The FCC’s fourth court loss on quadrennial updates to media ownership rules (see 1906130052) rolls those updates back and could have consequences for pending and just-completed deals such as Nexstar/Tribune and Apollo/Cox and for future radio deregulation, said broadcast attorneys on both sides of the issue in interviews Monday.
Notable CROSS rulings
The proposal on the FCC's Thursday agenda to update and streamline DBS rules comes as that industry's future is increasingly a question mark. An FCC official told us the vote (see 1909050043) is likely 5-0 and the item is seen is a housekeeping matter completing work of aligning DBS registration rules and procedures with other satellite services.
The White House and Congress likely will wrestle for several years over ways to reduce regulatory burdens on getting into space, Venable policy adviser Jared Stout said at an American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics briefing Wednesday on low earth orbit commercialization. Mike French, Aerospace Industries Association vice president-space systems, said the expected LEO communications satellite boom and the promise it holds in lowering launch costs and increasing the number of launch companies should benefit other LEO space commercialization efforts if rules are adequate on issues like orbital debris and space traffic management. A burden for LEO commercialization is aged regulatory regimes that don't fit well with emerging technology, Stout said. He said space launch regulation is "trying to catch up from three decades of neglect." He said there's uncertainty on what agency's in charge of emerging on-orbit activities. Stout said space-based commercialization needs a "holy grail" application that's more affordable to be done in space than on Earth, or has better results in space, and that will accelerate commercialization efforts and investment. He said Congress will have to start deciding how to better use the International Space Station for commercial opportunities, and what comes after it. Making money in space is a question as investors typically want a five- to seven-year return on investment and space ventures can carry a 10- to 20-year horizon, French said. Near term, the biggest opportunities are in supporting human activity in space, he said. Longer term, possible markets include specialty materials manufacturing and in-orbit satellite assembly, he said. NASA has been particularly active in recent months trying to gin up commercial LEO activity by issuing a price list for ISS hosting astronauts and releasing appendices on revenue generation opportunities, French said. Venture capital won't start flowing until there's a clear product or service, said Cindy Martin-Brennan, director-stakeholder management, ISS National Lab. She advocated coordinated, multi-agency funding and better intellectual property assurance to businesses that want to do such space-based R&D.
Three telecom-focused GOP leaders believe more than the departure of any particular official within President Donald Trump's administration will be needed to solve the FCC-Commerce Department quarrel over U.S. spectrum strategy. Those comments came before and after reports surfaced about the potential pending departure of Commerce Deputy Chief of Staff and Policy Director Earl Comstock. He's seen as a central player in this infighting (see 1905090051). Discussion about the fracas became the dominant topic at a Tuesday House Communications Subcommittee on spectrum policy (see 1907160067).
Facebook later this month will offer high-profile testimony to Congress, this time on the company’s entry into digital currency markets (see 1906190060). Calibra Head David Marcus is expected before the Senate Banking Committee on July 16 (see 1906190060) and the House Financial Services Committee on July 17.
FCC Commissioner Brendan Carr is “leaning” toward a plan to loosen radio subcap limits that leave some limits in place in cities but open up ownership limits in smaller markets, he said at a Federalist Society luncheon Tuesday. Carr said he hasn't made a final decision. He acknowledged the plan proposed by NAB and described in the 2018 ownership quadrennial review NPRM is “consistent” with where he's leaning.
Bonneville International supports past FCC elimination of the newspaper/broadcast cross-ownership (NBCO) rule and the agency’s consideration of radio ownership rules in the current quadrennial review proceeding, the broadcaster said in meetings Wednesday with Chairman Ajit Pai, an aide to Commissioner Brendan Carr, and Media Bureau Audio Division Chief Al Shuldiner, according to an ex parte filing posted in docket 18-349 Monday. Bonneville is among broadcast intervenors on the FCC’s side in the 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals Prometheus IV challenge of the 2014 quadrennial review and subsequent recon order, which includes the elimination of the NBCO rule. After oral argument appeared to go against the FCC last week, many observers expect some of those rules to be remanded or vacated (see 1906130052).
Oral argument that appeared to go against the FCC Tuesday at the 3rd Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals is expected to result in media ownership rules being remanded or possibly vacated (see 1906110073). That's called unlikely to slow broadcast dealmaking or affect existing combinations. It could affect the agency’s plans for the 2018 quadrennial review, academics, broadcasters and their lawyers told us this week.
Lack of broadband market competition disempowers consumers, and increased FTC oversight is needed, consumer advocates told the agency. But industry groups argued existing regulations mean the market is more competitive than ever. The agency collected comments through Friday in docket 2018-0113 on broadband competition and consumer protection issues.
An uptick in privacy complaints and the first investigations and fines mark the end of the first year of the EU general data protection regulation. GDPR became effective May 25, 2018. Data protection authorities (DPAs) told us they're seeing increased citizen awareness of the law as well as more inquiries from companies about compliance. While compliance appears to be on the rise, businesses continue to struggle with the rules, with some in America's tech sector calling for a complete review of the GDPR and urging the U.S. not to copy it.