press release

Federal Communications Commission Chairman Ajit Pai announced two new staff appointments to the Office of the Chairman. Nathan Leamer is now serving as the Chairman’s Policy Advisor, and Carlos Minnix is serving as a Staff Assistant.

Nathan Leamer, Policy Advisor: For the past two years, Leamer served as the Outreach Manager and a Senior Fellow at the R Street Institute, a free-market think tank at which he managed the institute’s government relations and wrote extensively on emerging technology, innovation policy, and public safety. Leamer has also worked at Generation Opportunity, a millennial advocacy organization. Prior to these roles, he served as a legislative aide for Rep Justin Amash (R-MI) as well as a legislative assistant in the Michigan House of Representatives. Leamer received his undergraduate degree from Calvin College.
Carlos Minnix, Staff Assistant: Minnix joins the Chairman’s Office from the Enforcement Bureau’s Spectrum Enforcement Division, where he was a Staff Assistant. Minnix had served in that Division since 2007.

Consumer Reports is launching a new initiative to develop a digital standard to measure the privacy and security of products, apps, and services with the goal of helping companies prioritize consumers’ data security and privacy needs. The standard was developed in partnership with leading privacy, security, and consumer rights organizations.

Ranking Digital Rights, a non-profit research initiative housed at New America’s Open Technology Institute (OTI), was a partner in the collaborative effort. Ranking Digital Rights works with an international network of partners to set global standards for how companies in the information and communications technology sector should respect freedom of expression and privacy, and will be launching their 2017 Corporate Accountability Index on March 23. The Index evaluates 22 of the world’s most powerful telecommunications, internet and mobile companies on disclosed commitments and policies affecting users’ freedom of expression and privacy. The digital standard draws from the Ranking Digital Rights research methodology along with other technical testing and research methodologies developed by other coalition partners.

The Federal Communications Commission issued an emergency temporary waiver to Jewish Community Centers and telecommunications carriers that serve them to allow these entities and law enforcement agencies to access the caller-ID information of threatening and harassing callers. FCC rules generally require phone companies to respect a calling party’s request to have its caller-ID information blocked from the party receiving the call. A waiver of this rule may help the community centers and law enforcement identify abusive and potentially dangerous callers.

Earlier this week, Sen Charles Schumer (D-NY) requested such a waiver, indicating that there have been 69 such incidents involving 54 JCCs in 27 different states since the beginning of 2017. The Commission has issued such waivers in the past, but rarely. In 2016, the Commission provided a limited waiver to a school in New York State. The action comes in the form of an order from the FCC’s Consumer and Governmental Affairs Bureau. In addition, the Commission has issued a public notice soliciting comment on whether a permanent waiver would be
appropriate.

The National Coalition Against Censorship and the American Society of News Editors (ASNE), along with more than 80 other organizations committed to the First Amendment right of freedom of speech and the press, are condemning efforts by the Trump administration to demonize the media and undermine its ability to inform the public about official actions and policies.

In a joint statement released on March 2, the groups stress that the administration’s attacks on the press pose a threat to American democracy. The statement cites numerous attempts by the administration to penalize and intimidate the press for coverage the President dislikes, including refusing to answer questions from certain reporters, falsely charging the media with cover-ups and manipulation of news, and denying certain media outlets access to press briefings. Official designation of the media as “the opposition party” escalated when the President described the New York Times, CBS, CNN, ABC, and NBC News as “the enemy of the American people!” The statement emphasizes that an independent and free press is the Constitution’s safeguard against tyranny. Its job is not to please the President but to report accurately on the actions of public officials so the public has the information to hold power accountable. Efforts to undermine the legitimacy or independence of the press, the statement reads, “betray the country’s most cherished values and undercut one of its most significant strengths.”

In a study released March 3, the Federal Trade Commission’s Office of Technology Research and Investigation (OTech) reports that most major online businesses are using proper email authentication technology to prevent phishing e-mails, but few of these businesses are taking full advantage of the latest technologies to combat phishing.

Phishing is a type of online scam that targets consumers by sending them an e-mail that appears to be from a well-known source such as an internet service provider, a bank, or a mortgage company. It asks the consumer to provide personal identifying information, and then the scammer uses the information to open new accounts or invade the consumer’s existing accounts.

Federal Communications Commission Chairman Ajit Pai announced that the following items are tentatively on the agenda for the March Open Commission Meeting scheduled for Thursday, March 23, 2017. Continuing the Chairman’s pilot program, the FCC is publicly releasing the draft text of all six matters that are expected to be considered at the March Open Meeting, along with one-pagers describing each of these items in greater detail.

1. Advanced Methods to Target and Eliminate Unlawful Robocalls – The Commission will consider a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking and Notice of Inquiry that would enable voice service providers to better protect subscribers from illegal and fraudulent robocalls. (CG Docket No. 17-59)
2. Promoting Technological Solutions to Combat Contraband Wireless Device Use in Correctional Facilities – The Commission will consider a Report and Order and Further Notice of Proposed Rulemaking that would adopt rules to facilitate the deployment of technologies used to combat contraband wireless devices in correctional facilities, while seeking comment on additional proposals and solutions. (GN Docket No. 13-111)
3. Improving the Quality and Efficiency of Video Relay Service – The Commission will consider a Report and Order, Notice of Inquiry, Further Notice of Proposed Rulemaking, and Order that would enhance service quality and propose a new provider compensation plan for video relay services. (CG Docket Nos. 10-51 and 03-123)
4. Cellular Service Reform – The Commission will consider a Second Report and Order, Report and Order, and Second Further Notice of Proposed Rulemaking that would facilitate mobile broadband deployment, including LTE, promote greater spectrum efficiency, and reduce regulatory burdens and costs. (WT Docket Nos. 12-40, 10-112, 16-138)
5. Part 43 Reporting Requirements for U.S. Providers of International Services – The Commission will consider a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking that proposes to (1) eliminate the Traffic and Revenue Reports and (2) streamline the Circuit Capacity Reports. (IB Docket Nos. 17-55 and 16-131)
6. Channel Sharing by Stations Outside the Broadcast Television Spectrum Incentive Auction Context – The Commission will consider a Report and Order that would authorize channel sharing outside the context of the incentive auction and thus permit stations with auction-related channel sharing agreements to continue to operate if their auction-related agreements expire or otherwise terminate. (GN Docket No. 12-268; MB Docket No. 03-185; MB Docket No. 15-137).

The Federal Communications Commission issued a temporary stay of a data security regulation that would have subjected Internet service providers (ISPs) to a different standard than that applied to other companies in the Internet ecosystem by the Federal Trade Commission. The regulation would have gone into effect on March 2.

The March 1 decision will maintain a status quo that has been in place for nearly two years with respect to ISPs and nearly a decade with respect to other telecommunications carriers. The stay will remain in place until the FCC is able to act on pending petitions for reconsideration. The stay will provide time for the FCC to work with the FTC to create a comprehensive and consistent framework for protecting Americans’ online privacy. The FTC had proven to be an effective cop on the beat for safeguarding digital privacy. But in 2015, the FCC stripped the FTC of its authority over ISPs’ privacy and data security practices when it adopted the Title II Order. The stay will also ensure that ISPs and other telecommunications carriers do not incur substantial and unnecessary compliance costs while the FCC considers modifications to the rule.

ISPs have been – and will continue to be – obligated to comply with Section 222 of the Communications Act and other applicable federal and state privacy, data security, and breach notification laws. In addition, broadband providers have released a voluntary set of “ISP Privacy Principles” that are consistent with the Federal Trade Commission’s long-standing privacy framework. For other telecommunications carriers, the Commission’s preexisting rules governing data security will remain in place.

This memorandum and the attachment provide an overview of the Executive branch's formal legislative coordination and clearance process. Adherence to the requirements of the clearance process serves the needs of the President by ensuring that agency legislative proposals and recommendations, as well as testimony, are consistent with his policies and programs.

We request that agency legislative proposals, letters, and testimony discussing or involving legislation be submitted to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) as far in advance of a needed clearance as feasible. OMB runs a clearance process on these items, which requires sufficient time to review and coordinate with all relevant agencies, and offices in the Executive Office ofthe President. OMB Circular No. A-19 details the requirements and procedures for legislative coordination and clearance. The attachment summarizes the major elements and the essential purposes ofthe clearance process. We will be working with you to ensure the timely transmittal to Congress of legislative proposals necessary to support the President's legislative agenda and the Fiscal Year 2018 Budget. As decisions are made on these matters, we will be in contact about details related to the drafting, review, and clearance of these proposals.

Federal Communications Commission Chairman Ajit Pai and Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) Chairman R.S. Sharma signed a Letter of Intent (LOI) for cooperation between the two agencies. The nonbinding agreement sets out a framework for the mutually beneficial exchange of ideas through activities such as best practices sharing, bilateral workshops, and digital videoconferences.

To guide these efforts, the FCC and TRAI have determined topics of shared interest, including accelerating broadband deployment and aligning spectrum policy to meet increasing mobile broadband demand. Given the broader bilateral partnership between the United States and India, the FCC has long engaged with Indian counterparts on issues of telecommunication regulatory policy. The agreement reinforces the ongoing positive working relationship between the FCC and TRAI and identifies opportunities for further collaboration in an increasingly interconnected world.

Acting Deputy Under Secretary for Rural Development Roger Glendenning announced that the US Department of Agricutlure is awarding $19.3 million in loans to provide broadband in rural portions of Illinois and Oklahoma.

In Oklahoma, Southern Plains Cable, LLC will receive a $15.3 million loan to build a fiber-optic broadband network serving a 55-square-mile area that includes the communities of Anadarko, Verden, and Chickasha. Illinois' Moultrie Independent Telephone Company will receive a $4 million loan to make upgrades to fiber service in a portion of its service territory. Both loans are being provided through USDA's Telecommunications Programs of the Rural Utilities Service.