Tech and telecom policy issues barely factored into the second 2020 Democratic presidential primary debate Thursday, unlike during the first debate Wednesday, which included a proposal from Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., to break up big tech companies like Google, Facebook and Amazon (see 1904170046 and 1906270010). Two presidential hopefuls on Thursday dinged Amazon -- Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., faulted CEO Jeff Bezos for the extent of his wealth and tech entrepreneur Andrew Yang criticized the company for not paying any income taxes last year. Yang and Rep. Eric Swalwell, D-Calif., cited concerns about automation of the economy. Technology “is automating away millions of jobs,” Yang said. Swalwell emphasized the U.S. “must be a country where technology creates more jobs than it displaces” and said he has “seen that anxiety across America where manufacturing floors go from 1,000 [employees] to 100 to one.” South Bend, Indiana, Mayor Pete Buttigieg said China is using technology “for the perfection of dictatorship,” citing that country's major investment in R&D “so they can run circles around us” on artificial intelligence.

The advent of data privacy laws, such as Europe's general data protection regulation, creates a "potential tension" with trade sanctions compliance, said Ramsey Kazem of Spark Compliance Consulting Thursday at the American Association of Exporters and Importers Conference. GDPR and other laws in various stages of implementation in U.S. states "tend to be very protective and restrictive on how you use personal data," he said. This may "often conflict with sanction laws, which requires companies" to do "more with the personal data that they possess in terms of screening their third parties, screening their business partners, screening their customers," said Kazem. "So it's not difficult to see how the GDPR" and other data privacy restrictions "could conflict with, for example, U.S. sanctions laws." Further complicating the issue for companies is that "neither the U.S. nor the EU recognize the other's laws as a legitimate basis" for not complying, he said. Companies will need to examine the potential risks of such a conflict, Kazem said. "In some instances there may not be an easy answer and a company may be forced to choose between the lesser of two evils." As a result, data privacy considerations "must be at the table" while a company is developing a sanctions law compliance program, Kazem said.

T-Mobile CEO John Legere and President Michael Sievert spoke with FCC Chairman Ajit Pai and Chief of Staff Matthew Berry by phone Saturday about the company buying Sprint. Legere and Sievert "discussed the commitment to divest the Boost business,” said a filing posted Wednesday in docket 18-197: “They also discussed the status of the transaction … generally.” In May, T-Mobile/Sprint agreed to sell Boost, Sprint’s prepaid business, and to make other concessions to win FCC OK (see 1905200051).

The date of an Information Technology and Innovation Foundation program on robotics innovation is July 16. See our calendar.

Ericsson said it plans to build its first fully automated factory in the U.S. to manufacture radios that will “boost network capacity and coverage, including rural coverage, as well as 5G radios for urban areas.” The Swedish company is one of the few alternatives to Huawei for 5G gear. U.S. policymakers are concerned about the use of Huawei equipment (see 1906190054). “We continue to focus on working closely with our customers and supporting them in the buildout of 5G globally and in North America,” said Fredrik Jejdling, Ericsson executive vice president-head of networks, Wednesday. “We conclude months of preparations and can move into execution also in the U.S.” The location hasn’t been announced. It will employ about 100 workers, the company said. “Building 5G equipment in the United States is good for our economy, good for the supply chain, and good for the rapid rollout of the next generation of [U.S.] wireless connectivity,” said FCC Chairman Ajit Pai.

The Supreme Court's 9-0 opinion in Kisor v. Wilkie upholds the doctrine of Auer deference, under which courts defer to regulatory agencies to interpret their own ambiguous regulations. Kisor involves a disabled Vietnam War veteran challenging a ruling by the Department of Veteran’s Affairs on the administration of his disability benefits. FCC General Counsel Tom Johnson didn’t comment on the decision Wednesday. He said in May (see 1905150060) the FCC was following the case, but the agency didn’t often rely on the sort of informal guidance generally covered by Auer. “When it applies, Auer deference gives an agency significant leeway to say what its own rules mean,” said Justice Elena Kagan in the majority opinion. “But that phrase ‘when it applies’ is important -- because it often doesn’t.” Kagan’s opinion lists a variety of situations where Auer shouldn’t be used. In a separate opinion joined by Justices Clarence Thomas, Samuel Alito and Brett Kavanaugh, Justice Neil Gorsuch agreed with the majority's judgment but said the court should have done away with the doctrine entirely, and that it eventually will. Calling the ruling “a stay of execution” rather than a pardon, Gorsuch said the court will have to rule on Auer again. In their separate opinions, Kavanaugh and Roberts both noted the court’s ruling on Auer doesn’t touch the issue of whether courts should defer to agency interpretations of congressional statutes, a matter which is close to the doctrine of Chevron deference. The opinions are another sign the court could look at Chevron deference, which if overturned could mean the FCC is “out of business,” one broadcast attorney told us.

The FTC with state and local law enforcement launched a crackdown on illegal robocalls, including 94 actions against robocallers responsible for more than a billion bad calls, the commission said Monday. The FTC brought four cases and made three settlements, while other participating agencies brought 87 enforcement actions, it said. The effort also includes consumer education and promoting tech to block robocalls and curb caller ID spoofing, the FTC said. “We’re all fed up with the tens of billions of illegal robocalls we get every year,” said FTC Consumer Protection Bureau Director Andrew Smith. Indiana Attorney General Curtis Hill (R) “gets more consumer complaints about unwanted robocalls than just about any other issue,” he said. Missouri AG Eric Schmitt (R) aims “to work with our federal partners to educate consumers about robocalls, come up with new solutions to combat these robocalls, and hold those responsible for illegal robocalls accountable,” he said. USTelecom assisted the effort, said Senior Vice President-Policy Patrick Halley. "The FTC’s actions today are another strong step forward to protect consumers from illegal robocalls."

American Electric Power and other electric utilities told the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals that the FCC’s pole attachment order violates the Telecom Act and should be overturned. The electric utilities' challenge to an August ruling/order barring local infrastructure moratoriums and revising pole-attachment processes is being heard as part of a broader challenge to last year’s infrastructure orders, in docket No. 18-72689 (see 1904180006). “The Act states that an electric utility may deny a cable television system or any telecommunications carrier access to its poles, ducts, conduits, or rights-of- way on a nondiscriminatory basis ‘where there is insufficient capacity and for reasons of safety, reliability and generally applicable engineering purposes,’” the utilities said (in Pacer). “Congress implemented this exception to ensure that the placement of attachments on existing utility poles would not endanger or compromise the safety of the public or the safety, reliability and integrity of the nation’s electric and communications infrastructure.” Historically, there are three zones on a utility pole -- electric lines on top, with a safety zone under them, and then communications space, the companies said. “The Order dramatically changed course and created a ‘self-help remedy’ to allow new attachers to use a utility-approved contractor to complete required make-ready work above the communications space (including in the electric supply space), when utilities and existing attachers have not met the FCC’s make-ready work deadlines to perform work preparing a pole for a new attachment."

The FCC didn't sufficiently explain the reasoning behind many of its proposed FY2 019 regulatory fee changes (see 1906100049), said NAB and several satellite industry commenters in replies posted in docket 19-105 Tuesday. “The NPRM, in its current form, does not provide companies subject to regulatory fees a meaningful basis on which to comment in this proceeding,” said the Satellite Industry Association. Satellite companies don't have the information they need to understand the fee calculation methodology, said Intelsat License and SES Americom. Satellite companies shouldn't be charged differently than other media industries, said America’s Communications Association and NCTA. “Once again, AT&T and DISH rely on flawed reasoning and discredited arguments to attempt to justify a regulatory fee schedule that would perpetuate the preferential treatment DBS operators receive over other MVPDs,” the cable groups said. “The NPRM does not explain significant changes in regulatory fees for both satellite and VHF television stations,” said NAB. The association said the NPRM contains insufficiently justified hikes for radio stations, based on flawed data. Hubbard Broadcasting said the satellite TV station increase is “contrary” to the FCC's historical treatment of satellite TV stations and will impose “an unwarranted burden” on broadcasters. Intelsat supported a proposal from NAB to apply regulatory fees to a wider swath of entities, including those that don't have licenses. CenturyLink disagreed with the SEA-US Licensees and the North American Submarine Cable Association which said the FCC shouldn't increase fees on the submarine cable industry. "Align submarine cable fees with the benefits provided to submarine cable operators from the Commission’s activities,” asked NASCA.

Senate Homeland Security Committee Chairman Ron Johnson, R-Wis., repeated his concerns Monday about whether the Commerce Department is actively hindering development of the federal government's 5G strategy. He also filed a resolution that would make it the sense of the Senate that U.S. leadership on 5G is a “national priority” and that federal agencies should work with the FCC to advance U.S. leadership of the technology at the 2019 World Radiocommunication Conference. Johnson was among the Senate Commerce Committee members who raised the issue during an FCC oversight hearing earlier this month. Senate Commerce ranking member Maria Cantwell, D-Wash., during that hearing highlighted NOAA's concerns about the potential effects of commercial use of spectrum on the 24 GHz band sold in the recent FCC auction on weather forecasting technology on adjacent bands (see 1906120076). FCC Chairman Ajit Pai disputed NOAA's claims and said they were part of a pattern of Commerce efforts to hinder efforts to free up spectrum for 5G. “It has come to my attention that one of your senior advisers may be placing personal animosity ahead of our country’s 5G goals,” Johnson wrote Secretary of Commerce Wilbur Ross. “This threatens the clearly stated goals and priorities of the President and Congress and also undermines the NTIA’s mission to ‘expand the use of spectrum by all users.'” Spectrum “deliberations are best conducted by engineers working collaboratively together to solve challenges, not bureaucrats trying to defend their turf,” Johnson said. NOAA's “last minute objections” are particularly problematic given U.S. preparations for the WRC, “and this dispute weakens our country's leverage and ability to further secure America's leadership at this conference.” Johnson sought by July 10 information on studies and other communications by NOAA, NTIA and other Commerce agencies related to out of band emissions in the 24 GHz band. He wants a staff briefing by July 12, a written explanation of what transpired ahead of NOAA's late disclosure of its concerns. Johnson also wants Ross to make a written commitment “to support the U.S. winning the race to 5G” via expanded spectrum availability and that he's directed all Commerce officials to “support the U.S. position on 24 GHz and all other issues” being addressed in WRC negotiations. House Science Committee Chairwoman Eddie Bernice Johnson, D-Texas, and ranking member Frank Lucas, R-Okla., wrote Ross and NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine Wednesday night requesting by June 26 all NASA and NOAA studies and analyses on the potential impacts of 5G transmissions on the 24 GHz band and the impact on the 23.8 GHz band.