FCC Rejects Industry Request for ISP Privacy Comment Extension
The FCC Wireline Bureau said "no" to industry requests for additional time to file comments on the ISP privacy NPRM. That means initial comments are due at the FCC on May 27, the Friday before the long Memorial Day weekend.…
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Communications industry groups had asked for a 45-day delay (see 1604210048). FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler said in a news conference Thursday that commenters had enough time to prepare (see 1604280061). The American Cable Association, CTA, CTIA, the Internet Commerce Coalition, NCTA, USTelecom and the Wireless ISP Association signed the industry letter seeking an extension. The U.S. Chamber of Commerce also had supported a delay. “The Commission put interested parties on notice more than a year ago that it would address broadband privacy issues through a separate proceeding,” said the Friday notice in docket 16-106, signed by Wireline Bureau Chief Matt DelNero. The FCC’s policy is that extensions not be routinely granted, the notice said: “Commission proceedings often involve novel and important issues, yet granting an extension is not the norm. Likewise, overlapping comment cycles in Commission proceedings are not unusual given the press of Commission business. Further, the Commission has set similar comment deadlines in comparable proceedings, and we see no need to deviate from that precedent in this case.”