The FCC has issued an Order exempting certain international section 214 authorization holders from disclosing certain details of their reportable foreign ownership in the One-Time Information Collection. The Commission had previously adopted a separate Order that required a one-time collection of foreign ownership information from international section 214 authorization holders. At that time, the FCC also adopted a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking seeking comment on proposed rules to ensure that the FCC accounts for evolving public interest considerations associated with international section 214 authorizations following initial grant.
Specifically, international section 214 authorization holders who have filed certain applications within three years prior to the deadline of the One-Time Information Collection, which has not yet been set, will be exempted from answering questions regarding the identities, specific equity and voting interests, and description of controlling interests, of their reportable foreign interest holders. All international section 214 authorization holders must have an FCC Registration Number to file responses to the One-Time Information Collection.
The Order also denied a Motion for Extension of Time, filed by INCOMPAS and Morgan Lewis, on behalf of its clients, seeking a 30-day extension of the comment and reply comment deadlines for the NPRM. The parties argued that the NPRM involves many complex issues that would require close consultation with members and clients, which was especially difficult with summer holidays. The FCC reasoned that there was nothing sufficiently unique or unusual with these circumstances that would warrant a grant of the extension request.
