Industry disagreed on allowing use of session initiation protocol 603 as a permanent notification option for blocked calls, in comments posted Monday in docket 17-59 (see 2201040034). The code allows call recipients to block a call without identifying a reason. The FCC Wireline Bureau previously partially granted USTelecom’s request for reconsideration and clarification that SIP code 603 could be used during the transition to SIP codes 607 and 608 (see 2112150039).
Country of origin cases
The FTC should ban surveillance advertising due to its “overwhelming” societal harm, Rep. Anna Eshoo, D-Calif., and Sen. Cory Booker, D-N.J., wrote the agency Wednesday, supporting a petition for rulemaking from Accountable Tech (see 2112280054). The petition requests a rule banning “surveillance advertising” as an “unfair method of competition.” Harms “vastly outweigh” the benefits, Eshoo and Booker wrote: “Surveillance advertising has been called the Internet’s Original Sin and a ‘time bomb at the heart of the Internet’ that could harm society on the scale of the subprime mortgage crisis.” The agency didn’t comment Thursday.
Indiana’s Senate Commerce Committee unanimously approved privacy legislation Thursday modeled after Virginia’s new law. Several members said they need more information on a last-minute amendment before they can support the bill on the floor. The House hasn't introduced companion legislation. The law would take effect in January 2024.
The Senate Commerce Committee was believed to be still on track to announce plans Wednesday night to hold a Feb. 2 vote on Democratic FCC nominee Gigi Sohn (see 2201250073), lobbyists told us. That would follow the leak of a confidential version of Locast’s lawsuit settlement that opponents think raises ethical questions about the nominee. Commerce ranking member Roger Wicker, R-Miss., has been seeking a hearing on the settlement due to Sohn’s role as a board member for Locast operator Sports Fans Coalition (see 2201180064). Broadcasters agreed in the confidential settlement to accept $700,000 in Locast’s remaining cash and liquidation of the shuttered sports rebroadcaster’s used servers, two sources with knowledge of the agreement told us. Broadcasters agreed in the confidential settlement to release Sohn and other individuals from “liabilities of every kind and nature” due to the lawsuit’s claims, but this reflected an agreement among parties at the beginning of the case that any judgment wouldn’t involve individual liability, the sources said. The broadcasters have until Thursday to file a satisfaction of judgment but hadn’t as of Wednesday afternoon, the sources said. Bloomberg Law first reported the settlement’s details. Locast originally settled in October for $32 million (see 2110280039). Sohn, lawyers for SFC, NAB, Senate Commerce and Wicker’s office didn’t comment. Communications Workers of America President Christopher Shelton endorsed Sohn Tuesday night.
A draft FCC NPRM to adopt consumer broadband labels is expected to be unanimously approved during Thursday’s commissioners’ meeting, aides told us. The item is likely to take up the bulk of the meeting as most agenda items were adopted in advance (see 2201260016).
The FCC Media Bureau dismissed Gray Television’s application for review of the agency’s rejection of Gray’s market modification application for WYMT-TV Hazard, Kentucky, at Gray’s request (see 2112150054), said an order in Tuesday’s Daily Digest. The agency rejected Gray’s original application in part because the satellite MVPDs in the area were carrying another Gray station with a duplicate network affiliation.
Commenters disagreed on the FCC's role in oversight and implementation of next-generation 911, in comments posted Thursday in docket 21-479 on the National Association of State 911 Administrators' (NASNA) petition seeking a rulemaking or notice of inquiry to fully implement NG-911 (see 2110190066). Some public safety organizations backed a rulemaking clarifying demarcation points for cost allocations.
The European Parliament wants tougher controls on online profiling and targeting, it said Thursday, approving its negotiating position on the Digital Services Act. The DSA proposal contains measures to tackle illegal content and requirements for very large platforms to prevent abuse of their systems (see 2012150022). Lawmakers changed the original European Commission proposal, including bans on targeting the data of minors to show them advertisements, and on profiling people on the basis of special categories of data that allow vulnerable groups to be targeted. Lawmakers wanted more transparent and informed choice on targeted ads, saying refusing consent to such marketing shouldn't be harder or more time-consuming than giving it. They said online platforms shouldn't be able to use deceiving or nudging techniques to influence user behavior through "dark patterns." The vote paves the way for "trilogue" talks with EU governments, which approved their negotiating stance in November (see 2111260016), and the EC. The parliamentary version got guarded support from some groups. "Parliament has done a mixed job," said the European Consumer Organisation: It failed to create a "clear liability regime" for online marketplaces to ensure consumers are protected and compensated if they're harmed by illegal practices on platforms; and it should have supported a full ban on surveillance ads. The Computer & Communications Industry Association urged negotiators to "consider the impact of proposed new obligations such as restrictions to personalized ads, broad 'know-your-business-consumer' obligations, user redress, and data disclosure to law enforcement and researchers." European Digital Rights said banning surveillance ads altogether "would have been a more effective strategy," but nixing the use of sensitive data and outlawing dark patterns "is certainly the next-best thing." EDRi criticized lawmakers for refusing to give users the right to choose the ranking and recommendation algorithms they prefer. The Information Technology Industry Council welcomed the decision to maintain the EU e-commerce directive's limited liability rules for online intermediaries, saying policymakers should stay focused on the measure's original intent of creating a level playing field for businesses with proportionate rules on removing illegal online content: Issue-specific provisions such as the ban on dark patterns and regulating targeted ads "are missing nuances regarding the technicality and feasibility of these issues." Asked which provisions are likely to be controversial, a spokesperson from the lead Internal Market and Consumer Protection Committee said that's for the rapporteur to announce in coming days, since determining the sticking points is strategic for the negotiation.
Thirteen licensors populate the one-stop patent pool for ATSC 3.0 technologies that MPEG LA launched Thursday, as was expected recently after about three and a half years of development (see 2112100004).
A new-look Washington state Senate privacy bill took fire from all sides at its first hearing Thursday. Business groups at a Senate Technology Committee virtual hearing said they prefer the 2021 Washington Privacy Act (SB-5062) by Chairman Reuven Carlyle (D) to his pared-down SB-5813 this year. The American Civil Liberties Union, a SB-5062 opponent, said SB-5813 is better but still wouldn’t meaningfully protect privacy. Two state government offices also raised concerns.