ACA Connects promotes Brian Hurley to chief regulatory counsel … Sinclair promotes Scott Shapiro to executive vice president-corporate development and strategy ... Alpha and Omega Semiconductor promotes President Stephen Chang to CEO, effective March 1, when current Chairman-CEO Mike Chang becomes executive chairman ... Zoomd Technologies names Ido Almany, ex-American Express, CEO to succeed Ofer Eitan, who previously announced he was stepping down, but will remain a board member.
Texas Gov. Greg Abbott (R) ordered state agencies off TikTok in a letter Wednesday, the governor’s office said. Abbott ordered state public safety and information resources departments to develop a model plan by Jan. 15 for other state agencies to address vulnerabilities caused by using TikTok on personal devices. Agencies must implement those policies by Feb. 15, Abbott’s office said. Gov. Larry Hogan (R) banned Maryland government use of TikTok and other Chinese and Russian products and platforms, through an emergency directive Tuesday, his office said. In addition to TikTok, the directive covers Huawei, ZTE, Tencent Holdings including subsidiaries QQ Qallet and WeChat, and Alibaba products including AliPay and Kaspersky. “This action represents a critical step in protecting Maryland State systems from the cybersecurity threats caused by foreign organizations,” said State Chief Information and Security Officer Chip Stewart. Republican governors in South Dakota and South Carolina also instituted TikTok bans (see 2212050055).
Language from the Journalism Competition and Preservation Act (S-673) didn’t make it into a compromise version of the FY 2023 National Defense Authorization Act released Tuesday, after a wave of criticism from the bill’s opponents (see 2212050067). The House was expected to vote on the revised NDAA, filed as an amendment to shell bill HR-7776, as soon as Wednesday night. The broadcasting industry, which backs JCPA, faced a potential second legislative hit Wednesday at a House Judiciary Committee markup of the American Music Fairness Act (HR-4130), which NAB opposes (see 2202090053).
NCTA says Eleanor Winter, senior vice president-special projects who heads the organization’s political action committee, is retiring year-end after 34 years at the organization, and William Check, senior vice president-technology and chief technology officer, is retiring mid-month … Nexstar Media Group names former Turner Broadcasting executive Michael Strober, Topwater Advisory Group founder, executive vice president-chief revenue officer, effective Jan. 2.
GBH, leading producer of content for PBS, names former National Geographic Editor-in-Chief Susan Goldberg its next president-CEO, its first woman in that role since its 1951 founding ... Virgin Galactic recruits Topgolf Callaway’s Sarah Kim as executive vice president-chief legal officer and corporate secretary, effective Dec. 5 ... Smart mobility company Wejo announces resignation of board member Alan Masarek to become CEO of Avaya ... Semiconductor company Xmos names financial veteran Paul Goodridge special adviser ... Blockchain platform Decentralized Social hires former Meta executive Salil Shah as chief operating officer ...
House Communications Subcommittee Vice Chair Doris Matsui, D-Calif., confirmed she's "looking forward to the opportunity to serve" as subpanel ranking member in the next Congress, as expected (see 2211170089). She would succeed current lead Democrat Chairman Mike Doyle of Pennsylvania, who's retiring at the end of this Congress (see 2111120002). "I’m proud of what Democrats have been able to accomplish" on House Communications over the last four years "and I look forward to building on that progress," Matsui said in a statement to us. "I've fought for policies that create a more inclusive digital economy while encouraging innovation and job growth. That means increasing access to reliable, affordable, high-speed broadband for all families and introducing" the Net Neutrality and Broadband Justice Act (HR-8573/S-4676) to "guarantee a free and open internet through strong net neutrality protections." She has "worked to secure American telecommunications networks" as a co-sponsor of the Secure and Trusted Communications Networks Act "to rip and replace vulnerable Chinese equipment and promoting the deployment of open and interoperable communications technology." Matsui also cited her role as lead House Democratic sponsor of the original Creating Helpful Incentives to Produce Semiconductors for America Act as "lifeline and a down payment on future innovation."
FCC nominee Gigi Sohn’s Senate supporters face what’s likely to be an even more compressed timeline to confirm her during the busy lame-duck session because the chamber will probably need to delay any push until after the Dec. 6 Georgia runoff election between Commerce Committee Democrat Raphael Warnock and Republican challenger Herschel Walker, said panel Chair Maria Cantwell, D-Wash., and others in interviews. Cantwell and other Sohn supporters believe the nominee’s confirmation prospects improved significantly because Democrats at least cemented a 50-50 tie in the chamber following the midterm election, but opponents continue to insist confirmation isn't a certainty. Some Sohn supporters also acknowledge continued Democratic Senate control means there’s no longer the same urgency to press for approving her this year (see 2209130065).
Senate Commerce Committee Chair Maria Cantwell, D-Wash., and Communications Subcommittee ranking member John Thune, R-S.D., confirmed to us this week they intend to stay in their respective roles in the 118th Congress. Incompas CEO Chip Pickering said during a Thursday webinar he believes there will be relative continuity in the House and Senate Commerce panels’ leadership. That continuity contrasted with top-level turnover in House Democratic leadership after Thursday announcements by House Speaker Nancy Pelosi of California and Majority Leader Steny Hoyer of Maryland that they will step down from top party roles after this Congress.
Ensuring U.S. leadership in the development of telecom and other standards must be a top national priority, said National Institute of Standards and Technology Director Laurie Locascio during a Telecommunications Industry Association virtual conference Tuesday. Locascio and other speakers said industry, not governments, should lead on standards.
China Tech Threat urged the FCC to be more aggressive in clamping down on companies that are a risk to U.S. security, and to expand the number of companies on the agency’s “covered list.” Apart from “the proposed complete ban on Huawei and ZTE, the FCC has devised major exemptions for Hytera Communications Corporation, Hangzhou Hikvision Digital Technology Company, and Dahua Technology Company,” the group said in a filing posted Thursday in docket 21-232: “These exemptions are so broad that they effectively negate the security benefits proposed by the Covered List.” China Tech Threat said the list “should include hundreds, if not, thousands, of entities capable of enabling [Chinese] government intrusion.” The FCC should consider adding “products and services which use radio spectrum” including computers, streaming TVs, drones, memory chips and applications, the group said. The group examines problems posed by technology produced by China with an eye on policy. Experts affiliated with the group include Wiley’s Nazak Nikakhtar and Strand Consult’s Roslyn Layton.