House Commerce Committee leaders are pressing AT&T, Lumen and Verizon for answers on Chinese government-affiliated hackers’ breach of their networks. Reports indicate the breach focused on intelligence collection and may have accessed U.S. government wiretapping requests. “These types of breaches are increasing in frequency and severity, and there is a growing concern regarding the cybersecurity vulnerabilities embedded in U.S. telecommunications networks,” said House Commerce Chair Cathy McMorris Rodgers, R-Wash.; ranking member Frank Pallone, D-N.J.; and Communications Subcommittee leaders in letters to Lumen CEO Kate Johnson, AT&T CEO John Stankey and Verizon CEO Hans Vestberg released Friday. House Commerce “needs to understand better how this incident occurred and what steps your company is taking to prevent future service disruptions and secure your customers’ data.” The panel leaders want the CEOs to provide a briefing by Oct. 18 covering when they detected the breach, how they addressed network vulnerabilities and details on information the hackers may have accessed. “In an age where Americans rely heavily on your services for communication and connectivity, the integrity of your networks is paramount,” the lawmakers said: “It is vital that cybersecurity protocols are enhanced to better protect American’s data against increasingly sophisticated attacks especially from our foreign adversaries.” AT&T, Lumen and Verizon didn’t comment.

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., “remains supportive” of the Spectrum and National Security Act (S-4207) “and believes Republicans and Democrats should come together on a robust spectrum package to ensure the U.S. has a competitive edge for 5G, while delivering affordable internet to American families and securing bipartisan national security and innovation priorities,” a spokesperson emailed. S-4207 would restore the FCC’s spectrum auction authority through Sept. 30, 2029, and provide a vehicle for allocating funding for the commission’s lapsed affordable connectivity program and other telecom priorities. Lead sponsor Senate Commerce Committee Chair Maria Cantwell, D-Wash., is eyeing potentially attaching the measure to an end-of-year package amid attempts to resurrect it after it repeatedly stalled earlier this year (see 2409170066). Schumer’s continued support for S-4207 is important because there was uncertainty about whether he would back a push to attach it to year-end legislation or pivot to prioritize a version of the Proper Leadership to Align Networks for Broadband Act (S-2238) that Senate Commerce amended in July to include funding for ACP and rip and replace (see 2408220041), lobbyists told us.

House Appropriations Committee Chairman Tom Cole, R-Okla., urged the FCC Wednesday night to close its Further NPRM eyeing dynamic sharing in the 12.2-12.7 GHz band and “adopt final rules authorizing high-powered two-way fixed broadband service” on the frequency. “The FCC updating its rules to authorize” fixed broadband service on the lower 12 GHz band “will allow for more continuous spectrum, especially in tribal and rural communities,” said Cole, whose congressional district includes a significant tribal population, in a letter to Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel. “Ensuring that tribal communities are connected is a key priority for me. This expanded broadband service will help close the longstanding digital divide for underserved and hard to reach areas and foster economic development.” Incompas CEO Chip Pickering praised Cole for backing fixed wireless use of the lower 12 GHz band. “Our nation is at a pivotal moment in its work to connect every community, and [Cole] sees a clear opportunity to use this mid-band spectrum to bridge the digital divide, including in tribal areas in Oklahoma,” Pickering said: “We encourage the FCC to build on this momentum and act soon so we can continue delivering on the promise of Internet for all.” Sen. Dan Sullivan, R-Alaska, a member of the Senate Armed Services and Commerce committees, urged the FCC in July to adopt dynamic sharing on the lower 12 GHz band if it finds that use won’t cause harmful interference for incumbent users (see 2407160066). SpaceX is urging the FCC against dynamic sharing, while EchoStar supports it (see 2409050040).

House Commerce Committee Chair Cathy McMorris Rodgers of Washington and 40 other Republicans pressed FCC Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel Monday about why the commission approved radio broadcaster Audacy’s request for a temporary waiver of foreign-ownership requirements to complete a bankruptcy restructuring that includes George Soros-affiliated entities purchasing its stock. The FCC voted 3-2 to approve the waiver, with both Republican commissioners claiming the agency deviated from normal procedure (see 2409300046). “It is highly concerning," Rodgers and other GOP lawmakers said in a letter to Rosenworcel, "that the FCC did not follow regular order for a transaction of this magnitude.” The timing of the FCC’s approval “just before a Presidential election … seems suspect” given Soros is a “Democrat mega-donor.” Licensees  “and investors need certainty that the FCC will follow its rules and procedures when approving transactions so that the broadcast industry can have the resources it needs to continue serving the public,” the Republican lawmakers said. They seek a briefing by Oct. 18 “to understand the FCC’s process for granting waivers of the foreign ownership rule, and the decision to grant Audacy’s request, in particular.” The lawmakers in part want to know why the FCC voted on the Audacy waiver at the full commission level. Rosenworcel has said the full vote was taken because of pressure from Senate Commerce Committee ranking member Ted Cruz, R-Texas (see 2408150047). An FCC spokesperson referred us to Rosenworcel’s statement on the Audacy decision, in which she said claims that the broadcaster received special treatment are “cynical and wrong.” House Oversight Committee Republicans launched a probe of the Audacy matter in late September (see 2409270053).

Florida Attorney General Ashley Moody and 11 other Republican states’ attorneys general urged congressional leadership Thursday to “prioritize” the AM Radio for Every Vehicle Act (HR-8449) before year’s end given that “many of our States continue to suffer devastating effects from Hurricane Helene” (see 2410030051). The measure would mandate that automakers include receiver technology in future electric automobiles. House Commerce approved HR-8449 in September (see 2409180047), while the Senate Commerce Committee cleared a different version (S-1669) last year. “Each of our States experience natural disasters and other public safety emergencies” and “AM radio is the constant support network that provides life-saving information to our citizens,” the AGs said in a letter to House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., and their minority leaders. “AM radio signals travel greater distances as compared to FM, and citizens can receive information via AM radio even when phone lines, electricity, and cell phones are inoperable. In fact, during Hurricane Helene, local radio became a ‘lifeline for hard-hit North Carolina communities’ after ‘communications across the region [were] severed.’” Moody announced the legislative push during a Thursday news conference that included HR-8449 lead sponsor House Innovation Subcommittee Chairman Gus Bilirakis, R-Fla.

President Joe Biden signed the Launch Communications Act (S-1648) Thursday night, the White House said. The measure, which the House passed earlier this month (see 2409180049), will require that the FCC streamline the authorization process for commercial launches’ access to spectrum. The Senate approved S-1648 last year. Lead sponsors Sens. John Hickenlooper, D-Colo., and Eric Schmitt, R-Mo., hailed its enactment Friday. It's “a win for American innovation,” Hickenlooper said. Now “we can lead the next era of space exploration.” The U.S. “must maintain its edge in the 21st century space race against China, and this legislation is a necessary step in maintaining American space dominance,” said Schmitt, who is Senate Commerce Space Subcommittee ranking member.

Sen. Cory Booker, D-N.J., on Wednesday blocked an attempt from Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, to pass deepfake porn legislation by unanimous consent. Booker blocked Cruz’s UC request on the Senate floor without offering an explanation. “Object,” he said. Cruz introduced the Tools to Address Known Exploitation by Immobilizing Technological Deepfakes on Websites and Networks (Take It Down) Act with Sen. Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn. (see 2406210047). The bill would establish criminal liability for individuals and entities publishing nonconsensual intimate imagery, including AI-created deepfake porn. Cruz said he doubted Booker’s objection was free speech-driven, given the New Jersey Democrat has supported “two bills that deal with this very same issue using the same language,” including the Shield Act. Without the Take it Down Act, victims of sextortion and fake porn have “no protection,” said Cruz. Booker in March joined Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., in blocking a UC attempt on other child-online-safety-related bills (see 2403070039).

President Joe Biden signed off Thursday on a continuing resolution (HR-9747) that maintains funding for the FCC, FTC, Commerce Department agencies and all other federal entities through Dec. 20 after both chambers swiftly cleared the measure. HR-9747’s enactment averts a government shutdown that would have otherwise begun when FY 2024 funding expires Monday night. The Senate voted 78-18 for the CR Wednesday night, mirroring the House’s similarly lopsided approval earlier in the day (see 2409250036). Congress’ approval of HR-9747 gives lawmakers “more time to pass full-year funding bills by the end of this year,” Biden said Wednesday night. The Senate also approved the Rural Broadband Protection Act (S-275) Wednesday night by unanimous consent. The measure, which the Senate Commerce Committee advanced in late July (see 2407310048), would require that the FCC launch a rulemaking to change vetting rules for USF high-cost applicant ISPs. S-275 lead sponsor Sen. Shelley Moore Capito, R-W.Va., hailed Senate passage of the measure. “By verifying that providers can actually deliver on the promises made to bring high-speed internet to specific areas, we can maximize the influx of broadband dollars coming to West Virginia and move toward our goal of closing the digital divide in communities of all sizes across our state,” she said: “I encourage my House colleagues to pass this important legislation quickly.”

Sen. Marsha Blackburn, R-Tenn., on Tuesday sent letters to Cox, Meta and Google seeking information about how Cox allegedly used “active listening” tools to monitor users’ smartphone conversations. Blackburn cited reports claiming Cox Media Group “admitted to investors that it listens to users’ smartphone microphones.” The report said that Cox in a presentation with investors, including Google and Meta, acknowledged using phone conversations to deliver targeted ads. “If this reporting is true, it confirms longstanding suspicions by many consumers that technology and media companies are violating their privacy for profit by marketing products that closely reflect key words or phrases from private conversations,” she said. Cox in a statement Wednesday said its businesses “have never listened to any conversations nor had access to anything beyond third-party aggregated, anonymized, and fully encrypted data sets that can be used for ad placement.” The reports are based on “outdated materials" for a product that CMG Local Solutions "no longer sells (although the product never listened to customers, it has long been discontinued to avoid misperception),” the company said. CMG Local Solutions, like other ad companies, offers tools that “include third-party vendor products powered by data sets sourced from users by various social media and other applications and then packaged and resold to data servicers,” said Cox. “Advertising data based on voice and other data is collected by these platforms and devices under the terms and conditions provided by those apps and accepted by their users.” The data can be sold to “third-party companies and converted into anonymized information for advertisers. This anonymized data then is resold by numerous advertising companies.” Meta said in a statement it doesn't use "your phone's microphone for ads and we've been public about this for years. We are reaching out to CMG to get them to clarify that their program is not based on Meta data."

The House voted 341-82 Wednesday to pass a continuing resolution (HR-9747) that would maintain funding through Dec. 20 for the FCC, FTC, Commerce Department agencies and all other federal entities. The resolution's passage would avert a government shutdown that would otherwise begin after FY 2024 funding expires Monday. The Senate was expected to take up the measure Wednesday night. “It would be political malpractice to shut the government down” just weeks before the Nov. 5 presidential election, House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., told reporters. “I think everyone understands that.”