Preparations for the World Radiocommunication Conference are lagging because of the COVID-19 pandemic, though in-person meetings are now happening, experts said at the NTIA’s Spectrum Policy Symposium Monday. WRC-23 is only 14 months away, starting at the Dubai World Trade Centre in the United Arab Emirates Nov. 20, 2023.
Top government speakers promised on Monday the U.S. government is moving forward on a long-awaited national spectrum strategy. But a top DOD official at NTIA’s Spectrum Policy Symposium warned federal users also have strong continuing needs, and clearing 3.1-3.45 GHz, a top candidate band for 5G, would be prohibitively expensive.
Law professors and advocacy groups consider Friday’s 2-1 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals decision upholding Texas social media law HB 20 in NetChoice v. Ken Paxton an outlier with uncertain effects on social media platforms, but they widely expect the matter to go to the Supreme Court. “This is far from over; there are a lot of hurdles between here and this law taking effect,” said Tech Freedom Internet Policy Counsel Corbin Barthold Monday during a livestreamed panel on the decision. “It is really unclear how platforms could continue to function,” said Blake Reid, director-University of Colorado Samuelson-Glushko Technology Law & Policy Clinic. Plaintiff NetChoice declined to comment on whether it will appeal the case.
Experts said repeatedly at the ForumGlobal 6G conference Friday that planning needs to start now for the next generation of wireless beyond 5G. Speakers agreed regulators around the world will have to look at additional bands and put increased emphasis on more dynamic sharing.
Businesses will continue to seek a way forward on a concerning, soon-to-expire exemption in California's privacy law for employee and business-to-business (B2B) data, a California Chamber of Commerce (CalChamber) official told us Friday. Many privacy lawyers are warning businesses about the carve-out sunsetting at year-end due to the legislature failing to pass an extension. Starting Jan. 1, the California Consumer Protection Act (CCPA) is “really no longer just a consumer law,” said Sheppard Mullin’s Julia Kadish in an interview.
A potential legislative proposal from Sens. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., and Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., that would create a new tech regulator (see 2209120059) is dividing the Senate.
The FCC’s reconstituted Technology Advisory Council heard briefings on the work so far of its working groups, all focused on 6G, at its third meeting Thursday. All four WGs presented at some length on the status of their reports. One early finding is that artificial intelligence doesn't really exist and won't for many years.
The FTC voted 3-2 along party lines Thursday to issue a policy statement outlining enforcement priorities against unfair, deceptive and anticompetitive practices involving the gig economy. The commission also unanimously issued a staff report on dark patterns and a proposed rule against impersonation fraud.
House Agriculture Committee leaders eyed how to address broadband issues in the 2023 farm bill during a Thursday hearing, with panel ranking member Glenn Thompson, R-Pa., and some others noting dissatisfaction with the degree to which the $65 billion in connectivity money included in the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act would affect rural areas. “Rural broadband will continue to be a major focus” for House Agriculture despite House passage of IIJA’s connectivity money instead of the panel-approved Broadband Internet Connections for Rural America Act (HR-4374), which included $43 billion to Rural Utilities Service programs for FY 2022-29 (see 2107140061), said panel Chairman David Scott, D-Ga.
TikTok has employees in Beijing as do many other global tech companies, TikTok Chief Operating Officer Vanessa Pappas told the Senate Homeland Security Committee during a hearing Wednesday.