was unsealed this week, to the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. The privacy group, representing two unidentified providers, challenged the NSL statutes beginning in 2011. “This government silencing means the service providers cannot issue open and honest transparency reports and can’t share their experiences as part of the ongoing public debate over NSLs and their potential for abuse," said EFF Deputy Executive Director Kurt Opsahl in the release. "Despite this setback, we will take this fight to the appeals court, again, to combat USA FREEDOM’s unconstitutional NSL provisions." One of EFF's clients has been gagged since 2011, he said. NSLs are a type of administrative subpoena that seeks subscriber information that's relevant to a terrorism investigation or clandestine activity, U.S. District Judge Susan Illston said in her ruling. EFF said Illston ruled in 2013 that NSL provision was unconstitutional, but the government appealed to the 9th Circuit, which said changes made by the USA Freedom Act enacted in 2015 require a new review by the U.S. District Court in San Francisco. Illston's unsealed ruling said the USA Freedom Act amendments "cure the deficiencies ... and that as amended, the NSL statutes satisfy constitutional requirements." She also said the government justified in three NSL applications that disclosure would endanger U.S. national security and create other harms. But she said the government couldn't justify a fourth application. "However, the client still cannot identify itself because the court stayed this portion of the decision pending appeal," EFF said.

Americans for Limited Government raised concerns in a report Thursday about what it views as NTIA’s violation of the ban on its use of funds for the Internet Assigned Numbers Authority (IANA) transition, which the group said it reported to the Department of Commerce’s Office of Inspector General. “The actions of officials in the NTIA in many instances have been directly in conflict with the appropriations language that was enacted into law by Congress,” including multiple speeches by NTIA Administrator Larry Strickling on the IANA transition and the use of federal funding for NTIA staff to attend ICANN meetings, ALG said in the report. “The amount of appropriated funds ... being expended by NTIA to continue its efforts to relinquish its responsibilities are unknown at this point, but the agency is clearly expending appropriated funds for this purpose.” ALG cited an expenditure request by NTIA Office of International Affairs Senior Policy Adviser Suzanne Radell for “approval of other than coach-class” airfare for Radell to travel to ICANN’s Oct. 18-22 meeting in Dublin. ALG said Strickling and other NTIA staff also traveled to the ICANN meeting, which centered on planning for the IANA transition and a related set of changes to ICANN’s accountability mechanisms (see 1510160058). “Congress prohibited” NTIA from spending money on the IANA transition, “yet NTIA continues to act as if that prohibition does not apply to it,” ALG said. “NTIA officials should also refrain from improperly using premium travel to any such conferences.” ALG President Nathan Mehrens urged Commerce’s OIG in February to investigate Radell’s purchase of “premium” airfare to travel to the Dublin meeting, saying the expenditure violated federal rules and the NTIA rider. Mehrens also urged the OIG to “investigate other actions NTIA is taking to relinquish its responsibilities as discussed above, and take further appropriate action to ensure that taxpayer funds are protected and not spent in violation of the law.” NTIA didn’t comment.

Criminals damaged or destroyed critical Verizon network facilities in five eastern states, Verizon alleged in a news release. The telco Wednesday reported “at least 24 suspected incidents of sabotage” over one week. The alleged criminal acts include sliced fiber cabling at a network facility box in New Jersey, cut phone services in Massachusetts for 16 hours, and cut fiber and copper cables in New Jersey, Pennsylvania and New York, it said. Verizon dispatched security teams to affected areas and is working with law enforcement, it said. It offered a reward of up to $10,000 for information leading to the arrest and prosecution of those involved. “We will find out who’s behind these highly dangerous criminal acts and we will pursue criminal charges,” said Michael Mason, Verizon chief security officer. “These reckless perpetrators are risking the lives of countless Americans by cutting access to key lines of communications, especially to local police, fire and rescue personnel. If someone has an emergency and needs to contact local authorities, these malicious actions could prevent that from happening.” Verizon said the incidents occurred while the company dealt with a union strike on the East Coast. CWA District 1 Vice President Dennis Trainor and CWA District 2-13 Vice President Edward Mooney responded to Verizon’s concerns about damage. "Regulators in three states are already investigating Verizon for its refusal to keep up with network maintenance and wear and tear -- the root of many ongoing service problems,” the union officials said in a joint statement. “Even with many technicians regularly working overtime hours, the demand is still too high for the current workers to cover. Additional delays that customers are experiencing because of the strike are a result of Verizon executives' insistence on offshoring and outsourcing jobs and their refusal to invest in adequately maintaining lines.”

Two groups asked the FCC to allow number portability users to see the proposed master service agreement (MSA) for Telcordia/iconectiv as the next local number portability administrator, which is under consideration by the agency and subject to a protective order (see 1604010062). LNP Alliance members aren't allowed to review the MSA, creating an "unacceptable obstacle to smaller companies," said Eckert Seamans attorney James Falvey, on behalf of the LNP Alliance and New America's Open Technology Institute (OTI) in a filing posted Wednesday in docket 09-109. Falvey said the groups are concerned the FCC may be rushing the review process without adequate time for public comment, after a draft order to approve the contract circulated recently (see 1604080062). He said large carriers belonging to North American Portability Management (NAPM), which the FCC tasked with overseeing the transition, approved the contract in October, but it wasn't submitted until recently, giving others less time to review it. "This is not an even-handed process," and suggests iconectiv "is much more closely tied to the nation's largest carriers," Falvey said. The LNP Alliance hired an attorney and contractor to review the MSA, but the protective order is overly restrictive, he said: "This leaves us in an echo chamber with each other, but siloed off from our clients who know what issues matter most to each of the more than twenty smaller companies we represent." He said almost all of the MSA should be made public and non-NAPM Number Portability Administration Center users should be allowed to review the document the same way as NAPM users. He said the LNP Alliance and OTI agree with many of the points made by Neustar in its appeal to the full commission of the bureau's protective order (see 1604120038). The FCC had no comment Thursday.

The FCC Electronic Comment Filing System is backlogged with items being converted to PDF format due to heavy filing volume in recent days, the agency told us Wednesday. ECFS had a handful of daily filings posted for most of Wednesday.

ICANN's Internet Assigned Numbers Authority (IANA) transition plan “guards against 'capture' by any one group or government" of Internet governance, said ICANN Chairman Stephen Crocker in a Wall Street Journal op-ed Tuesday. “This is the primary reason the Internet community -- along with businesses, civil society and other interest groups -- has given its blessing to the changes.” ICANN sent NTIA its IANA transition plan and a set of recommended changes to ICANN’s accountability mechanisms in March (see 1603100070). Amazon and 10 other tech firms and industry groups jointly backed the IANA transition plans in a letter to Congress (see 1604190048). “These groups understand the vital role of the Internet in strengthening the global economy by creating jobs and economic growth,” Crocker said. “Almost $8 trillion of commerce takes place on the Internet annually, an example of how dependent the world economy has become on a single, unified network.” If the U.S. doesn't allow the IANA transition to proceed, “then other governments may try to move control to organizations like the United Nations,” Crocker said. “There is also a risk that some governments may form their own national or regional networks. This disruptive splintering would damage the economy and weaken personal Internet use.” There was criticism of the IANA transition plan in a Monday commentary in The Hill, in which Tech Knowledge Director Fred Campbell said the FCC had a “hidden” agenda to promote the transition via its decision to forbear from asserting authority over IP addresses under Section 251(e) of the Telecom Act. FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler said in his response to questions from GOP presidential hopeful Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, that the commission forbore from asserting authority over IP addresses under Section 251(e) because of ICANN’s administration of the IANA functions (see 1604080058). Though Wheeler’s response is “revealing,” he “didn’t explain why the FCC believes ICANN can be trusted to uphold the public interest requirements in section 201 of the Communications Act,” Campbell wrote. “How could he? Once the U.S. relinquishes its authority, ICANN will not have to answer to the FCC and will have no responsibility to uphold the public interest or any other requirement of U.S. law.” The FCC didn't comment.

The FCC's planned local number portability administrator transition from Neustar to Telcordia/iconectiv is tentatively scheduled to last through 3Q 2017, said officials for PwC, the transition oversight manager, on a webinar Wednesday. They outlined the current projected timelines for various phases of the transition: the hardware and software build of iconectiv's systems would run into 2Q 2017; "onboarding" (in which telecom LNP users register, connect to and use the systems) would last through 2Q 2017; testing of the systems would begin in 4Q 2016 and continue through 2Q 2017; and "data migration and go-live" would occur in 3Q 2017, starting with one "regional cutover" and, once successful, continuing with others. The timetable is contingent on contracts being finalized, including the proposed master service agreement between Telcordia/iconectiv and North American Portability Management, which is under FCC review (see 1604010062 and 1604080062). Neustar has asked that the confidential agreement be made public (see 1604120038) and recently lobbied FCC officials on the request (see 1604190045). PwC officials will be available to meet with stakeholders May 4 in Miami following an LNPA working group meeting, they said. No registration or appointment is needed. The next PwC webinar is tentatively scheduled for May 25, but that could change, they said.

Neustar pressed the FCC to make public the proposed master service agreement (MSA) for Ericsson's Telcordia (iconectiv) as the next local number portability administrator (LNPA). The proposal was submitted recently by North American Portability Management (see 1604010062) and is the subject of a draft FCC approval order (see 1604080062). Under a protective order, "essentially the only people who can gain access to the proposed MSA are lawyers and outside consultants -- not the technical and managerial personnel who are in the best position to understand the document and its implications," said a Neustar filing Monday in 09-109 summarizing meetings it held last week with Commissioners Ajit Pai and Mike O'Rielly, their aides and aides to Commissioners Mignon Clyburn and Jessica Rosenworcel. Neustar said the confidentiality protections create "unnecessary risk of a prolonged or failed transition," deprive the FCC of Neustar's technical expertise and prevent broader public scrutiny. "Neustar emphasized that its concerns have nothing to do with any objections to the Commission's decision to select Ericsson as the next LNPA," it said. "On the contrary, since the Commission made its selection determination in March 2015, Neustar has cooperated with the efforts of the NAPM and the Transition Oversight Manager to plan for an effective transition. Nevertheless, Neustar has been excluded from negotiations related to the transition."