Press Release

Public Knowledge joined Consumer Federation of America, Center For Digital Democracy, Consumer Action, Consumer Federation of California, and Privacy Rights Clearinghouse in a letter urging Federal Trade Commission Acting Chairman Maureen Ohlhausen to protect consumer privacy.

Acting Chairman Ohlhausen has made numerous statements indicating she is eager to demonstrate the ability of the FTC to protect consumer privacy in the telecommunications sector. The 9th Circuit’s recently vacated decision allows the FTC to go forward on enforcement actions concerning the non-common carrier activities of communications providers. Addressing our complaint provides the FTC an immediate opportunity to clarify whether the FTC does or does not have the authority to protect our digital privacy. In a recent Harvard-Harris poll, 9 in 10 Americans think they have less privacy today than they did 10 years ago, and 90% agree that companies have more access to their personal information than they are comfortable with. Americans need to know what protections they can count on, and they need to know now. We encourage FTC Acting Chairman Ohlhausen to let Americans know where their online privacy protections stand by responding to our complaint.

After a nationwide search for the American Library Association’s (ALA) new Associate Executive Director (AED), Washington (DC) Office, ALA has announced the appointment of Kathi Kromer to the role. Prior to joining ALA, Kromer was with The Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS) Association for 11 years where she was their Vice President, Strategy and Outreach. While with ALS, Kromer created and executed public policy and outreach strategy for ALS, with the goals of raising awareness, improving the lives of people with ALS, advancing ALS research, increasing organizational and government funding, and creating strategic partnerships. She worked collaboratively in cross-functional teams to integrate mission priorities of advocacy, care services, and research.

Kromer has a Master of Arts, International Commerce and Policy from George Mason University, Fairfax (VA) and a Bachelor of Arts, History and Political Science from University of Pittsburgh, Johnstown (PA). Kromer has more than 20 years’ experience working with Congress as well as with state governments.

The Mozilla Foundation launched a new Tech Policy Fellowship.

The program is designed to give individuals with deep expertise in government and Internet policy the support and structure they need to continue their Internet health work. The fellows, who hail from around the globe, will spend the next year working independently on a range of tech policy issues. They will collaborate closely with Mozilla’s policy and advocacy teams, as well as the broader Mozilla network and other key organizations in tech policy. Each fellow will bring their expertise to important topics currently at issue in the United States and around the world.

Fellows include: Gigi Sohn, Alan Davidson, Linet Kwamboka, Amina Fazlullah, Camille Fischer, Caroline Holland, Terah Lyons, Marilia Monteiro, Jason Schultz, and Cori Zarek.

The Federal Communications Commission’s Connect2Health Task Force announced updates to its Mapping Broadband Health in America platform. The 2017 platform now reflects the latest complete annual fixed broadband dataset from the Commission and updated health data from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation’s County Health Rankings. As telehealth, telemedicine, and other cutting-edge mHealth initiatives gain momentum across the country, this web-based mapping platform enables more efficient, data-driven decision making at the intersection of broadband and health.

I am pleased that the Commission is demonstrating its continued commitment to the Connect2HealthFCC Task Force and the Mapping Broadband Health in America platform with the release of today’s update. For far too many rural and underserved consumers, the broadband health picture remains bleak By investing in this vital broadband health mapping platform and unveiling a new list of critical need counties, the Commission is providing the data needed to ensure connectivity reaches those communities most in need. I am confident that when relevant stakeholders work together across sectors, we will successfully break boundaries at the intersection of broadband and health policy.

The Federal Communications Commission imposed a penalty of $975,000 against Advanced Tel, Inc. (ATI or Company) for violating its federal regulatory obligations as a telecommunications service provider for several years by failing to file required data and make required contributions to important federal programs.

In ATI’s response to our Notice of Apparent Liability for Forfeiture (NAL), in which we proposed a forfeiture penalty of $1,588,988, ATI asserted an inability to pay the proposed forfeiture, and argued that its penalty should be reduced or cancelled because of the statute of limitations. ATI, however, did not dispute the facts underlying the violations identified in the NAL. For the reasons discussed below, we reduce the proposed forfeiture penalty and assess a forfeiture of $975,000 against the Company.

The Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations, chaired by Rep Tim Murphy (R-PA), held a hearing examining the Department of Health and Human Services’ (HHS) role in cybersecurity efforts within the health care sector. Discussed during the hearing were two reports that HHS was required to submit to Congress, following the implementation of the Cybersecurity Information Sharing Act (CISA), which became law in 2015. The reports outline the department’s internal cybersecurity processes and industry recommendations for what the federal government and industry can do to improve cybersecurity efforts in the health care sector.

US Secretary of Commerce Wilbur Ross has named US Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) Associate Solicitor Joseph Matal to perform the functions and duties of the Under Secretary of Commerce for Intellectual Property and Director of the USPTO. The position is effective June 7, 2017 and follows the resignation of Michelle K. Lee.

Matal will serve in this role during the nomination and confirmation process for a new director. As an Associate Solicitor in the USPTO’s Office of Solicitor, Matal has briefed and argued appeals of patent and trademark decisions before the US Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit and the US District Court, and assisted in the development of legal positions taken by the US Solicitor General in patent and copyright cases before the US Supreme Court. Matal recently served as acting Chief of Staff for the agency, and has advised the director on legislative matters. Matal previously served as the General Counsel of the Judiciary Committee for former Sen Jeff Sessions (R-AL), and as a Judiciary Committee Counsel to former Sen Jon Kyl (R-AZ). In that role, he was the principal staff drafter and negotiator of legislation that became the Leahy-Smith America Invents Act, the first comprehensive patent law overhaul since 1952. Matal has a bachelor’s degree from Stanford University, and a law degree from the University of California at Berkeley.

Building on the success of its two previous PrivacyCon events, the Federal Trade Commission is announcing a call for presentations for its third PrivacyCon, which will take place on February 28, 2018.

The call for presentations seeks research and input on a wide range of issues and questions to build on previously presented research and promote discussion, including:
What are the greatest threats to consumer privacy today? What are the costs of mitigating these threats? How are the threats evolving? How does the evolving nature of the threats impact consumer welfare and the costs of mitigation?
How can companies weigh the costs and benefits of security-by-design techniques and privacy-protective technologies and behaviors? How can companies weigh the costs and benefits of individual tools or practices?
How can companies assess consumers’ privacy preferences?
Are there market failures (e.g. information asymmetries, externalities) in the area of privacy and data security? If so, what tools and strategies can businesses or consumers use to overcome or mitigate those failures? How can policymakers address those failures?

Submissions for PrivacyCon must be made by November 17, 2017.

Federal Communications Commission Chairman Ajit Pai announced that the agency has chosen Sanford Williams to serve as director of the FCC’s Office of Communications Business Opportunities, continuing the work he has been doing as acting director. Williams has worked in various roles at the Federal Communications Commission since 1999. Williams also worked as an attorney for Womble, Carlyle, Sandridge & Rice, and taught at Augusta State University in Augusta, Georgia. Williams attended Cornell University where he earned an undergraduate degree in operations research & industrial engineering and a Master’s in Business Administration from the Johnson School of Management. He earned his law degree from the University of Virginia School of Law where he was a member of the Virginia Law Review.