Congressional Republicans are eyeing potential legislative changes to rein in what they view as NTIA’s flawed implementation of the $42.5 billion broadband equity, access and deployment program if the party wins control of Capitol Hill in the Nov. 5 elections. GOP lawmakers are stopping short of publicly suggesting Congress claw back BEAD funding, but Democrats are raising concerns about that possibility. Policy experts expect it will be difficult for lawmakers to reach a consensus on major BEAD changes during the next Congress given the Hill’s polarized reactions to the program over the past year.
A news distortion complaint filed at the FCC against CBS isn’t “facially ridiculous,” said Commissioner Nathan Simington in a Fox News segment Thursday, though he also vowed not to “prejudge” the matter. The complaint argues that editing of an interview with Democratic presidential nominee Vice President Kamala Harris changed her answer to a question on Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, making it sound more favorable. Although the complaint was brought against CBS’ owned and operated station WCBS New York, the content it focuses on was from network programs Face the Nation and 60 Minutes. For the FCC to find that news distortion occurred, the conduct would have had to occur at the level of the licensee rather than the network, Simington said. Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump on Thursday had reposted on Truth Social Simington's early posting about the complaint in which the commissioner wrote, “Interesting. Big if true. Will look into it.” Trump appointed Simington to the FCC in 2020, after the then-president withdrew his renomination of former Commissioner Mike O’Rielly in the wake of an O'Rielly speech critical of social media content regulation that the executive branch proposed.
Elon Musk has emerged as among the most enthusiastic supporters of former President Donald Trump’s presidential campaign, giving nearly $75 million in three months to his pro-Trump America PAC. Musk has danced at a Trump rally wearing a “dark MAGA” hat and announced Wednesday he would support Trump in a series of appearances throughout Pennsylvania.
Instagram on Thursday launched an educational program aimed at helping teens recognize sextortion scams. Meta partnered with child safety experts from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC) and Thorn to create the program. Well-known influencers will help raise awareness of the effort. The rollout includes measures for hiding follower lists from potential scammers, screenshot bans for certain direct message images and expansion of nudity protections. NCMEC Senior Vice President John Shehan said, “By equipping young people with knowledge and directing them to resources like NCMEC’s CyberTipline, and Take it Down, we can better protect them from falling victim to online exploitation.” However, Fairplay said Meta’s campaign is another attempt at delaying congressional action on kids’ safety. “If Meta really cares ... it should stop trying to obstruct the passage of the Kids Online Safety Act, which would require platforms to prevent and mitigate child sexual abuse and sextortion from day one, not just when the company is trying to ward off regulation,” Fairplay Executive Director Josh Golin said.
In talks with corporate governance lawyers, FCC Commissioner Nathan Simington has begun promoting how the FCC's cyber-trust mark could help reduce operations costs, making suppliers from trusted nations more competitive against Chinese suppliers. In an extensive interview with Communications Daily last month, Simington also discussed "smart and targeted" reforms of linear video distribution regulation (see 2409120059), his new practice of dissenting from monetary forfeitures (see 2409060054) and how he sees U.S. industrial policy in the context of China (see 2408200041). In addition, he touched on incentivizing commercial orbital debris removal. The following transcript was edited for length and clarity.
The FCC violated the Communications Act by not rolling back broadcast ownership rules in the 2018 quadrennial review (QR) order, ignoring the increased competition broadcasters face, said petitioners Zimmer Radio, Nexstar, NAB, Beasley Media and Tri-State Communications in a reply brief filed in docket 24-1480. It was filed in the 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals Tuesday. In addition, all four network affiliate groups and a host of radio companies filed intervenor briefs against the FCC. The Communications Act's provision requiring QRs -- Section 202(h) -- isn't a “check-the-box exercise,” said the petitioner’s brief. “Congress intended it to operate as a mechanism of continuing deregulation,” and the plain text instructs that the FCC “demonstrate affirmatively that its rules remain necessary in light of competition” or “modify or repeal them entirely.”
OpenAI appoints Dane Stuckey, ex-Palantir, as co-chief information security officer ... Tech integration company Network Innovations hires Keith Johnson, ex-Speedcast, as president-Americas, and promotes Andrew Burdall to executive vice president-strategic development ... Cybersecurity company Resilience names Matthew Polly, ex-Crowdstrike, as chief revenue officer ... Vonage appoints Anthony Bartolo, ex-Bandwidth, as COO.
Sens. Ed Markey, D-Mass., Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., and Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., asked that the Commerce Department Friday “provide more transparency on key issues” involved in contracts on Chips and Science Act funding. With more than $50 billion in funding for the measure, “the public deserves to know that semiconductor manufacturers have committed to upholding high standards in developing new plants,” including on “health, safety, labor, and environmental provisions subject to transparent company-specific public progress reporting,” the lawmakers said in a letter to Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo. Commerce “should use its role in the grant-making process to ensure that the U.S. semiconductor industry is safe and sustainable, creates high-quality jobs, and does not simply enrich shareholders and executives through stock buybacks.” The lawmakers scolded the department for withholding “important terms” of its first chip manufacturing plant agreement, worth $123 million, when it announced the deal last month. Commerce has also “not articulated how it will hold grant recipients accountable if they fail to meet their contractual terms,” the senators said: “Communities near manufacturing facilities and American chip manufacturing workers deserve -- and need -- more transparency around these federal contracts to ensure manufacturers are held accountable to meaningful commitments.”
Communications companies said they’re responding to power outages and network damage in the wake of Hurricane Milton, which made landfall as a Category 3 hurricane Wednesday night. Emergency 911 systems appeared largely to withstand the onslaught, as they did with Hurricane Helene two weeks earlier (see 2409270058). AccuWeather said the total damage and economic loss from Milton will likely be between $160 billion and $180 billion, making it "one of the most damaging and impactful storms in Florida history."
NEW YORK -- 2025 isn't a “cliff” for the broadcast TV industry despite falling retransmission consent revenue, ad sales declines and growing streaming competition, said executives at the NAB Show New York Wednesday. “We're not at the cliff,” said Nexstar President-Broadcast Andy Alford. “I think 2025 is going to have its challenges,” but “there is lots of opportunity for 2025 to be a good year." Said CBS News and Stations President Jennifer Mitchell during a TV NewsCheck-hosted panel, “Despite year-over-year declines heading into 2025 there is a lot of optimism.”