Press Release

House Commerce Committee Leaders wrote to Google CEO Sundar Pichai expressing their concern about reports of a massive database of precise location information on hundreds of millions of consumers, known inside Google as “Sensorvault, ” and requesting a briefing and answers on how this information is used both inside and outside the company.  The letter was signed by Commerce Chairman Frank Pallone, Jr.

The European Commission published the latest reports by Facebook, Google and Twitter covering the progress made in March 2019 to fight disinformation. The three online platforms are signatories to the Code of Practice against disinformation and have committed to report monthly on their actions ahead of the European Parliament elections in May 2019.

The National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) announced that Commerce Sec Wilbur Ross has appointed 30 outside experts to serve on the Commerce Spectrum Management Advisory Committee (CSMAC). The committee provides advice on a range of spectrum policy and technical issues and is an important forum for developing recommendations aimed at strengthening U.S. global leadership in wireless technology services.

Federal Communications Commissioner Brendan Carr visited the Tower Installation Program at Aiken Technical College, which provides the practical and classroom training that enables workers to find jobs as tower climbers. Commissioner Carr delivered remarks on ensuring the US has the skilled workforce in place to build next-gen wireless networks and win the race to 5G. In particular, he identified the need for more Telecom Tower Technicians (known as “TTT-1”s) and how the US can achieve that goal by expanding on Aiken’s model program.

Federal Communications Commission Chairman Ajit Pai announced that the items below are tentatively on the agenda for the May Open Commission Meeting scheduled for Thursday, May 9, 2019:

The Consumer Federation of America joined a lawsuit challenging the decision of the Federal Communication Commission to extend the allocation of costs between federal and state jurisdictions that was adopted in 2000 for another six years. The consumer pocketbook impact of the misallocation of costs is huge, totaling $150-$250 billion ($200-$300 per household per year) over the next six years.

At the Federal Communications Commission’s May meeting, we will take action to advance the goal of security.

Federal Communications Commission Chairman Ajit Pai released the following statement regarding his opposition to China Mobile’s application to provide telecommunications services in the US. The FCC is scheduled to vote on an Order that would deny that application at its May Open Meeting: “Safeguarding our communications networks is critical to our national security.

The Federal Communications Commission’s Office of Inspector General has issued an advisory to alert Lifeline carriers, beneficiaries, and the public to a number of fraudulent enrollment practices found pervasive across the IG’s ongoing investigations targeting Lifeline carriers and the carriers’ sales agents. Many of these enrollment practices rely on identity fraud and the manipulation of personal information, including enrollee names, to evade the program’s safeguards. The advisory describes simple tricks used by fraudsters to create phantom enrollments.

We have more work do if want to truly modernize the public file system that is the subject of our decision April 12. These filings include things like station authorizations, contour maps, ownership reports, equal employment opportunity filings, reports on children’s television programming, materials related to investigations and complaints, and joint sales agreements.