We've noted repeatedly that the repeal of network neutrality did far more than just kill popular net neutrality rules. It effectively neutered the Federal Communications Commission's ability to do its job and oversee lumbering natural telecom monopolies. And, contrary to the claims of the telecom lobby, it threw any remaining authority to a Federal Trade Commission that lacks the resources or authority to do the job either. Here's one case in point: the previous FCC had passed some fairly basic rules requiring that ISPs be transparent about the kind of connection you're buying. With those rules dead, the FCC's process now basically involves you complaining to the Ajit Pai FCC, and the agency doing nothing about it. Another case in point: customers of Frontier Communications have been complaining that the company continues to charge them a $10 router rental fee every month, even when they own their own router. Customers who complain to the FCC are basically being told there's nothing the FCC can do. Both examples above clearly showcase how repealing net neutrality rules will impact much more than net neutrality.

The state of Michigan wants to increase broadband in rural areas. The Connecting Michigan Communities grant program is offering $20 million to internet service providers willing to expand access to unserved parts of the state. Providers can apply for up to $5 million per grant and can apply for multiple projects. Applications close Aug 30, with awards tentatively announced for April 2020 in time for the summer construction season. All projects must be completed by Sept. 30, 2023. The state says priority will be given to applications demonstrating collaboration to achieve community investment and economic development goals in the areas impacted. Gov Gretchen Whitmer (D-MI) says “connecting all Michigan communities with broadband service is about leveling the playing field for every child and small business in the state.”

Federal Communications Commission Chairman Ajit Pai proposed adoption of new rules banning malicious caller ID spoofing of text messages and international calls. Chairman Pai's proposal follows a bipartisan call from more than 40 state attorneys general for the FCC to adopt these new anti-spoofing rules and continue its “multi-pronged approach to battle the noxious intrusion of illegal robocalls, as well as malicious caller ID spoofing.” The FCC will vote on these new rules at its Aug 1 meeting. The Truth in Caller ID Act prohibits anyone from transmitting misleading or inaccurate caller ID information (“spoofing”) with the intent to defraud, cause harm, or wrongly obtain anything of value. However, until passage of the RAY BAUM’S Act in 2018, the Truth in Caller ID Act did not extend to text messages or international calls. If adopted at the FCC’s Aug Open Meeting, the Chairman’s proposed new rules would implement this legislation and extend these prohibitions to text messages, calls originating from outside the US to recipients within the US, and additional types of voice calls, such as one-way interconnected VoIP calls.

Consumer advocates are pushing for the Federal Trade Commission to come down hard on YouTube’s handling of children’s videos after conversations with the agency’s leadership prompted concerns about how regulators would be approaching a settlement with the video-sharing site. The Center for Digital Democracy and the Center for a Commercial-Free Childhood sent a letter to the FTC, urging the FTC to force YouTube to separate the children’s videos from the rest of the platform in order to better crack down on illegal data collection of younger viewers. Jeffrey Chester, CDD’s executive director, said that he became “alarmed” when FTC commissioners asked about a potential remedy that would allow YouTube content creators to flag content on their platform that is directed at children in order to make sure advertisers comply with children’s privacy laws. “It really did sound like they potentially would support a proposal that could take the responsibility ultimately away from Google and place that burden on programmers,” Chester said. “What I said was if the commission cannot enforce the one privacy law it has responsibility for it has no business given even more power by Congress to protect the rest of us,” he added, referring to the role the FTC would play in any potential privacy legislation that lawmakers consider. “If it can't protect children it should not be empowered by Congress to protect everyone else.”

As Facebook prepares for increased competition scrutiny in the US and Europe, its top brass is repeatedly warning lawmakers and regulators that antitrust action could be a distraction from a much bigger threat: China. Facebook global affairs chief Nick Clegg is the latest high-profile executive to make this case. He called on American and European regulators to “turn off the white noise” and pay attention to the fact that countries like China are writing the “new rules of the internet themselves.” “The Great Firewall of China means great swaths of what we think of as the internet — Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp included — are unreachable by its citizens and much of the content they can access is heavily censored,” Clegg said. These remarks could provide a preview of how Facebook may try to defend itself in Washington as House lawmakers open a wide-ranging probe into competition in the technology sector, and federal regulatory agencies like the Federal Trade Commission and Justice Department signal increased scrutiny could be coming to Silicon Valley as they divvy up oversight of top companies.