President Joe Biden’s decision to simultaneously announce his intended pick Monday of former NTIA acting Administrator Anna Gomez to the long-vacant fifth FCC seat and his renomination of sitting Commissioners Brendan Carr and Geoffrey Starks, as expected (see 2305180067 and 2305220020), is likely to speed Senate confirmation for all three candidates, said congressional officials and communications policy observers in interviews. There’s not a hard timeline for Senate consideration of the trio, but a Commerce Committee confirmation hearing is likely sometime in June and some stakeholders said they will push the chamber to approve all three before the start of the August recess.

With the FCC facing growing interest from space operators seeking approval for operations on and above the moon's surface, the agency also needs to update its rules for that lunar future, space policy experts told us. The commercial interest in the moon also should trigger ITU action, they said. The FCC didn't comment.

Industry opposed extending California service-quality rules to VoIP and wireless -- and to sharpening the current penalty mechanism for plain old telephone service (POTS) -- in comments Thursday at the California Public Utilities Commission. Consumer groups urged the CPUC to expand and sharpen the teeth of its oversight regime. The responses to a staff outages report largely tracked with previous comment rounds in docket R.22-03-016 (see 2212220052 and 2205100048).

A streaming TV exemption from the state video franchise law passed Friday in Illinois. Another bill could pass soon in Nevada. The Texas House State Affairs Committee heard testimony on a Senate-passed bill Thursday. Several states have enacted or are considering bills to clarify that streaming and satellite TV providers aren’t required to pay local fees, following lawsuits by municipalities in various states against Hulu, Netflix and others.

The FTC will consider regulatory action against companies using artificial intelligence products “even before consumers are harmed,” FTC Chair Lina Khan said Thursday. The commission voted 3-0 to issue a policy statement detailing how the agency plans to use existing consumer protection authorities to preserve consumer privacy for AI and biometric technology.

FCC commissioners approved a multipart item on the lower and upper parts of the 12 GHz band 4-0 during Thursday's open meeting. FCC officials said a few questions were added, but there were no major changes from the draft (see 2305170039).

An FCC draft NPRM, released Thursday, on the 42 GHz band seeks comment on three versions of a shared licensing approach. A proposed NPRM on facilitating the launch of next-generation 911 is a follow-up to a National Association of State 911 Administrators' petition seeking a rulemaking or notice of inquiry to fully implement NG911 (see 2110190066 and 2201200043), a draft makes clear. The FCC also released a draft NPRM proposing to strengthen robocall and robotext rules. All are scheduled for commissioner votes at the June 8 meeting. Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel unveiled the agenda Wednesday (see 2305170059).

FCC commissioners approved a report and order 4-0 Thursday on rules for the 60 GHz band and new call blocking requirements addressing robocalls, a recurring focus of the commission. Both items had minimal changes from drafts circulated by Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel (see 2304270077), FCC officials said.

President Joe Biden is all but certain to nominate former NTIA acting Administrator Anna Gomez to fill the long-vacant fifth FCC seat, but the timing of a formal announcement remained uncertain Thursday despite a Bloomberg report implying it was imminent, congressional officials and communications policy observers told us. Gomez’s confirmation would give the FCC a 3-2 Democratic majority after more than two years of a 2-2 tie. Previous candidate Gigi Sohn asked Biden in March to withdraw her name after her often-contentious Senate confirmation process repeatedly stalled (see 2303070082).

OpenAI CEO Sam Altman briefed House Judiciary Committee members Tuesday, Chairman Jerry Nadler, D-N.Y., said as members grapple with potential solutions for crediting copyright owners when artificial intelligence systems use their work.