Monty Tayloe

The FCC unanimously approved an order Wednesday creating an alert code for missing adults and an NPRM on proposed revisions for the robocall mitigation database. At their open meeting, commissioners also voted on an item that protects consumers from AI in robocalls (see 2408070037). “We do not have a tool on par with Amber alerts to raise awareness and assist with recovery efforts of those 18 and older,” Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel said of the new Missing and Endangered Persons (MEP) alert code. “I think it would make a difference if we did. Because while only one third of those who go missing are adults, they account for 70% of people who are never found.” Though originally scheduled for Wednesday morning, the meeting’s start time was pushed back nearly three hours due to flight delays that affected Rosenworcel, she said.

The FCC’s draft order that would create an additional alert code for missing and endangered adults will gain unanimous approval during Wednesday’s open meeting, agency officials told us. The item received widespread support from alerting officials, industry trade associations and indigenous groups. The final order is expected to have changed little from the draft version, an FCC official said. While the new alert code will be used for any missing person older than 17 with special needs and circumstances or who is endangered, abducted or kidnapped, it's aimed at addressing the rising problem of missing and murdered indigenous people, the FCC has said. Speaking at an indigenous women’s event Wednesday, Rosenworcel said the item will gain approval and credited Native groups for the proposal. “The action the FCC is taking next week is in direct response to a call sent out by Native communities after enduring a crisis of the missing for far too long,” she said. The code will be “a really powerful tool," said Loris Taylor, president of Native Public Media (NPM) and an advocate of the new code.

The FCC shouldn’t apply online public information file (OPIF) requirements to low-power television stations, LPTV groups, NAB, the National Religious Broadcasters, Gray Television and numerous individual broadcasters say in comments filed in docket 24-147 posted by Wednesday.

If courts rule that the U.S. Supreme Court’s SEC v Jarkesy decision means a wide swath of FCC enforcement proceedings require jury trials, the agency may not be able to pursue any enforcement without congressional authority, former FCC Office of General Counsel and Enforcement bureau veterans said Wednesday.

The FCC approved on a 3-2 party line vote an NPRM seeking comment on requiring disclosures for political ads that use AI-generated content. The proposal, which was approved July 10 on circulation but not released until Thursday, doesn’t specify the timing of an eventual order. Commissioner Brendan Carr and Federal Election Commission Chair Sean Cooksey condemned it as an attempt to interfere with the 2024 election. The FCC declined to comment on the intended timing of a final rule, or the delay in the item’s release.

Large and small broadcasters, engineers and low-power FM interests disagree about whether the FCC should create a more powerful group of Class A FM station known as A-10, according to comments posted in docket 24-183. Due Monday, the comments responded to a Commander Communications petition (see 2406200052). Many smaller broadcasters support the proposal, but Cumulus and NAB said it could increase interference at other stations. Common Frequency and REC Networks said the proposal must be paired with one allowing increased power for LPFM stations. Multiple commenters, including Commander, said the petition contains technical errors in its calculations of separation distances, but those discrepancies could be adjusted. “Commander believes that the Commission could easily correct these spacing values and that the underlying concept of the FM Class A-10 station would not be affected negatively,” Commander said in a comment filing.

The global outage of Microsoft systems caused by a software update from cybersecurity company Crowdstrike grounded airplanes globally and affected some broadcasters and 911 systems but spared others, reports from multiple companies and state agencies said.

The U.S. Supreme Court’s recent decisions in Loper Bright Enterprises v. Raimondo, which overruled the Chevron doctrine (see 2406280043), and in SEC v. Jarkesy (see 2406270063) were “a good thing,” FCC Commissioner Brendan Carr said Wednesday during a Multicultural Media, Telecom and Internet Council webinar. Other former FCC officials disagreed sharply with the rulings that appear to expand judges' power while reining in regulatory agencies like the FCC.

Satellite operators and broadcasters want the FCC to phase in Space Bureau regulatory fee increases, expand the payor base and maintain COVID-19 pandemic regulatory fee relief measures, according to comments filed by Monday's deadline in docket 12-108. Satellite interests repeatedly warned of fee shock, particularly as the FCC proposes big jumps in fees to cover costs associated with last year’s creation of the bureau (see 2304110002). The agency should “maximize fairness in the payment process” by continuing “the availability of the extraordinary relief measures for financially distressed regulatees,” a joint filing from state broadcast associations said.

A draft order requiring that device-makers and MVPDs make closed-caption display settings easily accessible is expected to receive unanimous approval during FCC commissioners’ open meeting Thursday, agency officials told us. The final item is expected to change language from the draft version, resulting in the rules no longer applying to preinstalled apps. The order is based in part on a consensus proposal from NCTA and several consumer groups representing the deaf and hard of hearing. “We are in a very different place in terms of the consumer industry relationships now than we were decades ago," said Karen Peltz Strauss, a former FCC Consumer Bureau deputy chief who now represents the consumer groups in the proceeding. “There's a lot more communication, a lot more collaboration, coordination. We've seen a real seismic shift in being able to work with industry to get the access we need.”