Federal Communications Commissioner Geoffrey Starks announced the appointment of several individuals who will serve in his office in acting capacities.

Daudeline Meme, Acting Chief of Staff and Acting Legal Advisor for Wireless and International. Meme will serve as Acting Chief of Staff and advise Commissioner Starks on wireless and international matters. Meme previously served as Deputy Chief in the International Bureau’s Telecommunications & Analysis Division. Prior to that, she served as FCC Commissioner Mignon Clyburn’s Legal Advisor for Wireless, Public Safety, and International issues. Immediately before that, Meme was Chief of Staff of the Enforcement Bureau,where she was responsible for providing legal, policy, and administrative oversight. Meme also worked with Chairman Tom Wheeler’s office on implementation of FCC Process Reform and as an Assistant Chief in the Enforcement Bureau’s Spectrum Enforcement Division. 

Michael Scurato, Acting Legal Advisor for Media and Consumer Protection. Scurato will advise Commissioner Starks on media and consumer protection matters. Scurato joins the Commissioner’s staff from his position as Special Counsel for the Chief of the Enforcement Bureau. Previously, Scurato served as Legal Advisor for Commissioner Clyburn. Prior to joining the Commission, Scurato was Vice President of Policy at the National Hispanic Media Coalition. 

Randy Clarke, Acting Legal Advisor for Wireline and Public Safety. Clarke will advise Commissioner Starks on wireline and public safety issues. Clarke joins the Commission following service as FCC counsel to the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation. Prior to his work in the Senate, Clarke was Acting Deputy Chief of the Wireline Competition Bureau. He has held a variety of roles in the Wireline  Competition Bureau since 2004, including Chief of the Competition Policy Division, Deputy Chief of the Pricing Policy Division, Legal Advisor to the Bureau Chief, and Attorney Advisor in the Bureau. Before joining the FCC, Clarke served as an Assistant Attorney General for the State of Illinois, focusing on telecommunications policy and consumer advocacy. 

Renee Coles, Acting Confidential Assistant. Coles will serve as Commissioner Starks’ Acting Confidential Assistant, addressing all administrative needs. During her 13 years at the Commission, Coles has served as the Staff Assistant to Commissioner Michael Copps and worked in Human Resources as a Specialist in Payroll and Benefits. Prior to joining the Commission, Coles owned a small retail business.

Natalie Martinez, Acting Staff Assistant. Martinez will serve as Acting Staff Assistant in Commissioner Starks’ office. Martinez has served as the Confidential Assistant to five successive General Counsels of the FCC. Before that, she served as the Confidential Assistant to the Chief of the Enforcement Bureau for four years. Martinez began her career at the FCC in 2001 as an Office Automation Clerk in the International Bureau.

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It looks like Facebook was not the only one abusing Apple’s system for distributing employee-only apps to sidestep the App Store and collect extensive data on users. Google has been running an app called Screenwise Meter, which bears a strong resemblance to the app distributed by Facebook Research that has now been barred by Apple. In its app, Google invites users aged 18 and up (or 13 if part of a family group) to download the app by way of a special code and registration process using an Enterprise Certificate. That’s the same type of policy violation that led Apple to shut down Facebook’s similar Research VPN iOS app, which had the knock-on effect of also disabling usage of Facebook’s legitimate employee-only apps — which run on the same Facebook Enterprise Certificate. Google said in a statement, “The Screenwise Meter iOS app should not have operated under Apple’s developer enterprise program — this was a mistake, and we apologize. We have disabled this app on iOS devices. This app is completely voluntary and always has been. We’ve been upfront with users about the way we use their data in this app, we have no access to encrypted data in apps and on devices, and users can opt out of the program at any time.”

In general, we think the integration of Facebook Messenger, WhatsApp, and Instagram has the potential to be beneficial for consumers -- if done right. We still need more details from Facebook’s plan to monetize this move in order to fully understand its privacy implications. However, we believe that there’s a lot of positive potential in this move. Making WhatsApp-level end-to-end encryption the standard for Facebook Messenger and Instagram would in one simple move radically improve the privacy and security of the communications of millions of people. In addition, this restructuring has the potential to provide a blueprint for the interoperability of competitors and potential competitors. We are looking forward to Facebook explaining in detail to its users why this move is in their best interest, and not just a rent-seeking strategy.

The Feb. 1 oral argument in the legal challenge to the Federal Communications Commission's Restoring Internet Freedom order (the case is Mozilla Corp. V. FCC) is going to be an epic event, at least in terms of the time allotted for both sides to make their cases. It is the only case slated for argument that day. It will also be streamed live on the court Web site, as has been the case with oral arguments in the circuit since late 2018. The FCC and those challenging its Restoring Internet Freedom order teamed up to jointly ask the court for 75 minutes apiece (with rebuttal time included), divided among various attorneys arguing different issues. The court accepted the proposal and, if past is prologue, the argument will be even longer than those two and a half hours --j udges usually allow some flexibility in individual time allocations and push the time limits with their own questions. By contrast to that 150 minutes, most arguments are only scheduled for between 20 minutes and an hour.