Florida House lawmakers teed up a possible Wednesday vote on comprehensive privacy legislation. Tuesday, during livestreamed floor debate, members adopted by voice an amendment by HB-9 sponsor Rep. Fiona McFarland (R) while rejecting a Democratic attempt to narrow the bill’s scope and add a right to cure to its proposed private right of action.
New America’s Open Technology Institute and Public Knowledge warned the FCC’s proposed enhanced competition incentive program (ECIP) is likely to have only minimal impact. Comments on a November Further NPRM (see 2111180071) were posted Tuesday in docket 19-38. Other commenters also sought changes to the FCC’s proposed approach, aimed at making more spectrum available for small carriers and tribes.
A draft FCC notice of inquiry seeking comment on how to combat digital discrimination could shed light on the issue's severity, given the limited information currently available, public interest organizations told us. Commissioners will consider the item during its March 16 meeting (see 2202220069). Some advocates disagree how the FCC should define the term and say ISPs may push back on claims they may be engaging in digital discrimination.
House members are pushing competing kids' privacy bills in an attempt to keep pace with bipartisan efforts in the Senate (see 2202280060). But talks in the lower chamber have been fragmented, House Commerce Committee members told us Tuesday at a House Consumer Protection Subcommittee hearing.
The FCC plans a 2.5 GHz auction starting in July, FCC Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel told the Mobile World Congress Tuesday. The FCC has been under pressure to announce a start date, with its auction authority expiring Sept. 30 (see 2202110056). Rosenworcel also told the conference the FCC will issue a notice of inquiry on receiver performance and standards (see 2202180054) in April. Speakers at the Barcelona event said 6 GHz is emerging as a key band for 5G and Wi-Fi globally.
Privacy attorneys and consumer advocates are closely watching rulemakings and possible legislative tweaks to three state laws taking effect in the next year and half, they said in interviews. The California Privacy Rights Act (CPRA) and Virginia Consumer Data Protection Act (VCDPA) will become law Jan. 1, and the Colorado Privacy Act (CPA) takes effect July 1, 2023. More state laws are expected soon.
Senate Antitrust Subcommittee Chairwoman Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn., said Monday she hopes to “somehow combine” the American Innovation and Choice Online Act (HR-3816/S-2992), the Journalism Competition and Preservation Act (HR-1735/S-673) and other Big Tech-focused bills “and get a vote on the Senate floor” on the package this year. Klobuchar and other lawmakers who support HR-1735/S-673 encouraged NAB members to press members of Congress to back a combined package, during a Monday event. NAB sees HR-1735/S-673 as one of its top 2022 priorities (see 2202110068), as members plan to meet with lawmakers Tuesday.
The House Commerce Committee is reviewing a bipartisan Senate proposal on children’s privacy, but Democrats see their privacy bill language as the proper base text for comprehensive legislation, said Syd Terry, chief of staff for House Consumer Protection Subcommittee Chairwoman Jan Schakowsky, D-Ill.
NTIA is "really focused on adoption" throughout all of its broadband programs, said Administrator Alan Davidson during Monday’s State of the Net Conference. “We’ve been given resources to do things that we’ve never had the chance to do,” Davidson said, pointing to closing the digital divide, spectrum policy and other ongoing NTIA initiatives. NTIA and FCC coordination on spectrum is "key," Davidson said. It's "important" for NTIA to "be thinking about this broad range of competitiveness for the U.S."
High inflation would exacerbate public TV funding woes, but 2022 was also a record year of investment in the service, said America’s Public Television Stations CEO Patrick Butler in his opening address at the 2022 virtual Public Media Summit Monday. Many “consequential elections” in 2022 may “significantly alter the political environment” in which PBS funding is decided, Butler said. “We lost $100 million in purchasing power in a decade of flat funding,” he said.