A Wednesday Senate Commerce Committee confirmation hearing for FCC nominee Geoffrey Starks delivered few surprises but did confirm committee Chairman John Thune, R-S.D., intends to fast-track a vote to advance the nominee to the full Senate, as expected (see 1804060049, 1806120047 and 1806190045). President Donald Trump nominated Starks this month to succeed former Commissioner Mignon Clyburn (see 1806010072 and 1806040067). Thune and several Democrats used the hearing to deliver partisan shots at the FCC's conduct under Chairman Ajit Pai and previous Chairman Tom Wheeler. Starks attempted to thread the needle between bipartisan outreach and partisan overtures during the hearing, which Thune told reporters he viewed as relatively "smooth." The hearing also examined Consumer Product Safety Commission nominee Peter Feldman.
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Senate Consumer Protection Subcommittee ranking member Richard Blumenthal, Conn., and other subcommittee Democrats used a Tuesday hearing on privacy implications of the Facebook-Cambridge Analytica breach to expand what they perceive to be Facebook's violations of its 2011 consent decree with the FTC to include other recently-disclosed actions. Former FTC Chief Technologist Ashkan Soltani confirmed the Democrats' view, saying he believed Facebook violated the agreement. Blumenthal, Senate Consumer Protection Chairman Jerry Moran, R-Kan., and others drilled down on potential legislative solutions to address Facebook-Cambridge Analytica's privacy implications.
The Senate Commerce Committee's Wednesday hearing for FCC nominee Geoffrey Starks will likely provide further insights on the nominee but don't expect major surprises, lawmakers and communications industry officials said in interviews. He would succeed former Commissioner Mignon Clyburn (see 1806010072 and 1806040067). Senate Commerce has been working to fast-track its consideration of Starks, who remains largely unknown to many (see 1806120047 and 1806150031).
Groups that typically would be expected to rally behind FCC nominee Geoffrey Starks have remained mostly quiet in the weeks since President Donald Trump sent the nomination to the Senate (see 1806010072 and 1806040067). That appears to reflect concerns the groups cited soon after Starks emerged in March (see 1803090040) as the likely nominee: with almost no track record and little else to go on, self-described public interest groups and others are reluctant to say too much about the nomination. Starks’ lack of a record is widely viewed as one of his selling points and an important reason the Senate is likely to easily confirm him, communications lawyers and others told us. The Senate Commerce Committee set Starks' confirmation hearing for Wednesday in what's perceived to be a bid to fast-track approval (see 1806120047 and 1806130096).
All lawmakers at Thursday's House Digital Commerce Subcommittee hearing on advertising industry digital data gathering practices agreed problems need to be addressed. There was a partisan divide in tone and tenor of lawmakers' questions to executives and consumer advocates, whose testimony mirrored written remarks (see 1806130074). Lawmakers from both parties frequently referenced the ongoing debate on the Facebook-Cambridge Analytica privacy breach issues (see 1806130057).
The House Communications Subcommittee advanced the Preventing Illegal Radio Abuse Through Enforcement Act (HR-5709) and three other telecom-related bills to the full Commerce Committee Wednesday on voice votes (see 1806110060). The others were: the National Suicide Hotline Improvement Act (HR-2345), the Advancing Critical Connectivity Expands Service, Small Business Resources, Opportunities, Access and Data Based on Assessed Need and Demand Act (HR-3994) and the Precision Agriculture Connectivity Act (HR-4881). The markup was largely smooth, although Democrats used the amendment process for HR-5709 to voice their opposition to FCC order to rescind its 2015 net neutrality rules, which took effect Monday, and the Congressional Review Act resolution of disapproval effort that last year abolished ISP privacy rules (see 1706070050, 1706210059 and 1806110054). The underlying HR-5709 would increase fines for illegal pirate operations from $10,000 per violation to $100,000 per day per violation, up to a maximum of $2 million. Subcommittee ranking member Mike Doyle, D-Pa., offered and withdrew an amendment to HR-5709 that would have added language to the bill that would ensure it wasn't “construed to prevent the FCC from enforcing” the 2015 net neutrality rules. Doyle urged his colleagues to sign on to a discharge petition to force a floor vote on his CRA resolution aimed at reversing the FCC rescission order (House Joint Resolution-129). That petition had 172 signatures. Doyle also filed and withdrew an amendment that would have added language that would have ensured HR-5309 wouldn't be used to prevent the FCC from enforcing the ISP privacy rules abolished last year. Doyle noted recent reports about the unauthorized disclosure of wireless subscribers' real-time location data by LocationSmart and Securus, which is a “clear example of why” the abolished privacy rules “were necessary and the danger in repealing them.” He urged House Communications Republicans to hold a hearing on the after effects of the rules' repeal. Subcommittee Chairman Marsha Blackburn, R-Tenn., said she aims to work “in a bipartisan manner” on privacy and data security issues and is committed to finding a solution “for the entire internet ecosystem.” Commissioner Mike O'Rielly and NAB lauded advancement of HR-5709. The GPS Innovation Alliance praised clearance of HR-4881, which would in part establish a task force to identify internet connectivity gaps in agricultural areas.
The Senate Commerce Committee set a June 20 confirmation hearing for FCC nominee Geoffrey Starks, as expected (see 1806120047). President Donald Trump nominated Starks, Enforcement Bureau assistant chief, this month to succeed now-former Commissioner Mignon Clyburn for a term ending June 30, 2022 (see 1806010072). The panel will also include Consumer Product Safety Commission nominee Peter Feldman, Senate Commerce said at our deadline Wednesday. The hearing will begin at 10 a.m. in 253 Russell.
A Wednesday Senate Commerce Committee hearing on NTIA oversight turned into a venue for members to criticize President Donald Trump's telecom policy-related actions. They also peppered Administrator David Redl with questions on agency priorities ranging from spectrum reallocation aimed at bolstering 5G to NTIA's stance on the 2016 Internet Assigned Numbers Authority transition. Much of the criticism of Trump centered on his recent push to lift the Department of Commerce-imposed seven-year ban on U.S. companies selling telecom software and equipment to ZTE (see 1806130070). There were also questions about a much-maligned National Security Council proposal to deploy a nationalized 5G network.
Senate leaders agreed Monday to include language in a manager's amendment to the FY 2019 National Defense Authorization Act (HR-5515) that would retroactively reimpose a Department of Commerce-imposed seven-year ban on U.S. companies selling telecom software and equipment to ZTE that the department announced last week it planned to suspend in exchange for alternate concessions. Commerce said last week it reached a deal for ZTE to instead pay $1.4 billion, institute major leadership changes and let U.S. inspectors monitor compliance (see 1806070040). President Donald Trump's push to lift the ZTE ban got Capitol Hill criticism (see 1805140062). Attachment of the language from Sens. Tom Cotton, R-Ark., Chris Van Hollen, D-Md., and others came just before Secretary of Commerce Wilbur Ross briefed GOP senators about the department's actions. Ross didn't attempt to dissuade senators from moving forward with the amendment and there's no indication Trump will veto HR-5515 if it moves out of Congress with the ZTE language intact, given the bill's overarching priorities, Cotton told reporters. “I and obviously every other senator believes the death penalty is the appropriate punishment for [ZTE's] behavior," Cotton said. “They’re a repeat bad actor that should be put out of business. For eight years, ZTE was able to run wild and be able to become the fourth-largest telecom company in the world.” Senate Majority Whip John Cornyn, R-Texas, said he intends to support the amendment, which “really is based out of concerns that China is using communications companies as a means to conduct espionage." Senate Commerce Committee Chairman John Thune, R-S.D., said before the briefing he believes “there was enough support” for the amendment to move forward. But Senate Homeland Security Committee Chairman Ron Johnson, R-Wis., later told reporters “we need more information from the intelligence community” before voting on the ZTE language. Floor consideration of HR-5515 was to continue Tuesday, after the Senate voted 91-4 Monday on a motion to proceed on debate on the legislation.
A Wednesday Senate Commerce Committee oversight hearing with NTIA Administrator David Redl will likely -- to varying degrees -- focus on the federal spectrum policies of President Donald Trump's administration (see 1806120056), improving national broadband map data accuracy and the 2016 Internet Assigned Numbers Authority transition, said lawmakers and communications sector experts in interviews. The hearing will begin at 2:30 p.m. in 253 Russell. It's Redl's first before Senate Commerce since his November confirmation (see 1711070076, 1711070084 and 1711080015). Redl also testified during a March House Communications Subcommittee hearing.