Twitter announced a new policy addressing “dehumanizing speech,” which will take effect later in 2018, and for the first time the public will be able to formally provide the company with feedback on the proposed rule.
Google, Facebook, and Twitter have no incentive to inject bias in their platforms, because consumers across the political spectrum use social media and discriminating against any of them could drive people away. Consumers would be substantially worse off if social media platforms such as Facebook and Twitter were broken up. Their value to consumers derives in no small part from the fact that they allow people to communicate with their friends and families with a single click.
The Federal Communications Commission has voted to confirm that a local franchise authority's (LFA) ability to regulate cable service does not extend to broadband and other non-cable services. Additionally, the FCC voted to confirm that in-kind commitments those authorities get from providers as part of franchise agreements count toward the 5% franchise fee cap, with the exception of providing public, educational and government (PEG) channels.
The Federal Trade Commission is sending out 22,671 refund checks to people who lost money to a mobile cramming operation that placed tens of millions of dollars in charges on their mobile phone bills without their permission. The refunds stem from a major FTC crackdown first announced in 2013. As part of the scheme, the defendants sent text messages containing celebrity gossip alerts, horoscopes, or “fun facts” to consumers and placed monthly subscription fees for these “services” on their mobile phone bills without their authorization.
Sept 28 will see a White House rally to promote US leadership in fifth generation (5G) wireless technology. There is no doubt that 5G is an important step forward for wireless technology that will benefit consumers and drive economic growth. However, it is time to take a deep breath and let logic temper emotional battle cries and political gamesmanship. We need to spend less time worrying about China and more time asking how we can we race to make 5G work for all Americans.
Google Chief Executive Sundar Pichai plans to appear at a private meeting of top GOP lawmakers on Sept 28 and again at a public hearing later in 2018, responding to new scrutiny of the company’s work with China, its market power and alleged bias against conservatives in its search results. “Google has a lot of questions to answer about reports of bias in its search results, violations of user privacy, anticompetitive behavior and business dealings with repressive regimes like China,” said House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-CA), who is organizing Sept 28’s meeting.
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