March 2018

Gov Bill Haslam will not sign an executive order preserving net neutrality in Tennessee (Nashville Post)

Submitted by benton on Fri, 03/02/2018 - 12:36

Op-ed: Politicians are hiding how governments raise and spend public resources. That’s a political mistake. (Washington Post)

Submitted by benton on Fri, 03/02/2018 - 12:15

The future of political warfare: Russia, the West, and the coming age of global digital competition

The Kremlin’s political warfare against democratic countries has evolved from overt to covert influence activities. But while Russia has pioneered the toolkit of asymmetric measures for the 21st century, including cyberattacks and disinformation campaigns, these tools are already yesterday’s game. Technological advances in artificial intelligence (AI), automation, and machine learning, combined with the growing availability of big data, have set the stage for a new era of sophisticated, inexpensive, and highly impactful political warfare.

Schurz Communications Completes Purchase of Hiawatha Broadband Communications (Multichannel News)

Submitted by benton on Fri, 03/02/2018 - 12:07

Congressional Leaders Announce FCC Reauthorization and Spectrum Agreement

House Commerce Committee Chairman Greg Walden (R-OR), Ranking Member Frank Pallone, Jr. (D-NJ), Senate Commerce Committee Chairman John Thune (R-SD), and Ranking Member Bill Nelson (D-FL) announced a bipartisan, bicameral agreement on legislation reauthorizing the Federal Communications Commission and spurring the deployment of next-generation wireless services. The legislation, RAY BAUM’S Act (H.R. 4986), will be voted on in the House of Representatives on Tuesday, March 6, 2018. The legislation would:

New study finds that the odds of striking it rich on YouTube — or even making a modest living — are small (Washington Post)

Submitted by benton on Fri, 03/02/2018 - 11:59

Walter Lippmann on liberty and the news: A century-old mirror for our troubled times (Poynter)

Submitted by benton on Fri, 03/02/2018 - 10:34

Digital Inclusion Innovators Visit Policymakers

On February 27 and 28, in partnership with the Benton Foundation, three digital inclusion innovators, joined NDIA's Angela Siefer for a round of meetings in DC. Amina Fazlullah, NDIA’s Policy Advisor and a Mozilla Tech Policy Fellow, made arrangements for four visits to senate offices and two visits to FCC commissioner offices, in addition to a meeting with Mozilla Tech Policy Fellows and an update on potential infrastructure legislation from SHLB Coalition’s John Windhausen. Thanks to Susan Corbett, we also met with Senator Angus King (I-Maine).

The world’s biggest marketers are taking aggressive steps to change how they buy ads, triggering upheaval across the advertising (Wall Street Journal)

Submitted by benton on Fri, 03/02/2018 - 10:25

Daily Digest 3/2/2018