HP recalled 50,000 lithium-ion batteries for notebook computers and mobile workstations Thursday due to overheating, said the Consumer Product Safety Commission. HP received eight reports of battery packs overheating, melting or charring, including three reports of property damage totaling $4,500 and one report of a first-degree hand burn, said CPSC. HP said consumers should check its website for a list of products affected by the recall and for instructions on how to enable a battery safety mode. The batteries aren't replaceable by customers; HP will provide free battery replacement by an authorized technician, said CPSC. The batteries were shipped with or sold as accessories for HP ProBooks, HPx360 310 G2, HP Envy m6, HP Pavilion x360, HP 11, HP ZBook mobile workstations, and as replacement batteries for the HP ZBook Studio G4 mobile workstation, from December 2015 through December 2017.

Presentations to the Disability Advisory Committee are exempt from ex parte rules, said an FCC public notice. That’s potentially significant because DAC deals with issues that are important to various proceedings, the FCC said in Wednesday's Daily Digest. “The Commission will not rely in these proceedings on any information submitted to the DAC, or to any of its subcommittees, working groups, or sponsored roundtables, or on information conveyed by DAC members (including members of any subcommittees or working groups) to FCC staff or Commissioners, unless that information is first placed in the record of the relevant proceeding.”

A Utah woman allegedly involved in a bilking scheme is banned from telemarketing, processing payments and selling grant and business opportunities under a settlement order, the FTC said Tuesday. A commission complaint alleged that Jamie White "enabled telemarketing operations to sell a phony grants program and a worthless moneymaking opportunity purportedly involving customized websites linked to Amazon.com," said a release. "She supplied consumers with instructions on applying for grants that did not exist, and generic websites that could not generate enough web traffic to provide any of the promised income." The FTC also said she allegedly "provided the telemarketers with fraudulent merchant accounts to process consumer credit card payments." The U.S. District Court for the District of Arizona entered the order Dec. 21, the FTC said. White couldn't be reached for comment.

The 10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals rejected on procedural grounds Blanca Telephone’s pursuit of a stay of an FCC order that the company repay $6.75 million in USF support. The FCC asked the court to reject the petition on procedural ground (see 1712280029). “Because petitioner has not made showings sufficient to obtain a stay pending a ruling on the mandamus petition, we deny the stay motion,” said an order from the court. “The emergency motion for stay is denied, the motions to supplement are granted, and the mandamus petition remains under consideration.”

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.”