Wheeler: Only On-Record Info Will Be Used to Vet Deal Merits

Federal Communications Commission Chairman Tom Wheeler says the FCC will only use information placed on the record when it renders decisions on mergers.

In a letter to Sen Dean Heller (R-NV), he assured him that the FCC agrees with the senator's admonition that "when orders that have significant impact on the industry are crafted based on information provided in secret and go unchallenged, I believe it can undermine the effectiveness of that order." That is why Chairman Wheeler assured him that, per the Administrative Procedures Act, "[The] FCC uses only information that is placed on the record when it renders a decision on whether to allow a transaction to proceed, with or without conditions." He said the exemption "for entities who seek confidentiality 'due to fear of possible reprisal or retribution'" was only one way entities can present information not on the public record -- another is meetings after a transaction has been announced but before it is put on public notice. He said that while the exempted communications can't be used to make a decision on the merits of a deal, "it could be used, however, to help the Commission formulate appropriate questions to applicants or other parties; questions (and subsequent responses) which could be placed on the record. Alternatively, it could be used as a means of encouraging persons or entities to put their information on the record."