Agenda

Throughout the summer of 2022, the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) brought in top-tier talent to lead its key offices. The NTIA announced that Scott Blake Harris has joined the Office of the Assistant Secretary as Senior Spectrum Advisor.

The COVID-19 pandemic laid bare the effects of the digital divide. Those with broadband access could work, attend school, shop, and be seen by their doctors without leaving home, and those without sufficient access could not. Federal efforts to provide broadband access to all span multiple presidential administrations. Here, the Government Accountability Office (GAO) explores its work about some of the ongoing challenges to achieving the goal of closing the digital divide. The GAO recommends synchronizing federal efforts through a national broadband strategy.

The Federal Trade Commission (FTC)'s major move towards crafting data privacy rules is the latest signal of a potential end to Big Tech's expansive use of online data. As people grow warier of the online trails of digital data they leave behind, the lack of data privacy protections in the US has increasingly become a glaring source of concern for many. The FTC voted 3-2 along party lines to seek comment on the harms of "commercial surveillance" and whether privacy rules are needed.

Each year, Congress recesses for the month of August. While the work—or, at least, the news—of Washington generally slows down in this period, all indications are that policymakers—and, most importantly, policy implementors—will be very busy throughout the summer of 2022 working on universal broadband and provisions of the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act. Here's what we're seeing and expecting from the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) and the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA). 

The Federal Trade Commission will consider new federal rules to expand online privacy protections by targeting online surveillance and lax data-security practices by technology companies. The FTC will examine a range of concerns about the online environment, including the widespread use of algorithms to manipulate and leverage data, security practices that leave data vulnerable to hackers, and the growing evidence that some platforms might be “addictive to children and lead to a wide variety of mental health and social harms.” The FTC also will examine possible discrim

Apparently, the Federal Trade Commission is expected to begin writing federal rules to expand online privacy protections as soon as August 11. If adopted, the rules could impose significant new responsibilities on businesses that handle consumer data, including potentially barring certain kinds of data collection practices. The new FTC rules could take years to enact, and the commission could follow several different paths. One option would be to declare certain data collection practices unfair or deceptive, using its authority to police such conduct.

Federal Communications Commission Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel said on August 5 that she is not worried about the impact on the ongoing 2.5 GHz auction if Congress fails to extend the FCC's auction authority by the end of September 2022, when it expires. There is bipartisan support in Congress to extend that authority, but the bill has not made it out of Congress yet and legislators are on their August break, after which they will be primarily focused on getting themselves re-elected, though there is certainly time to extend the authority before the September 30 deadline.