Research presented by Carnegie Mellon University's Alessandro Acquisti at a recent FTC hearing involved grants-related projects funded by the Sloan Foundation and National Science Foundation (see 1811060053), while Google funded unrelated research.

Outgoing Senate Commerce Committee Chairman John Thune, R-S.D., told us Thursday he “most likely” will seek the Communications Subcommittee chairmanship, confirming earlier information from a Senate GOP aide (see 1811150019). Thune, elected Wednesday as the chamber's majority whip, had been debating whether to seek the gavel of the Communications or Surface Transportation sub (see 1811020048 and 1811140055). Thune is relinquishing the Senate Commerce chairmanship at the end of this Congress. Senate Communications Chairman Roger Wicker, R-Miss., is likely to succeed him. Thune emphasized Wicker, if selected to lead Senate Commerce, ultimately will decide who leads the subcommittees. Lobbyists said Thune is likely a lock to take the Communications gavel given his seniority within the GOP caucus. Commerce policymaking in the Senate is largely conducted at the full committee level, but the Communications gavel would give Thune a continuing substantial influence on telecom and tech measures, lobbyists said. Communications ranking member Brian Schatz, D-Hawaii, lauded Thune's interest in chairing the subcommittee. Thune “likes to get things done, and he and I have a good working relationship,” Schatz told us. "I look forward to continuing that partnership." The two senators have been working for more than a year to advance the Streamlining the Rapid Evolution and Modernization of Leading-Edge Infrastructure Necessary to Enhance Small Cell Deployment Act (S-3157), among other matters. The bill aims to implement a “reasonable process and timeframe guidelines” for state and local small-cell consideration (see 1806290063). S-3157 faces headwinds because of opposition from state and local governments (see 1810040055). “I think we can do something meaningful” on privacy legislation given momentum there, but “I'm not too sure” about the potential for progress on net neutrality, Schatz said. Thune, Wicker and other lawmakers also see privacy legislation as a 2019 priority (see 1811140053). “The first order of business needs to be” work on “ambitious” privacy legislation, but Senate Communications also should continue focusing on rural broadband deployments, the push for improvements to FCC broadband coverage maps and telehealth, Schatz said.

Tyler Barriss, 25, pled guilty to phoning in "hoax bomb threats" to the FCC and FBI in Washington and dozens of other crimes, said the U.S. Attorney's Office for Kansas Tuesday. A Dec. 14 threat disrupted the FCC meeting where commissioners adopted 3-2 a net neutrality reversal order (see 1712140039). Chairman Ajit Pai said he's "deeply grateful" to law enforcement and FCC security officials. Barriss, of Los Angeles, faces 20 years or more in prison, said U.S. Attorney Stephen McAllister, with sentencing set for Jan. 30: In a Dec. 28 "swatting" incident in Wichita, Kansas, Barriss admitted making a hoax call that resulted in police surrounding a house where they believed there was a hostage situation, shooting dead an innocent man.

Communications resiliency, infrastructure, cybersecurity and the 2017 hurricane season are areas of concern in emergency preparedness, the Federal Emergency Management Agency reported. “Challenges remain” in addressing infrastructure resilience, the report said, saying the failure of communications systems in Puerto Rico caused “limited situational awareness” after Maria and Irma. “Interdependencies between energy and other infrastructure systems present challenges in response and recovery; efforts to mitigate disruptions and to help communities learn from and plan for these challenges are growing.” Though the agency describes efforts to address those issues by the Department of Energy, Small Business Administration and FBI, it appears to contain no references to the FCC. It also doesn’t mention FCC-related actions on emergency preparedness such as the investigation into the false missile alert in Hawaii, efforts to restore communications in Puerto Rico or the nationwide emergency alert tests. FEMA focused on cybersecurity and IoT as areas of concern. “Insufficient information sharing between the public and private sectors has hindered the Nation’s effectiveness in defending against cyber threats,” the agency said.

Google warned NTIA against requiring user consent in every instance of data collection, saying “processing of personal information is necessary to simply operate a service and is not particularly risky." The agency posted comments Tuesday, including those earlier reported on (see 1811130058 and 1811090050). Always needing consent could “create a complex experience that diverts attention from the most important controls without corresponding benefits,” Google said. Federal privacy legislation should be applied across all industries that collect user data, whether online or offline, Amazon said. The company warned against a patchwork of privacy laws that “diverts significant resources from inventing new features that will delight customers.” Companies should conduct thorough risk assessments of data collection, Microsoft said. If risks to the user from collecting data outweigh potential benefits of processing the data, “processing should only be allowed to proceed with the individual’s informed consent, as provided through an experience that meets the GDPR requirements,” the company said. Congress should craft legislation that would set U.S. standards that supercede EU general data protection regulation standards limiting access to the Whois database (see 1810310008), MPAA told NTIA. Legislators should “ensure that certain basic WHOIS information remains publicly available, and that any information that the GDPR does require to be removed from public access still be available to third parties with legitimate interests through a reasonable, timely, and effective process,” it said. FTC comments to NTIA released Tuesday are encouraging for online platforms like Facebook and Google, Cowen analyst Paul Gallant said Wednesday. The agency’s comments seemed supportive of a flexible approach to data gathering and against any opt-in data consent requirements, he said.

GAO called for the FCC to improve outreach to tribal governments to improve those entities' access to spectrum. Wednesday's report, sought by members of the Senate Indian Affairs Committee, was released more than a month after the committee criticized what's seen as deficiencies in FCC practices for determining broadband coverage on tribal lands (see 1810030055). The FCC “has taken steps to promote and support tribal access to spectrum,” including via 2011 and 2018 rulemakings that included tribal input, GAO said: But the commission “has not finalized these rules and is in the process of responding to comments to the 2018 rulemaking,” an NPRM looking at the future of the 2.5 GHz educational broadband service band (see 1809100045). “While FCC has made additional spectrum available for broadband use in recent years, tribal stakeholders cited limitations with the spectrum FCC has made available,” the report said. The FCC should “collect data on the extent that tribal entities are obtaining and accessing spectrum and use this information” as the agency “implements ongoing spectrum initiatives,” GAO said. "Analyze data to better understand the extent that unused spectrum licenses exist over tribal lands.” GAO called for the FCC to “make information on spectrum-license holders more accessible and easy to understand for interested parties, including tribal entities, to promote their ability to purchase or lease spectrum licenses.” The FCC said it plans to follow the recommendations, by considering “ways to collect data on the extent that tribal entities are obtaining and accessing spectrum, including updating application forms to provide for voluntary submission of this information.”

Consumer protection for artificial intelligence systems is a lot harder for the FTC without clear visibility into system decision-making, said Electronic Frontier Foundation Tech Projects Director Jeremy Gillula Tuesday during the agency’s seventh policy hearing. Some companies have made an effort, but it’s an ongoing problem, he said. Consumers and researchers might not necessarily need every detail about machine learning and artificial intelligence decisions, said Google Brain Team Senior Staff Research Scientist Martin Wattenberg. Google isn't giving “the full matrix of every weight in the neural network, but we’re giving them information that’s useful at the level that they want in terms of a concept that they’re actually interested in.” Wattenberg emphasized progress made in coming up with ways to understand these systems: “They no longer need to be considered black boxes.” Google recommended practices for fair artificial intelligence use, which covers interpretability, privacy and security. Computer & Communications Industry Association Competition and Regulatory Policy Director Marianela Lopez-Galdos questioned whether laws that focus on consumer welfare are sufficient to address machine learning issues.

President Donald Trump may have invoked his lingering displeasure Tuesday over FCC Chairman Ajit Pai's July decision to issue a hearing designation order in the review of Sinclair's doomed deal to buy Tribune Media (see 1807160048). Trump later that month tweeted that the HDO was “disgraceful” and “so sad and unfair” (see 1807250057). “I'm grateful to have numerous Americans of Indian and Southeast Asian heritage who fulfill critical roles across my administration,” Trump said Tuesday during a White House event celebrating the Hindu holiday Diwali. Trump singled out Pai and noted he “didn't like one decision he made, but that's all right,” prompting laughter from participants. “Not even a little bit,” Trump said. “But he's independent.”

The Supreme Court will review a junk fax case on whether the Hobbs Act required a U.S. district court to accept an FCC legal interpretation of the Telephone Consumer Protect Act, said Tuesday's order list granting cert in PDR Network v. Carlton & Harris Chiropractic, No. 17-1705. Clarification is needed on "jurisdiction of all courts to decide the proper level of deference afforded to interpretive agency guidance," said PDR's June 21 petition, citing a "circuit split" over interplay between the Hobbs Act and Chevron: The 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals' "jurisdiction-stripping ruling would elevate those agencies identified in the Hobbs Act above even the judiciary; empowering agency orders to trump the courts." Carlton & Harris' Aug. 29 response urged cert denial "because (1) every circuit court to decide the question has ruled that the FCC’s interpretations of the TCPA are binding in district courts and may be challenged only by following the procedures in the Administrative Orders Review Act (the 'Hobbs Act) ... and there is no 'circuit split' on this issue, as the Petition contends; and (2) the difference of interpretation between the Second Circuit and the Fourth Circuit regarding the meaning of the FCC’s 2006 rule stating that faxes offering 'free goods or services' are presumed to be 'advertisements' does not warrant this Court’s review."

Broadcast tower companies told FCC Incentive Auction Task Force members and Media Bureau and other staff there are “'early warning signs' of potential delays in the repack process" of TV channels. American Tower, Sinclair's Dielectric, Stainless and Vertical Technology Services representatives mentioned "unforeseen site failures" and low-power TV "displacements requiring the pulling of equipment and crews, poor weather conditions delaying tower work by months, stations conducting their latter-phase transitions earlier than required by the Commission, and unforeseen structural and permitting delays." Delays "persist despite daily contact with rigging companies to coordinate shipments and request last-minute parts," said a filing posted Tuesday in docket 16-306. "Broadcast Tower Representatives expressed their collective concern regarding the extreme shortage of competent, safe crews available to install main antennas in accordance with the Commission’s repack schedule." The reps said they are "witnessing the effects of an unrealistic expectation of what the repacking of 987 stations, with associated LPTV displacements and FM accommodations, entails." Commission staff "have been in close contact with the stations in Phase 1, and the presentation at this meeting echoes the positive reports we’ve heard about the progress that those stations have made toward completing their transition" this month, an FCC spokesperson responded. "Our transition plan was developed by taking resource constraints into account and we will continue to monitor progress in future phases closely and work with stations who may experience delays. Our ultimate goal is to have every station move according to their scheduled transition phase and stations should continue to work towards their phase deadline." Broadcast officials fear a repacking-related backlog (see 1810260034).