On October 25, 2023, FCC Chairwoman Rosenworcel announced a tentative agenda for the November 2023 Open Meeting scheduled for 10:30 am EST on Wednesday, November 15, 2023. The meeting will be held in the Commission Meeting Room of the FCC, 45 L Street N.E., Washington, D.C. The FCC meeting is also online, and streamed live with open captioning at www.fcc.gov/live.
As part of the agenda, the Commission will consider:
- Preventing Digital Discrimination – A draft Report and Order and Further Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (FNPRM) that would adopt rules to facilitate equal access to broadband internet access service by preventing digital discrimination of access and seek additional comment on efforts to facilitate equal access,
- Safe Connections – A draft Report and Order that would assist domestic abuse survivors by, among other things, helping them separate their phone accounts from those of their abusers,
- AI Robocalls – A draft Notice of Inquiry (NOI) that would gather information and prepare for changes in calling and texting practices that may result from new AI-influenced technologies, and
- SIM Swapping – A draft Report and Order that would adopt rules to protect cell phone consumers from SIM swap and port-out fraud, two practices that bad actors use to take control of consumers’ cell phones.
What the draft Preventing Digital Discrimination Report and Order and FNRPM would do:
- Take the next step in the Commission’s efforts to promote equal access to broadband internet access service, a service critical to virtually every aspect of life in our country and to the U.S. economy. To implement section 60506 of the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act of 2021, the Commission would adopt rules to establish a framework to facilitate equal access to broadband internet access service by preventing digital discrimination of access to that service based on income level, race, ethnicity, color, religion, and national origin.
- Specifically about accessibility, the draft Report and Order recognizes that while disability was not listed as a protected characteristic in the statute, the Commission’s work towards ensuring broadband access does not begin or end with this statute, and that the Commission will continue to address disability access to broadband under other sources of authority.
What the draft Safe Connections Report and Order would do:
- Adopt rules to implement the line separation provisions of the Safe Connections Act that allow domestic abuse survivors to separate a mobile phone line from an account shared with an abuser.
- Specifically about accessibility:
- Make clear that a covered provider must offer alternative remote means that are accessible by individuals with disabilities, and
- Require that the means through which a covered provider provides notices to consumers and permits survivors to submit line separation requests must be available in all the languages in which the covered provider currently advertises its services as well as all formats (e.g., large print, braille, etc.) in which the provider makes its service information available to persons with disabilities.
What the draft AI Robocalls NOI would do:
- Seek to better understand the implications of emerging AI technologies as part of the Commission’s ongoing efforts to protect consumers, including individuals with disabilities, from unwanted and illegal telephone calls and text messages under the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA).
- Specifically about accessibility, seek comment on:
- How to take accessibility into consideration in defining technologies to avoid discouraging the development of beneficial AI tools to detect and block unwanted and fraudulent calls and text messages;
- How AI technologies can be used to improve the ability of persons with disabilities to communicate with called parties, such as providing assistance in revoking consent to future calls and messages, working effectively with telecommunications relay services (TRS), and generating or translating speech; and
- Any steps the Commission can take to ensure that important accessibility tools, such as voice alteration technologies, for individuals with disabilities are not negatively impacted by TCPA rules regulating calls using artificial or prerecorded voices.
What the draft SIM Swapping Report and Order would do:
- Adopt rules to protect consumers from SIM swap and port-out fraud, two fraudulent practices that bad actors use to take control of consumers’ cell phones.
- Specifically about accessibility, require that the secure authentication methods wireless providers adopt accommodate the needs of the broad spectrum of customers they may serve, including those who do not have data plans or data-enabled devices, have varying degrees of technological literacy, or have disabilities or accommodation needs.
News Release with Agenda for November 15 Open Meeting:
URL: https://www.fcc.gov/document/fcc-announces-tentative-agenda-november-open-meeting-9
Draft Preventing Digital Discrimination Report and Order and FNPRM:
URL: https://www.fcc.gov/document/preventing-digital-discrimination-broadband-internet-access
Draft Safe Connections Report and Order:
URL: https://www.fcc.gov/document/empowering-survivors-domestic-violence-safe-connections
Draft AI Robocalls NOI:
URL: https://www.fcc.gov/document/understanding-impacts-ai-robocalls-and-robotexts
Draft SIM Swapping Report and Order:
URL: https://www.fcc.gov/document/protecting-consumers-sim-swapping-and-port-out-fraud
More information about the November 15 meeting:
URL: https://www.fcc.gov/news-events/events/2023/11/november-2023-open-commission-meeting
Reasonable Accommodations: Open captioning will be provided for this event. Other reasonable accommodations for people with disabilities are available upon request. In your request, include a description of the accommodation you will need and a way we can contact you if we need more information. Last minute requests will be accepted but may be impossible to fill. Send an e-mail to: fcc504@fcc.gov or call the Consumer and Governmental Affairs Bureau at (202) 418-0530.
For more information about the Preventing Digital Discrimination proceeding, contact Aurélie Mathieu, Wireline Competition Bureau, Competition Policy Division, at Aurelie.Mathieu@fcc.gov or (202) 418- 2194. For more information about Safe Connections Report and Order, and the SIM Swapping Report and Order, contact Melissa Kirkel, Wireline Competition Bureau, Competition Policy Division, at Melissa.Kirkel@fcc.gov. For more information about the AI Robocalls NOI, contact Richard D. Smith of the Consumer and Governmental Affairs Bureau, at Richard.Smith@fcc.gov or (717) 338-2797. Individuals who use videophones and are fluent in American Sign Language (ASL) may call the FCC’s ASL Consumer Support Line at (844) 432-2275 (videophone).