Agenda

According to unnamed sources, the Justice Department is investigating whether crimes were committed when potentially millions of people’s identities were posted to the Federal Communications Commission’s website without their permission, falsely attributing to them opinions about net neutrality rules. The Federal Bureau of Investigation has delivered subpoenas to at least two organizations related to the comments.

Democrats are expected to use their upcoming control of the House to push for strong net neutrality rules. Gigi Sohn -- a former lawyer at the Federal Communications Commission who is now a fellow at the Georgetown Law Institute for Technology, Law and Policy -- said she expects Democrats to use their new power to push for the restoration of strong net neutrality rules — and for the topic to be on the lips of presidential hopefuls. “I have no doubt that bills to restore the 2015 rules will be introduced in both the Senate and the House relatively early on,” Sohn said.

Democrats and Google executives worked arm in arm for years, particularly during the Obama administration. But when Sundar Pichai, Google’s chief executive, testifies before Congress, some of the toughest questioning is likely to come from Democrats. The hearing will provide an early glimpse of how Democrats plan to approach Silicon Valley giants in the coming year as they assume control of the House of Representatives.

The Federal Communications Commission has launched an investigation into whether one or more major carriers violated the Mobility Fund Phase II (MF-II) reverse auction’s mapping rules and submitted incorrect coverage maps. The investigation comes after a preliminary review of the 20,809,503 speed tests filed with the agency in connection with the MF-II challenge process; the window for initial challenges closed on November 26. The FCC has suspended the next step of the challenge process—the opening of a response window—pending the conclusion of this investigation

A group of 10 senators is calling on Federal Communications Commission Chairman Ajit Pai to stand down on his proposal to classify text messaging as an information service. “We urge you to right this wrong and classify text messaging as a telecommunications service, affording this vital means of communications protections that promote innovation and support freedom of speech,” the lawmakers write in a letter led by Sen. Ed Markey(D-MA) and co-signed by eight Senate Democrats as well as Bernie Sanders (I-VT).

At the annual FCC Chairman's Dinner hosted by the Federal Communications Bar Association, Federal Communications Commission Chairman Ajit Pai took some obligatory shots at various industry players.

With Democrats taking control of the House when the new session starts Jan 3, lawmakers and media players are re-adjusting their strategies and preparing for a slew of new hearings and investigations. Democrats have already started to circle their wagons around Nexstar’s proposed purchase of Tribune Media, with House Judiciary Antitrust Subcommittee Ranking Member David Cicilline (D-RI) saying that the merger “would undoubtedly lead to mass layoffs in newsrooms at a time when our free and diverse press is already under assault.”

Now that Democrats are about to take charge of the House in January, lawmakers plan to force some accountability on Federal Communications Commission Chairman Ajit Pai. FCC oversight is a top priority for the House Commerce Committee in the upcoming session, according to committee members. “We plan to put the consumer first by pushing policies that protect net neutrality, promote public safety, and provide meaningful privacy and data security protections that are seriously lacking today,” said incoming-Committee Chairman Frank Pallone (D-NJ).