Industry lawyers and analysts expect a busy start for the FCC in 2024, with the 3-2 Democratic majority able to approve items without the FCC’s two Republicans, and Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel eager to address priorities before the usual freeze in the months before and after a presidential election.

Southern state lawmakers stressed their concern for kids’ safety as they supported bills Thursday to require age verification for social media and pornography websites. At a Florida House Regulatory Reform Subcommittee, Chair Tyler Sirois (R) defended banning children from social platforms even if their parents would allow it. During a South Carolina House Constitutional Laws Subcommittee hearing, the state's attorney general, Alan Wilson (R), strongly supported blocking kids from porn websites.

The White House “deeply believes” it’s critical that Congress restore FCC auction authority, Anne Neuberger, deputy national security adviser-cyber and emerging technology, said Thursday during a CES event. “Think about how much making spectrum available has enabled innovation,” she said: “That’s something that we’re working on closely with the Hill, and it’s an area that we know needs to be addressed.”

House Communications Subcommittee members again raised concerns about the impact the FCC Secure and Trusted Communications Networks Reimbursement Program’s $3.08 billion funding shortfall is having on removing suspect gear from U.S. networks, as expected (see 2401100072). Their concerns came during a hearing Thursday. In addition, subpanel members offered generally positive reviews of the FCC's voluntary Cyber Trust Mark cybersecurity labeling program for smart devices (see 2308100032), but some GOP leaders were skeptical that it would remain voluntary as advertised.

Generative AI is expanding Big Tech’s data monopoly and worsening news outlets' financial crisis, Sens. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., and Josh Hawley, R-Mo., agreed Wednesday while hearing testimony about The New York Times Co. (NYT) lawsuit against Microsoft and OpenAI.

The 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals returned a U.S. Chamber of Commerce challenge of Maryland’s digital ad tax to a state district court. In an opinion Wednesday (case 22-2275), the appeals court agreed with the U.S. District Court in Baltimore (case 21-cv-00410) that the Tax Injunction Act (TIA) prevents federal courts from reviewing the tax. However, it disagreed that a decision on the constitutionality of a related pass-through ban was moot.

Consumers' Research asked the U.S. Supreme Court to grant its cert petition challenging the FCC's method for determining the USF quarterly contribution factor, saying the case presents "an excellent vehicle for addressing the contours of nondelegation whose abuses highlight the dangers of delegated and politically unaccountable power." Docketed Friday (docket 23-743), the petition asked the court to review a Dec. 14 decision by the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals upholding the Q4 2022 contribution factor (see 2312140058). Responses to the new petition are due Feb. 8.

Radio broadcaster Audacy’s bankruptcy restructuring won't signal a huge shift for radio but could discourage outside investment in the medium, industry analysts and media brokers said in interviews this week. Audacy’s bankruptcy is expected to proceed much like those of Cumulus and iHeartMedia, they added. “The industry has been through this before,” Tideline Partners media broker Gregory Guy said. Audacy has 230 radio stations in 46 markets and is the country’s second-largest radio group.

A Thursday House Communications Subcommittee hearing on communications infrastructure cybersecurity issues is expected to include the FCC’s Secure and Trusted Communications Networks Reimbursement Program and the thus far unsuccessful push to allocate another $3.08 billion to fully pay back participants (see 2311070050). However, just one of four scheduled witnesses mentions the matter in written testimony. Other items the House Commerce Committee identifies in a memo ahead of the hearing include the FCC’s NPRM seeking to establish a schools and libraries cybersecurity pilot program, the commission’s voluntary Cyber Trust Mark cybersecurity labeling effort for smart devices (see 2308100032) and concerns about Chinese telecom equipment manufacturers’ potential threat to U.S. IoT devices. The hearing is scheduled to begin at 10 a.m. in 2123 Rayburn.

NTIA posted comments it received last week on the implementation plan for the national spectrum strategy (see 2401030059). Among noteworthy comments, public safety groups pressed the administration to also consider public safety spectrum. Utilities sought additional spectrum for their networks. T-Mobile and Verizon urged a focus on high-power licensed spectrum.