Today's Regulatory Mix: FCC Introduces New Official Seal, FTC to Co-Host Conference on Consumer Protection, FCC Commissioner Starks Announces Roundtable

FCC Introduces New Official Seal

The FCC has introduced a new official seal.  The redesigned seal is the product of an agency-wide contest that solicited proposals from FCC employees and contractors.  

The winning design was submitted by Umasankar Arumugam and selected by a vote of the agency’s employees and contractors.

The revised design incorporates the following elements:

• Communications technologies currently transforming our world;
• Four stars on the outer seal border, drawing from the legacy of the original seal of the Federal Radio Commission, the predecessor agency to the FCC;
• Eighteen stars on the shield, recognizing the current number of Bureaus and Offices; and 
• The eagle and shield, identifying the FCC as an agency of the Federal Government.

Over the next few months, the FCC will incorporate the new seal on official stationery, business cards, publications, and other materials, including on its website and throughout its new Headquarters.  The FCC will begin official use of this new seal after completion of the move from the Portals to its new Headquarters.  The date of the move is to be determined and has been delayed due to COVID-19.

FTC to Co-Host Conference on Consumer Protection

The FTC announced it will be co-hosting the second FTC-Marketing Science Conference on Marketing and Consumer Protection on October 2, 2020 in Washington, D.C.  The conference will bring together scholars interested in issues related to marketing and consumer protection policy and regulation.  The call for papers for the event is now open, and the deadline to submit papers for consideration is July 31, 2020.  

The goal of the conference is to promote dialogue between marketing scholars and the FTC, with an eye toward promoting academic research with potentially high impact on the practice of consumer protection and regulation, and providing agency staff with existing cutting-edge research.  The conference is scheduled for one day and will feature academic research paper sessions as well as panel sessions involving FTC staff and marketing scholars that highlight how marketing scholarship overlaps with the FTC practice in consumer protection.

FCC Commissioner Starks Announces Roundtable: State of Connectivity in the Age of COVID-19

In a news release, FCC Commissioner Starks announced he will be hosting the HBCU Presidents’ Roundtable: The State of Connectivity in the Age of the COVID-19 Pandemic to discuss the connectivity needs of students, faculty, and staff at Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) during this unprecedented crisis.

As millions of people conduct their daily activities from their respective homes, the need to remain connected has become more important than ever.  In order to facilitate distance learning, HBCUs across the country have found creative solutions to address broadband connectivity for their students and employees who live in rural areas, urban communities, and suburban towns.  HBCUs play a critical role in our nation, and these institutions must have the tools necessary to continue their leadership in education and service.  This event will feature special remarks from U.S. Representative Alma Adams (NC-12) & U.S. Representative G.K. Butterfield (NC-01) and convene Presidents and leadership from HBCUs across the nation. This panel discussion will be moderated by David Johns, Executive Director of the National Black Justice Coalition and former Executive Director of the White House Initiative on Educational Excellence for African Americans.

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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.