February 2018

Twitter bars tactics used by 'bots' to spread false stories

Twitter will no longer allow people to post identical messages from multiple accounts, cracking down on a tactic that Russian agents and others have allegedly used to make tweets or topics go viral. Twitter will also not allow people to use software to simultaneously perform other actions such as liking or retweeting from multiple accounts. Twitter said it would give users until March 23 to comply before suspending accounts. It made an exception for bots of broad interest such as earthquake alerts.

Everyone says they'll be first with 5G

When it comes to the four major carriers, everyone says they are going to be first with 5G. It's always a race to be first with a new generation of technology (and to claim being first, which isn't always the same thing.) The stakes are extra high — both within the U.S. and on the global stage, with China, Korea, Japan and others all looking to be ahead of the game. Expect even more noise (and therefore more confusion) when the cellphone industry's big conference, Mobile World Congress, starts Feb. 26 in Barcelona, Spain.

FCC Publishes Net Neutrality Repeal; Some Changes Go Into Effect April 23, 2018

This is a summary of the Commission’s Declaratory Ruling, Report and Order, and Order (‘‘Restoring Internet Freedom Order’’) in WC Docket No. 17–108, adopted on December 14, 2017 and released on January 4, 2018. The full text of this document is available at https://apps.fcc.gov/edocs_public/attachmatch/FCC-17-166A1.pdf  Effective date: April 23, 2018, except for amendatory instructions 2, 3, 5, 6, and 8, which are delayed as follows.