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May 2016

US court says no warrant needed for cellphone location data

Police do not need a warrant to obtain a person's cellphone location data held by wireless carriers, a US appeals court ruled May 31, dealing a setback to privacy advocates. The full 4th US Circuit Court of Appeals in Richmond (VA) voted 12-3 that the government can get the information under a decades-old legal theory that it had already been disclosed to a third party, in this case a telephone company. The ruling overturns a divided 2015 opinion from the court's three-judge panel and reduces the likelihood that the Supreme Court would consider the issue.

Writing for the majority, Judge Diana Motz said obtaining cell-site information did not violate the protection against unreasonable searches found in the Fourth Amendment of the US Constitution because cellphone users are generally aware that they are voluntarily sharing such data with their provider. "Anyone who has stepped outside to 'get a signal,' or has warned a caller of a potential loss of service before entering an elevator, understands, on some level, that location matters," Judge Motz wrote.

NCTA Pans 'Asymmetric' Broadband Privacy Proposal

"Consumers’ private personal information should receive consistent protection across the broadband ecosystem," the National Cable & Telecommunications Association told the Federal Communications Commission, which means the commission should have harmonized its broadband privacy proposal with the Federal Trade Commission's approach. The NCTA urged the FCC not to impose asymmetric and prescriptive new rules that will likely lead to a "tedious, frustrating experience marred by frequent disruptions."

In comments on the FCC's Notice of Proposed Rulemaking, NCTA said that the FCC has instead proposed an "asymmetric" framework, which means that Internet service providers are "singled out" for new regulatory "burdens" while edge providers remain under the more flexible FTC approach. "This regulatory imbalance will lead to significant consumer confusion, upset common and settled Internet practices, inhibit competition, stifle innovation, and reduce consumer welfare. And it will do nothing to increase the privacy of consumer data, since the same data that ISPs will be constrained from using is accessible to and used by numerous other broadband entities subject to far less stringent restrictions."

ACLU: FCC Needs Strong Broadband Privacy Rules

The American Civil Liberties Union is all for the Federal Communications Commission's proposal to apply new rules to broadband privacy. In comments on the FCC's proposal, the ACLU associated itself with comments of the Consumer Federation of America and 17 other organizations, but said it wanted to file separate comments to emphasize several points. That included emphasizing that they think Internet service providers are the privacy threats and should be treated differently from edge providers. FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler has said the FCC can't regulate edge provider privacy and the broadband privacy proposal he offered up would hold ISPs to a tougher standard, requiring opt in permission from subs to use their info for third parties, a limitation not put on edge-provider data collectors and marketers.

But the ACLU appears fine with that disparate treatment. It says ISPs "wish to grab short-term profits by eavesdropping on communications, as they look jealously at booming online companies such as Google and Facebook, as well as an entire ecology of online advertising companies, which are enjoying a boom at the moment. But the broadband providers are clearly covered by the protections for those communicating over common carriers that is afforded by [Sec.] 222 [Title II], and the edge providers are not. And there is a fundamental difference between the edge destinations that people choose to use online, and can abandon for a competitor virtually at the click of a mouse, and the internet infrastructure itself. BIAS providers have the potential to monitor not just one area of a customer’s internet use, but all of them."

Commissioner Pai Follow-Up Letter to USAC CEO Chris Henderson

Thank you very much for your letters data May 2, May 18, and May 25 regarding the waste, fraud, and abuse that has riddled the Universal Service Fund's Lifeline program since wireless resellers began participating in this program in earnest in 2009. I appreciate your responsiveness....There is...much work to be done before American taxpayers can know that the money they contribute each month to the Fund is not wasted or put to fraudulent use. In our continued effort to investigate and combat the waste, fraud, and abuse that has plauged the Lifeline program, I respectfully request that you provide the following information to my office.

Improving the FCC Circulation Process

Several of my prior blog posts have highlighted process reforms that would improve both the Federal Communications Commission’s consideration of and public input on “meeting items” that are scheduled for a vote at the monthly Open Meetings. Now, I want to draw attention to and suggest process improvements for “circulation items,” which can either be voted electronically outside of a meeting or added to an Open Meeting.

Convening Industry Leaders to Advise on Digital Future

The fact is that we are no longer moving toward the digital economy. We have arrived. This disruption presents tremendous opportunities to grow our economy, strengthen American businesses, and create new jobs for our workers. But it also forces us to modernize and reconsider policies that have been in place for decades. That is why my team and I at the Department of Commerce were so enthusiastic about creating our new Digital Economy Board of Advisors. We want to hear from senior leaders in the field about what trends are coming and get advice on what the government can do to support and foster private sector innovation.

The Board met for the first time during the week of May 23 to offer recommendations on what the government should be doing to better advance economic growth and opportunity in the digital age. During the meeting, the Digital Economy Board of Advisors agreed to meet two more times this year, set up a series of working groups, and work together to put forth a set of digital economy recommendations in the fall. Federal registrar notices will be filed in advance of future meetings, and participation by the public is welcome.

FCC Announces Approval of FCC Form 481 by the Office of Management and Budget

The Wireline Competition Bureau announces that the revised Federal Communications Commission Form 481 (Carrier Annual Reporting Data Collection Form) and instructions have been approved by the Office of Management and Budget (OMB). Eligible Telecommunications Carriers (ETCs) and other stakeholders that FCC Form 481 must be filed by July 1, 2016. All reports shall be filed with the Office of the Secretary of the Commission clearly referencing WC Docket No. 14-58, and with the Administrator (the Universal Service Administrative Company), and the relevant state commissions, relevant authority in a US Territory, or Tribal governments, as appropriate.

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