Russia export controls and sanctions

The FCC issued fined $144,344operators of a Kentucky low-power TV station that broadcast for years without a valid license, said a release and order released Tuesday. Jessica Rosenworcel concurred. W10BM Morehead didn’t renew its license in 1998 and its was canceled in 2004, but operators Vearl Pennington and Michael Williamson continued to broadcast even after Enforcement Bureau agents warned them in person to stop, said the order. Though Pennington and Williamson argued they unsuccessfully tried to renew the station’s license with a late-filed application in 2004, they didn’t disagree “the Station has operated for more than 18 years without authorization,” the order said. Williamson disputed FCC authority over the station and submitted a petition signed by more than 100 area residents asking it waive the forfeiture and let the station operate, the order said. “We do not give weight to service to the community in the context of a proceeding involving an unlicensed broadcast station.” The FCC found Pennington's claim not to have visited the station’s facilities in 15 years to be “contrary to the weight of the evidence.” Though Williamson and Pennington said they would be financially unable to pay, the FCC declined reduction, “based on the egregious, intentional, and repeated nature of the violation.” Pennington and Williamson couldn’t be reached for comment. W10’s website and YouTube channel remain up, respectively promoting the station’s call-in show Buy a Dog-Sell a Hog! and a video from Russia Today about security agencies blackmailing judges.

Norway could unseat South Korea as the nation most prone to deliberate GPS signal jamming by a neighboring country, the Resilient Navigation and Timing Foundation blogged Friday. It said since 2017, five major GPS/Global Navigation Satellite System jamming incidents have been reported in northern Norway, and Russia has been the cause whenever the source was tracked down.

Experts on space and orbital debris said no particular orbital plane is too crowded for further use now, but that day is coming. The FCC's orbital debris NPRM adopted in November (see 1811150028) is laudable but needs to focus also on convincing other nations to adopt similar guidelines since debris is inherently a borderless problem, said Ram Jakhu, McGill University associate professor. The FCC should have looked at tighter orbital debris rules years ago, he said.

LAS VEGAS -- Speakers at CES warned of the cybersecurity dangers posed by the growing IoT, during a panel Monday. For years, one of the biggest trends here has been expansion of the IoT, and thousands of IoT devices are on display. The discussion also played into the FCC focus on security threats from China and elsewhere (see 1812210032).

Prospective 2020 presidential candidate Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., blasted ZTE for lobbyist hires she alleged “keep blocking” Congress' ability to ensure the Chinese telecom equipment maker meets the Commerce Department's settlement that lifted a ban on U.S. companies selling telecom software and equipment to ZTE (see 1807130048). Senate Intelligence Committee Vice Chairman Mark Warner, D-Va., and Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., later filed the ZTE Enforcement Review and Oversight (Zero) Act to enforce the settlement's terms (see 1809180055). Kasowitz Benson reported in late December ZTE retained ex-Senate Homeland Security Committee Chairman Joe Lieberman, I-Conn., now a partner with the firm, to “undertake an independent assessment of concerns that Members of Congress, Executive branch and American businesses have about any national security vulnerabilities and risks that ZTE products may pose." Lieberman and the firm “will then submit a report to ZTE concerning those concerns and appropriate measures that may be taken to resolve/or ameliorate them,” the disclosure said. “Although Lieberman/KBT will not be advocating for ZTE, we have decided to register in the interest of transparency and caution because we will be talking with Members and other covered officials as part of the assessment we are conducting.” American Continental Group and Black Diamond Strategies also reported lobbying Capitol Hill on behalf of ZTE via Hogan Lovells over the Zero Act. ZTE “violated serious U.S. sanctions” on Iran and North Korea, Warren tweeted Wednesday. “Their lobbyists keep blocking accountability. And today [Lieberman] joined them. Should that be legal? No.” There should be “a lifetime ban on Members of Congress working as lobbyists to make sure they only serve the public,” she said. “We need a ban on foreign lobbying so countries like China, Russia and Saudi Arabia have to conduct their foreign policy out in the open. I've proposed both.”

OneWeb CEO Greg Wyler called it "obviously not true" in a tweet Wednesday denying a published report that Russia is buying a minority stake in the satellite broadband company.

Facebook partnerships with other companies didn’t allow access to personal data without consent, nor did they violate a 2012 consent decree with the FTC, Director-Developer Platforms and Programs Konstantinos Papamiltiadis responded Tuesday. The New York Times reported, based on 2017 documents, Facebook gave access to personal data, sometimes allegedly without consent, to Microsoft, Apple, Netflix, Spotify, Amazon, Yahoo and Russia Kremlin-linked search company Yandex. The agreements let users integrate Facebook features on other apps, Papamiltiadis said, and it has since ceased many such partnerships. Agreements remain active with Amazon, Apple, Alibaba, Mozilla and Opera, he said. Authorization to the data is granted when a user logs into apps through Facebook, he said. The FTC should consider these new allegations in its current Facebook investigation, and Congress needs to move forward with legislation in 2019, Public Knowledge Policy Counsel Charlotte Slaiman said. Washington, D.C., Attorney General Karl Racine (D) Wednesday sued Facebook for mishandling user data in the Cambridge Analytica scandal and failing to report the breach. Racine seeks “monetary and injunctive relief, including relief for harmed consumers, damages, and penalties to the District” for violating D.C.'s Consumer Protection Procedures Act. “We’re reviewing the complaint and look forward to continuing our discussions with attorneys general,” a Facebook spokesperson emailed. "If there's one complaint filed in court in the District of Columbia you consider reading today, make it this one: http://oag.dc.gov/sites/default/," tweeted FCC Commissioner Jessica Rosenworcel.

Senate Intelligence Committee reports put malicious Instagram activity on Congress’ radar, lawmakers told us this week. One finding was continued meddling by Russia’s Internet Research Agency (see 1812170036). Lawmakers said such activity isn't surprising.

It’s critical social media companies share data on foreign meddling with third-party experts, Senate Intelligence Committee Chairman Richard Burr, R-N.C., responded Monday to two in-depth reports on Russia’s Internet Research Agency (IRA). Ranking member Mark Warner, D-Va., called for social media guardrails and legislative action. Analyzing 2013-18 Facebook, Instagram and Twitter posts, the University of Oxford and Graphika found the most “far-reaching” IRA activity was from organic posts, not advertisements. More than 30 million users shared IRA’s 2015-17 Facebook and Instragram posts, the report said. IRA engagement rates increased after the entity was exposed in 2016, with IRA ad volume peaking on Facebook in April 2017, the report said, citing posts baiting African-Americans, Hispanics and right-wing extremists. New Knowledge urged “robust collaboration” between government and industry. Studying IRA influence operations from 2014-17, New Knowledge tallied about 187 million Instagram engagements, 77 million Facebook engagements and 73 million Twitter engagements.

Software & Information Industry Association hires Jeff Joseph, ex-CTA, as president-CEO, effective Jan. 3, succeeding founder Ken Wasch, retiring ... Identification Technology Association hires Monument Policy Group to take over management, with Monument partner Andrew Howell as trade group's president ... Greenberg Traurig establishes videogame and e-sports group led by shareholders David Schulman, Steven Walkowiak and William Stark ... Davis Wright hires as partner Peter Anderson in media and entertainment practice group.