Upcoming event
Speaker Pelosi Pushes to Remove Legal Protections for Online Content in Trade Pact
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) is pushing to strip out sweeping legal protections for online content in the new trade pact with Mexico and Canada, in what would be a blow for big technology companies. Internet firms lobbied hard to include the immunity language in the trade agreement, seeing it as a way to extend to Mexico and Canada the broad umbrella of legal protection they enjoy in the US.
Pai's Moves Ahead of FCC Hearing
The Federal Communications Commission supplied Democratic leaders on the House Commerce Committee with an update on a long-running probe of wireless carriers’ unauthorized disclosure of subscriber location data to third parties. Those lawmakers last month requested that FCC Chairman Ajit Pai arrange for an update to Congress by Nov.
Senators' year-end push on privacy
After months of talks on bipartisan legislation, Senate Commerce Committee leaders have unveiled dueling privacy bills ahead of a hearing on Dec 4. But insiders believe the process might still yield a compromise both parties can embrace. Sen. Maria Cantwell's (D-WA) Consumer Online Privacy Rights Act would give the Federal Trade Commission greater enforcement authority and would allow consumers to enforce the law by bringing civil lawsuits. Sen. Roger Wicker (R-MS) circulated his discussion draft, the United States Consumer Data Privacy Act; the bill would:
The hearing will examine the implementation of several mandates required by the Making Opportunities for Broadband Investment and Limiting Excessive and Needless Obstacles to Wireless Act (MOBILE NOW). Witnesses will discuss MOBILE NOW’s spectrum provisions and the streamlining of broadband infrastructure on federal lands, among other things.
Witnesses:
In July 2019, the Federal Communications Commission modernized the regulatory framework for the 2.5 GHz band to make this vital mid-band spectrum available for advanced wireless services, including 5G.
Smart buildings are quickly becoming the building blocks of smart cities, providing benefits to both the building owners and tenants. They provide greater energy efficiency, improved use of building resources, and increased productivity of the occupants. Developing smart buildings can lead to an exponentially positive impact on the surrounding community. This panel will discuss smart buildings use cases, the foundational technologies that support them, and the benefits reaped.
Speakers
Elected officials, policymakers, advocates, and other thought leaders from across the country will gather to discuss some of the most significant technology and telecommunications policy issues of our time. The goal of Opportunities for Bipartisan Tech Policy is to facilitate challenging conversations, find common ground, and determine action steps on these issues.
Program Outline
A discussion on BigTech and data portability. Authors Michael Weinberg and Gabriel Nicholas of the Engelberg Center at NYU will present their new paper “Data Portability and Platform Competition: Is User Data Exported From Facebook Actually
How legislative proposals intend to provide consumers with more security, transparency, choice, and control over personal information both online and offline.Proposals that provide the Federal Trade Commission with more resources and authority to oversee business data practices in the marketplace.
Witnesses:
FCC Announces Tentative Agenda for December 2019 Open Meeting
Federal Communications Commission Chairman Ajit Pai announced that the items below are tentatively on the agenda for the Open Commission Meeting scheduled for Thursday, Dec 12, 2019:
988: Suicide Prevention Hotline Number – The FCC will consider a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking that would propose to designate 988 as the 3-digit number for a national suicide prevention and mental health crisis hotline. (WC Docket No. 18-336)