FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler

On August 25, 2016, House Small Business Committee Chairman Steve Chabot (R-OH) and Ranking Member Nydia Velazquez (D-NY) wrote to Federal Communications Commission Chairman Tom Wheeler to express concern that the FCC's privacy proposals will result in rules that have a negative economic impact on small Broadband Internet Access Service (BIAS) providers.

On Oct 4, Chairman Wheeler responded by saying, "The Commission continues to engage in a regulatory flexibility analysis for this ongoing proceeding. When final rules are adopted, the Commission's decision will incorporate consideration of the impacts of the rules on small BIAS providers and will include a Final Regulatory Flexibility Analysis (FRFA) that fulfills the requirements of the Regulatory Flexibility Act. The comments submitted by the US Small Business Administration's Office of Advocacy will be addressed in the FRFA."

[Commentary] Thirty million Americans have some type of cognitive disability. These individuals may experience difficulty in understanding or processing information, solving problems, or responding to stimuli. This includes individuals with intellectual disabilities, developmental disabilities, brain injuries, and learning disabilities. More than two decades after passage of the Americans with Disabilities Act, we are at an historic juncture in addressing the needs of this population. Today, digital technology offers us the greatest opportunity in history to use technology to attack challenges that have affected individuals since the beginning of time. It is our responsibility to do everything possible to seize this opportunity.

Earlier in 2016, the Federal Communications Commission launched a proceeding aiming to extend similar privacy protections to the information collected by your broadband provider. Our goal throughout the process has been straightforward: to give consumers the tools they need to make informed decisions about how ISPs use and share their data, and the confidence that ISPs are taking steps to keep that data secure, all while providing ISPs the flexibility they need to continue to innovate.

Over the past six months, we’ve engaged with consumer and public interest groups, fixed and mobile ISPs, advertisers, app and software developers, academics, other government actors including the FTC, and individual consumers to figure out the best approach. Based on the extensive feedback we’ve received, I am proposing new rules to provide consumers increased choice, transparency and security online. I have shared this proposal with my colleagues and the full Commission will consider these proposed privacy rules at our upcoming monthly meeting on October 27.

Under the proposed rules, an ISP would be required to notify consumers about what types of information they are collecting, specify how and for what purposes that information can be used and shared, and identify the types of entities with which the ISP shares the information. In addition, ISPs would be required to obtain affirmative “opt-in” consent before using or sharing sensitive information. Information that would be considered “sensitive” includes geo-location information, children’s information, health information, financial information, social security numbers, web browsing history, app usage history, and the content of communications such as the text of emails. All other individually identifiable information would be considered non-sensitive, and the use and sharing of that information would be subject to opt-out consent. Calibrating consent requirements to the sensitivity of the information aligns with consumer expectations and is in harmony with other key privacy frameworks and principles – including those outlined by the FTC and the Administration’s Consumer Privacy Bill of Rights. The proposed rules are designed to evolve with changing technologies, and would provide consumers with ways to easily adjust their privacy preferences over time.

The proposed rules also require ISPs to take reasonable measures to protect consumer data from breaches and other vulnerabilities. If a breach does occur, the rules would require ISPs to take appropriate steps to notify consumers that their data have been compromised.

I’d like to use my remarks to bring you up to speed on what we’re doing at the Federal Communications Commission to address the challenges of Americans with cognitive disabilities.

We are at a time when digital technology – Internet Protocol, or “IP” technology – offers the greatest opportunity in history to use technology to attack challenges that have affected individuals since the beginning of time – including the 30 million Americans with cognitive disabilities. We are at an historical juncture. If we don’t do everything possible to harness this marvelous new technology revolution to attack the challenges of individuals with disabilities, then shame on us. One of the most important things that needs to happen is that accessibility needs to be baked into the development of mainstream consumer electronics and services. I said it before, but it bears repeating, access to the wonders of technology must be a forethought, not an afterthought. The FCC’s Disability Rights Office has also taken an in-depth look at communications technologies for people with cognitive disabilities, noting accessibility barriers and delineating steps we can take to ensure that our policies eliminate them. Today, I am proud to announce the release of the Commission’s very first White Paper on cognitive disabilities which discusses these issues and presents solutions for accessible information and communication technologies. The paper identifies three primary barriers. First, the lack of accessibility; and second, economic barriers, resulting from the lower incomes that are prevalent in this population. But – and I’m sure this is no surprise to you – we found something else that appears to be preventing the full utilization of emerging communications technologies. That is the lack of outreach to people with cognitive disabilities and their support networks about both their rights to accessible technologies and the availability of some communications technologies that can already improve their daily lives in significant ways...So here’s the bottom line. This is our time to make a difference.

After spending the past three days in Seattle meeting with the heads of both world-leading companies and start-ups, I’m more bullish than ever about America’s future. If there were a central theme to the trip it was unlocking the potential of the next-generation of wireless technology – 5G. At the annual meeting of the Competitive Carriers Association, I spoke with network operators – large and small – about the development and deployment of fiber-fast wireless connectivity. The convention floor was filled with displays of how high-speed, high-capacity, low-latency networks could drive economic growth, especially in rural America. In a separate visit to T-Mobile’s headquarters, I saw a demonstration of technology under development, including 5G technologies, and heard about the work they are pursuing to bring next-generation products to market.

At the Federal Communications Commission, we’re pursuing an aggressive agenda to seize the opportunities of mobile for rural America. Not surprisingly, it starts with competition. Before the end of 2016, I plan to call on my fellow Commissioners to adopt a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking on the Commission’s data roaming framework. Tackling this issue will allow the Commission to provide greater certainty in the marketplace, and promote consumer benefits and competition.

While nurturing competition is always going to be option A for maximizing consumer benefits, that is not an option in many parts of the country. Indeed, many rural areas do not have access to robust rural broadband at all. The FCC has an affirmative responsibility to make sure all Americans have access to our nation’s critical communications networks. The Commission is working to move forward with Phase II of the Mobility Fund, by the end of 2016.

On August 4, Sens Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) and Ed Markey (D-MA) sent a letter to Federal Communications Commission Chairman Tom Wheeler regarding the safety and privacy of dedicated short range communications services (DSRC).

On Sept 7, Chairman Wheeler responded by saying that, "Due to the number of interrelated issues that are implicated by DSRC, the Commission intends to work closely with our partners at the Department of Transportation (DoT), the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), Department of Commerce and the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) to address the concerns raised in your letter. In this regard, the Commission is seeking comment on a petition requesting the adoption of service rules protecting the cybersecurity and privacy of DSRC users and that DSRC spectrum be reserved for vehicle safety use. Comments were due on August 25, 2016, and reply comments are due September 9,2016. Those comments, coupled with coordinated DoT and NHTSA activities, will inform our actions going forward."

On July 7, Sens Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), Ed Markey (D-MA), Al Franken (D-MN), Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), Patrick Leahy (D-VT), Bernie Sanders (I-VT), and Tammy Baldwin (D-WI) wrote a letter to Federal Communications Commission expressing support for the FCC's efforts to adopt privacy and data security rules protecting the privacy of broadband customers' personal information.

On Sept 7, Chairman Wheeler responded by writing, "As the Commission continues to examine the substantial record in the proceeding, I can assure you that we will carefully consider the important issues you raise in your letter to ensure our final rules provide consumers with the protections needed to consistently safeguard consumer data and to bolster consumer confidence in their use of these modem telecommunications networks."

On July 20, Sens Ed Markey (D-MA), Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), and Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), and Reps Anna Eshoo (D-CA) and Michael Doyle (D-PA), wrote to federal Communications Commission Chairman Tom Wheeler to request that as the FCC completes its work on business data services reform that it also keeps in place an interim condition ensuring continued access to wholesale voice service.

On Sept 7, Chairman Wheeler responded by writing, "To provide greater certainty and clarity with respect to enterprise voice service, in August 2015 the Commission adopted the interim requirement that incumbent carriers seeking to discontinue legacy [time-division management] services and transition to an all-Internet Protocol environment must continue to provide commercial wholesale platform services at reasonably comparable rates, terms, and conditions. The Commission provided that this interim requirement will sunset when new business data services (BDS) rules and/or policies are effective. As you state and as the Commission recognized, BDS and wholesale voice are distinct services, but the Commission adopted this time limitation to provide a definitive point in the future at which it could reassess the efficacy and necessity of this interim requirement. The United States Telecom Association has challenged this interim requirement in court, and my staff is defending it vigorously. The Commission has an open rulemaking asking how we can best facilitate the continuation of commercial wholesale platform services used by competitive carriers for multilocation voice services. Staff is actively meeting with interested parties and reviewing submissions on this important issue."

[Commentary] Earlier in 2016, the Federal Communications Commission launched a process to unlock the set-top-box marketplace. We were motivated by the desire to give consumers relief, but we were also mandated to take action by Congress and the law, which says that consumers should be able to choose their preferred device to access pay-TV programming. Over the past seven months, the Commission conducted an open proceeding where we heard from pay-TV providers, programmers, device and software manufacturers, consumers groups, and, most important, the American people. We listened.

Now, I am proposing rules that would end the set-top-box stranglehold. If adopted, consumers will no longer have to rent a set-top box, month after month. Instead, pay-TV providers will be required to provide apps – free of charge– that consumers can download to the device of their choosing to access all the programming and features they already paid for. If you want to watch Comcast’s content through your Apple TV or Roku, you can. If you want to watch DirectTV’s offerings through your Xbox, you can. If you want to pipe Verizon’s service directly to your smart TV, you can. And if you want to watch your current pay-TV package on your current set-top box, you can do that, too. The choice is yours. No longer will you be forced to rent set-top boxes from your pay-TV provider.

[Tom Wheeler is the 31st chairman of the Federal Communications Commission.]