Tennessee’s social media age-verification law should be blocked because it violates the First Amendment, NetChoice said Thursday, filing a lawsuit with the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Tennessee. Tennessee’s HB-1891 violates the Constitution in the same way as laws in California, Arkansas, Ohio, Mississippi, Texas and Utah, the association said. “HB 1891 would prevent Tennesseans -- minors and adults alike -- from discussing politics, catching up with friends, or reading the news online unless they surrender their sensitive personal data first,” said Litigation Center Associate Director Paul Taske. “Not only does this violate the First Amendment, but it also endangers the security of all Tennesseans, particularly children by creating a data target for hackers and criminals.” The Computer & Communications Industry Association wrote Gov. Bill Lee (R) in April, seeking a veto of the measure. HB-1891 holds social media platforms liable for failing to verify age, but it also tells companies to delete the information, which leaves them without a “means to document their compliance,” said CCIA.
Communications Daily is tracking the lawsuits below involving appeals of FCC actions. Lawsuits added since the last update are marked with an *.
California should shed carrier of last resort (COLR) obligations in many parts of the state, carriers that are subject to those regulations said in comments posted this week at the California Public Utilities Commission. Just don’t extend the rules to other kinds of companies, warned a cable broadband association, whose members are free from such regulations. However, consumer advocates said COLR obligations remain necessary and should be updated to include high-speed internet service, not just voice.
Space sustainability advocates are pessimistic about the chances that the FCC will require environmental reviews for proposed satellites and constellations anytime soon. Such reviews were a central part of the International Dark-Sky Association's (ISDA) unsuccessful legal challenge of the FCC's approval of SpaceX's second-generation satellite constellation (see 2407120031). Last month, the U.S. Public Interest Research Group (PIRG) launched a letter-writing campaign urging environmental reviews of satellite mega constellations (see 2408280002).
Comments will be due Oct. 10 on how California will treat VoIP providers going forward, the California Public Utilities Commission said. Replies will be due Oct. 15. Administrative Law Judge Camille Watts-Zagha extended the deadlines by one week in a Friday ruling (docket R.22-08-008). The CPUC’s proposed decision would say that interconnected VoIP providers are telephone corporations subject to the same laws and rules as other wireline and wireless telcos (see 2409130046).
The California Public Utilities Commission seeks comments by Oct. 29 on a staff proposal recommending a permanent intrastate rate cap for debit, prepaid and collect calls for incarcerated people's communications services (IPCS), said a ruling by Administrative Law Judge Robert Haga in docket R.20-10-002. The proposal would also make permanent the current cap on ancillary fees. In addition, staff recommended a process for periodic adjustments and a way for providers to seek changes “specific to their circumstances.” Replies will be due Nov. 19.
California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) issued judgments on a variety of telecom, privacy and social media bills before the legislative session ended Monday. The governor signed AB-2765, which requires that the California Public Utilities Commission report on inspections that ensure companies comply with resiliency plans. But Newsom vetoed AB-1826 to update the state’s 2006 video franchise law, the Digital Infrastructure and Video Competition Act. It would have increased DIVCA fines for service-quality problems and sought increased participation from the public and its advocates in the franchise renewal process. Newsom had also vetoed a 2023 version of the bill (see 2310120008). “Unfortunately, this bill, like its predecessor, falls short of addressing the broader challenges we face in closing the Digital Divide,” said Newsom in his veto message. On privacy, Newsom approved AB-1008, which clarifies that personal information under the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA) can exist in different formats. Also, he signed SB-1223, which amends the CCPA to include “neural data” as a type of sensitive personal information. The governor signed AB-1282, which orders a study on mental health risks of social media for children. And he approved SB-1283, which will require that schools adopt limits or bans on student use of smartphones to keep kids off social platforms when on campus. Also, Newsom signed AB-2481, which will create a mechanism for people who report threatening content on social networks. And he approved SB-1504, which tightens a cyberbullying law that requires social platforms to have reporting mechanisms. But Newsom vetoed AB-1949, which sets stricter limits on sharing children’s personal data under the CCPA. “This bill would fundamentally alter the structure of the CCPA to require businesses, at the point of collection, to distinguish between consumers who are adults and minors,” he said in a veto statement. “I am concerned that making such a significant change to the CCPA would have unanticipated and potentially adverse effects on how businesses and consumers interact with each other, with unclear effects on children's privacy.”
California and Oklahoma last week delivered more broadband grants funded by federal cash. The California Public Utilities Commission said it approved $172 million in grants for last-mile projects through its federal funding account. Award winners included local governments, AT&T and other private ISPs. The CPUC also approved volume 2 rules for NTIA’s broadband equity, access and deployment (BEAD) program (see 2409260066). Meanwhile, the Oklahoma Broadband Governing Board approved about $158 million in grants, including 50 grants for a dozen ISPs, the state broadband office said Thursday.
The Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission voted 4-1 Thursday to approve the FCC’s December changes to pole attachment replacement rules, which clarified transparency requirements for pole owners and established an intra-agency “rapid broadband assessment team” to review pole attachment disputes and recommend solutions (see 2312130044). The California Public Utilities Commission voted 4-0 later in the day to approve state rules implementing volume 2 of its plan for rolling out the $1.86 billion allocation from NTIA’s broadband equity, access and deployment (BEAD) program (see 2408260027).
The California Public Utilities Commission again delayed voting on allowing people without social security numbers to apply for state LifeLine support (docket R.20-02-008). Staff pushed the item to the Oct. 17 meeting, said a hold list released Tuesday. The CPUC postponed the vote twice before; it was originally on the Aug. 22 meeting’s agenda. The last revised draft responded to various privacy concerns (see 2409120047). The CPUC still plans to vote Thursday on federally funded last-mile broadband grants and adopting rules for NTIA’s broadband equity, access and deployment program.