Commissioner Jessica Rosenworcel criticized the FCC Friday for taking “so long” to reach its finding today that “one or more wireless carriers apparently violated federal law” in their location-tracking practices, including the sale of customer location-tracking data allegedly accessed by bounty hunters. Chairman Ajit Pai wrote House Commerce Committee Democrats Friday to inform them the agency had concluded its year-plus investigation into the claims. The carriers didn’t immediately comment.
The FTC will review social media-related advertising guidelines in 2020, the agency confirmed Thursday. It will consider updating “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.” The guides offer insight into how the agency views truthfulness and deceptiveness in ads.
FCC Chairman Ajit Pai plans to soon circulate an item on the C-band auction and seek a vote at the next commissioners' meeting, he told Communications Daily in Q&A after Thursday's monthly gathering. "We will be considering an item on the Feb. 28 meeting to go forward with the C band.”
The FCC auction of 3,400 MHz in the 37, 39 and 47 GHz bands garnered gross proceeds of $7.56 billion, the agency announced during commissioners' monthly meeting. “Bidding in the clock phase" ended Thursday after round 104.
Senate Appropriations Financial Services Subcommittee Chairman John Kennedy, R-La., Senate Communications Subcommittee ranking member Brian Schatz, D-Hawaii, and Senate Commerce Committee ranking member Maria Cantwell, D-Wash., filed their Spectrum Management And Reallocation for Taxpayers (Smart) Act Tuesday in a bid to designate the proceeds from a coming auction of bandwidth on the 3.7-4.2 GHz C band. Aides to Kennedy and Schatz confirmed the bill’s filing to us ahead of a formal announcement.
The government official who has been running NTIA after its last head left is now leaving herself.
The FTC “effectively removed” Facebook’s independent privacy assessor, Chairman Joe Simons wrote a legislator in a letter we obtained.
FCC Chairman Ajit Pai wants to spend some $9 billion from the USF over about 10 years for fifth-generation wireless services. At least $1 billion would be for precision agriculture, the agency announced this afternoon.
The U.S. Trade Representative Monday evening listed 63 Harmonized Tariff Schedule subheadings that may face tariffs of up to 100 percent when imported from France. It's in retaliation for that country’s digital services tax.
State attorneys general lost the only Republican colleague who had joined them in challenging T-Mobile's buy of Sprint. Texas' Ken Paxton's office reached a settlement with T-Mobile that he said Monday morning is "resolving the state’s antitrust claims against the proposed merger."