California Panel Takes on Wireless Throttling, Location Privacy Scandals

CTIA raised concerns about two California bills responding to controversial incidents involving wireless carriers: Verizon throttling traffic of Santa Clara County firefighters during the Mendocino Complex Fire last year (see 1808220059) and carriers selling customers’ real-time data location (see 1904180056). But at a Wednesday hearing, the Assembly Communications and Conveyance Committee widely supported both measures. The panel also supported a bill to require text-to-911 across the state.

Many red-shirted Communications Workers of America members stood up from their seats to oppose AB-1366. It would extend for another 10 years a state ban on the California Public Utilities Commission regulating VoIP. The committee voted unanimously to send the bill to Appropriations, whose chair is the bill’s sponsor, Lorena Gonzalez (D).

Wireless carriers would be banned from impairing or degrading lawful internet traffic of a public safety account during a state of emergency, subject to reasonable network management. The committee voted unanimously to send AB-1699 to the Privacy and Consumer Protection Committee. California enacted a net neutrality law last year. AB-1699 directly responds to the Santa Clara incident, said sponsor Assembly member Marc Levine (D).

Firefighters and the Electronic Frontier Foundation supported AB-1699. What happened in Santa Clara “had nothing to do with any sort of technical rationale,” said EFF Legislative Counsel Ernesto Falcon. CTIA wants more work on the bill, including to address how carriers will know when there's an emergency, and how to handle localized emergencies, said Government Affairs Counsel Steve Carlson. “Impair” and “degrade” may be too ambiguous as terms, said Carlson.

The FCC is failing to hold carriers accountable for sharing users’ location data, said Assembly member Jacqui Irwin (D), author of AB-523. The committee voted 9-2 to send the bill to the Privacy Committee. Vice Chair Jay Obernolte said he’s “on the fence” about the bill and didn’t vote. The Republican asked if existing state and federal laws are sufficient, and if the bill’s opt-in provision might create confusion with opt-out requirements from other laws.

Wireless carriers had good intentions and stopped the practice when they realized what was happening, said Carlson. “It should be the what and not the who that is being dealt with here.” The CPUC Office of Public Advocates and The Utility Reform Network supported the privacy bill.

The committee unanimously voted for text-to-911 AB-1168 that would require county public safety answering points to deploy text-to-911 services by Jan. 1, 2021. Some counties have text-to-911, so the rest of the state has “no excuse” not to have the service that’s critical for people who have difficulty hearing, said NorCal Services for Deaf & Hard of Hearing CEO Sheri Farinha at the webcast hearing. The bill goes next to the Appropriations Committee.

The committee gave unanimous consent to AB-956 to clarify automatic dialing devices may be used once a year to test 911 for data accuracy and emergency alert capabilities. It would let phone companies share personal information without prior consent for the purpose of issuing an emergency alert or testing the alert system. It goes next to the Privacy panel. The committee unanimously consented to HB-1409 to direct California Teleconnect funding to projects for closing the homework gap. It goes next to the Appropriations Committee.

VoIP

Consumers have been reporting phone service problems to communications workers for the past few years, and the employees have seen “safety issues with phone lines that have been neglected due to lack of proper oversight and regulation,” testified CWA District 9 Vice President Tom Runnion, opposing AB-1366.

Carriers prioritize restoring traditional phone service, which is regulated, “while VoIP customers are left waiting,” Runnion said. “Unfortunately, our workers do not see these issues as getting any better without state intervention, something that current law prohibits.”

California banned such regulation in 2012 when most phone lines weren’t VoIP, but now most are IP-based, and rules are needed to protect consumers, said TURN Telecommunications Director Regina Costa. Other opponents included EFF, the American Civil Liberties Union and CPUC Public Advocates Office.

Sponsor Gonzalez doesn’t disagree with opponents and plans to work with CWA to address problems. “We have to do a better job of ensuring that rural areas and underserved areas have service,” but keeping the CPUC out is important because the agency moves too slowly, she said. “The PUC is not working,” she said, but legislators can act more speedily on complaints. The agency didn’t comment.

The VoIP regulation ban keeps prices low and promotes innovation, said various nonprofits backing the bill. CTIA, TechNet, Verizon, AT&T, Comcast, Frontier Communications, Consolidated Communications and the California Cable and Telecommunications Association lined up in support. They didn't testify.