May 2018

Cambridge Analytica Closes, Rebranded as Emerdata

In recent months, executives at Cambridge Analytica and SCL Group, along with the Mercer family, have moved to created a new firm, Emerdata, based in Britain, according to British records. The new company’s directors include Johnson Ko Chun Shun, a Hong Kong financier and business partner of Erik Prince. Prince founded the private security firm Blackwater, which was renamed Xe Services after Blackwater contractors were convicted of killing Iraqi civilians.

Pirate Radio Stations Explode on YouTube

A trick of YouTube’s algorithms has led to the blossoming of hundreds of unlicensed, independent radio stations on the site, reminiscent of an age of underground broadcasts in the previous century. Many of the channels blink in and out of existence within a week, but their presence has become a compelling part of the site’s musical ecosystem. 

Op-ed

The BDAC, 5G and Cities: The Power and Perils of Asymmetry

The BDAC, 5G and Cities: The Power and Perils of Asymmetry
Blair Levin
Brookings Institution Metropolitan Policy Project
Coalition for Local Internet Choice (CLIC) Conference
Austin, Texas
April 30, 2018

The most significant meta-theme about governance in the United States today is that the federal government is dysfunctional and disrespected, but that local governments are responsive, pro-active, effective and respected in building communities that improve the lives of their residents.

How the US Government Learned to Stop Worrying About The Global Internet and Kicked Russians Off Its Networks

The global internet is a lot less global than it was a few years ago. The US government, which used to be the loudest advocate for knocking down digital barriers, has begun to erect barriers of its own since the 2016 election and the Russian hacking and influence operation that upended it. US officials and lawmakers once merely condemned Russian and Chinese laws that forced tech companies to share their source code or to store citizens’ data within national borders.

Trump Campaign Launches ‘Media Accountability Survey': ‘Do You Trust CNN?’

The Trump Make America Great Again Committee launched a “mainstream media accountability survey” into inboxes around the country. The effort is a joint project paid for by the Donald Trump presidential campaign and the Republican National Committee. “The media loves to pretend they’re unbiased, but that couldn’t be further from the truth,” an email promoting the survey reads. “Liberal propaganda machines have used every possible tactic to slander, undermine, and insult the President as he fights to put AMERICA FIRST.”

FCC Chairman Ajit Pai tours Gadsden County broadband access site

Federal Communications Commission Chairman Ajit Pai stopped in Quincy, Florida, as part of a campaign to promote high-speed internet and close the digital divide in rural areas. “I want to illustrate the power of the internet to transform communities and the cost of not getting internet access to some of these communities,” Chairman Pai told business, school and economic development officials gathered at the Quincy site for TDS Telecom, a national internet provider with more than 13,000 Gadsden County customers. He said the digital divide is more prevalent in rural areas.

T-Mobile and Sprint CEOs State Case for Merger at FCC

T-Mobile’s John Legere and Sprint’s Marcelo Claure went to the Federal Communications Commission to begin laying the groundwork for their proposed $26.5 billion merger. They met with FCC Commissioners Michael O'Rielly and Jessica Rosenworcel and laid out much the same case that the companies have presented in public.