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  2. May 2017

May 2017

Ninth Circuit To Review FTC v. AT&T Mobility

The US Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit has agreed to review a three-judge panel decision that left the Federal Trade Commission's authority to oversee edge-provider privacy in some circumstances very much in doubt, according to a copy of the court’s announcement of the new hearing. The court also said that in the interim that panel decision is not to be cited as precedent of the Ninth circuit. Such en banc review is unusual, but the decision had prompted a lot of attention given that potential online privacy gap.

A three-judge panel of the Ninth Circuit, in overturning the FTC's action against AT&T for throttling the speeds of unlimited data customers, in 2016 ruled that the regulatory exemption that prevents the FTC from regulating common carriers is not confined to common carrier "activity" by an entity that has the status of a common carrier, but to noncommon carrier activity by that entity as well. That meant that if Verizon, a common carrier, bought Yahoo, an edge provider, the FTC could not enforce Yahoo! privacy policies, and the FCC could not either because it does not regulate edge providers, leaving a potential privacy gap.

Chairman Pai on 9th Circuit Decision to Rehear FTC v. AT&T Case

Today’s action by the Ninth Circuit is a big win for American consumers. Now that the court’s prior decision is no longer effective, it will be easier for the Federal Trade Commission to protect consumers’ online privacy. The court’s action also strengthens the case for the Federal Communications Commission to reverse its 2015 Title II Order and restore the FTC’s jurisdiction over broadband providers’ privacy and data security practices. Indeed, it moves us one step closer to having the consistent and comprehensive framework for digital privacy that the American people deserve.

Sens Wyden, Schatz want details on FCC cyberattack after John Oliver critique

Sens Ron Wyden (D-OR) and Brian Schatz (D-HI) are asking the Federal Communications Commission for information about the agency’s claim that it had been the target of cyberattacks after being criticized by late night comedian John Oliver on May 7. The two Sens sent a letter to FCC Chairman Ajit Pai with a list of questions about the FCC’s claim that its comment filing system had been hit with a distributed denial of service (DDoS) attack.

“DDoS attacks against federal agencies are serious — and doubly so if the attack may have prevented Americans from being able to weigh in on your proposal to roll back net neutrality protections,” they wrote. “Any potentially hostile cyber activities that prevent Americans from being able to participate in a fair and transparent process must be treated as a serious issue.”

When Movies Go To Washington

Over the past few decades, an increased number of social-issue documentary film teams have endeavored to fuel policy shifts in the United States – that is, to influence legislation, regulation, enforcement and the views of policymakers related to key social issues on the federal, state and local levels. Indeed, Capitol Hill screenings in Washington (DC) have become regular rites of passage. But while anecdotal stories of Hill screenings abound, a deeper strategic and tactical understanding about how social-issue documentary films contribute to policy is harder to ascertain. Documentary filmmakers and policymakers operate in different worlds with distinct agendas and ways of doing business. And yet, they are often able to come together in mutually beneficial ways.

When Movies Come to Washington provides inside perspectives from policymakers, filmmakers and advocacy leaders who have successfully contributed to shifting or creating policy agendas with the help of documentary films. The report offers documentary film teams tips for engagement with the federal public policy arena. While social-issue documentary filmmakers certainly don’t need to transform themselves into finely-tuned policy experts, understanding the basics and some insider tips can make the difference in a policy strategy’s effectiveness. It may also provide filmmakers with the ability to fully vet impact strategy teams who may work alongside them. Additionally, a fuller understanding of the policymaking process can widen opportunities for engagement beyond passing laws alone – to the processes by which those laws are carried out and impact the lives of people outside Washington.

Comcast-Charter wireless deal offers 7 essential benefits, analyst says

Deutsche Bank Analyst Matthew Niknam listed seven key benefits to the Comcast-Charter Communications partnership, which calls for the two companies to share wireless technology and best practices, as well as control each other’s major M&A endeavors in the wireless industry. Niknam then listed seven “opportunities” rendered by the deal:

  1. It offers national scale across a fiber-dense network footprint covering 80% of the US
  2. The two companies will share network technology, software, product development and operational investments and expertise
  3. Each will dramatically increase its service footprint, allowing customers to reach across each other’s Wi-Fi networks, as well as any LTE or 5G network infrastructure built in the future
  4. The deal offers collaboration on spectrum procurement and any future network design and buildout
  5. It will enable both companies to better serve the business market with wireless services
  6. It will provide better leverage and scale for procurement from vendors
  7. It will extend the amount of retail service locations both companies can offer

FCC chairman's first 100 days: full steam ahead on slashing regulations

The roughly 100-day frenzy of deregulation at the Federal Communications Commission marks a bright spot for the Trump Administration, which has been hampered in other areas like repealing Obamacare. And FCC Chairman Ajit Pai shows no signs of slowing down, teeing up a takedown of the signature FCC achievement of the Obama years: network neutrality rules designed to ensure internet service providers treat all web traffic equally.

Sen Markey Leads Title II Fans in Last-Minute Push

With the days dwindling down to the Federal Communications Commission's May 18 planned vote on a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) to roll back Title II classification of Internet service providers, Sen Ed Markey (D-MA) joined a dozen other Democratic lawmakers in a letter to FCC Chairman Ajit Pai telling him not to "gut" net neutrality protections. Sen Markey has been a leader in the pushback on modifying/unwinding the FCC's Open Internet order, vowing to fight the effort on all fronts.

In the letter, the lawmakers issue with both rolling back Title II and the suggestion—which sources said was raised in meetings between Chairman Pai and ISPs—that the Federal Trade Commission could enforce voluntary openness pledges along the lines of the Open Internet order rules against blocking and throttling and anticompetitive paid prioritization. They said since a court had upheld the FCC's reclassification, the issue was settled and should remain so. As to voluntary guidelines, they said those do not provide the certainty that innovators and "anyone else" can get access to viewers and customers and leaves ISPs as the gatekeepers.

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