Rep Frank Pallone (D-NJ)

We write in support of your ongoing focus on internet affordability as you work to administer the Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment (BEAD) Program enacted in the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, also known as the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law.  For years, Democrats and Republicans expressed concern over the digital divide, and the $42 billion investment in the BEAD Program gives us a real opportunity to finally bridge this divide and connect every American to high-speed, reliable, and affordable internet.

House Commerce Committee Chairman Frank Pallone, Jr. (D-NJ) released the following statement after the Government Accountability Office (GAO) unveiled a report recommending that the Federal Communications Commission take aggressive action to enhance the cybersecurity of its Electronic Comment Filing System (ECFS) and other information systems: “I requested this report because it was clear, after the net neutrality repeal comment period debacle, that the FCC’s cybersecurity practices had failed.

I thank my Democratic colleagues for their support in electing me Chairman of the Energy and Commerce Committee. There is no better committee in Congress, and I am so fortunate to have the support of my colleagues in leading this committee in the 116th Congress. I look forward to working with all of my colleagues to build a stronger economy, create more good-paying jobs and protect consumers from skyrocketing costs.

Today’s agreement between the FCC and FTC underscores the absurdity of Chairman Pai’s proposal to eliminate net neutrality and his plan to abandon the FCC’s statutory responsibilities as the expert agency overseeing our communications networks.  Chairman Pai’s plan not only leaves consumers fending for themselves, it is now creating a bureaucratic nightmare with no one left in charge when things inevitably go wrong.  And by acting before the Ninth Circuit decides whether the FTC has any authority over broadband providers, this MOU is effectively worthless.

The incentive auction’s conclusion with more than $19 billion in bids marks the end of the second largest auction and years of successful work in bringing market forces to bear on spectrum use policy. The broadcast incentive auction revolutionized the way that our nation makes spectrum allocation decisions by empowering broadcasters, businesses, networks, and consumers alike. Not only did the auction successfully encourage investment and competition by bringing 70 MHz of licensed and 14 MHz of unlicensed spectrum to meet our nation’s wireless broadband needs, but also generated $7 billion for deficit reduction. We thank the broadcasters and wireless bidders that ensured the auction was a success and are looking forward to the FCC working expeditiously to repack the remaining broadcasters without disruption to consumers. We will continue to work together to free up our airwaves and usher in the future of wireless broadband.

[Commentary] For years, the Federal Trade Commission has been the lead federal agency in protecting the privacy and data-security rights of the American consumer by bringing cases against companies that act against consumers’ privacy interests. The FTC has also advocated for telling consumers about the data being collected about them and for offering people a choice before sensitive information—like data about their health, finances, children, or geolocation—is gathered and shared.

But the system has worked because the FTC has not acted alone. Other federal agencies (including the Federal Communications Commission) and state attorneys general have been helpful in this mission. In October, the FCC took the historic step of enacting basic consumer-privacy rules for internet service providers and wireless carriers. These new rules were aimed at providing people with a choice about whether to allow their carriers and cable companies to use and share their sensitive personal information. They are remarkably similar to the enforcement practices of the FTC’s long-standing and successful privacy program. Unfortunately, with the change in administrations, one of the first orders of business for the cable and broadband companies (not to mention the Trump White House and congressional Republicans) is to rescind these rules. But removing them would essentially leave the cable and phone companies without any privacy regulator.

[Rep. Frank Pallone is the ranking member of the House Commerce Committee. Terrell McSweeny is a commissioner at the Federal Trade Commission.]

[Commentary] Americans have made it clear that they want more control over their personal information. It’s time for the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to act quickly and finally put in place strong rules for Internet service providers, or ISPs, to protect consumers’ privacy. Unfortunately, when the FCC announced more than a year and half ago its intention to adopt new privacy rules for ISPs, the rebuke from critics was swift. The proposal was an important step forward, but the critics argued that because consumers could be confused, the government should not adopt new rules for ISPs unless those rules were imposed on everyone at the same time. In other words, because websites would not operate under the stronger rules, ISPs should not have to either. The optimal solution would be to adopt strong privacy rules for both ISPs and websites, but unfortunately, this is easier said than done.

Today, the FCC can adopt rules of the road to protect people’s privacy only when it comes to ISPs. Websites, on the other hand, are overseen by the Federal Trade Commission (FTC). Unlike the FCC, the FTC must follow an arduous process that makes it virtually impossible to adopt similar rules. Moreover, a recent court decision has thrown the legal landscape into chaos by potentially undermining the FTC’s already limited ability to protect consumers without the FCC’s help. We need to make sure consumers’ privacy is protected, no matter where they go on the Internet or how they connect. Congress should take this opportunity to fully empower the FTC, and give it the tools it needs to protect consumers from the unscrupulous practices of any company that can collect and monetize their data — whether it is a website or a cable company. To fully answer the public’s call and maximize the economic power of the Internet, the two agencies must do all they can to protect consumers by using the tools that they have today. That means the FCC must act now to finalize strong, new privacy rules.

[Rep Frank Pallone, Jr. (D-NJ) is the Ranking Member of the House Commerce Committee]