The Supreme Court declined to review AT&T's appeal of a circuit court ruling that allowed a whistleblower's False Claims Act lawsuit to proceed (AT&T v. United States ex rel. Heath, No. 15-363). The lawsuit alleges the carrier fraudulently overcharged schools and libraries under the FCC E-rate program. In its Monday order list, the high court denied without comment AT&T's petition for a writ of certiorari to review the ruling of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit (USA ex rel. Todd Heath v. AT&T, No. 14-7094) (see 1506230031) overturning a lower court ruling that dismissed the case. Heath, who runs a business that audits telecom charges, filed a qui tam suit (on behalf of the government) alleging AT&T and its subsidiaries fraudulently overbilled the E-rate program from 1997 to 2009. In its cert petition, AT&T argued Heath didn't meet a key duty under the False Claims Act: "While the core requirement of the FCA is the submission of a false claim for payment by the United States, the respondent does not identify even one example of such a claim. For that reason, this complaint would have been dismissed if it had been filed in the Fourth, Sixth, Eighth, or Eleventh Circuits. But the court below, like six other circuits, permits an FCA suit to proceed without identifying even a single false claim. This Court's intervention is warranted." Responding to Monday's announcement, an AT&T spokesman emailed: "Unfortunately the Court decided not to review the issue, but it’s important to note they did not address the merits of the case. We continue to believe we acted properly and look forward to proving that in Court."
The Electronic Frontier Foundation rejoiced Thursday as a computer-crimes bill stalled in the Rhode Island state legislature. H-7406 would have prohibited unauthorized access to someone else’s computer, computer system or network with intent to view, save or copy confidential information. But EFF and other internet freedom advocates opposed the bill, which they said is too vague, unnecessarily duplicates the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act and could have penalized innocent activity by researchers and whistleblowers (see 1606100056). The House put the measure on the calendar for a floor vote this month but postponed consideration multiple times until the bill disappeared from the list altogether. “This is good news,” Senior Staff Attorney Adam Schwartz said on the EFF blog. “But the struggle continues against other vague and overbroad computer crime laws.”
The Rhode Island House postponed a floor vote on a controversial computer-crimes bill to Thursday. It’s the second time the vote on H-7406 Substitute A has been delayed. It was scheduled for last Thursday, then moved to Tuesday. The bill would prohibit unauthorized access to someone else’s computer, computer system or network with intent to view, save or copy confidential information. But Internet freedom advocates including the Electronic Frontier Foundation, Center for Democracy and Technology and New America’s Open Technology Institute oppose the bill because they say it’s too vague, unnecessarily duplicates the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act and could penalize innocent activity by researchers and whistleblowers (see 1606100056). Thursday’s floor vote is scheduled for 4 p.m.
Internet freedom advocates sounded the alarm over a computer-crime bill in Rhode Island that they said dangerously expands upon the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act (CFAA). The legislation prohibits unauthorized access to someone else’s computer, computer system or network with intent to view, save or copy confidential information. The Rhode Island House plans a floor vote Tuesday. Opponents say the bill is too vaguely worded and could penalize innocent activity by researchers and whistleblowers. A less-criticized Washington state law that also prohibits unauthorized access into computers took effect Thursday.
Key Commerce Department challenges include addressing FirstNet’s “adequacy of funding, effective consulting, internal control, and staffing and other organizational issues” and addressing an increasing demand for spectrum, Deputy Inspector General David Smith said in his office’s semiannual report to Congress, released this week (see 1605310058). Smith is now the acting inspector general, and the Senate Commerce Committee held a nomination hearing last month for the administration’s nominee for a permanent IG (see 1605100057). The IG’s report referred to President Barack Obama’s directive to make 500 MHz of spectrum available by 2020. “To meet the 2020 deadline, NTIA needs to incorporate the lessons learned from its research and development activities into actual strategies that lead to results -- as well as identify the availability of, and more efficient use of, radio frequency spectrum,” the 64-page IG report said. “Also, the termination of the Federal Spectrum Management System presents a challenge to NTIA’s capability to manage spectrum, it will still be in need of a technological system that can modernize, automate, and integrate key spectrum management functions.” In the course of an audit, the IG “found FirstNet’s process to inform federal agencies about the benefits” of its network “and its initial efforts to address federal agency challenges reasonable given the limitations on federal consultation mentioned throughout our report.” The IG recommended the FirstNet CEO “identify and document non-subjective performance indicators and milestones and define and document how each will be measured”; “identify steps to mitigate the risk of low federal participation in FirstNet’s Federal Stakeholder Engagement Plan,” and “perform and document analysis of federal consultation and outreach efforts, including analyses specific to the 14 agencies that compose the Emergency Communications Preparedness Center.” There's an ongoing audit of FirstNet’s “processes for entering into, monitoring, and closing its interagency agreements,” the IG noted. Five of nine broadband stimulus grant recipients IG reviewed “had excess equipment, $3.5 million in total, including equipment outside the needs of completing the grant projects,” the report said. “Also, we found that NTIA’s processes for identifying and disposing of [Broadband Technology Opportunities Program]-funded excess inventory were inadequate for effective management of these awards.” It found that $600,000 “may have been improperly disposed,” it said. The IG report also said five entities were debarred for three years after allegations that an unnamed stimulus grantee “misused and mismanaged grant funds and that a whistleblower employee of the subrecipient was terminated for disclosing the misuse and mismanagement.”
Telcordia hired an employee whose system access apparently didn't comply with legal requirements, an ex-employee said in a lawsuit alleging he was wrongfully terminated by the company, which is poised to become local number portability administrator (LNPA). The plaintiff was concerned the situation violated a national security agreement signed by parent company Ericsson and could disqualify Telcordia from the LNPA service contract, said the suit, which came to light Monday. The federal government's Committee on Foreign Investment in the U.S. (CFIUS) reviewed and cleared Ericsson’s takeover of Telcordia in 2011.
FCC fines and enforcement advisories are “a step forward” on pirate radio, but the commission should increase equipment seizures to truly reduce the amount of unlicensed operators, broadcasters and their lawyers said in interviews Tuesday. That day, the Enforcement Bureau issued a $15,000 forfeiture for unlicensed Broward County, Florida, station WBIG. Now, the FCC should seize the equipment of pirates like WBIG, broadcasters said. The bureau has been stepping up pirate radio enforcement, though a whistleblower was said to claim priorities had shifted away from such activities amid tight budgets, covered in a Special Report on FCC partisanship (see 1512150014).
Apple CEO Tim Cook prefaced what was mostly a series of product line expansion announcements Monday with a strong stance on corporate policy toward its encryption battle with the FBI that drew a tweet from NSA whistleblower Edward Snowden. Reacting to Cook’s comments on consumer privacy during Apple’s new product announcement in Cupertino, California, Snowden tweeted: “When the public is forced to rely on a corporation to defend its rights. This is a warning sign. #AppleEvent.”
The FBI's court fight with Apple over unlocking an iPhone used by a San Bernardino, California, mass shooter could open "a Pandora’s Box that could have extremely damaging implications for the human rights of many millions of people, including their physical and financial security," said U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights Zeid Ra'ad Al Hussein. The high commissioner's lengthy statement Friday on the court case came a day after a slew of technology companies and associations, privacy and civil liberties groups, cryptographic and legal experts, law enforcement agencies and groups and family members of victims of the shooting filed "friend of the court" briefs supporting either Apple or the U.S. government (see 1603030050).
The FCC enforcement advisory on pirate radio issued Tuesday (see 1603010075) is a step in the right direction but needs to be accompanied by ramped up enforcement, broadcast officials and attorneys told us Wednesday. The statement had been in the works for at least a few weeks. Broadcasters have long complained about pirate radio, and did so even more when the FCC scaled back its Enforcement Bureau field offices. Commissioner Ajit Pai had said a whistleblower alleged the bureau was not prioritizing pirate radio enforcement (see 1512150014).