1. Monthly archive
  2. November 2017

November 2017

Chairman Pai Interview: More USF Money Needed To Help Puerto Rican Communications

Federal Communications Commission Chairman Ajit Pai, fresh off a two-day fact-finding trip to hurricane-ravaged Puerto Rico, talks with B&C Washington Bureau Chief John Eggerton about what he saw, including devastation unlike any of the preceding hurricanes, the need for more Universal Service Fund money, the value of creative thinking about communications solutions, and the lack of an FCC field office that could have helped before and after the storm, he suggests.

Stop the FCC from handing local news to monopolies

[Commentary] The Republican-controlled Federal Communications Commission will vote Nov 16 to allow just one corporation to own the local newspaper plus every commercial TV station in your town. Nifty way to reduce down to just one newsroom then dictate whatever information that corporation does – and does not – want you to know in this democracy.  We know why Sinclair Broadcasting, renowned for its alt right editorializing over our public airwaves, wants to reach 72 percent of U.S. homes with its propaganda. We know this White House’s agenda.

The merger between AT&T and Time Warner is a raw deal for the rest of us

[Commentary] The AT&T-Time Waner $85 billion deal dwarfs even the massive Comcast-NBCUniversal merger. And so do its implications: AT&T’s subscriber base is more than four times the size of Comcast’s at the time it purchased NBCUniversal. Any day now, the Department of Justice will announce whether this mega-merger will be permitted.

It's time to put an old cop back on the internet beat

[Commentary] While news reports overflow with examples of the Trump Administration pulling back on oversight of business, they’re missing the story in one key area: the administration’s aggressive move to restore Federal Trade Commission power to police the internet. While the Federal Communications Commission is charged with protecting the public interest, it ultimately lacks the staff, resources, and statutory authority needed for a true on-the-ground, national consumer protection effort.

Stuck On Slow, Pennsylvania Renews Push For Rural Broadband

In Pennsylvania, there is a renewed push by state officials to capture $140 million in federal subsidies for rural broadband, a windfall that could go to another state after Verizon declined it two years ago. The Federal Communications Commission plans to distribute the rejected funds through an upcoming nationwide auction, a move that state officials are trying to head off through public advocacy and a pending FCC petition.

Congress Can't Compromise on Privacy

[Commentary] With the understandable focus on the will-they-or-won't-they of congressional tax reform, one of the most important tasks facing Congress before year's end has garnered little national attention: reauthorization of the law that governs foreign intelligence surveillance on U.S. soil.  There is a growing sense in Congress that changes are needed to better protect Americans' privacy. One of the leading reform proposals is the USA Liberty Act, a bill introduced by a bipartisan group of House Judiciary Committee members that will be marked up in committee this week.

The Paradise Papers Hacking and the Consequences of Privacy

[Commentary]  With the offshore world so expansive and so in need of transparency, it often falls to journalists and those with access to leaked data to shine light on these secret dealings. Privacy is not an absolute right when the public interest is at stake. And so, journalists must face a difficult question before seeking to publish information that comes from hackers or other unauthorized leaks: Does this information directly affect the well-being of society?

Children's Lawyers Drop Privacy Suit Against Viacom Over Tracking Cookies

Attorneys for a group of children have agreed to withdraw a long-running privacy lawsuit against Viacom. The document withdrawing the case, filed with US District Court Judge Stanley Chesler in New Jersey, doesn't indicate whether any money changed hands.

FBI can’t unlock Texas shooter’s phone

The FBI has confiscated the phone of the gunman who opened fire at a Texas church Nov 5 but is unable to access it for the ongoing investigation.  FBI Special Agent Christopher Combs, who is leading the investigation, told reporters that the bureau had flown the device to Quantico (VA) Nov 6 and that agents have been reviewing the phone but have not been able to get into it.  “It actually highlights an issue that you’ve all heard about before with advance of the phones and the technology and the encryption, law enforcement, whether it’s at the state, local or the federal level, is increasin

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