FCC draft media ownership rules “have nothing to do with the evidence in the record, principled decision-making, or the law,” and would be more appropriate for “the world that existed in the 1970s,” said Commissioner Ajit Pai in a statement Wednesday as an order circulates (see 1606270083). “Last month, the FCC had no problem approving not one, but two multibillion dollar cable mergers,” Pai said. “Yet, it now gets the vapors at the prospect of a newspaper in Scranton, Pennsylvania owning a single radio station.” It's likely newspaper/broadcast cross-ownership rules “will outlive the print newspaper industry itself,” Pai said. An agency spokeswoman declined to comment. Also Wednesday, the Newspaper Association of America criticized the draft order. “The NAA is stunned that any policymaker in the Internet era would propose to keep a 1970s-era law that prevents broadcast stations and newspapers from being owned by the same company," said CEO David Chavern. He said he's "deeply disappointed" the draft would keep in place the 40-year-old cross-ownership rule "that is more obsolete than the eight-track tape or the mainframe computer." Investments and deals "will continue to flow to unregulated Internet businesses that compete with news publishers for advertising, but investment and collaboration will be blocked" for newspapers and radio and TV, Chavern said.

A technical advisory group of engineers and technologists kicked off a review of IoT privacy and security that's expected to produce a report by fall. The Broadband Internet Technical Advisory Group (BITAG) said in a Tuesday news release it won't review computers, smartphones or tablets, but appliances, sensors and other devices that run on the IoT. "When combined with data analysis and machine learning, IoT devices may be able to take more proactive actions, highlight interesting information to end users, or make suggestions to end users that may affect their health, environment, finances, or other aspects of their lives," said BITAG, which counts AT&T, Comcast, Google, the Center for Democracy & Technology and Public Knowledge among its members. Some IoT security flaws also could put users at risk, resulting in a negative internet experience, BITAG said. The technical working group will analyze the issue and "describe the issue in depth, highlight technical observations, and suggest appropriate best practices," it added.

Correction: Economist Hal Singer is no longer affiliated with the Progressive Policy Institute (see 1606270078).

The EAS Test Reporting System is “operational” and ready to accept filings, the FCC Public Safety Bureau said in a public notice Monday. Emergency alert system participants have to complete Form One of ETRS by Aug. 26 and update or correct their submission by Sept. 26, the PN said. It sought comment on recommendations by the agency's Communications Security, Reliability and Interoperability Council to update the EAS Operating Handbook with “checkboxes and 'fill-in-the-blank' operational steps." Comments on the EAS handbook will be due 15 days after the PN is published in the Federal Register.

The FBI told the FCC it doesn't object to the selection of Telcordia as local number portability administrator and has no reason to believe the company couldn't satisfy the requirements of law-enforcement agencies. "Consistent with the prior filing of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Drug Enforcement Administration, and the U.S. Secret Service, the FBI continues to believe that accurate, confidential, affordable and secure provisioning and administration of the LNP database is in the best interests of the FBI and all of United States law enforcement," said a letter from Todd McCall, FBI assistant director-Operational Technology Division. "The FBI does not possess any information, as of this date, to reasonably question Telcordia's ability to meet these needs or to otherwise object to the FCC's selection of Telcordia as LNPA." The letter was posted Tuesday in docket 09-109.

American Cable Association and Mediacom are disputing broadcaster and programmer arguments as the FCC contemplates changes to good-faith negotiation rules. ACA in a filing Monday in docket 15-216 contended point by point assertions Disney previously made (see 1606170039). Contrary to Disney's claim bundling is generally pro-competitive and pro-consumer, ACA said antitrust law and competition policy look at it under a per se analysis, and certain elements in a tying agreement could add up to an antitrust violation. ACA also defended a Disney-criticized analysis by Columbia University professor Michael Riordan, saying Disney didn't put up any alternative assertions that would lead to different conclusions from Riordan's that bundling raises prices. ACA also said Disney is right that Riordan's analysis involves the idea programmers are monopolists or have market power, "but it does not in the least undermine ACA's case" since there is no good content substitute for the top four-rated broadcast stations and regional sports programming. Disney didn't comment Tuesday. Meanwhile, Mediacom -- in a filing Monday in the docket in response to an NAB ex parte filing (see 1606210044) -- called the NAB's arguments about FCC authority to order interim carriage "a misreading of relevant law" and a mischaracterization of the rule changes Mediacom and others suggested. Mediacom said NAB's assertion the FCC ordering interim carriage would conflict with the right of broadcasters to control their signals under Communications Act Section 325 would force the FCC to adopt "a non-existent limitation" on its own regulatory authority for retransmission consent negotiations. A broadcaster's control of its signals "is not 'unqualified'" under Section 325 and the FCC isn't barred from ordering a station to grant retrans consent for an interim period, Mediacom said. It also disputed NAB arguments against making online blocking during a retransmission consent blackout contrary to good-faith negotiating, with Mediacom saying online blocking rules are unrelated to public performance rules under the Copyright Act cited by NAB, and restricting any online blocking is to protect consumers, not multichannel video programming distributors. In a statement, NAB -- pointing to Consumer Reports’ recent rankings -- said Mediacom should "address its well-known customer service issues rather than seek special regulatory favors from the FCC. The fact is that broadcasters have intellectual property rights in the valuable programming that pay TV companies re-sell for a profit. Mediacom would do well to acknowledge those rights, stop the retransmission consent game playing, and improve its woeful treatment of consumers.”

Former FCC Chairman William Kennard agrees “no one really knows where [Brexit] ends up (see 1606270075), he said Tuesday. Kennard was U.S. ambassador to the EU. “My best guess at this early stage is that Britain will seek to negotiate a Norwegian-style arrangement with the EU which gives it access to the EU Common Market,” Kennard emailed. He was affiliated with Grain Management, a wireless company. Meanwhile, CTA President Gary Shapiro said Tuesday the Brexit vote was understandable and a potential win for the U.S. “The Brexit vote should be seen for what it is: a correction to an unbalanced, unfair, and unsuccessful system,” Shapiro said in an American Spectator opinion piece. “While the EU succeeded in easing travel and trade within the common market, its imperious Brussels regulators needed a reminder that overregulation stifles growth and harms innovation.” Britain’s economy won’t collapse, he said. “Switzerland and Norway have voted against joining the EU, while strengthening their own trade ties with the common market and maintaining strong currency valuation.” For the U.S., the Brexit vote offers new opportunities, Shapiro said: “The vote creates a chance to strengthen our ‘Special Relationship’ and even formalize a trade agreement with Britain.”

The Small Business Administration Office of Advocacy expressed qualms on FCC-proposed broadband privacy rules. "After conducting outreach with small business stakeholders and reviewing the comments filed with the FCC on their behalf, our office has concerns that the FCC’s proposed rules will be disproportionately and significantly burdensome for small Broadband Internet Access Service (BIAS) providers," the SBA office said in a filing posted Tuesday in FCC docket 16-106. "Given the impact of the proposed rules on small BIAS providers, Advocacy recommends that the FCC adopt measures to mitigate the disproportionate impact of compliance on small BIAS providers." The SBA office said the commission "must describe or quantify the economic impact of its rules on small entities" and "provide a meaningful analysis of burden-reducing alternatives." It also recommended the FCC take steps to "mitigate small business costs."

The Supreme Court declined to review AT&T's appeal of a circuit court ruling that allowed a whistleblower's False Claims Act lawsuit to proceed (AT&T v. United States ex rel. Heath, No. 15-363). The lawsuit alleges the carrier fraudulently overcharged schools and libraries under the FCC E-rate program. In its Monday order list, the high court denied without comment AT&T's petition for a writ of certiorari to review the ruling of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit (USA ex rel. Todd Heath v. AT&T, No. 14-7094) (see 1506230031) overturning a lower court ruling that dismissed the case. Heath, who runs a business that audits telecom charges, filed a qui tam suit (on behalf of the government) alleging AT&T and its subsidiaries fraudulently overbilled the E-rate program from 1997 to 2009. In its cert petition, AT&T argued Heath didn't meet a key duty under the False Claims Act: "While the core requirement of the FCA is the submission of a false claim for payment by the United States, the respondent does not identify even one example of such a claim. For that reason, this complaint would have been dismissed if it had been filed in the Fourth, Sixth, Eighth, or Eleventh Circuits. But the court below, like six other circuits, permits an FCA suit to proceed without identifying even a single false claim. This Court's intervention is warranted." Responding to Monday's announcement, an AT&T spokesman emailed: "Unfortunately the Court decided not to review the issue, but it’s important to note they did not address the merits of the case. We continue to believe we acted properly and look forward to proving that in Court."

Interference concerns raised by Globalstar's competitors need to be balanced against FCC goals of encouraging investment, competition and efficient use of spectrum, CEO Jay Monroe told Edward Smith, aide to Chairman Tom Wheeler, said an ex parte filing posted Monday in docket 13-213. Globalstar said Monroe also noted incumbents have incentives "to saddle new entrants with burdensome micro-regulations and onerous barriers." The company's broadband terrestrial low-power service (TLPS) plans are in limbo, with two commissioners having voted against them and two undecided, and the company has been actively lobbying the agency for approval (see 1606240056). Meanwhile, Microsoft President/Chief Legal Officer Brad Smith, in a phone call with Commissioner Mike O'Rielly, voiced worries about Globalstar's TLPS interfering with Bluetooth and Wi-Fi networks in the 2.4 GHz band, said a separate ex parte filing posted Monday. According to Microsoft, Smith said opening channel 14 to other public uses aside from TLPS -- as has been pushed by some (see 1606140020) -- would raise the likelihood of Bluetooth and Wi-Fi interference. He urged the FCC not to move on the Globalstar draft order without testing to assess interference effects.