Press Release

The Federal Communications Commission will hold an Open Meeting regarding Commission announcements on Jan 30. Due to the current partial lapse in appropriations, the items previously set forth in the Jan 3 Tentative Agenda will not be considered at the meeting. If the lapse in appropriations continues through Jan 29, the Open Meeting will be conducted via a conference call.  If the lapse in appropriations ends prior to Jan 29 and the Commission resumes normal operations, the Open Meeting will commence at the FCC.

Republican leaders of the House Commerce Committee and Subcommittees sent letters requesting information from six companies about the sale and misuse of cell phone geolocation data. The letters were sent to Zumingo, Microbilt, T-Mobile, AT&T, Sprint, and Verizon. The letters seek to increase transparency surrounding how US wireless carriers and third parties are accessing, transferring, storing, and securing customer location information.

The Internet and Competitive Networks Association (INCOMPAS) opposes the Federal Communications Commission’s motion seeking a delay in the Open Internet court case. INCOMPAS, a leading petitioner in the legal case to save network neutrality, filed an opposition to the motion so that oral arguments will continue on Feb 1 as planned. INCOMPAS represents leading streaming companies, edge providers, and competitive broadband network builders. INCOMPAS points to legal precedent during previous government shutdowns, and highlighted the risks to consumers and the streaming revolution. 

Jan 15, reports surfaced that Voipo, a California voice-over-internet-protocol (VOIP) provider, exposed millions of consumer call logs and text messages stored on an “improperly secured” ElasticSearch database for several months before security researcher Justin Paine located them. Public Knowledge demands that Federal Communications Commission Chairman Ajit Pai enforce existing Customer Proprietary Network Information (CPNI) rules that protect the privacy of information related to telephone calls.

House Commerce Committee Chairman Frank Pallone, Jr. (D-NJ) announced the full Democratic rosters for the six subcommittees in the 116th Congress, including the six subcommittee chairs and the full Committee Vice Chair, who were elected by the Democrats on the Committee. Rep Mike Doyle (D-PA) was selected as Chairman of the Communications Subcommittee. Additional chairmen:

House Commerce Committee Ranking Member Greg Walden (R-OR) announced the subcommittee Ranking Members for the 116th Congress. As expected, Rep Bob Latta (R-OH) has been named Ranking Member of the Communications Subcommittee. “I’d like to thank Congressman Walden for the opportunity to serve as Republican Leader on the Communications and Technology Subcommittee,” said Rep Latta. “The way we communicate and use technology plays a significant role in our daily lives. In this capacity, I’ll be able to advocate for policies that will help consumers, grow our economy, and spur innovation.

A group of investors has endorsed the Ranking Digital Rights (RDR) Corporate Accountability Index as an important tool for helping tech companies meet their human rights responsibilities and for helping investors identify digital rights risks.

Federal Communications Commission Chairman Ajit Pai refused to brief House Commerce Committee staff on why the FCC has yet to end wireless carriers’ unauthorized disclosure of consumers’ real-time location data and what actions the FCC has taken to address the issue to date.

WordPress is excited to announce funding for a new platform, Newspack by WordPress.com, aimed at small- and medium-sized news organizations. Google, through the Google News Initiative, is taking the lead in backing the project and has committed $1.2 million. Other funders include The Lenfest Institute for Journalism, which is contributing $400,000; ConsenSys, the venture studio backing Civil Media, which is contributing $350,000; and The John S. and James L. Knight Foundation, which is contributing $250,000.

Patrick Halley is USTelecom’s new Senior Vice President of Advocacy and Regulatory Affairs, the broadband group announced. He joins the association from leading communications law firm Wilkinson Barker Knauer LLP (WBK), where he was a partner advising communications providers and trade associations on strategic, policy, and legal matters. Halley will lead the association’s advocacy efforts before the White House and Executive Branch, regulatory agencies, courts, and other government entities in Washington, DC and beyond.