Today, President Joe Biden named Commissioner Jessica Rosenworcel as acting chair of the Federal Communications Commission. Commissioner Rosenworcel has been a strong advocate for broadband affordability, student access through the E-Rate program to in-home broadband connectivity, and generally a more consumer-focused FCC. Public Knowledge commends Commissioner Rosenworcel for her work in championing the public interest.

Today, the Ninth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals dismissed Public Knowledge’s appeal of the Federal Communications Commission’s November 2017 Order, “Accelerating Wireline Broadband Deployment by Removing Barriers to Infrastructure Investment,” on the grounds that Petitioners lacked standing. The case is Greenling Institute, et al. v. FCC, Case No. 17-73283.

Yesterday, Rep. Jerrold Nadler (D-NY) introduced the “Satellite Television Community Protection and Promotion Act” in an attempt to prevent consumers from experiencing runaway price increases for video content. Unfortunately, the bill puts the ability of many rural and other viewers to continue to access network programming at risk and could result in an effective pay-TV monopoly for many viewers.

This week, the Federal Communications Commission announced that it would vote on a Fifth Report and Order and Further Notice of Proposed Rulemaking that seeks to adopt a vertical, or “Z-axis,” metric to enhance location accuracy for wireless E911 calls. This feature would make it easier for First Responders to locate all Americans who call for help — no matter where they are

Yesterday, House Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman Mike Doyle (D-PA) introduced the “Television Viewer Protection Act of 2019” to prevent consumers from experiencing blackouts and runaway price increases for video content.

Today, Senate Commerce Chairman Roger Wicker (R-Miss.) introduced the “Satellite Television Access Reauthorization Act of 2019 (STAR Act)” to enable satellite TV subscribers to access broadcast stations to view news, sports, and programming at a fair and competitive price.

Today, Representatives Anna Eshoo (D-CA) and Zoe Lofgren (D-CA) introduced the “Online Privacy Act of 2019” to create comprehensive privacy protections for consumers.

Today, the House Judiciary Committee marked up Rep. Hank Johnson’s (D-GA) bill, “The Forced Arbitration Injustice Repeal (FAIR) Act,” (H.R. 1423) to allow consumers to engage in class action lawsuits. Public Knowledge urges Congress to pass the bill to enable consumers to engage in class action suits which are necessary for effective antitrust enforcement and consumer protection more broadly.

Public Knowledge is pleased to announce two additions and one change to our team. First, Public Knowledge welcomes Jenna Leventoff, Senior Policy Counsel, and Bertram Lee, Policy Counsel, as new additions to our government affairs and policy teams. They will add depth and experience to our policy analysis and advocacy across the full breadth of issues Public Knowledge is leading on, including free expression and content moderation, privacy, broadband deployment, and spectrum policy.

Public Knowledge will present oral arguments requesting repeal of the Federal Communications Commission’s November 2017 Order, “Accelerating Wireline Broadband Deployment by Removing Barriers to Infrastructure Investment,” before the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals Tuesday, August 27.