Public Knowledge Challenges Secrecy over AT&T Trial Timelines
Public Knowledge Challenges Secrecy over AT&T Trial Timelines
Public Knowledge Challenges Secrecy over AT&T Trial Timelines

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    Today, Public Knowledge called on the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to enforce their confidentiality rules for AT&T's IP transition trial proposals. 

    The following can be attributed to Jodie Griffin, Senior Staff Attorney at Public Knowledge

    “When the FCC grants confidential treatment over portions of companies' filings it imposes a significant burden on the public and other stakeholders seeking to contribute to the debate around that topic. The FCC must ensure that companies do not claim confidential treatment over information without justification. Especially as the FCC begins reviewing Comcast's proposal to acquire Time Warner Cable–a proceeding that will undoubtedly require processing substantial amounts of confidential information–it is crucial that the Commission take this issue seriously and protect the public's right to meaningfully engage in Commission proceedings.  

    “In its trial proposal, AT&T claimed confidential treatment over the proposed trials' timeline. This information sets out the basic parameters of the trials, which will be a series of public, government-supervised experiments. It is significantly more difficult for the public to evaluate and comment on AT&T's trial proposal if they don't even know when the trials would start and stop. Additionally, AT&T claims confidentiality over information it has already publicly disclosed through the press. Once a company chooses to make information public it cannot then try to hide that information under a shroud of secrecy in the FCC's proceedings.  

    “AT&T cannot try to hide basic parameters of its proposed trials by over-claiming confidential treatment before the FCC. The FCC should now require AT&T to re-file it's proposal with the relevant information publicly disclosed.”

    Members of the media may contact Communications Director Shiva Stella with inquiries, interview requests, or to join the Public Knowledge press list at shiva@publicknowledge.org or 405-249-9435.