Michael O’Rielly – Media & Communications Policy

May 8, 2025May 7, 2025 By Michael O'Rielly

Reshaping the Commercial Privacy Narrative

In the great conundrum that is comprehensive commercial privacy legislation, congratulations are due. The good news is that the House Energy and Commerce Committee – led by Chairman Guthrie and Vice Chairman Joyce – has taken an appropriate step to regroup and formulate a sound, substantive foothold.

Through a Request for Information, the Committee is asking fundamental questions, rather than dictating answers, with the goal of eventually building a sustainable bill that can pass through the legislative process. That’s worthy of a tip of the hat and saying a short prayer for success.

March 21, 2025March 19, 2025 By Michael O'Rielly

Bringing Forbearance to Video Services

The communications sector is beset by layers upon layers of unnecessary government burdens. While visible in many areas, obsolete policies fastened to traditional video providers – some of which were chiseled over 40 years ago – are clearly ready for the delete button.

Yet, erasing outdated regulations, even if there’s universal agreement, takes massive amounts of time and Herculean effort to overcome the procedural hoops and eventual court challenges. That’s unacceptable in today’s very fluid and competitive video marketplace.

February 28, 2025February 27, 2025 By Michael O'Rielly

A Mississippi City’s First Amendment Folly

William Faulkner, the great American writer, is famously and perhaps incorrectly attributed the quote, “To understand the world, you must first understand a place like Mississippi.” My knowledge of the state is mostly based on the wonderful, bright, and soulful individuals from the state whom I’ve worked with over the years. That is why it’s so troubling to see Mississippi’s name dragged through the proverbial mud because of a deeply troubling First Amendment encroachment that occurred last week. The fight, leading to a legal challenge, is over an editorial a local newspaper issued criticizing a Mississippi city council’s action.

January 22, 2025 By Michael O'Rielly

Lifeline 988 Texting: Let Industry Innovate

Since becoming operational in 2022, the short code telephone number 988 has been a literal lifesaver with over 10 million callers reaching out with hope of stopping human suicides. With this success, system expansions have been proposed to make it more effective and save even more individuals. The latest proposition – georouting 988 texts to more localized suicide crisis centers – has generated broad support among most interested parties.

If there is any concern or reluctance to georouting 988 texts, it primarily rests with whether the government should impose mandates to execute the necessary steps. This is especially true when the technological specs haven’t been fully developed or adopted by industry yet. Indeed, government requirements could be unnecessary and potentially counterproductive. To the extent that increased precision of 988 for texts provided by georouting is appropriate, the private sector should maintain maximum flexibility over the when and how.