1. Monthly archive
  2. October 2017

October 2017

President Trump’s threats against the press may be toothless. But they’re far from harmless.

[Commentary] President Donald Trump’s constant press attacks carry a worldwide price — they hurt America’s ability to stand for democratic freedoms around the world. “When the president consistently speaks that way, there’s a loss of U.S. influence and credibility on matters of press freedom,” said Joel Simon, executive director of the Committee to Protect Journalists. Even if Trump can’t really get a network’s broadcast license revoked or libel laws changed, he can still can — and does — undermine American values, both here and abroad, when he attacks the press. And no amount of transparency-by-tweet or backslapping access for reporters can make up for that.

Bringing the internet back to Puerto Rico

Few people have heard of NetHope, but lots of people have benefited from its work. The group acts as the tech arm for a consortium of 53 major global charities, working with tech giants to restore communications in the wake of natural disasters. These days, of course, NetHope is focused on Puerto Rico and other places devastated by recent hurricanes. "You can't really get food, water, shelter where it needs to go if you can't communicate, certainly not at scale," NetHope global programs head Frank Schott said.

The group has dozens of people on the ground, including volunteers from some of the biggest companies in tech. The extensive devastation of the electric grid is making things especially challenging, though the U.S. government and big companies are pitching in on efforts to restore cell service and internet connectivity.

T-Mobile, Sprint plan merger without selling assets

Apparently, T-Mobile US and Sprint plan to announce a merger agreement without any immediate asset sales, as they seek to preserve as much of their spectrum holdings and cost synergies as they can before regulators ask for concessions. While it is common for companies not to unveil divestitures during merger announcements, T-Mobile’s and Sprint’s approach shows that the companies plan to enter what could be challenging negotiations with U.S. antitrust and telecommunications regulators without having made prior concessions.

It was reported recently that some of the Justice Department’s antitrust staff were skeptical about the deal, which would combine the third and fourth largest U.S. wireless carriers. However, regulators can only begin reviewing a corporate merger once it has been agreed to and announced. T-Mobile and Sprint are preparing a negotiating strategy to tackle demands from regulators regarding asset sales, including the divestment of some of their spectrum licenses after their deal is announced, apparently.

New America
October 17, 2017
6:00 pm - 7:45 pm
https://www.newamerica.org/future-tense/events/hidden-history-americas-c...

While many men may dominate computer science today, women played fascinating, overlooked roles in the field’s early days. During World War II, more than 10,000 American women were recruited to Washington, D.C., to take part in the United States’ massive codebreaking initiative. In her latest book, Code Girls: The Untold Story of the American Women Code Breakers of World War II, author Liza Mundy tells the secret history of these women, whose efforts saved countless lives and opened previously denied career opportunities to a new generation of women.

Join Mundy and contemporary technologists to consider the hidden lives of these heroic Americans and what their stories tell us about women in computer science today.

Speakers

Liza Mundy, @lizamundy
Senior Fellow, New America
Author of Code Girls: The Untold Story of the American Women Codebreakers of World War II, The Richer Sex, and Michelle: A Biography

Erie Meyer, @Erie
Senior Director of the National Network, Code for America
Co-founder, U.S. Digital Service

Courtney Eimerman-Wallace, @CourtPholio
Director of Technology, Color of Change

Moderator

Ian Wallace, @pianwallace
Co-Director, Cybersecurity Initiative, New America

This event will be livestreamed on this page. Follow the conversation online with #CodeGirls and @FutureTenseNow

Copies of Liza Mundy’s Code Girls: The Untold Story of the American Women Code Breakers of World War II will be available for purchase by credit card or check.


New America
October 17, 2017
1:00 pm - 2:30 pm
https://www.newamerica.org/cybersecurity-initiative/events/digital-china...

As China launches its 19th Party Congress, its plans to shape cyberspace are becoming ever clearer. Through the publications of government and Party officials, we are increasingly getting insights into Chinese plans for the digital economy. Often however that information is only available to Chinese-speakers. Therefore, through New America, a group of China cyber experts have launched a new effort to translate and analyze key Chinese documents and make them available to a wider audience.

At this event they will offer their insights on China’s plans for the digital economy, including cybersecurity, artificial intelligence, cryptocurrencies, internet governance, and much more. What have Chinese officials already told the world? What goals has Beijing already achieved? Where has China run into challenges? What new initiatives should we expect from the 19th Party Congress, the 4th World Internet Conference, and beyond? What does this mean for the United States?

Participants

John Costello, @CostelloJK
Cybersecurity Fellow, New America

Samm Sacks, @SammSacks
Senior Fellow in the Technology Policy Program at Center for Strategic & International Studies

Paul Triolo, @pstAsiatech
Geo-technology Practice Head, Eurasia Group

Graham Webster, @gwbstr
Lecturer and Senior Fellow at Paul Tsai China Center at Yale Law School

Moderator

Ian Wallace, @pianwallace
Co-Director of the Cybersecurity Initiative, New America & Senior Fellow, International Security Program

Follow the conversation online with #DigiChina and @NewAmCyber


© 1994-2026 Benton Institute for Broadband & Society. All Rights Reserved.