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March 2017

Privacy Rules Overturned; Next Up, Title II?

The White House has already said President Donald Trump plans to sign the resolution using the Congressional Review Act to rescind the Federal Communications Commission's broadband privacy rules. That leaves an open question of how the agency and Congress will choose to address the issue in the future. In his reaction to the House vote, FCC Chairman Ajit Pai seemed to suggest his next step would be to undo Title II, rather than create new rules that align with existing ones at the Federal Trade Commission.

Title II classified broadband internet access service providers as common carriers and put them under the FCC's regulatory jurisdiction. It's the same policy that bolsters the network neutrality rules, meaning revoking Title II could be tied to rolling back net neutrality. House Commerce Committee Chairman Greg Walden (R-OR) is in step with Chairman Pai on leaving privacy to the FTC. "I hope the FCC will take up and review what was done under the Wheeler regime on Title II," he said, referencing the previous FCC chairman. "Repealing Title II solves the whole problem. I think we gotta get this back to where we can legislate in this space, and take the bill we drafted a few years ago that would put into statute prohibitions on bad behavior, on throttling, and paid prioritization and blocking, there's bipartisan agreement on that. But when the Obama administration forced the FCC to go straight to Title II, that created all these problems."

FCC Chairman Pai on the Future of Broadband in the Lifeline Program

As we implement the Lifeline program—as with any program we administer—we must follow the law. And the law here is clear: Congress gave state governments, not the FCC, the primary responsibility for approving which companies can participate in the Lifeline program under Section 214 of the Communications Act. This is how the program worked over two decades, over three Administrations, and over eight Chairmanships. However, the FCC last year rejected this bipartisan consensus, snatching this legal responsibility away from states and deciding to create its own federal ‘Lifeline Broadband Provider’ designation process.

At the time, I explained why the Commission lacked the authority to do this. Twelve states, from Vermont to Wisconsin, are currently challenging the legality of the FCC’s order in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit. In my view, it would be a waste of judicial and administrative resources to defend the FCC’s unlawful action in court. I am therefore instructing the Office of General Counsel to ask the D.C. Circuit to send this case back to the Commission for further consideration. And the FCC will soon begin a proceeding to eliminate the new federal designation process. In the meantime, we must consider the Lifeline Broadband Provider applications that are pending at the FCC. In last year’s order, the Commission delegated to the Wireline Competition Bureau the authority to address such applications. I do not believe that the Bureau should approve these applications.

FCC Extends Deadline for Boomerang to Shed Lifeline Broadband Customers

In this Order, the Federal Communications Commission extend the deadline for Boomerang Wireless to notify, de-enroll, and transition subscribers currently receiving a Lifeline-supported broadband Internet access service (BIAS) in service areas where Boomerang’s only eligible telecommunications carrier (ETC) designation is a Lifeline Broadband Provider (LBP) designation. The FCC finds that granting this extension is in the public interest and necessary to prevent service disruption and hardship for the current Boomerang subscribers

FCC Chairman Pai Meets with House Commerce Committee Leaders on Rural Broadband

Federal Communications Commission Chairman Ajit Pai met with the House Commerce Committee's Rural Telecommunications Working Group to discuss expanding broadband access in rural communities. Some of the topics the group touched on included the Universal Service Fund, call completion and the FCC's 477 Form, according to a committee aide. "The meeting with Chairman Pai was an opportunity for a robust, bipartisan discussion about bridging the digital divide that too often exists between rural and urban areas," said Rep. Bob Latta (R-OH). "Reducing regulatory barriers and investing in deployment of broadband infrastructure will help more of our communities - especially rural communities - compete and stay connected in the 21st century economy."

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