In
testimony for a Senate Commerce Committee hearing on online privacy
Tuesday, FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski took the opportunity to put in a plug
for clarifying the FCC's broadband regulatory authority.
In
his written testimony, a copy of which was supplied to B&C by a third party, Genachowski suggested that effort
was important to the privacy and security of the net. "As we
move forward on online privacy, cyber security, and other vital issues,"
he said in summing up his testimony, "it is important that uncertainties
in the regulatory framework be resolved."
The
chairman is currently collecting input on his proposal to reclassify broadband
transmissions as Title II information subject to some of those common carrier
rules. That effort is to resolve the regulatory framework uncertainties created
by the court decision in the Comcast/BitTorrent case.
The
chairman talked about working with the Federal Trade Commission on initiatives
to "help inform and empower consumers," as well as on informing
consumers about the need to protect wireless home networks. The FCC is looking
toward a future in which broadband and other video is seamlessly integrated
into home entertainment and information systems.
It
is currently collecting info on how to promote that through an all-video
set-top gateway.
He
also put in a plug for the just-announced FCC online consumer help center,
including its "consumer-friendly system for filing complaints."
