The FCC should refrain from auctioning trademark protected numbers in new toll-free codes and create a right of first refusal to “confusingly” similar numbers, said a lawyer for 1-800 CONTACTs in a filing at the FCC in docket 17-192. The Lanham Act, the primary federal trademark statute, prohibits bad actors from securing toll free numbers in the new 833 code that correspond to trademark protected numbers like “1-800 MATTRES, 1-800-FLOWERS and 1-800 CONTACTS and using them in a confusingly similar manner,” the filing said.

Comcast said it will provide “special” $1,000 bonuses to more than 100,000 of its “eligible frontline and non-executive” U.S. employees in response to Congress' passage of tax cut legislation and the FCC's vote earlier this month to rescind its 2015 net neutrality rules (see 1712140039 and 1712200030). Comcast's Wednesday announcement followed AT&T's announcement that it will provide $1,000 bonuses to more than 200,000 U.S. employees and increase its spending by $1 billion in 2018 in response to the tax cut. Comcast said it also plans to “spend well in excess of $50 billion over the next five years investing in infrastructure to radically improve and extend our broadband plant and capacity.”

Ex-FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler said large tech platforms and ISP "monopolies" are so dominant they're writing their own rules (see 1712200044 and 1712060013). "It is a stark repeat of the early industrial era when companies exploited technology to control the economy, squash competition, and dictate take-it-or-leave-it terms to consumers," he blogged Wednesday in the Biden Forum. "We are now at another make-or-break junction. Thus far, the government has stood frozen in awe as spunky young innovators built their businesses -- almost in fear of breaking the magic spell of innovation. These young companies, however, have grown into corporate behemoths," he said, noting high valuations of Amazon, Apple, Facebook, Google and Microsoft. "At the same time, the current FCC has walked away from its responsibility to oversee the behavior of the monopolies of ISPs and companies that deliver internet services to consumers. Their justification is a specious assertion that regulation discourages these companies from investing to improve their connections." These "are not evil companies or malicious executives. In the absence of ground rules, however, human nature and economic incentive take over," he wrote. "The time has come once again for the people to stand up and shout 'Enough!'"

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit will livestream oral argument upon request in individual cases, Chief Justice Merrick Garland announced Tuesday. "A panel may make an exception to this policy if it determines that one is required in light of case-specific confidentiality concerns," the D.C. Circuit said. "Requests for live streaming should be sent by email to liveaudiorequest@cadc.uscourts.gov." The court has made audio recordings of oral argument available since 2013, and they will continue to be posted by 2 p.m. on argument days, it said. It hears many FCC and other agency cases.

There are "much more important" things the FCC "does than net neutrality," blogged American Enterprise Institute visiting fellow Gus Hurwitz Monday. Issues to watch that more directly affect most people than does net neutrality include the crackdown on robocalls, closing the digital divide and spectrum frontiers. "If net neutrality is one of the most divisive issues in communications policy, stopping unwanted robocalls is the one that most brings people together," he wrote. He called "continued exploration of the spectrum frontier" a key FCC task. "We are on the cusp of new communications technologies based on millimeter wave spectrum (that above about 15 GHz)," wrote the University of Nebraska law professor, citing machine-to-machine and IoT applications as increasing spectrum demand.

CES attendees should expect to see a “more highly visible law enforcement presence throughout the show and at all venues,” said CTA in a Thursday “security update.” Police officers and K-9 units will be on duty at the entrances to all show venues and on the exhibit floor, it said. New for CES will be a LiveSafe mobile app that show attendees can download from Google Play or the App Store to get safety information, report tips and contact security, CTA said: “Be sure to turn on your locations services for full functionality.” In light of recent vehicular attacks in Berlin, London and New York, “as an enhanced security measure, we are implementing a vehicle deterrence plan in and around key venues,” said CTA. “Please use the areas allocated as pedestrian walkways as you enter show venues.” It also advised attendees to be “sure that your family and friends know how to reach you in the case of emergency.”

Top national agencies found no known health risks from exposure to cellphone radio frequencies, CTIA said Thursday, responding to California Department of Public Health guidelines on how to reduce exposure to RF emissions. “Although the science is still evolving, there are concerns among some public health professionals and members of the public regarding long-term, high use exposure to the energy emitted by cell phones,” said CDPH Director Karen Smith in a Wednesday news release. “We know that simple steps, such as not keeping your phone in your pocket and moving it away from your bed at night, can help reduce exposure for both children and adults." Children’s developing brains may be more affected, she said. CTIA urged consumers to consult the FCC, Food and Drug Administration, World Health Organization and the American Cancer Society, which it said have found no problems. The CDPH report is "not a warning" that RF emissions are harmful but rather provides information for people who are concerned, Smith said in an interview. "We can't say definitively" whether there's a risk, but the department gets daily requests for information about cellphone radiation from Californians, she said. The CDPH released previously unpublished draft guidelines in March in response to a ruling by a Sacramento Superior Court judge. The department had been reviewing RF emissions for several years, but in 2014 when the Center for Disease Control and Prevention released a report, CDPH decided its guidance was redundant and didn't release it, Smith said. Later, after CDPH rejected a Public Release Act request to release the guidelines because it was a draft, a court forced the document's release, she said. But Smith said Wednesday's release was separate from the court case, happening now because CDPH noted cellphone usage is increasing dramatically, including among children. The new release includes the same guidelines as before, but more background on usage, she said.

The FCC and the National Cancer Institute signed a memorandum of understanding focused "on
how increasing broadband access and adoption in rural areas can improve the lives of rural cancer patients," said the commission's Connect2Health Task Force Tuesday. It said as a first step, "the agencies have convened a public-private collaboration to help bridge the broadband health connectivity gap in Appalachia." Commissioner Mignon Clyburn said she's "thrilled" by the MOU.

Legal theories on privacy protections for cellphone location data will get a refresh when the Supreme Court rules in Carpenter v. U.S. (see 1711290043), panelists said at the Cato Institute Wednesday. The court is likely to rule for Timothy Carpenter, panelists said, citing justices’ questions about the legal foundation for his conviction, which rested on evidence collected in a 127-day search of his cellphone location information. Justices questioned law enforcement reliance upon the long-standing third-party legal doctrine that says users give up their right to privacy when sharing information with a third party. The case raises the question of whether a new line should be drawn around cellphone geolocation information, at the heart of Carpenter, versus information obtained from banking records, credit cards and witness interviews in criminal investigations, said Dan Schweitzer, National Association of Attorneys General Supreme Court counsel. “We’re voluntarily using our cellphones, but is that different from using banks or telephones.” If the court makes a distinction, or limits how much cellphone location can be collected without a warrant, it could “overrule past court precedents,” he said. “Cellphones are a necessity of life -- by necessity they collect personal information,” said Jake Laperruque, Constitution Project senior counsel. “There’s got to be some type of line drawn where third-party doctrine is trumped by a consideration over the sensitivity of the information." Justice Sonia Sotomayor raised this question in oral argument on requiring warrants to look at emails.

DOD has spent billions more than expected developing five interdependent GPS programs, with improvements to the current system years behind, and it could be years still before military code (M-code) signal receiver cards are ready as part of an interim, encrypted GPS signal system for military use, GAO reported Tuesday. It summarizes information given to congressional defense committees in 2016 and 2017 about GPS satellite system modernization. GAO said M-card costs will be "substantially higher" than the $2.5 billion budgeted through FY 2021. It recommended better coordination of development efforts on weapons systems with similar requirements to avoid unnecessary cost increases and schedule delays. It said the planned launch date for the first GPS III satellite to replace the current GPS constellation is now May -- four years later than originally scheduled.