The Florida House set up a potential fight with the opposite chamber after passing the Senate’s comprehensive privacy bill Wednesday, with amendments. Meanwhile, a New Hampshire House committee kicked the can for six months on its own privacy bill. Earlier this week, Indiana’s Eric Holcomb (R) became the seventh governor to sign a privacy bill into law.
In preparation for possible interference to GPS from terrestrial L-band use, DOT wants to augment its current processes for identifying and responding, the agency said at the National Space-Based Position, Navigation and Timing (PNT) Advisory Board meeting Wednesday.
Meta should be banned from monetizing children’s data, the FTC said Wednesday, claiming the company violated its 2020 privacy order with the agency.
The FirstNet Authority Board held its first meeting Wednesday under new Chair Richard Carrizzo and new Executive Director Joseph Wassel. The meeting was over in 35 minutes.
Competitive Carriers Association CEO Tim Donovan on Wednesday urged Congress to fully fund the FCC's Secure and Trusted Communications Networks Reimbursement Program (see 2304210069). Carriers, consumers “and the millions of Americans that roam on these networks must not be negatively impacted by insufficient funding,” Donovan said at the start of the group’s spring show in Pittsburgh.
Former FCC nominee Gigi Sohn told reporters Wednesday she’s ready for her next act in the communications policy space, after her withdrawal from contention for the vacant commission slot almost two months ago (see 2303070082). Sohn confirmed during and after an appearance at a Broadband Communities event in Houston that she will sign on in June as the American Association for Public Broadband’s first executive director. The House Commerce Oversight Subcommittee, meanwhile, plans a May 10 hearing on the government’s administration of $65 billion in broadband funding from the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act and other federal programs.
Senate Judiciary Committee members hope for unanimous support Thursday during a markup on legislation meant to protect children on social media, despite opposition from Public Knowledge and industry groups (see 2305010034 and 2304200032).
This spring's proxy season includes multiple shareholder votes on tech, media and telecom (TMT) companies' reliance on China, plus an array of proposed disclosures of lobbying activities. The China proposals have garnered little investor support.
Officials with 5G for 12 GHz Coalition didn’t get everything they wanted from the FCC in the item teed up for a vote at the May 18 open meeting. But they're pleased with what was proposed and see it as the next step on the way to use of the band for fixed wireless, and potentially to be used as part of broadband equity, access and deployment (BEAD) program applications.
The White House appears very close to announcing its nominee for the vacant third Democratic FCC seat, with former acting NTIA Administrator Anna Gomez, ex-Wiley, the prohibitive favorite to get the nod, congressional officials and communications policy lobbyists said in interviews. Gomez, if nominated, would be President Joe Biden's second pick for the seat former FCC Chairman Ajit Pai vacated in early 2021. Previous candidate Gigi Sohn asked Biden in March to withdraw her name after her often-contentious Senate confirmation process repeatedly stalled (see 2303070082). Biden formally withdrew Sohn’s nomination March 30 (see 2303300048).