Industry participants are asking the FCC to revisit a couple of items in its recent order (CD Jan 12 p8) implementing a newer emergency alert service format that was developed by the Federal Emergency Management Agency. Some EAS players told us they want the commission to rethink its decision to prohibit the use of text-to-speech and to consider the burden the rule would place on the smallest cable operators. The Common Alerting Protocol is transmitted via the Internet, and the FCC’s rules address the equipment aspects of CAP.
The House Communications Subcommittee plans to be active this year on FCC process reform, cybersecurity, the LightSquared controversy and the future of video, audio and data, Chairman Greg Walden, R-Ore., told reporters Wednesday morning. Walden said he was optimistic about passing spectrum legislation as part of the payroll tax cut bill. And he criticized FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski’s remarks at the CES show seeking more flexibility from Congress on auction conditions.
Outgoing FCC Office of Strategic Policy Chief Paul de Sa is a new target of Sen. Charles Grassley’s push for insight into the FCC’s process in conditionally approving LightSquared’s terrestrial use of its frequencies. De Sa, who has said he will leave in February, is seen by many as playing a key role in making the case for LightSquared’s merits at the highest levels at the FCC. Grassley, R-Iowa, asked FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski in a letter Wednesday to make de Sa available to answer questions before he leaves government.
SAN FRANCISCO -- A new copyright-enforcement law ought to emerge from negotiations between opponents and supporters of the proposed Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA) and companion PROTECT IP Act, and it probably will, a top MPAA infringement fighter said Wednesday. “I see this as round one, and I can assure you that the MPAA is not going to give up,” said Larry Hahn, the association’s director of U.S. content protection.
Revamped data protection rules will make Europe an “international standard-setter” in the privacy arena, Justice Commissioner Viviane Reding said Wednesday. The reform package, which must be approved by the European Parliament and Council of Ministers, includes a regulation with general rules for data protection (DP) and a directive governing use of personal data in criminal investigations and prosecutions. It updates 1995 rules that aren’t “fit for the digital age,” Reding said. It requires explicit consent to use personal data and provides a “right to be forgotten” when consumers withdraw personal information from social networks and other sites, she said. Any company that wants to do business in Europe will have to comply, she said. In a related privacy move, Digital Agenda Commissioner Neelie Kroes continued her push Tuesday for a ‘Do-Not-Track’ industry standard.
Some groups think Congress now recognizes the need for more transparency when it comes to Internet legislation, following the success of the Internet blackout. Others think Congress missed the initial message of the blackout and will continue its old habits.
Negotiations among the three FCC members on the Lifeline order scheduled for a Jan. 31 vote are expected to get under way in earnest later this week. Questions remain about the mechanisms in the order for controlling the size of the Lifeline fund and are expected to be the subject of more discussion headed into the meeting. FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski put the Lifeline order on the Sunshine notice, released Tuesday afternoon, scheduling the order for a vote at next week’s meeting and cutting off further lobbying. Both Genachowski and FCC Commissioner Robert McDowell are in Geneva for the early part of this week, attending the opening of the World Radiocommunication Conference.
Meredith’s moves a few years ago to begin consolidating the back office functions of all its TV stations in a few regional hubs has begun to pay off in the form of more efficient station operations, executives said during the company’s fiscal Q2 earnings call Tuesday. Its EBITDA margins approached 40 percent, nearly matching a record high for the unit during a non-election year, CEO Stephen Lacy said.
It could cost millions of dollars for TV stations to start putting just part of their public-inspection files online, the NAB told the FCC. It estimated that putting existing political ad files online could cost $15 million, and said making electronic other parts of the files would cost even more in employee time and other expenses. But nonprofits told the FCC and the Office of Management and Budget that the costs will be limited. OMB will consider the paperwork burdens of the regulator’s proposal to require all TV stations to put the files online through a commission-hosted website.
Verizon logged a loss of $2.02 billion in Q4 due to a one-time pension charge of $3.4 billion, the company said Tuesday. But, helped by the iPhone, the carrier added 1.5 million net retail customers, the most it has added in three years.