Today:  US Senators Introduce Online Personal Data Bill, FCC Updates 477 Data, California Revises Broadband Infrastructure Grant Rules  

US Senators Introduce Online Personal Data Bill

U.S. Senator Brian Schatz (D-Hawai‘i), led a group of 15 senators in introducing new legislation to protect people’s personal data online.  The Data Care Act would require websites, apps, and other online providers to take responsible steps to safeguard personal information and stop the misuse of users’ data. 

The Data Care Act establishes reasonable duties that will require providers to protect user data and will prohibit providers from using user data to their detriment:

• Duty of Care – Must reasonably secure individual identifying data and promptly inform users of data breaches that involve sensitive information;
• Duty of Loyalty – May not use individual identifying data in ways that harm users;
• Duty of Confidentiality – Must ensure that the duties of care and loyalty extend to third parties when disclosing, selling, or sharing individual identifying data;
• Federal and State Enforcement – A violation of the duties will be treated as a violation of an FTC rule with fine authority. States may also bring civil enforcement actions, but the FTC can intervene.
• Rulemaking Authority –  The FTC is granted rulemaking authority to implement the Act.

In addition to Schatz, the Data Care Act is co-sponsored by U.S. Senators Maggie Hassan (D-N.H.), Michael Bennet (D-Colo.), Tammy Duckworth (D-Ill.), Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.), Patty Murray (D-Wash.), Cory Booker (D-N.J.), Catherine Cortez Masto (D-Nev.), Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.), Ed Markey (D-Mass.), Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio), Tammy Baldwin (D-Wis.), Doug Jones (D-Ala.), Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.), and Dick Durbin (D-Ill.).

FCC Updates 477 Data

The FCC released updated data on fixed broadband deployment and mobile voice and broadband deployment as of December 31, 2017. Fixed Deployment Data are available here and include revisions made by filers through November 13, 2018.   Mobile Deployment Data are available at here and include revisions made by filers through June 13, 2018.

For data on fixed broadband deployment, users can download data on the census blocks where providers report offering fixed broadband services to at least part of the block.  These data tables also indicate the technology used to offer the service and the maximum advertised download and upload speeds for both consumer and business fixed broadband services.  The data are available in CSV (comma delimited) format for both the entire United States and for individual states.  For data on mobile deployments, users can download coverage area shapefiles indicating mobile voice and broadband network deployment for each combination of provider and network technology, as well as separate CSV files depicting mobile coverage resulting from two different coverage analyses: centroid and actual area.

California Revises Broadband Infrastructure Grant Rules

The California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC), in its commitment to bridging the digital divide, announced that it revised the rules for the California Advanced Services Fund (CASF) Infrastructure Grant Account to increase broadband deployment in low income and unserved parts of the state. 

Commissioner Martha Guzman Aceves, the Commissioner assigned to the proceeding, said, “I’m especially proud of our efforts to prioritize low income areas and areas served only by dial-up — that is, the areas that need our help the most — as we streamline the CASF grant application process. The quicker our process moves, the quicker we can bridge the digital divide in California.”

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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.