Congress needs to update the Communications Act—quickly

This needs to change, because technological and social convergences promise to create even more legal gray areas. In the area of aerial-drone regulation, where does the FAA’s jurisdiction over the physical airspace end and the FCC’s authority over the RF airwaves—used to communicate with the drone to control its flight—begin? Where do local and state rules fit into the equation?

This is only one example, and it may be among the simpler ones. There are many more legal overlaps associated with the privacy, cybersecurity, body-worn cameras and the Internet of Things. Even in 911, there are legitimate arguments about what the appropriate role is for local, state and federal officials in a next-generation environment—a fact that FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler has noted repeatedly during his visits to Capitol Hill, including today.

These are not decisions that should be made on an ad-hoc basis by judges who can only consider the facts of a specific case and rules that were written long before many of these capabilities were contemplated. These are decisions that should be made after comprehensive evaluation of the overall impact and enacted in a manner that clearly designate where regulatory authority exists that make the best outcomes most likely to occur.

Will it be perfect? Absolutely not. Things will be missed, and some journalist likely will write a similar column a decade from now, because technology will continue to change at warp speed. But providing appropriate regulatory certainty during such a critical technological juncture can spark innovation and investment that can provide benefits throughout society and the economy—much like the last Communications Act rewrite did 20 years ago.