1. Monthly archive
  2. August 2018

August 2018

Chairman Pai Statement on Circulation of Mobility Fund Challenge Order

Federal Communications Commission Chairman Ajit Pai circulated for a vote by his fellow commissioners an Order to extend by 90 days the window to file challenges to the eligibility map for the upcoming Mobility Fund Phase II broadband auction. Mobility Fund Phase II will award, via a reverse auction, up to $4.53 billion to support deployment of 4G LTE mobile service where it is now lacking. The challenge process is one part of the Commission’s efforts to ensure that these limited funds are targeted to areas that lack unsubsidized 4G LTE service.

Broadband internet, digital temptations, and sleep

A study of the causal effects of access to high-speed Internet on sleep. Playing video games, using PC or smartphones, watching TV or movies are correlated with shorter sleep duration. The researchers exploit historical differences in pre-existing telephone infrastructure that affected the deployment of high-speed Internet across Germany to identify a source of plausibly exogenous variation in access to broadband. Using this instrumental variable strategy, they find that access to high-speed Internet (DSL) access reduces sleep duration and sleep satisfaction.

The Fire Under the Trump Privacy Push

A tech industry source close to Trump administration’s push to come up with some sort of national privacy policy fills us in on the scheduling nitty-gritty. The White House is expected to issue a set of draft rules in late summer or early fall at the latest. The draft will be opened up for comment, possibly via a formal Commerce Department request for information. From there, legislation is a possibility, though not the only one on the table. If it seems like the privacy push is moving at an expedited pace, there’s a reason for that. In a word, Privacy Shield.

United Nations Expert: Trump's attacks on media may lead to real violence

In a joint statement, United Nations Rapporteur for Freedom of Expression David Kaye and Edison Lanza, who holds the same post at the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights, said President Donald Trump's verbal attacks on the media run the risk of triggering real violence against journalists -- and violate the basic norms of press freedom. “These attacks run counter to the country’s obligations to respect press freedom and international human rights law,” they said.  The freedom of expression experts said Trump’s attacks on the press were designed to raise doubts about verifiable facts,

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