FCC Reverses Itself on Cybersecurity, Approves TRS and 'Delete' Items

In the most contentious item on the agenda, Chairman Brendan Carr fired back at Commissioner Anna Gomez and others who opposed an item reversing a January declaratory ruling and NPRM addressing the Salt Typhoon cyberattacks. The item was approved 2-1, with Gomez dissenting. She asked why the FCC couldn’t have solicited additional comment before acting.

The cybersecurity item withdraws the earlier NPRM and finds that the FCC erred in affirming the legal responsibility of carriers to secure their networks under the Communications Assistance for Law Enforcement Act. Officials said the item saw few changes over the draft.

Carr said that when the January item was approved (see 2501160041), no official in the intelligence community encouraged him to vote in favor of the steps the FCC was taking. “I was told that this type of FCC regulatory action at this moment would be counterproductive and deter the productive collaboration that is necessary today,” he said Thursday. “Biden-era cyber officials said at the time that the FCC’s decision would not be merely ineffective -- it would be counterproductive.”

Gomez issued a statement Wednesday slamming the vote ahead of the meeting (see 2511190046). She told reporters Thursday that she had asked for an NPRM to seek comment on FCC authority in that area and others, but to no avail. The approved ruling is “very critical” of the Biden FCC for acting without seeking comment on the FCC’s “general authority” and related issues, Gomez said. “If that’s the entirety of the complaint, then let’s seek notice and comment.”

Commissioner Olivia Trusty said revoking the earlier ruling doesn’t “signal a retreat from our cybersecurity mission.” Instead, it “reflects a recognition that one of the most effective defenses against foreign threats comes from a dynamic partnership between the federal government and the private sector.” In recent months, carriers “have stepped up with meaningful, voluntary measures to harden their networks, and the commission will continue to hold them accountable through ongoing monitoring, enforcement, and future rulemakings where appropriate,” she said.

Telecommunications Relay Service

Analog TRS "was once cutting-edge,” but its use has dropped to the point “where some of these services could be considered obsolete,” said Joshua Mendelsohn, a lawyer with the FCC’s Disability Rights Office, in a sign language introduction to the TRS item. The NPRM proposes recognizing IP speech-to-speech relay as a compensable form of TRS and asks about ways to streamline TRS provider certification. It also asks about ending the mandatory status of text telephone (TTY) relay for state-based TRS programs.

While changing TRS technologies necessitates changing TRS rules in response, modern, IP-based services are available only to people with connectivity, Gomez argued. The agency also has to pay attention to functional equivalency issues and the ability of consumers to use the technology, she said.

Trusty said the NPRM’s goal "is not merely to maintain the capabilities of analog forms of TRS, but to enable users of those services to benefit from the improved capabilities unlocked by advanced communications networks.” Deaf and hard-of-hearing community experts have similarly said the FCC needs to ensure that any modernization of the requirements doesn’t leave legacy analog TRS users behind (see 2511140021).

Direct Final Rule

The FCC also voted 2-1 to approve its latest direct final rule item, which will remove 21 regulations related to public safety that the agency has deemed outdated or unnecessary. Gomez -- who concurred in part and dissented in part -- challenged that characterization in remarks Thursday. She objected to the item’s deletion of an ongoing reporting requirement for state emergency communications committees on the use of multilingual emergency alerts. The draft DFR item says the requirement is up for deletion because it has “never been triggered.” Gomez said deleting an ongoing requirement that hasn’t expired is an escalation of the use of the DFR. Other provisions marked for deletion in the order include references to deadlines that have already passed or administrative bodies that no longer exist.

“Although there may be valid policy reasons for eliminating the current requirement the Commission must explore those reasons through notice and comment," Gomez said. "This change represents a dangerous broadening of the use of the direct final rule that is indefensible.” She concurred with the deletion of outdated rules but dissented “with regard to the deletion of provisions that are neither obsolete nor expired.” Gomez has dissented from all previous DFR proceedings.

Carr called the item “another step forward in the FCC’s ongoing effort to cut deadwood.”