Vermont legislators mulled a more restrictive telecom siting process at a livestreamed hearing Tuesday. The House Environment and Energy Committee considered whether to revise the state’s Section 248(a) application process as part of a proposed three-year extension. The Vermont Public Utility Commission, which administers the state process, supports an extension but has concerns that proposed changes could have “unforeseen consequences,” said Greg Faber, the PUC’s legislative liaison.
Adam Bender
Adam Bender, Senior Editor, is the state and local telecommunications reporter for Communications Daily, where he also has covered Congress and the Federal Communications Commission. He has won awards for his Warren Communications News reporting from the Society of Professional Journalists, Specialized Information Publishers Association and the Society for Advancing Business Editing and Writing. Bender studied print journalism at American University and is the author of dystopian science-fiction novels. You can follow Bender at WatchAdam.blog and @WatchAdam on Twitter.
Texas “cannot continue to wait on Washington, D.C., to protect” state residents’ privacy, said Rep. Giovanni Capriglione (R) at a livestreamed hearing Monday. The Texas House Business Committee heard testimony on a privacy bill (HB-4) that Microsoft and other businesses praised as being interoperable with other state laws they like.
Ohio Lt. Gov. Jon Husted wants verifiable parental consent before kids under 16 can access social media or online gaming platforms, the Republican said at a livestreamed news conference Thursday. The proposed Social Media Notification Act, part of Ohio’s 2024-25 budget proposal, would require companies to determine a user’s age, said Husted: If the user is under 16, the website would have to obtain verifiable consent from a parent or legal guardian and send confirmation of that consent to the parent or guardian’s home. Parents could provide verifiable consent by signing an electronic form, calling a toll-free number, providing a credit card, videoconferencing with trained personnel or providing a government-issued ID, he said. "The facts are clear that social media is harming our children. It's been an epidemic.” Companies “are addicting our kids to their platforms with these very advanced algorithms,” and voluntary safeguards aren’t enough, he added. “We don’t want to make it burdensome,” but if companies “make it too difficult,” he's willing to increase requirements and penalties, he said. The issue is bipartisan, said State Rep. Gail Pavliga (R), who plans to usher the proposal through the General Assembly.
Industry won’t support comprehensive state privacy bills that allow consumers to sue businesses for possible violations, trade groups told legislators this week. Maryland senators weighed a bill (SB-698) with a private right of action (PRA) at a livestreamed hearing Wednesday. Oregon Attorney General Ellen Rosenblum (D) endorsed her state’s bill (SB-619), which also includes a PRA and gathered support from consumer privacy advocates, at a webcast hearing Tuesday.
Minnesota lawmakers weighed bills Tuesday to release more cash for broadband and create a tax exemption for fiber broadband. In Florida, electric cooperatives raised concerns a bill to apply pole attachment rules to co-ops would make it harder for them to bring broadband to hard-to-serve areas.
A Pennsylvania bill to ban TikTok on government devices and state networks advanced Monday. The Senate Communications Committee voted unanimously by voice to clear SB-379. The bill will “help protect our state’s infrastructure and eliminate the potential access point for bad actors,” Chair Tracy Pennycuick (R) said at the livestreamed hearing. Minority Chair Jimmy Dillon (D) said he will vote for the bill to keep the conversation going. But he noted the Pennsylvania Office of Administration is opposed because it doesn’t think a statutory change is necessary and it's “concerned about a piecemeal approach for banning applications one by one.” Dillon hopes for more conversations with Gov. Josh Shapiro (D) about potential executive action, he said. Sponsor Sen. Kristin Phillips-Hill (R) said 27 states already ban TikTok and it’s “imperative that Pennsylvania takes bold and decisive action.”
The Minnesota Public Utilities Commission ordered more talks between the state Commerce Department and eligible telecom carriers about possible changes to a list of best practices for Lifeline outreach. Commissioners voted 5-0 at a livestreamed meeting Thursday for Commissioner John Tuma’s motion on the item in docket CI-20-747. The department asked the PUC to adopt recommendations for changes that it developed, but Tuma said he wanted to give telecom companies more flexibility and didn’t want to require anything at this time. “First, try to work it out,” he said. While supporting the motion, Chair Katie Sieben noted it’s good to keep pushing companies to increase their customer outreach. The Minnesota Telecom Alliance is “absolutely” open to talks, said CEO Brent Christensen. Commerce’s recommended changes weren’t meant to be prescriptive, but the department supports discussions, said its representative, Assistant Attorney General Richard Dornfeld. Assistant AG Travis Murray, representing the state AG office, noted the recommendations aren’t requirements but the "result of issues we've seen," and shouldn’t be "a grand imposition." Even so, he said the AG office doesn’t oppose more discussion.
Maryland’s attorney general found no potential constitutional or preemptive problems with a state bill to require kids’ privacy rules, said its sponsor, Del. Jared Solomon (D), at a livestreamed hearing Wednesday. House Economic Matters Committee members appeared to support requirements for websites at a hearing on a bill (HB-901) based on California’s Age-Appropriate Design Code Act. The Minnesota House Commerce Committee voted by voice to advance a similar bill (HF-2257) to the Judiciary Committee at a hearing the same day.
A New York state Senate panel supported a wireless tower bill that would require cellphone companies and third-party infrastructure companies to submit plans to power all their towers with 100% renewable energy by 2031. Two Republicans voted no at the Energy and Telecommunications Committee’s livestreamed hearing Tuesday. Under S-4305, which goes next to a third-reading floor vote, companies would have to file plans with the New York Public Service Commission by Dec. 31, 2025. "New Yorkers deserve better than mandates,” protested ranking member Mario Mattera. “Why can't we transition to things when we're ready?” The technology already exists and moving to clean energy is important, responded bill sponsor and committee Chair Kevin Parker (D). Companies have several years before they have to get to 100% renewable, he added. Sen. Mark Walczyk (R) said local emergency medical services coordinators raised concerns about what it means for generators that provide backup power in many locations and sometimes primary power in rural areas. EMS should raise such concerns with Parker directly, the chair said: “This does not reduce or interfere with any redundancies.”
Broadcasters and internet and advertising groups slammed a proposed digital ad levy in a Connecticut tax overhaul bill (HB-5673), in written testimony Monday. “The proposed tax on digital advertising would represent one of the most serious threats to commercial advertising in the United States in several decades,” said a coalition including NAB, NCTA, NetChoice, TechNet, Internet Coalition, Computer and Communications Industry Association (CCIA) and Association of National Advertisers.