Personal data transfer mechanism Privacy Shield appears likely to emerge successfully from the European Commission review that begins this week. "I'm quite sure it will pass," emailed Hogan Lovells (London) data protection lawyer Eduardo Ustaran. "I may be wrong but I do not expect a revolution," emailed Linklaters (Brussels) privacy attorney Tanguy Van Overstraeten. "The next important step will be the court review." Data Protection Commissioner v. Facebook was referred by the Irish High Court to the European Court of Justice in April.
Heads of TV station groups and broadcast alliances banded together onstage Wednesday at the NAB Show New York to announce a “collaborative effort” committing to launch coast-to-coast ATSC 3.0 services to the U.S. public over the next several years.
Some public, educational and government channel boosters worry a Supreme Court case over PEG channels could affect the status quo for such programmers. Alliance for Community Media (ACM) is among those trying to figure out the implications.
State courts may determine the reach of the Supreme Court’s 5-4 summer decision about mobile privacy in Carpenter v. U.S. It said government collection of at least seven days of cellsite location information (CSLI) is a Fourth Amendment-protected search, meaning police must obtain warrants (see 1806220052). Considered a win for privacy supporters, the decision didn’t address some emerging surveillance (see 1807050025).
Public Knowledge and the FCC traded words over whether telecom deregulation is hampering service restoration efforts after Hurricane Michael. PK said FCC Chairman Ajit Pai and Florida Gov. Rick Scott (R) failed to "take responsibility for how their radical deregulation of telephone service has contributed to this unfortunate situation." The FCC said it's "disappointing but not surprising that a left-wing special-interest group is making cheap and false political attacks while people in the Florida Panhandle are suffering." Pai plans to visit the area Friday. Verizon Wireless said it continues to make progress restoring service.
Raising the 39 percent national ownership cap to 60 or 70 percent but adding a sunset clause that would require further consideration after a few years could be a way for the FCC to relax the cap in a fashion more politically palatable than getting rid of it, said Nexstar CEO Perry Sook on a panel at NAB Show New York Wednesday. Sook told us he believes FCC Chairman Ajit Pai intends to act, but it's also possible the Pai FCC won't get around to it.
An FCC NPRM on allocating the 6 GHz band for Wi-Fi and other unlicensed use is expected to get unanimous approval by commissioners Tuesday, industry and agency officials said. The NPRM is being tweaked, with a look at revising proposals on indoor use, automatic frequency coordination (AFC) and harmonizing the band, officials said. There was a flurry of filings heading into release of the sunshine agenda Wednesday in docket 18-295.
Antitrust action against Microsoft in the late 1990s enabled an explosion of innovation, allowing platforms like Google, Facebook and Amazon to solidify dominant positions, academics said Tuesday at FTC hearings (see 1810150052). Microsoft let companies use the internet as a development platform and expand using HTML protocol, said Columbia University Law School professor Tim Wu.
An NCTA-led coalition said the FCC should take a fresh look at the 5.9 GHz band sought for Wi-Fi. The FCC has been looking at sharing the band between Wi-Fi and dedicated short-range communications (DSRC) since 2013 (see 1301160063). With the agency considering shared use of the 6 GHz band in an NPRM set for a vote next week, coalition members said a new look at 5.9 GHz makes sense.
FCC Chairman Ajit Pai and Florida Gov. Rick Scott (R) Tuesday criticized carrier efforts to restore service in Florida after Hurricane Michael. Scott, who's trying to unseat Senate Commerce Committee ranking member Bill Nelson (D) in a tight Senate race, cited Verizon for its outage in Panama Beach. He urged telecom companies do more to help customers. Pai agreed carrier response could be better and asked the Public Safety Bureau to investigate.