April 2016

Over time, the amount of software code in vehicles has grown exponentially to support a growing number of safety and other features. However, the reliance on software to control safety-critical and other functions also leaves vehicles more vulnerable to cyberattacks. The US Government Accountability Office was asked to review cybersecurity issues that could impact passenger safety in modern vehicles. This report addresses, among other things, (1) available information about the key cybersecurity vulnerabilities in modern vehicles that could impact passenger safety; (2) key practices and technologies, if any, available to mitigate vehicle cybersecurity vulnerabilities and the impacts of potential attacks; (3) views of selected stakeholders on challenges they face related to vehicle cybersecurity and industry-led efforts to address vehicle cybersecurity; and (4) Department of Transportation (DOT) efforts to address vehicle cybersecurity.

GAO reviewed relevant existing regulations and literature and interviewed officials from DOT; the Departments of Commerce, Defense, and Homeland Security; industry associations; and 32 selected industry stakeholders, including automakers, suppliers, vehicle cybersecurity firms, and subject matter experts. The experts were selected based on a literature search and stakeholder recommendations, among other things. GAO recommends that DOT define and document its roles and responsibilities involving safety-critical systems. DOT concurred with our recommendation.

Free Press, the Center for Digital Democracy and others have asked the Federal Communications Commission to deny Internet service providers and advertiser requests that it extend the comment period for for its broadband privacy framework proposal. The American Cable Association, National Cable & Telecommunications Association and wireless ISPs all said the complicated issue required more time to vet the broadband customer proprietary network information (CPNI) proposal and asked that it be extended from from the end of May until early July. That followed a request for extension by the Association of National Advertisers (from the end of next month until early July).

Free Press et al. said that the added time was unnecessary, that the FCC has been saying for a year it was going to come up with a new framework, and that the public back-and-forth on the issue has clearly signaled many of the issues likely to be addressed. And trying to use ISPs own calls for regulatory certainty in other areas, like the network neutrality decision that initiated the broadband privacy review, they said that swift action by the FCC would provide greater certainty about how privacy regulations would apply going forward.

Independent and diverse programmers from every conceivable ideological spectrum, say that when it comes to offering much requested, desired and needed niche programming to the masses, they face insurmountable challenges when it comes to program carriage. These challenges range from simply being able to acquire carriage; to difficulty receiving fair or reasonable contract terms; to prohibitions on growing their online distribution model because
program distribution access is often restricted via contract.

Is there an answer for those frustrated consumers seeking more diverse programming, as well as programmers looking to expand their reach to more households? Is there a disconnect and if the answer is yes, where is it? And does this all mean that our existing system is broken\ and if so, who should fix it? These questions were among the many, that led me to push for the Notice of Inquiry adopted by the Commission this past February. This fact-finding exercise, asked many important questions, including whether Section 257 of the Communications Act provided the Commission with authority to impose regulations aimed at improving programming diversity. The NOI also asked whether the use of alternative distribution method (ADM) and most favored nation (MFN) clauses thwart competition, diversity or innovation.

As part of the Digital Economy Agenda, the Department of Commerce is working to identify data gaps in measuring the importance of cross-border data flows and the economic impact of restrictions to the free-flow of data. Through this Notice, we announce a roundtable to facilitate a discussion with stakeholders and experts as a first step in improving the Department's understanding of those data gaps and related economic questions. The roundtable will be held on May 9, 2016, from 8:30 am to 12:00 pm, Eastern Daylight Time, and will be held at the Bureau of Labor Statistics Conference Center, 2 Massachusetts Avenue NE., Washington (DC). Attendees are asked to provide prior notice of their intention to attend by sending an e-mail to Giulia McHenry at or gmchenry@ntia.doc.gov, or Jessica Nicholson at jnicholson@doc.gov no later than Thursday, May 5, 2016 at 12 pm, Eastern Daylight Time.