Bold BDS Order Borne Out in Business Fiber Growth Statistics
[Press release] May 15 the Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals heard oral arguments in a challenge to the Federal Communications Commission’s new Business Data Services (BDS) regime.
May 2018
The White House's futile crackdown on leaking (Axios)
Submitted by Robbie McBeath on Wed, 05/16/2018 - 12:22The rise of the pro-Trump media machine
Pro-Trump media is spreading across the US, disseminating Trumpian rhetoric about fake news and mainstream media bias through every medium. The big picture, from Rodney Benson, chair of NYU's Department of Media, Culture, and Communication: "Many of the media moving toward subscriptions have disproportionately left-liberal audiences. ... While liberal media draw their circles ever tighter around themselves (via paywalls, high-level content, etc.), conservatives are fighting to extend their mass reach."
Democrats bet on net neutrality voters in 2018
Democratic lawmakers say they can make political hay of the battle over network neutrality among a small — but committed — group of midterm voters. The linchpin of that strategy is a vote in the Senate May 16 on a measure to undo the Federal Communications Commission’s 2017 repeal of net neutrality rules. That raises the prominence of the effort to preserve the neutrality rules — and will put at least some Republicans on record as opposing it.
House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform Ranking Member Elijah Cummings wants to subpoena Cambridge Analytica (Hill, The)
Submitted by benton on Wed, 05/16/2018 - 12:01
Internet Association Answers Chairman Walden's Call to Testify
On behalf of Internet Association, which represents the world’s leading internet companies, I want to take this opportunity to respond to your open call for "Silicon Valley CEOs” to testify before Congress (San Francisco Chronicle, House Committee Seeks Input From Tech CEOs, May 14, 2018). I am happy to testify on behalf of our members to help the committee explore the ways that the internet benefits all Americans.
This Is Ajit Pai, Nemesis of Net Neutrality
The competition is stiff, but Federal Communications Commission Chairman Pai may be the most reviled man on the internet. He is despised as both a bumbling rube, trying too hard to prove he gets it, and a cunning villain, out to destroy digital freedom. The anger emanates from his move, shortly after being appointed by President Donald Trump, to repeal Obama-era net neutrality regulations. He called his policy the Restoring Internet Freedom Order, an Orwellian touch in the view of his critics, who see it as a mortal threat.
Sens Fischer, Klobuchar Lead 61 Senators in Bipartisan Letter to FCC On Rural Broadband Deployment
Senators Deb Fischer (R-NE) and Amy Klobuchar (D-MN), members of the Senate Commerce Committee, led 61 senators in a letter to Federal Communications Commission Chairman Ajit Pai, supporting the advancement and the accessibility of broadband services in rural communities. In the letter, the senators requested more predictable and long-term efficiencies in the FCC’s High-Cost Universal Service Fund, which is responsible for helping meet the Commission’s goal to provide reliable and affordable communications to all Americans.