The Regulatory Mix, TMI’s daily 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 a TMI Briefing.

The Regulatory Mix will not be published on Friday, July 1st or on Monday, July 4th.

FCC

On 6/29/16, Commissioner Ajit Pai released the following statement on a media ownership proposal.

“The FCC’s rules should reflect the media marketplace of today.  Unfortunately, Chairman Wheeler’s media ownership proposal reflects the world that existed in the 1970s. Last month, the FCC had no problem approving not one, but two multibillion dollar cable mergers.  Last year, it signed off on AT&T’s acquisition of DirecTV.  Yet, it now gets the vapors at the prospect of a newspaper in Scranton, Pennsylvania owning a single radio station.  Whatever the motivation for the Chairman’s proposal, it has nothing to do with the evidence in the record, principled decision-making, or the law.  Indeed, given current trends, it is likely that the Commission’s newspaper-broadcast cross-ownership restrictions will outlive the print newspaper industry itself.”

See the FCC’s Fact Sheet updating media ownership rules released on 6/27/16 here.

California

Governor Brown announces “sweeping reforms” to the Public Utilities Commission.  "These reforms will change how this commission does business," said Governor Brown.  "Public access to meetings and records will be expanded, new safety and oversight positions will be created and ex parte communication rules will be strengthened."  The Governor said his office will work closely with the Legislature and impacted entities to implement the Principles for Reform: Governance, Accountability, Transparency, and Oversight of the California Public Utilities Commission.  The plan is intended to (1) increase the PUC’s focus and expertise by relocating responsibilities and making logistical changes that improve the commission’s ability to function, (2) enact reforms to make it easier for the public and watchdog groups to participate in PUC proceedings., (5) reform the ex parte rules to establish a more ethical environment that is fair to all parties, while providing flexibility for entities to contact their appointed officials, and (4) enact sweeping ethics reforms, which have been elusive or are completely unprecedented. 

Canada

          CRTC

Since January 2015, the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC), the U.S. Federal Trade Commission, the U.S. Federal Communications Commission and the U.K. Information Commissioner’s Office have been working together as part of a concerted effort to target robocalls in their respective jurisdictions.  Over the last 18 months, the CRTC has targeted telemarketers and clients of telemarketers for making robocalls to Canadians.  As a result, the CRTC announced that it has taken enforcement action against nine companies and individuals, resulting in one citation and over $490,000 in penalties.