Broadband Deployment Advisory Committee member Eve Lewis, assistant city attorney in Coconut Creek, Florida, emailed Tuesday she's “optimistic” about discussions between industry and local governments on permitting during the COVID-19 pandemic (see 2004130050). “Often times, the largest hurdle is opening channels of communication among all stakeholders,” Lewis said: “This effort seeks to do that.”

Until DOD completes and implements its “cyber hygiene initiatives,” it will “face an enhanced risk of successful attack,” GAO reported Monday. Seven of the 11 tasks from an initiative aren't fully implemented, and there’s no entity monitoring progress, the auditor said: Of 17 tasks, at least four aren't in place. The Pentagon concurred with one of seven recommendations and partially concurred with four. Since the 2015 plan, the department said it has issued “new or updated versions of a number of cyberrelated strategies, including the DOD Cyber Strategy.”

Antitrust authorities cleared the way for Fox to buy streaming platform Tubi for about $440 million. An FTC early termination notice dated Thursday and released Friday ended the transaction's Hart-Scott-Rodino waiting period.

ICANN wants feedback in a week on updated public interest commitments for .org, President Goran Marby blogged Wednesday. The Public Interest Registry, which the Internet Society proposed selling to Ethos Capital, revised its PICs in response to ICANN questions (see 2003090027). The changes include a pricing table that further clarifies the maximum service fee to be charged for .org domain names, and assurances a stewardship council will start within six months of the PIC being added to PIR's registry agreement. Marby wrote that "PICs are enforceable by ICANN," noting board members "have reservations" about their enforceability. The organization must decide by April 20 whether to greenlight the deal.

Antitrust head Makan Delrahim said DOJ is considering next steps after U.S. District Judge Leonard Stark of Wilmington, Delaware, rejected its complaint that Sabre's purchase of online airfare booking services firm Farelogix would violate the Clayton Act. In the opinion entered Wednesday (docket 19-cv-01548), Stark said the deal wouldn't increase pricing or deter innovation, and DOJ failed to define a proper relevant market. He said he found the department's economic expert unpersuasive, seemingly not knowing much about the airline booking industry, and said the DOJ didn't prove it was entitled to a presumption of competitive harm. Delrahim said the agency is "disappointed."

The FTC Wednesday cautioned companies about risks to consumers of artificial intelligence technology used to make predictions, recommendations or decisions. AI could enable “unfair or discriminatory outcomes” or the perpetuation of existing socioeconomic disparities, blogged Competition Bureau Director Andrew Smith. Companies using AI should take care not to mislead consumers about the nature of an interaction, he said, citing “engager profiles” of attractive potential mates to induce customers to sign up for a dating service. How companies get data is important: Secretly collecting sensitive data could give rise to an FTC action, Smith said, noting Facebook misled consumers last year by telling them they could opt in to facial recognition even though the setting was on by default. Companies that make automated decisions based on third-party information may have to provide consumers with an “adverse action” notice, explaining their right to see information reported about them and to correct inaccurate information.

Borrowers in the Rural Utilities Service ReConnect broadband subsidy program should be the only ones eligible to bid on census blocks serving the same territory in the upcoming FCC Rural Digital Opportunity Fund, NTCA and the National Rural Electric Cooperative Association recommended, posted Tuesday in docket 19-126. Borrowers "would by no means" be guaranteed to win USF support for the same area, the associations acknowledged. The groups spoke Monday with Preston Wise, rural broadband adviser to Chairman Ajit Pai.

Digital advertisers should stop “using keyword blocking practices” that jeopardize the journalism industry, the News Media Alliance and Digital Content Next said Friday. Some advertisers have stopped spending ad money because of COVID-19, but others are using blockers to prevent “ads from appearing on COVID-19-related content,” the groups said. Digital Content Next President-CEO Jason Kint urged Google and Oracle to “dedicate urgent resources towards solutions here, including exempting or encouraging trusted news organizations as a default.” The Association of National Advertisers didn’t comment.

At least three state attorneys general raised privacy and security concerns about Zoom video conferencing. Offices for New York's Letitia James (D), Connecticut's William Tong (D) and Florida's Ashley Moody (D) confirmed last week they contacted the company. The U.S. attorney's office for the Eastern District of Michigan raised concerns Friday about “Zoom-bombing” video hacking that shares pornography and hate. James sent a letter to Zoom with questions to ensure the company is protecting privacy and security, her spokesperson confirmed: “With so many businesses and schools relying on Zoom to move their operations forward, it is vital we ensure that appropriate safety and security measures are in place.” Tong is alarmed by the incidents and is “seeking more information from the company about its privacy and security measures in coordination with other state attorneys general,” a spokesperson said. Moody’s office has had contact with Zoom and is “working with other states on this matter,” a spokesperson said. The office for Nevada AG Aaron Ford (D) is “happy” to coordinate with other AGs to ensure that Nevadans’ privacy interests are protected, a spokesperson emailed. “If you interfere with a teleconference or public meeting in Michigan, you could have federal, state, or local law enforcement knocking at your door,” U.S. Attorney for Eastern Michigan Matthew Schneider said. House Commerce Committee Democrats contacted the company Friday about privacy and security protections. They raised questions about company policy and company data collection: “Our new dependency on such solutions raises important questions about the privacy practices of the companies many of us are interacting with for the first time.” Dozens of other AG offices didn’t comment. Zoom is “deeply upset” about the incidents, a spokesperson emailed, noting the company has actively educated users about protection and training since March 20: “We are listening to our community of users to help us evolve our approach.”

Global IT spending will decline 2.7% this year as COVID-19 “forces many organizations" to "respond with contingency planning and spending cuts,” said IDC Thursday. It was forecasting a 4.3% increase in February. IT spending will fall “despite increased demand and usage for some technologies and services by individual companies and consumers," said IDC. “Major spending declines this year are now expected in PCs, tablets, mobile phones, and peripherals, with overall devices spending expected to decline by 8.8%.” Computers previously were expected to decline, it said: “The crisis will significantly disrupt a smartphone market that was projected to post stronger returns this year.”