Sen Heller Seeks Privacy-Related Set-Top Vote Delay

Sen Dean Heller (R-NV) has called on Federal Communications Commission Chairman Tom Wheeler to delay his planned Sept 29 vote on proposed new set-top box rules. Most of the Hill pushback on Chairman Wheeler's proposal has centered on copyright and app licensing issues, but Sen Heller is pulling out a different stop, saying his main sticking point is consumer privacy, that and the FCC process that produced the plan.

"I have concerns about how the FCC’s proposal requiring this approach will impact my constituents’ privacy and whether it is technology neutral," said Sen Heller in a letter to Chairman Wheeler. The FCC is said to be planning to require device manufacturers to have to comply with cable privacy regulations to get access to pay-TV user data, since the FCC does not have authority over device privacy, but that bifurcated privacy oversight does not appear to sit well with Sen Heller. "[T]his rule will result in [multichannel video programming distributors] handing over consumers’ personal information to third-party developers using their own platforms without addressing how that information can be utilized and what recourse consumers have if there is a data breach of third-party developers," said Sen Heller. "This is not technology neutral and not beneficial to consumers. That is why I request that you delay voting on this proposal until these privacy concerns are resolved." He also has problems with the process. "These issues also stem from the lack of transparency in the process leading up to the final proposal, the text of which has not been released to stakeholders, Congress, and the American public prior to a vote," he opined. There were calls from both sides of the aisle to publish the text before the vote, including in a further notice of proposed rulemaking, which would have had the effect of delaying the vote for weeks if not months.