NAB filed a challenge Friday to the FCC's Dec. 26 quadrennial review order in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit, joining a number of similar challenges filed in other circuits (see 2402250001). The cases are all to be consolidated in the 8th Circuit under the order of the Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation (see 2403050075). The FCC failed to meet its statutory obligation to review ownership rules every four years, exceeded its authority by tightening rules rather than relaxing them, and violated the First Amendment by limiting stations from airing multiple top-four networks on multicast channels, alleged NAB in its petition for review (docket 24-1055). The new rules are content-based restrictions on television stations outside the FCC's authority, said the petition. The FCC also ignored the will of Congress and violated the Administrative Procedure Act by not considering evidence in the record on competition faced by broadcasters. “The record shows that advertisers are increasingly diverting resources away from local radio and television stations in favor of digital promotions,” the petition said. “But the Quadrennial Order disregards these bedrock changes in the media and advertising landscape.” The court should vacate and set aside the order, NAB said.
Representatives from the Alliance for Automotive Innovation asked the FCC to exclude motor vehicles from the definition of “IoT product” under the draft cyber mark order, set for a vote Thursday (see 2402220059). “While there is no existing cybersecurity labeling requirement for motor vehicles,” they are “subject to domain-specific cybersecurity guidance, standards, and international regulations,” said a filing posted Friday in docket 23-239. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration “has the authority to promulgate motor vehicle safety regulations on cybersecurity, and has enforcement authority to secure recalls of motor vehicles and motor vehicle equipment with a safety-related defect, including one involving cybersecurity flaws,” the alliance said. The group met with the Public Safety Bureau and staff for Commissioners Anna Gomez, Nathan Simington and Geoffrey Starks.
CTIA supports a public notice by the FCC Wireless Bureau Thursday seeking comment on how to make unassigned licenses in the agency's inventory available for use absent general auction authority (see 2403070062). CTIA appreciates Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel’s “focus on spectrum auctions as an ‘indispensable’ tool for promoting economic growth and national security,” emailed Scott Bergmann, senior vice president-regulatory affairs. The notice “only underscores the importance of Congress moving rapidly to restore the FCC’s auction authority and create a pipeline of licensed spectrum to ensure our wireless leadership.”
Competitive Carriers Association President Tim Donovan Friday called on Congress to restore FCC auction authority. The lapse “creates challenges for the wireless industry and frustrates America’s goals to remain the global wireless leader,” he said. “Competitive carriers must have access to spectrum to meet our nation’s insatiable demand for wireless connectivity, especially as carriers deploy 5G and prepare for 6G services.” Auction authority lapsed a year ago.
NTCA raised concerns about a recent petition seeking amnesty for Rural Digital Opportunity Fund or Connect America Fund II recipients (see 2402280078). In a Friday letter to the FCC, the group warned that granting amnesty "without any conditions or consequences would put at risk what the auction programs could still achieve, result in an inefficient allocation of valuable broadband funding resources, and create perverse incentives that reward gaming in the form of attempts to 'hop' between funding programs." NTCA suggested the commission instead grant a waiver for RDOF or CAF II recipients that pay an "early buyout" of "default liability for the abandoned locations" and bar the recipient and "its affiliates or subsidiaries seeking grant funding thereafter to serve those same locations." The letter was posted in docket 10-90.
The Affordable Broadband Campaign urged the FCC not to immediately grant broadband providers forbearance from Communications Act Section 254(d) requirements in its net neutrality proceeding. The group's chair, Vernonburg Group Chief Policy Officer Greg Guice, said granting forbearance of Section 254(d), which governs USF contributions, is "unnecessary and not supported by the record," per an ex parte filing posted Friday in docket 23-320 (see 2310190020). The group urged the FCC to start a proceeding "focused on whether and how the contribution obligation would be undertaken." The group met with Wireline Bureau staff.
Users of the FCC’s Commission Registration System (CORES) must use a new two-step login process before accessing the system starting March 29, said a public notice from the Office of Managing Director in Friday’s Daily Digest. CORES users should make sure ahead of the change that they have access to email accounts associated with their usernames, the PN said.
The FCC’s Communications Equity and Diversity Council will hold its first meeting under its new charter March 27, said a notice in Friday’s Federal Register. The CEDC’s two-year charter was renewed in June. Its hybrid meeting will involve introducing the advisory committee’s members, announcing working groups and receiving guidance on federal advisory committee best practices, the FR said.
FCC Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel hailed Fara Damelin's confirmation as the commission’s inspector general (see 2403070072). Damelin’s “decades of experience in roles overseeing government operations will help us ensure the ongoing integrity and success of the Commission’s work,” Rosenworcel said Friday. The Senate approved Damelin Thursday night as part of a package that also included a trio of FTC nominees, including GOP Commissioners Andrew Ferguson and Melissa Holyoak (see 2403080038). Damelin is the FCC’s first Senate-confirmed IG. Her confirmation gives the watchdog office its first permanent leader since appointed incumbent David Hunt died in January 2023 (see 2301260026).
Congress must act now to address national security issues surrounding TikTok, a bipartisan group of senators told us last week leading up to the House Commerce Committee's passage of two TikTok-related bills (see 2403070066). Meanwhile, presumptive Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump on Thursday defended TikTok, though he signed an executive order against the platform while president.