Better harmonization of cross-border data protection enforcement is needed, the European Commission said Wednesday. There have been over 2,000 cross-border cases since the general data protection regulation (GDPR) took effect five years ago, with over $2.7 billion in fines imposed by national data protection authorities (DPAs) for breaches, the EC statement said. "Thorough application" of the regulation remains a top priority, so the EC will "soon" propose new legislation to standardize some procedures of cooperation between DPAs in cross-border cases. "At the heart of the GDPR lies trust," said Values and Transparency Vice President Vera Jourova and Justice Commissioner Didier Reynders. "Looking back, we have successfully created a modern data protection culture in Europe, which has been a source of inspiration also in other parts of the world." They cited "more and more appetite" internationally to raise privacy standards and, in that way, to facilitate free, safe data flows. GDPR enforcement over the past five years "has had major flaws and today it is still very much work in progress," emailed Ursula Pachl, deputy director-general, European Consumer Organisation (BEUC). For example, BEUC launched a coordinated campaign against Google's widespread tracking of consumers' data in November 2018 "and we are still waiting for the final decision from the Irish data protection authority." EC plans to harmonize cross-border rules "could deliver some real improvements."
Notable CROSS rulings
"There is no immediate disruption to Facebook," the company said Monday after the Irish Data Protection Commission (DPC) ordered parent company Meta to suspend future data transfers to the U.S. within five months, pay a fine of $1.3 billion (1.2 billion pounds), and come into compliance with EU privacy law within six months. Facebook "will appeal the ruling, including the unjustified and unnecessary fine, and seek a stay of the orders through the courts," Global Affairs President Nick Clegg blogged.
The FCC’s Section 214 international authorizations order and NPRM, approved by commissioners 4-0 last week (see 2304200039), got a number of changes in approach and language between the draft and final version, based on a side-by-side comparison. The item was posted in Wednesday’s Daily Digest. The order authorizes a one-time collection of foreign-ownership information from holders of international Communications Act Section 214 authorizations and seeks comment on rules requiring carriers to renew these authorizations every 10 years, “or in the alternative,” periodic updates.
A New York Senate panel approved a sweeping privacy bill Tuesday with a private right of action. After the hearing, Consumer Reports praised the bill, but tech industry groups raised concerns. Parts of the proposed New York Privacy Act are stricter than other state laws, said Fox Rothschild attorney Odia Kagan.
House Communications Subcommittee ranking member Doris Matsui of California and other Democrats opposed many of the 32 bills and legislative drafts aimed at revamping connectivity permitting processes that the subpanel examined during a Wednesday hearing, arguing the current proposals are too broad and suggesting lawmakers gather more input before moving forward. Subcommittee Chairman Bob Latta of Ohio and other Republicans framed the measures as a necessary component of the federal government’s push to improve broadband connectivity that Congress failed to include in the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act.
LAS VEGAS -- The FCC will create a public-private partnership to generate a road map for the ATSC 3.0 transition, announced FCC Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel at the NAB Show Monday.
State legislators advanced several telecom and internet bills Tuesday. New York state senators voted 42-20 Tuesday for a wireless tower bill that would require cellphone companies and third-party infrastructure companies to submit plans to power all their towers with 100% renewable energy by 2031. S-4305 will go to the Assembly. Republicans raised concerns about the bill at a hearing last month (see 2302280043). Also that day, the Senate advanced to a final floor vote a bill (S-5343) to require telecom companies to report on the quality of copper-wire services (see 2303160053). An Idaho bill to ban TikTok on state government devices passed both legislative chambers. The Senate voted 32-0 Tuesday for HB-274. The House passed it earlier this month 67-3. Similar bills in Georgia and Missouri advanced earlier this week (see 2303210047). In Tennessee, the House and Senate’s Commerce Committee advanced cross-filed privacy bills HB-1811 and SB-73 and cross-filed bills SB-1338 and HB-1211 to update Tennessee’s broadband speed standard to 100 Mbps download and 20 Mbps upload. The comprehensive privacy bill would be enforced solely by the attorney general and includes a 60-day right to cure. Among other rule changes, the broadband bill would require grant-eligible projects to provide at least 100/20 Mbps, up from 10/1 Mbps under current law. The state also would have to prioritize locations with less than 100/20Mbps, up from 10/1 Mbps. In Florida, a House panel supported applying state pole-attachment rules to electric cooperatives. The Communications Committee cleared HB-1221 on Tuesday. A Senate panel advanced its similar SB-626 earlier this month with support from Charter Communications (see 2303070073). Florida reverse-preempted FCC pole-attachment authority last year (see 2206070071), allowing the state to regulate attachments and resolve disputes. The House bill still needs approval from two more committees before it can go to the floor.
Commenters in the FCC's 2022 quadrennial review urged the FCC to act on local broadcast ownership rules, condemned it for starting the 2022 QR without finishing the 2018 iteration, and largely took the same stances they had for the 2018 QR, according to filings by Friday’s deadline in docket 22-459. Several cited the agency’s recent hearing designation order (HDO) on Standard/Tegna.
Industry groups met virtually with staff from the FCC Public Safety Bureau on recent work by the Cross-Sector Resiliency Forum. “Recently, over 40 member companies … reconvened to look back at 2022 and review the efforts of communications providers and electric companies to respond to disaster events, including wildfires and hurricanes (Hurricane Ian, in particular), as well as opportunities to enhance our coordination and collaborative efforts in future disaster events,” said a filing posted Wednesday in docket 11-60. They discussed early activation of and coordination for Hurricane Ian, among other topics, the filing said: “In the days before landfall of Hurricane Ian, relevant state and cross-sector counterparts began communication and coordination efforts, including establishing a cadence of reporting and conference calls. After landfall, there were daily ‘wires down’ and make safe calls between electric and communications companies in hard hit areas, like Lee County, Florida.” The forum is looking for other ways to improve coordination. “For example, federal and state governments can enhance recovery and response by improving the process for distributing access letters that enable electric and communications company teams to enter disaster areas,” the groups said. “Aligning state processes (i.e., rules of the road) is important to expedite response and recovery.” They urged wider distribution of the FCC’s notices about avoiding fiber cuts. Attending the meeting were representatives of CTIA, the Edison Electric Institute, NCTA and USTelecom.
The telecom industry bashed a California examination of AT&T and Frontier Communications wireline networks, in comments received Wednesday by the California Public Utilities Commission. The CPUC reports, which found copper service-quality problems, certainly shouldn’t be used as a reason to apply metrics to the entire industry including VoIP and wireless, said many companies in docket R.22-03-016. Consumer and worker advocates disagreed, urging the CPUC to tighten and expand its service-quality oversight over communications.