OVERNIGHT TECH: FCC preps to pinpoint 911 calls

THE LEDE: Regulators are preparing to vote on Thursday for new rules to require cellphone companies and emergency responders to precisely locate people who dial 911 from indoors.

According to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), about 70 percent of 911 calls come from cellphones. When those calls are made out of doors, the agency requires that they can be geolocated in order to find a caller who might not be able to talk or have a hearing disability. But no standards apply indoors, which critics say is an unfortunate loophole that leaves people vulnerable when they need help the most.

{mosads}The FCC plan scheduled for a vote on Thursday aims to fix that by setting standards for companies to locate an indoor emergency caller with enough specificity to help emergency responders find someone in a tall building.

Rep. Anna Eshoo (D-Calif.) on Wednesday urged the FCC to enact rules that are “robust, enforceable and measurable,” and worries about the potential that the commission would allow companies to blend statistics about indoor and outdoor location accuracy in order to meet any new standards. The top Democrat on the House Commerce subcommittee on Communications also asked the FCC for standards about vertical location in tall buildings and for rules that don’t limit companies to a single technology.

Making sure companies stick to the standard and aren’t allowed to fudge the results by blending indoor and outdoor location accuracy rates could be a sticking point for backers of strong rules. Jamie Barnett, the director of the FindMe911 coalition and the former chief of the FCC’s public safety and homeland security bureau, said that his group wants to see “strong accountability — and that includes not allowing a blending of outdoor and indoor calls in a way that masks whether the carriers are actually doing anything for indoor location accuracy.” “The whole point of this proceeding was indoor location accuracy,” he added.

Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) called for the FCC to make sure the new rules “get out the door ASAP.” He wanted to make sure companies’ compliance with new standards could be verified, and that new rules are technology-neutral and ensure cellphone 911 calls lead to a dispatchable location.

Privacy concerns still linger: Not everyone is supportive of the FCC’s move. Privacy advocates fear that the new FCC rules could allow wireless carriers to keep constant tabs on people’s locations, which might then be transferred over to spy or law enforcement agencies — not to mention the opportunities it could pose for hackers and criminals.

“Better 911 location accuracy has the potential to make a huge positive impact in peoples’ lives,” the Electronic Frontier Foundation wrote in a blog post ahead of Thursday’s vote. “But if people are concerned that this benefit will come at the expense of their privacy, they’re more likely to take steps that will prevent these location services from working properly.” Earlier this month, EFF and 17 other privacy and civil liberties groups wrote to the FCC warning it not to enact new safety rules that come at the expense of people’s privacy.

Boosting broadband on the agenda, too: The FCC will consider changing the definition of broadband Internet speeds at the meeting as well. FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler is seeking to raise the minimum bar from 4 megabits per second (Mbps) download speeds to 25 Mbps — something about 17 percent of the public cannot currently obtain. The proposal is included in a progress report on broadband deployment.

Wheeler says the old standard, outlined four years ago, is outdated and doesn’t reflect consumers’ increasing demands. The cable industry says the facts do not support that level of increase. The industry is hoping the change does not have any real regulatory significance beyond the report itself.

GOP hasn’t ‘landed’ any Dems on Internet bill: Sen. John Thune (R-S.D.) said Republicans have not convinced any Democrats to sign on to draft legislation meant to enforce many of the net neutrality rules advocates have supported, while also restricting some FCC authority. “We haven’t landed anybody with certainty yet, but we’ve got folks that are looking at it. We are keeping the negotiations open,’ he said at the American Enterprise Institute.

An aide with the House Energy and Commerce Committee said the same. Ray Baum, who works on the issue for the committee, said Republicans are looking to have Democrats “come forward with solutions.” But there are rumors, he said, that the White House is pestering Democrats to hold off until the FCC acts on its own rules next month.

No response from Wheeler: Thune said he has not heard back from Wheeler on Republicans’ call for the commission to publicly release the text of net neutrality rules when it is circulated privately among the commissioners next week. Draft proposals are typically not shared with the public until the commission has voted on it. Republicans publicly released text of their draft legislation on the issue, Thune said, and now  “everybody is shooting at it,” which he claimed is how it should be.

Dems call to protect ‘zone of privacy’: A dozen Senate Democrats on Wednesday called on the FCC to reject calls to undermine a 1991 law put in place to protect people from calls from telemarketers. Sen. Ed Markey (D-Mass.) and a group of Democrats sent a letter to Chairman Tom Wheeler to “reject calls to weaken or undermine” the Telephone Consumer Protection Act.

“By banning auto dialing and pre-recorded calls to land lines and mobile phones, with certain exceptions, and establishing the National Do Not Call Registry, the law created a zone of privacy that remains hugely popular with consumers to this day,” they wrote in response to a series of proposals by industry asking the FCC to clarify the law.

Email scams, hacking costs companies millions: Email hacking and scams cost businesses $215 million in just over year, according to FBI data reported by the security blog Krebs on Security. The data spans from October 2013 to December 2014. In the United States alone, the FBI reported 1,198 victims, totaling $179 billion in losses.

ON TAP:

At 9:30, Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas) will give remarks on the prospects for patent reform during an event sponsored by the American Enterprise Institute.

At 10:30 a.m., the FCC will hold an open meeting where it will consider a number of proposals, including new requirements on the ability to pinpoint the location of 911 callers.

IN CASE YOU MISSED IT:

Sens. Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) and Mike Lee (R-Utah) are renewing their push to add increased protection to people’s emails.

The House Intelligence Committee is shaking up its structure to put a new focus on cybersecurity and the CIA, among other areas.  

The prepaid mobile phone company TracFone is agreeing to pay $40 million to settle allegations that it deceived customers with ads offering unlimited data use.   

The Senate Commerce Committee plans to begin the first stages of an update to the nation’s communications laws, Chairman Thune said in a Wednesday speech. 

The top members of the Senate Judiciary Committee asked the Justice Department to provide more information about a program that allows officials to track millions of vehicles around the country.

Please send tips and comments to Julian Hattem, jhattem@digital-stage.thehill.com and Mario Trujillo, mtrujillo@digital-stage.thehill.com

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