Starks Wants Quick Action on Data-Selling Complaints; Open Minded on Chinese Gear

New Commissioner Geoffrey Starks said the FCC must move quickly on complaints AT&T, T-Mobile and Sprint are selling customers' real-time location data to bounty hunters (see 1901080046). The ex-Enforcement Bureau staffer, flanked by staff, met reporters Friday.

Carriers have said “over and over again that they’ve stopped” selling the data, Starks said. “We’re seeing more and more that the issue seems to remain. It’s startling and chilling to think that our location information can be bought in real time.” When public safety issues are raised, the FCC needs to act “as expeditiously as possible,” he said. Some of the alleged behavior by the location aggregators dates to May, he said. “Depending on the conduct,” the FCC generally faces a one-year statute of limitations so the investigation must move quickly, he said.

An FCC spokesperson declined comment. The agency confirmed a probe of aggregator Securus and the carriers in an August letter to Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore.

Asked how he’ll get things done in the minority, Starks said he’s hopeful for opportunities for unanimous votes but added he’ll “speak up on issues” where he disagrees. He looks forward to working with all commissioners.

Starks is keeping an open mind whether Chinese equipment makers Huawei and ZTE should be barred from selling into the U.S. market. “I do share the concerns of national security risks” as 5G launches, he said. The Mobile World Congress plans an emergency meeting later this month (see 1902060056). Concerns arose at a Senate Commerce hearing last week (see 1902060002).

Starks will continue as a "fierce advocate" for Lifeline support for low-income consumer telecom access that's needed for job searches and other activities, creating "a critical pathway for folks out of poverty." It'll be "a problem to me" if eligible subscribers are de-enrolled, as Lifeline advocates say is happening under a new national verifier (see 1901230036). A court ruling reversing FCC limits on enhanced tribal Lifeline support (see 1902010051) found the FCC didn't examine relevant data, a shortcoming Starks believes extends to other issues such as the USF mobility fund phase two.

The numbers “are unacceptable” on minority ownership, Starks said, calling it an issue he's going to “start to think through.” Starks met diversity groups Wednesday -- including the Leadership Council on Civil Rights, National Hispanic Media Coalition and National Urban League -- and minority ownership was discussed. Though Starks came from EB and listed “holding wrongdoers accountable” as an important goal, he said he wasn’t involved with pirate radio enforcement and is familiarizing himself with it.

Enforcement

Asked about any concerns he has about his old bureau, Starks noted EB is full of “dedicated” staff. “There were issues” where he disagreed with the bureau's direction under both former Chairman Tom Wheeler and Chairman Ajit Pai, he said: “You continue to carry out the mission.”

Enforcement has to be part of the equation in spectrum sharing, Starks said. “As we open more spectrum bands to sharing, the commission’s role in detecting, mitigating and resolving interference issues is only going to increase,” he said. “I am concerned … the commission has not altogether dedicated sufficient resources to developing 21st century enforcement tools to address these issues.” Without sufficient protection, efforts to deploy 5G could be “undermined,” he said.

With T-Mobile/Sprint before regulators, Starks noted that under the Communications Act, the FCC “has an obligation to have a robust public interest standard.” The "commission’s statutes indicate that it is not just about whether competition is harmed but also looking at whether competition is enhanced,” he said.

Challenges to net neutrality deregulation got "robust vetting" at court oral argument Feb. 1 (see 1902010046), Starks said. "The American people have the expectation that the internet will remain free and open, and I intend to be an advocate on that," he said.

On ways his agency can be more transparent, the new commissioner pointed to FCC.gov and the need for it to be mobile-friendly: “The FCC’s website or portals that interface with the public are not as user-friendly as they could be, especially as you start to click through.” That’s “especially as you try to click through to make a complaint,” he responded to our query. He hopes the regulator will “engage with the public in an [easier] way." The agency declined to comment.

More accountability is needed to curtail billions of monthly robocalls plaguing consumers, Starks said: "We need to do more." Starks expects to vote on items at Thursday's monthly meeting. He was named to federal-state joint boards on USF and separations Friday (see 1902080045).

Starks’ core beliefs include the need for solutions that “build up rather than tear down” and that wrongdoers should be held accountable. “Probably most important for me is giving a voice to the most vulnerable,” he said. “I will be guided by those” principles. Starks succeeded Mignon Clyburn, advocate of people who often don’t have a voice at the FCC.

Starks, who comes from a “family of doctors,” will focus on telemedicine in underserved areas and as a possible solution to the opioid crisis. Closing the digital divide must be an FCC focus, he said. “I do have a deep worry that we could be the generation that deepens our digital divide,” he said. “A lot of communities are still stuck with no G and the disconnected are feeling disaffected.”