Communications Daily is tracking the lawsuits below involving appeals of FCC actions.

An order approving Audacy’s request for a temporary exemption from the foreign-ownership rules was adopted but isn’t expected to be released before next week, FCC officials told us. The waiver would allow Audacy to complete foreign-ownership review after it finishes a bankruptcy restructuring that involves control of the broadcaster passing to a fund affiliated with George Soros' family. FCC Republicans hadn’t submitted dissenting statements Wednesday afternoon but indicated they plan to do so, the agency officials said. Broadcast industry officials, attorneys and others told us the Audacy transaction wouldn’t attract as much attention without Soros’ name attached, and that radio broadcasters have long sought increased private equity investment in their industry. “They’re making it a political ax,” said Christopher Terry, University of Minnesota media law professor. “The radio industry has been cash-strapped for 20 years.”

ATLANTA -- The U.S. is taking an increasingly hard line against all connected Chinese and Russian devices, not just those from particular manufacturers such as Huawei, cybersecurity expert Clete Johnson told attendees at SCTE's annual TechExpo Wednesday. Meanwhile, cable providers at TechExpo discussed why it's imperative that there is better convergence in wireline and mobile services.

The railroad industry is too early to challenge a 2023 Virginia law that gave ISPs access rights to railroad properties, said Virginia State Corporation Commission Judge Jehmal Hudson and other state officials in a response brief Wednesday at the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. The Association of American Railroads (AAR) is appealing a U.S. District Court for Eastern Virginia decision to dismiss its lawsuit against the state officials for lack of standing and other reasons (see 2407220018). The Virginia appellees urged the 4th Circuit to affirm the district court’s judgment.

Industry experts expect the FCC will petition the U.S. Supreme Court for a writ of certiori following the split rulings between the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals and the 6th and 11th circuits on the Universal Service Fund contribution mechanism, they said during a Schools, Health, Libraries & Broadband Coalition webinar Wednesday. The 5th Circuit sided with Consumers' Research in its challenge of the contribution mechanism and agreed to stay its ruling pending the commission's petition (see 2408270030).

State government entities and telecom companies braced Wednesday for the imminent arrival of Hurricane Helene. The powerful weather event could become a Category 4 hurricane before reaching Florida's Gulf Coast Thursday, likely damaging buildings and knocking out power in many places, said an AccuWeather advisory Wednesday.

Europe needs better connectivity to compete globally, speakers said Wednesday at a discussion on the bloc's digital future. They cited former European Central Bank President Mario Draghi's Sept. 9 competitiveness report, which, among other things, urged the EU to "profoundly refocus its collective efforts on closing the innovation gap with the US and China, especially in advanced technologies."

The White House is focused on 6G and wants the U.S. to lead the world, Caitlin Clarke, special assistant to President Joe Biden, said during the 6G Symposium Tuesday in Washington. “We need to think about where we need to be now, before the technology is in place -- we cannot catch up,” Clarke said. Other speakers warned that the U.S. is falling behind (see 2409230053).

The FCC Consumer Advisory Committee voted unanimously Tuesday to adopt recommendations on using AI to protect vulnerable populations from unwanted and illegal calls. CTIA abstained from the vote, held during CAC's final meeting of its current chapter (see 2408130057). The recommendations included nine from Working Group 1, which focused on technical issues. Working Group 2, which focused on outreach and consumer education, offered seven recommendations.

The U.S. Supreme Court mustn’t discourage states and Congress from trying to prevent children from accessing pornography online, the federal government said in an amicus brief Monday. However, SCOTUS should correct the 5th U.S. Circuit Court’s error of using rational-basis review to support a Texas law requiring age-verification on porn websites, said DOJ. The Supreme Court received a flurry of briefs this week from amici supporting the Free Speech Coalition's challenge of the Texas law. FSC is a porn industry trade association. The American Civil Liberties Union represents it.