Technology, business and manufacturing associations commended House members' reintroducing the International Communications Privacy Act (HR-3718). BSA|The Software Alliance, the Computer and Communications Industry Association, CompTIA, CTA, the Internet Association, the U.S Chamber of Commerce and others said the bill, introduced Sept. 8, strikes "a delicate balance between citizens’ inviolable privacy rights and the law enforcement community’s imperatives for gathering evidence in support of legitimate criminal investigations." They said the bill reinforces that law enforcement must get a warrant to gain access to U.S. persons' electronic content, provides certainty on getting information from foreign nationals and establishes a multilateral framework for processing law enforcement requests for information. The letter was addressed to Reps. Doug Collins, R-Ga., the bill's sponsor; co-sponsors Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., Suzan DelBene, D-Wash.; and House Judiciary Courts, IP and Internet Subcommittee Chairman Darrell Issa, R-Calif. The coalition also commended companion legislation in the Senate (S-1671).

All Democratic members on the House Commerce Committee want Equifax CEO Richard Smith to provide answers to a series of questions about what the company is doing to make the 143 million Americans whose personal data was breached (see 1709110035) "whole" again, how the theft occurred and what the company is doing to prevent future security problems, the members said in a Tuesday news release and letter. “Your company profits from collecting highly sensitive personal information from American consumers -- it should take seriously its responsibility to keep data safe and to inform consumers when its protections fail,” said the letter, which also questioned the time it took for Equifax to notify consumers about the breach. The Democrats said a hearing is expected for either later this month or October. The company didn't immediately comment.

A Tuesday House Digital Commerce and Consumer Protection Subcommittee hearing on the impact of digital trade and cross-border data flows on U.S. businesses was canceled because of House calendar changes due to Hurricane Irma, said the parent committee in a Monday news release.

CTIA supports maintaining the existing 39-month timeline for completing post-incentive auction spectrum repacking and believes any delay of that process would have “cascading consequences,” Vice President-Regulatory Affairs Scott Bergmann plans to tell the House Communications Subcommittee during a Thursday hearing. CTIA also supports a “fully-funded repack that ensures broadcasters are made whole for reasonable costs,” but Congress didn't intend the Broadcaster Relocation Fund to “cover the costs of a technology upgrade” like a transition to ATSC 3.0, Bergmann said in written testimony. Congress and the FCC should ensure the 3.0 transition “is not used to delay” the repack, as efforts to link the two processes would “conflict” with statute, he said. National Association of Tower Erectors Chairman Jim Tracy will emphasize the group's focus on ensuring safe deployment of antennas and wireless equipment as part of the repack. He will say “the marketplace will ultimately dictate the time period it will take to achieve this transition," that “we want work to be done properly and efficiently, and that at the end of the day, we want our workers to come home safe.” America's Public Television Stations CEO Patrick Butler, NAB General Counsel Rick Kaplan, Competitive Carriers Association General Counsel Rebecca Murphy Thompson and NewsChannel 5 Network General Manager Lyn Plantinga also will testify. House Commerce Republicans have said they want to discuss estimated repacking costs and potential delays in the post-incentive auction's repack timeline. They also want to examine how low-power and TV translator stations are faring in the repacking process (see 1709050041). The hearing will begin at 10 a.m. in 2123 Rayburn.

The effect of digital trade and cross-border data flows on U.S. businesses will be the focus of a House Digital Commerce and Consumer Protection Subcommittee hearing Tuesday, said a news release. The 10:15 a.m. hearing will be in Rayburn 2322.

CTIA Vice President-Regulatory Affairs Scott Bergmann and NAB General Counsel Rick Kaplan are among the six industry officials set to testify at a Thursday House Communications Subcommittee hearing on post-incentive auction repacking issues (see 1708310061), the House Commerce Committee's GOP staff said Tuesday in a memo. America's Public Television Stations CEO Patrick Butler, Competitive Carriers Association General Counsel Rebecca Murphy Thompson, NewsChannel 5 Network General Manager Lyn Plantinga and National Association of Tower Erectors Chairman Jim Tracy also will speak. A July FCC preliminary estimate said repacking expenses will total $2.12 billion, more than the $1.75 billion allocated in the existing reimbursement fund for post-incentive auction repacking (see 1707140070). The Viewer Protection Act (HR-3347) and Viewer and Listener Protection Act (S-1632) would establish supplemental funds (see 1707200051 and 1707260059). House Commerce Republicans want to discuss estimated repacking costs and potential delays in the post-incentive auction's 39-month timeline for completing the repacking process, the GOP memo said. “Adjusting the repack timeline would not only negatively affect winning bidders in this auction, but would inject uncertainty into future auction proceedings.” House Commerce also wants to examine how low-power and TV translator stations are faring in the repacking process.

The House Communications Subcommittee confirmed its planned Sept. 7 post-incentive auction repacking hearing, as expected (see 1708300050). The hearing follows a July FCC preliminary estimate that repacking expenses will total $2.12 billion, more than the $1.75 billion allocated in the existing reimbursement fund for post-incentive auction repacking (see 1707140070). The Viewer Protection Act (HR-3347) and Viewer and Listener Protection Act (S-1632) would establish funds to supplement the existing fund (see 1707200051 and 1707260059). “It is critical the FCC works expeditiously to repack the remaining broadcasters without disruption to consumers,” House Communications Chairman Marsha Blackburn, R-Tenn., said in a news release. The hearing will begin at 10 a.m. in 2123 Rayburn.

At least nine members of the Department of Commerce's 15-member Digital Economy Board of Advisors, including co-Chairs Zoë Baird, Markle Foundation president, and Mitchell Baker, Mozilla chairwoman, resigned amid fallout over President Donald Trump’s response to a white supremacist rally earlier this month in Charlottesville, Virginia (see 1708140044). Trump's statements drew criticism from many executives, leading the White House last week to halt formation of the Presidential Advisory Council on Infrastructure and dissolve two other CEO-dominated councils (see 1708160068 and 1708170048). IEEE President Karen Bartleson, Comcast Chief Diversity Officer David Cohen, University of California-Berkeley School of Law professor Sonia Katyal, McKinsey Global Institute Director James Manyika, Consumer Reports CEO Marta Tellado, Microsoft President Brad Smith and Rapid7CEO Corey Thomas also are confirmed to have resigned from the board. All nine members were appointed to two-year terms last year. Commerce, which didn't comment on the departures, intended the board to give recommendations to the secretary and NTIA administrator on the digital economy and internet policy issues (see 1511240034 and 1603300033). “It is the responsibility of leaders to take action and lift up each and every American,” Baker said in a letter to Secretary of Commerce Wilbur Ross. “Our leaders must unequivocally denounce bigotry, racism, sexism, hate, and violence.” Lyft President John Zimmer was appointed to but never officially participated in the council, a spokesperson confirmed. Cohen was one of the other board members who addressed their resignations in letters to Ross, but Comcast didn't comment on why he decided to resign. A Microsoft spokesperson said Smith "is no longer a member of the group" effective Friday, but didn't give a reason. Lyft “will not participate in any advisory panel associated with the Trump administration,” the spokesperson said. Other companies whose executives are on the board, including AT&T, didn't comment.

The White House “will not move forward” with the rollout of its Presidential Advisory Council on Infrastructure amid controversies that resulted in dissolution of the other two councils, an official told us. The White House was still seeking representatives for the 15-member council, which President Donald Trump created in a July executive order (see 1707200064), the official and a telecom lobbyist separately said. The White House had aimed for the group to study the efficacy of existing federal funding and support for infrastructure projects, including broadband deployment. It would have also worked on recommendation on prioritizing U.S. infrastructure needs and other development matters. The council’s halt comes amid planning for a White House-backed infrastructure legislative package, which has been anticipated to include a broadband title. The move follows the Wednesday dissolution of two White House councils dominated by CEOs. The Manufacturing Advisory Council and Strategic and Policy Forum disbanded amid fallout over President Donald Trump’s response to a weekend white supremacist rally in Charlottesville, Virginia, that left one dead (see 1708140044 and 1708160068). But the White House does plan for its American Technology Council to continue meeting on modernization of the federal government’s IT systems, the official said. The ATC, formed earlier this year (see 1705110058), is dominated by federal government members but engages tech sector stakeholders as advisers. Private sector members dominated the dissolved CEO groups. Oracle said it will continue to be involved in ATC meetings, and some other companies indicated they're open to remaining as participants.

Former FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler weighed in on the issue of removing statues of Confederate leaders and said in a blog post for the Brookings Institution that President Donald Trump (see 1708160044) is “wrong.” Wheeler has written two books about the Civil War, and disputed the president’s claim that removing statues of Robert E. Lee and "Stonewall" Jackson would lead to similar treatment for Founding Fathers such as George Washington. “These men were building as opposed to tearing down,” Wheeler said.