A bipartisan group of attorneys general from more than half the states urged the 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals to reverse a lower court ruling dismissing a robocalling case on the grounds that the Telephone Consumer Protection Act was unconstitutional from 2015 to 2019. In Lindenbaum v. Realgy, the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Ohio reasoned TCPA couldn’t be enforced during that period because the Supreme Court said in 2020 that it was unconstitutional for Congress to amend the law in 2015 with a government debt exception. Indiana, North Carolina, 32 other states and Washington, D.C., disagreed, in an amicus brief at the 6th Circuit in case 20-4252. “People who engaged in illegal robocalling between 2015 and 2020 should be brought to justice,” said California AG Xavier Becerra (D) Tuesday: “Granting a five-year hall pass to these harassers would permit illegal activity and open the door for more.” Indiana AG Todd Rokita (R) pledged to “stay on the offense” against illegal robocallers.

Zoom must implement a “comprehensive security program” and adhere to biennial independent third-party privacy assessments, the FTC announced Monday in a finalized deal (see 2011100024). The company must “review any software updates for security flaws prior to release and ensure the updates will not hamper third-party security features,” the agency said. Commissioners voted 3-2, with the two Democrats dissenting, as they did in the initial vote. Acting Chair Rebecca Kelly Slaughter noted “widespread opposition” comments. The decision is “particularly troubling in light of" DOJ recently charging a “Zoom employee with allegedly participating in a scheme to surveil, disclose, and censor political and religious speech of individuals” worldwide at the direction of Chinese leadership, she said. The agency “must think beyond its status quo approach of simply requiring more paperwork, rather than real accountability relying on a thorough investigation,” said Commissioner Rohit Chopra. Commissioner Christine Wilson noted the inclusion of “targeted fencing in relief that provides privacy protections to consumers.” Provisions address the type of conduct seen with the DOJ charges, she said. “Advancements we have made to our platform are well-documented, and we are continuously improving our privacy and security programs,” a company spokesperson emailed. “We remain committed to fulfilling the expectations of the millions of people who trust and rely on our platform.”

Google’s alleged actions detailed in DOJ’s antitrust lawsuit were “lawful, justified, procompetitive” and carried out with legitimate business interests, the company argued (in Pacer) Friday at U.S. District Court in Washington (see 2101080055). It responded to an amended complaint (in Pacer) from DOJ and various states, which claimed the platform signed exclusionary agreements, “including tying arrangements, and engaged in anticompetitive conduct to lock up distribution channels and block rivals.” The complaint cites agreements with distributors like Apple, LG, Motorola, Samsung, AT&T, T-Mobile, Verizon, Mozilla, Opera and UCWeb. Google requested the complaint be dismissed. The company argued it shares revenue through such agreements in order to be the default search service, and it denied it blocks “counterparties from dealing with Google’s competitors.”

Free Press, Public Knowledge and 30 other groups want a third Democratic commissioner at the FCC by March 31. Confirmation became more likely after the party regained a Senate majority this month (see 2101060055). The agency is tied 2-2 (see 2012090063). The letter was to Biden, Vice President Kamala Harris, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., and Commerce Committee lead Democrat Maria Cantwell of Washington and lead Republican Roger Wicker of Mississippi. It said the FCC “faces an urgent agenda including implementing the new emergency broadband benefit" and work on issues including Lifeline, using E-rate for remote education, a media ownership quadrennial review, inmate calling service costs, and reclassification of broadband service as a Communications Act Title II service.

The FCC should “educate eligible consumers" about Lifeline and national verifier program requirements to align “with key practices for consumer education planning,” GAO reported Thursday. It said the FCC “coordinated with state and federal stakeholders" on the NV, but “many eligible consumers are not aware” of Lifeline. Eight House Commerce Committee Democrats sought the probe in 2018, and the auditor agreed last year (see 2006100041). “Consumers may lack” awareness “because FCC’s consumer education planning did not always align with key practices, such as developing consistent, clear messages and researching target audiences,” GAO said. “While FCC originally envisioned tribal governments and organizations assisting residents of tribal lands with the Verifier, it has not provided them with quality information.” The report recommended the FCC “provide tribal organizations with targeted information and tools.” The FCC should “identify and use performance measures to track the Verifier’s progress in delivering value to consumers” and “ensure that it has quality information on consumers’ experience with the Verifier’s manual review process,” the audit recommended. “Ensure that the Verifier’s online application and support website align with characteristics for leading federal website design, including that they are accurate, clear, understandable, easy to use, and contain a mechanism for users to provide feedback.” GAO suggested the FCC “convert the Verifier’s online application, checklifeline.org, to a ‘.gov’ domain.” The current website includes the FCC’s logo, but “we found that it may not be easily recognizable by an average user, and we found no other indicator that USAC is working on behalf of the U.S. government." The FCC responded that Universal Service Administrative Co. is acting, including developing a “more comprehensive communications plan” in Q1. USAC plans improved tribal outreach this year, including a “Tribal-specific Lifeline webinar each quarter,” the FCC said: The General Services Administration agreed to convert the Lifeline application to a .gov domain “if we simply make the National Verifier a subdomain” of fcc.gov, “which is the path we intend to take.”

Stakeholders praised acting Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworce's release of drafts three weeks before FCC members vote on them at their monthly now-virtual meeting (see 2101270060), a practice started by former Chairman Ajit Pai in 2017. Nathan Leamer, Pai's former policy adviser, is excited Rosenworcel will "continue this comment to agency openness." The decision was "encouraging" and a "key reform from the Pai-era" that "should be standard practice for the FCC," Charles Koch Institute's Jesse Blumenthal tweeted, which Pai retweeted. Robert Weller, NAB vice president-spectrum policy, suggested the practice be codified. It's encouraging to see this practice continue, said NTCA Senior Vice President-industry Affairs Michael Romano in an emailed statement. "Particularly when it comes to highly technical or complex matters, the opportunity to review the text in advance is helpful, even just to catch where things might need to be stated somewhat differently or more precisely to ensure that the intent of an order is fulfilled." The acting chairwoman is "deeply committed to transparency and plans to continue this practice," emailed an FCC spokesperson.

Telecom equipment from Huawei and other “untrusted" vendors is “a threat to the security of the U.S. and our allies,” White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki told a news conference Wednesday. During a Senate Commerce Committee hearing Tuesday, commerce secretary nominee Gina Raimondo demurred from agreeing to maintain export restrictions against Huawei and other Chinese companies imposed during President Donald Trump’s administration (see 2101260063). Senate Commerce set a Feb. 3 vote on Raimondo (see 2101270062 and our calendar). Psaki likewise stopped short of committing to keep restrictions on Huawei and other Chinese vendors. “We will ensure that the American telecommunications networks do not use equipment from untrusted vendors, and we will work with allies to secure their telecommunications networks and make investments to expand production of telecommunications equipment by trusted U.S. and allied companies,” she said.

The FCC will consider two NPRMs on defining what constitutes 911 fee diversion and modifying rules for the Secure and Trusted Communications Networks reimbursement program during the Feb. 17 commissioners' meeting, a news release said Wednesday. Commissioners will also hear presentations on the emergency broadband benefit and COVID-19 telehealth programs (see 2101260053), plus efforts to improve broadband mapping data. The agency would seek comment on a proposal to raise the cap on eligibility to participate in its Secure and Trusted Communications Networks reimbursement program for providers of advanced communications service with 10 million or fewer customers. In December, commissioners voted 5-0 to put in place a system to replace insecure equipment from Chinese companies Huawei and ZTE in U.S. networks (see 2012100054). The action is the FCC’s first on network security under the Biden administration, expanding the longtime focus under former Chairman Ajit Pai. The draft NPRM seeks comment on a proposal to change the acceptable use of reimbursement funds to include “the removal, replacement, and disposal of equipment and services subject to the" Huawei and ZTE designation orders and on modifying rules “to use reimbursement funds to remove, replace, or dispose of equipment or services that were purchased, rented, leased, or otherwise obtained on or before June 30.” It asks whether to replace rules with prioritization categories in the combined FY 2021 appropriations and COVID-19 aid omnibus law (see 2012220061).

The FCC should “closely scrutinize” Rural Digital Opportunity Fund long-form applications to ensure winning bidders have “technical, financial, managerial, operational skills, capabilities, and resources to deliver the services they have pledged for every American they plan to serve regardless of the technology they use,” said a NARUC draft resolution released Tuesday. Sponsored by Mississippi Public Service Commissioner Brandon Presley and Indiana Utility Regulatory Commissioner Sarah Freeman, the proposed resolution would also ask the FCC to seek input as it reviews RDOF long forms. It’s the only telecom resolution scheduled for NARUC’s Feb. 4-5 and 8-11 meeting.

The FCC will focus on establishing the emergency broadband benefit and expanded support for telehealth, acting Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel told staff via a live video Monday. The agency also will continue the work-from-home procedures enacted by former Chairman Ajit Pai. “My predecessor did an exemplary job of keeping the agency staff informed and safe,” Rosenworcel said. “I want to assure you that the existing remote work policies will not be disturbed by this transition.” She said the Congress-pushed emergency broadband and telehealth matters will take up time in the next weeks (see 2101260053) but only scratched the surface of the tasks awaiting the commission. “We need to advance communications policies that keep the public safe and cybersecure,” said Rosenworcel. “We have work to do to build bridges and find common ground with our state, local, and Tribal partners.” The agency must ensure its “functional equivalency policies live up to our responsibilities under the Americans with Disabilities Act” and work to “keep media policies current, while also honoring our longstanding values of competition, localism, and diversity.” She also referenced the digital divide and the homework gap. Rosenworcel said the FCC is “well-served” by her fellow commissioners and she “can’t wait to get started.”