July 2018

Lina Khan, a prominent critic of Amazon’s business practices, is joining the office of Federal Trade Commissioner Rohit Chopra as the agency prepares to increase antitrust scrutiny of technology firms. Khan, the director of legal policy at Washington think tank Open Markets Institute, will work as a legal fellow for the next few months for Chopra, one of two Democratic commissioners at the agency, he said. "Lina is sharp as a tack and works her fingers to the bone," Chopra said.

The House Commerce Committee sent letters to Apple CEO Tim Cook and Alphabet CEO Larry Page to probe the companies’ representation of third-party access to consumer data, and the collection and use of audio recording data as well as location information via iPhone and Android devices. The letters were signed by full committee Chairman Greg Walden (R-OR), Communications Subcommittee Chairman Marsha Blackburn (R-TN), Oversight and Investigations Subcommittee Chairman Gregg Harper (R-MS), and Digital Commerce and Consumer Protection Subcommittee Chairman Bob Latta (R-OH). 

The National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) provides quarterly statutory reports to Congress on the Broadband Technology Opportunities Program (BTOP). This report covers activities from January 1 to March 31, 2018. NTIA continues to protect taxpayer investments by proactively engaging with these grant recipients to monitor project activities and grant compliance. Each quarter, the active BTOP recipients also report their financial and project performance. NTIA analyzes these reports closely to monitor progress and compliance.