Today's Regulatory Mix: Senate Commerce Committee Introduces Data Privacy Bill; Announces Hearing on Current State of Broadband and Will Examine FCC Initiatives, United States Partners with Czech Republic on Secure 5G Development

Senate Commerce Committee Introduces Data Privacy Bill; Announces Hearing on Current State of Broadband and Will Examine FCC Initiatives

First the U.S. Senate Commerce Committee announced the introduction of a new data privacy bill, titled the COVID-19 Consumer Data Protection Act. The legislation would provide all Americans with more transparency, choice, and control over the collection and use of their personal health, device, geolocation, and proximity data. The bill would also hold businesses accountable to consumers if they use personal data to fight the COVID-19 pandemic.

“As the coronavirus continues to take a heavy toll on our economy and American life, government officials and health-care professionals have rightly turned to data to help fight this global pandemic,” said Wicker. “This data has great potential to help us contain the virus and limit future outbreaks, but we need to ensure that individuals’ personal information is safe from misuse. I am pleased to join Senators Thune, Fischer, Moran, and Blackburn in introducing legislation to address this critical issue.”

Second, the Committee announced an upcoming hearing titled, “The State of Broadband Amid the COVID-19 Pandemic.”  The hearing will be held on May 13, 2020.  The hearing will examine the ongoing initiatives led by the FCC to maintain and expand high-speed and reliable broadband connections to all Americans during this national public health emergency.  The hearing will also examine the impact of funds provided through the CARES Act to support broadband initiatives at the federal, state, and local levels, and legislative proposals focused on addressing the digital divide during the COVID-19 outbreak.

United States Partners with Czech Republic on Secure 5G Development

In a joint statement, the US and the Czech Republic announced their desire to strengthen cooperation on 5G.  5G will enable a vast array of new applications, including the provision of critical services to the public, which will benefit our citizens and our economies.  Increased amounts of data on 5G networks will further interconnect the economies of the world, including the United States and the Czech Republic, and facilitate cross-border services and commerce.  Protecting communications networks from disruption or manipulation, and ensuring the privacy and individual liberties of the citizens of the United States and the Czech Republic are vital to ensuring that our people are able to take advantage of the tremendous economic opportunities 5G will enable.

The United States and the Czech Republic emphasize the importance of encouraging the participation of reliable and trustworthy network hardware and software suppliers in 5G markets, taking into account risk profile assessments, and promoting frameworks that effectively protect 5G networks from unauthorized access and interference.  The United States and the Czech Republic further recognize that 5G suppliers should provide products and services that enable innovation and promote efficiency. The United States and the Czech Republic note that all countries share a responsibility to undertake a careful and balanced approach to network security, and the evaluation of 5G component and software providers.

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The Regulatory Mix, Inteserra’s blog of telecom related regulatory activities, is a snapshot of PUC, FCC, legislative, and occasionally court issues that our regulatory monitoring team uncovers each day. Depending on their significance, some items may be the subject of an Inteserra Briefing.