Showing archive for: “FCC”
To Infinity and Beyond: The New Broadband Map Has Landed!
Announced with the sort of breathless press release one might expect for the launch of a new product like Waystar Royco’s Living+, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has gone into full-blown spin mode over its latest broadband map. This is, to be clear, the map that the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) will use ... To Infinity and Beyond: The New Broadband Map Has Landed!
What Transmission Markets Can Learn from the FCC’s Pole-Attachment Problem
Large portions of the country are expected to face a growing threat of widespread electricity blackouts in the coming years. For example, the Western Electricity Coordinating Council—the regional entity charged with overseeing the Western Interconnection grid that covers most of the Western United States and Canada—estimates that the subregion consisting of Colorado, Utah, Nevada, and ... What Transmission Markets Can Learn from the FCC’s Pole-Attachment Problem
FCC Auctions and the Benefits of Unlicensed Spectrum
What should a government do when it owns geese that lay golden eggs? Should it sell the geese to fund government programs? Or should it let them run wild so everyone can have a chance at a golden egg? That’s the question facing Congress as it considers re-authorizing the Federal Communications Commission’s (FCC’s) authority to ... FCC Auctions and the Benefits of Unlicensed Spectrum
A Policy Statement Is Still Only Worth the Electrons Upon Which It Is Written
Just over a decade ago, in a speech at the spring meeting of the American Bar Association’s Antitrust Law Section, then-recently appointed Commissioner Joshua Wright of the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) announced his hope that the FTC would adopt a policy statement on the use of its unfair methods of competition (UMC) authority: [The Commission] ... A Policy Statement Is Still Only Worth the Electrons Upon Which It Is Written
FTC Biweekly UMC Roundup – Reform Dies in Committee Edition
Welcome back to the FTC UMC Roundup! The Senate is back in session and bills are dying. FTC is holding hearings and faith in the agency is dying. The more things change the more they stay the same. Which is a fancy way of saying that despite all the talk of change, little change seems ... FTC Biweekly UMC Roundup – Reform Dies in Committee Edition
Commerce Committee Fails to Correct Major Deficiencies in House Privacy Bill
Having earlier passed through subcommittee, the American Data Privacy and Protection Act (ADPPA) has now been cleared for floor consideration by the U.S. House Energy and Commerce Committee. Before the markup, we noted that the ADPPA mimics some of the worst flaws found in the European Union’s General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), while creating new ... Commerce Committee Fails to Correct Major Deficiencies in House Privacy Bill
NetChoice, Net Neutrality, and the Future of the First Amendment Online
In an expected decision (but with a somewhat unexpected coalition), the U.S. Supreme Court has moved 5 to 4 to vacate an order issued early last month by the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, which stayed an earlier December 2021 order from the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Texas enjoining Texas’ ... NetChoice, Net Neutrality, and the Future of the First Amendment Online
To Close the Digital Divide, Broadband Infrastructure Funds Must Be Spent Efficiently
States seeking broadband-deployment grants under the federal Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment (BEAD) program created by last year’s infrastructure bill now have some guidance as to what will be required of them, with the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) issuing details last week in a new notice of funding opportunity (NOFO). All things considered, ... To Close the Digital Divide, Broadband Infrastructure Funds Must Be Spent Efficiently
FTC Rulemaking and Unintended Consequences
For obvious reasons, many scholars, lawyers, and policymakers are thinking hard about whether the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has authority to promulgate substantive “unfair methods of competition” (UMC) regulations. I first approached this issue a couple of years ago when the FTC asked me to present on the agency’s rulemaking powers. For my presentation, I ... FTC Rulemaking and Unintended Consequences
Chevron and Administrative Antitrust, Redux
[Wrapping up the first week of our FTC UMC Rulemaking symposium is a post from Truth on the Market’s own Justin (Gus) Hurwitz, director of law & economics programs at the International Center for Law & Economics and an assistant professor of law and co-director of the Space, Cyber, and Telecom Law program at the ... Chevron and Administrative Antitrust, Redux
The Major Questions Doctrine Slams the Door Shut on UMC Rulemaking
The Federal Trade Commission’s (FTC) current leadership appears likely to issue substantive rules concerning “unfair methods of competition” (UMC) at some point. FTC Chair Lina Khan, in an article with former FTC Commissioner Rohit Chopra, argued that the commission has the authority to issue UMC rules pursuant to the Federal Trade Commission Act based on ... The Major Questions Doctrine Slams the Door Shut on UMC Rulemaking
A Change in Direction for the Federal Trade Commission?
While antitrust and regulation are supposed to be different sides of the same coin, there has always been a healthy debate over which enforcement paradigm is the most efficient. For those who have long suffered under the zealous hand of ex ante regulation, they would gladly prefer to be overseen by the more dispassionate and ... A Change in Direction for the Federal Trade Commission?
