The FCC overstepped its statutory boundaries in trying to implement the Telephone Consumer Protection Act, the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals said Friday, as it vacated part of the agency's 2023 robocall amid robotext order. In a 23-page decision (docket 24-10277), Judges Elizabeth Branch, Robert Luck and Barbara Lagoa sided with petitioner Insurance Marketing Coalition and said the 2023 order sets rules that conflict with the ordinary statutory meaning of the TCPA's "prior express consent" language. The 11th Circuit vacated the portion of the order that states that a consumer can't consent to a telemarketing or advertising robocall unless they consent to calls from only one entity at a time and consent only to calls whose subject matter is “logically and topically associated with the interaction that prompted the consent.” The 11th Circuit also remanded the order back to the FCC for further proceedings.

The FCC denied four challenges against broadcast stations at the bureau level in what outgoing Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel said is “a stand on behalf of the First Amendment.” In two orders and two letters, the agency rejected three complaints from the Center for American Rights against stations owned by CBS, ABC and NBC, and a third against a Fox-owned station from the Media and Democracy Project. The Center for American Rights complaints accused NBC of violating the FCC’s equal opportunity rules with a Saturday Night Live appearance by Vice President Kamala Harris, CBS of violating the news distortion rules by editing an interview with Harris, and ABC for its moderation of a presidential debate between Harris and President-Elect Donald Trump. The MAD filing called for the FCC to hold a hearing on Fox’s fitness to hold FCC licenses in the wake of a 2023 Superior Court of Delaware ruling on a motion for summary judgment in Dominion Voting System’s defamation case against Fox over its 2020 election reporting. The CBS and ABC complaints were rejected by the Enforcement Bureau, the Fox and NBC filings by the Media Bureau. “The action we take makes clear two things,” said Rosenworcel in a released statement. “First, the FCC should not be the President’s speech police. Second, the FCC should not be journalism’s censor-in-chief.” Incoming FCC Chair Brendan Carr has indicated support for the CAR filings.

President-elect Donald Trump said Thursday he plans to nominate Senate Armed Services Committee Republican staffer Olivia Trusty to the FCC seat current Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel will vacate on Monday. Multiple former FCC officials and communications sector lobbyists told us they expected Trump would also announce Arielle Roth, the Senate Commerce Committee's Republican telecom policy director, as his pick for NTIA administrator as soon as Thursday. A range of ex-FCC officials and other observers previously tipped Trusty and Roth as the top contenders for the Rosenworcel seat.

Disney, Fox and Warner Bros. Discovery are calling off their planned Venu sports streaming joint venture. They announced Friday that "in an ever-changing marketplace, we determined that it was best to meet the evolving demands of sports fans by focusing on existing products and distribution channels." Parties including some Democratic members of Congress had voiced antitrust concerns about the venture. Rival streaming service FuboTV this week reached a settlement that ended its litigation in U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York against Venu.

The 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals on Thursday overturned the FCC’s latest net neutrality order, reclassifying broadband as a Title II service under the Communications Act. A three-judge panel handed down the decision two months after hearing oral argument (see 2410310041).

The Senate voted 85-15 Wednesday to pass the FY 2025 National Defense Authorization Act (HR-5009) with language that would authorize the AWS-3 reauction to offset $3.08 billion in funding for the FCC’s Secure and Trusted Communications Networks Reimbursement Program. The measure now goes to President Joe Biden, who's expected to sign it.

A continuing resolution to extend federal appropriations through March 14 released Tuesday night includes language from the NTIA Reauthorization Act (HR-4510), Tools to Address Known Exploitation by Immobilizing Technological Deepfakes on Websites and Networks Act (HR-8989/S-4569) and several other telecom bills. The CR meanwhile omits the revised AM Radio for Every Vehicle Act (HR-8449) despite its backers’ push to pass the measure before year’s end.

President-elect Donald Trump said Tuesday night he’s naming Republican FTC Commissioner Andrew Ferguson as permanent chair of the commission when he takes office Jan. 20 and will nominate Mark Meador, a former antitrust staffer for Senate Antitrust Subcommittee ranking member Mike Lee, R-Utah., to the commission seat currently held by Chair Lina Khan. Both moves were expected. Khan’s current term expired Sept. 26, meaning she would have needed renomination to another term to remain at the FTC. Ferguson has been a commissioner since earlier this year.

The House Republican Steering Committee said Monday afternoon they selected Health Subcommittee Chairman Brett Guthrie of Kentucky to lead Commerce Committee in the next Congress. Guthrie prevailed over current Communications Subcommittee Chairman Bob Latta, R-Ohio, who is term-limited out of that role at the end of this Congress. The full House GOP conference still needs to approve Guthrie's selection. Guthrie, a Congressional Spectrum Caucus co-chair and a past House Communications member, said earlier this year an airwaves legislative package would be be a top priority if he became House Commerce chairman and such legislation didn't already pass this year (see 2404110059). Guthrie also backs a Universal Service Fund revamp (see 2411270060). Latta congratulated Guthrie shortly after the vote.

The House and Senate Armed Services committees released a compromise version of the FY 2025 National Defense Authorization Act (HR-5009) Saturday night with language allocating $3.08 billion to fully fund the FCC’s Secure and Trusted Communications Networks Reimbursement Program, as expected. The measure also provides up to $500 million through 2033 to the Commerce Department for regional tech hubs. The language in HR-5009, originating from the Spectrum and Secure Technology and Innovation Act (S-4207), would give the FCC $3.08 billion in Treasury Department borrowing authority for rip and replace reimbursements.