The final California Energy Commission staff report on proposed energy-efficiency regulations for computers and monitors (see 1609090063) was praised Wednesday by two tech industry groups in a joint statement that hailed the “collaborative effort” to achieve “the highest energy efficiency standard possible without undermining the innovation industry.” The report “paves the way for the technology industry to continue to enable innovation,” while reducing desktop computers’ idle power consumption by 50 percent over the next five years, said the Information Technology Industry Council. “We applaud the CEC for its work in keeping California as a leader in energy efficiency and environmental policy while ensuring that these new rules do not stifle technology and innovation,” said TechNet. CTA earlier this week blasted the same CEC report for its “inside-the-box thinking” (see 1609120056).

Hasbro, JumpStart Games, Mattel and Viacom agreed to pay $835,000 collectively in penalties and to institute changes to prevent third parties from illegally tracking, collecting and using personal data from children under 13 who visit those companies' popular websites, said New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman Tuesday after a two-year investigation. Schneiderman, who held a web-streamed news conference and whose office issued a news release, said the results of the investigation were "frankly shocking." He said the companies violated the Children's Online Privacy Protection Act, which bars companies from specifically collecting children's data, including names, email addresses, cookies and IP addresses, without their parents' permission. Many of those companies' sites were "littered" with technologies to track and collect data illegally without the knowledge of the companies that operate the sites, he said. As part of the settlement, the companies will regularly monitor sites to identify unexpected third-party tracking, vet vendors before allowing them on their sites and update privacy policies, among other actions, he said. Hasbro, which owns popular sites like My Little Pony, said in an emailed statement it fully cooperated with the investigation and it's "rolling out a new, stricter online privacy protection policy for our partners, and enacting new protocols and technology to scan our digital properties for any cookies, widgets or other applications that may violate our policy." Mattel, which operates popular Barbie and Hot Wheels sites, said in an email it regards online privacy and security "very seriously" and takes "prompt action" to investigate and remedy issues anytime it's notified. Viacom, which owns Nickelodeon, said in an email it has a "longstanding commitment" to protect children's privacy and the AG's investigation resolves "an earlier generation of Nickelodeon websites." JumpStart didn't comment.

Frontier Communications must publicly file a “root cause analysis” on outages from its April 1 transition of Verizon customers and a separate 911 outage in Riverside County, the California Public Utilities Commission said in a Sept. 8 ruling on rural call completion issues released Monday. The telco must file by Sept. 20, the same day as a hearing about the Frontier transition in Santa Cruz (see 1608170036), it said. Frontier also is facing FCC scrutiny for the Riverside 911 outage (see 1607080045). The telco responded to CPUC requests for information prior to Thursday, including root cause analysis reports, a company spokesman said Monday. “We will continue to respond to questions from all regulators on a timely basis.” Frontier resolved all transition-related customer service tickets by May 31 and systems are operating normally, he said. The company is working on meeting state conditions on the Verizon deal, including enhancing network performance, upgrading the network and expanding 25 Mbps broadband service to about 400,000 households and delivering 10 Mbps broadband service to about 190,000 households, he said. The ruling directed Frontier and other carriers in Humboldt County -- AT&T, Comcast and Suddenlink -- to meet to investigate and act to resolve a recent 211 outage there. The companies should be ready to discuss the matter at an upcoming workshop Sept. 20 in Felton, California, CPUC said. Frontier is looking into the outage reports and will report to the PUC as requested, the spokesman said. Also, the state commission asked for comment on transcripts and issues raised at summer workshops and public hearings on rural call completion.

In the four years in which the California Energy Commission “has spent public resources trying to figure how to regulate computers and displays,” the consumer technology industry “has been busy making real energy efficiency progress,” said Doug Johnson, CTA vice president-technology policy, of a final CEC staff report on energy efficiency standards for computers and monitors that got praise Friday from consumer groups (see 1609090063). CTA research shows that “even as we use more devices in our homes, their share of U.S. household electricity has declined,” Johnson emailed us Monday. “While the CEC undoubtedly has good intentions with this rulemaking, they continue to drive regulation by looking through the rear-view mirror,” Johnson said. “Every day our industry is innovating to create better, lighter and more energy efficient products. In the past few years, CTA has championed new approaches to saving energy and contributing to carbon emissions reduction goals.” Recent voluntary agreements on energy efficiency for pay-TV set-top boxes and small network equipment “are great examples of the private sector delivering energy savings faster than regulation while protecting innovation and competition, and avoiding costs and burdens to consumers and local businesses,” Johnson said. “Unfortunately, this regulatory proposal for computers and displays represents inside-the-box thinking at a time when both government and industry need to be agile and creative in developing less costly and less time-consuming solutions for saving energy,” Johnson said of CEC’s staff report. It said its proposed computer and monitor standards are “technically feasible and cost-effective to consumers and would save a significant amount of energy statewide.”

The Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission will consider Windstream objections to the Verizon takeover of the XO Communications wireline business as the PUC readies its decision on the overall deal. In a ruling Friday, the commission denied a Verizon request to strike the amicus curiae brief by Windstream. Verizon and XO asked to strike the objections because they were filed after the April 25 deadline (see 1609020040), but the PUC said Windstream didn’t break any rules. With that ruling, the record is closed and an initial decision “shall be prepared and issued,” it said. The agency hasn’t set dates for an administrative law judge to issue a recommended decision or for the commission to consider an order at a public meeting, a spokesman said. Pennsylvania and New York are the last two state approvals Verizon and XO need for their $1.88 billion deal (see 1608250058).

The International Association of Fire Chiefs endorsed FirstNet and urged members to participate in the public safety network’s consultation process with all states and territories, the IAFC said in a position statement. The board Thursday unanimously agreed to the statement, IAFC said in a news release. “FirstNet, by providing dedicated, interoperable, mission-critical data communications, will enhance emergency-response operations throughout the fire and emergency service for years to come,” said the statement. “FirstNet will be a vital component for an effective response to a terrorist incident or a natural disaster and for everyday response.” The IAFC represents 11,000 fire, rescue and emergency medical service officials.

Consumer groups praised a final staff report on energy efficiency standards for computers released Friday by the California Energy Commission. Consumers Union, Consumer Action, the Consumer Federation of America and the Consumer Federation of California applauded the standard in a news release Friday. It’s “a technology-neutral, product-neutral standard that will boost competition without undermining product performance,” said CFA Research Director Mark Cooper. The standard will save consumers more than $370 million yearly, said Consumers Union Policy Counsel-Energy and Environment Shannon Baker-Branstetter. “Because of California’s market size, Consumers Union expects the benefits to extend far beyond the Golden State, as more efficient products become available nationwide.” But the consumer groups said numerous concessions were made to industry. “Due to potential exemptions that could impact consumer savings, we call on the industry to regard the new standard as a minimum and to go beyond it, in order to ensure that consumers don’t continue to foot the bill for needlessly inefficient digital devices,” said Baker-Branstetter. CEC officials didn't comment right away. CTA is reviewing the final rule, a spokeswoman said.

A North Carolina telemarketer violated Missouri do-not-call laws when it made thousands of sales calls for home security systems to Missouri residents, said a lawsuit by Missouri Attorney General Chris Koster, who has been active in this area (see 1510200016). The suit named North Carolina telemarketer USA Security Promotions and its manager William Jayson Waller, the AG said in a Wednesday news release. The AG's office said it received more than 70 no-call and telemarketing complaints about the company. The AG sued Waller and former company ISI Alarms for similar violations in 2014, it said. Robert Newkirk, an attorney for Waller, said he couldn't comment because he hadn't seen the lawsuit.

The Communications Workers of America renewed its call for a Maryland probe of Verizon copper practices. In a letter Tuesday to the Public Service Commission, CWA said it supports Verizon investment in fiber, but only with consumer protections including transparency and advance notice during the copper-to-fiber migration. The company failed to maintain copper, then deceived customers who had copper service problems into making the IP transition under a policy known as “Fiber is the Only Fix,” said the union. The telco defended the program, saying it’s neither deceiving customers nor neglecting its copper network (see 1607140027). CWA has a similar complaint against Verizon at the FCC. CWA told the PSC its May request for investigation wasn't a publicity stunt timed to coincide with union workers' East Coast strike this year against Verizon. The union has presented testimony and evidence supporting commission action against Verizon since February 2009, it said. “The Commission will review the filing and make a determination as to the appropriate next steps,” a PSC spokeswoman emailed Thursday. “The Commission has not made a determination whether to open a proceeding in the matter.” Meanwhile in New Jersey, the state Division of Rate Counsel renewed its request that the Board of Public Utilities open a probe of Verizon. "Rate Counsel is concerned that in the four weeks that have passed since the Public Hearings in this matter the Board has yet to issue a procedural schedule as requested by the parties to fully investigate and address the testimony provided by Verizon customers" Aug. 4 (see 1608050043), Division Director Stefanie Brand said in a letter Wednesday. The board's staff continues to review information from hearings and comments filed; when that's done, it will make a recommendation to the board about next steps, a BPU spokeswoman said Thursday.

Rivada Networks will develop an alternative public safety broadband plan for the New Hampshire Department of Safety, the company said in a news release Wednesday. Rivada will develop a radio access network (RAN) proposal that the state will compare with one developed by FirstNet. “While this is not a decision by New Hampshire to opt-out, by choosing Rivada to develop New Hampshire’s alternative to FirstNet’s state plan, the state has acted in a timely way to keep its options open,” said Rivada Executive Chairman Declan Ganley. FirstNet said it may send state plans to governors in mid-2017. A governor will have 90 days after receiving a proposal from FirstNet to opt out, then 180 days to submit an alternative plan for FCC approval, according to statute. FirstNet has been working to build bridges with states as it develops state plans for the national public safety network. Some states are crafting alternative plans, but few are in position to opt out, said national state associations (see 1608080035). Rivada is part of the Rivada Mercury bid to be the FirstNet vendor; FirstNet said last month it’s on track to announce the contract winner Nov. 1 (see 1608160050).