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  2. October 2018

October 2018

If Democrats win back the House, they promise to start regulating Silicon Valley

Should American citizens get a new Bill of Rights for the internet? Given all the damage that giant tech companies have done of late, many Democrats think the answer is yes. House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) even suggested that a new agency could be created to manage tech’s growing impact. “Something needs to be done,” she said to “protect the privacy of the American people” and “come up with overarching values” — a set of principles that everyone can agree on and adhere to. Call it a Bill of Rights for the internet.

Principles for an ‘Internet Bill of Rights'

A set of consumer data privacy regulations principles for an ‘Internet Bill of Rights.’ You should have the right:

(1)       To have access to and knowledge of all collection and uses of personal data by companies;

(2)       To opt-in consent to the collection of personal data by any party and to the sharing of personal data with a third party;

(3)       Where context appropriate and with a fair process, to obtain, correct, or delete personal data controlled by any company and to have those requests honored by third parties;

Rep. Pallone to Tech Giants: Are Foreign Agents Using Social Media Platforms to Influence the Kavanaugh Nomination?

House Commerce Committee Ranking Member Frank Pallone, Jr. (D-NJ) wrote to the CEOs of Alphabet, Facebook and Twitter following concerning reports of Russia-linked efforts to influence the national debate over the Supreme Court nomination of Judge Brett Kavanaugh. In his letters, Ranking Member Pallone requests answers on the companies’ efforts to safeguard the American political system and to combat foreign interference campaigns on their platforms.

Sen. Thune Slams FCC Over High-Cost Broadband Subsidies Shortfall (Updated)

Senate Commerce Committee Chairman John Thune (R-SD) hammered the Federal Communications Commission at a hearing for not investing enough in subsidizing and deploying broadband to rural areas like his home state, calling it an "unacceptable failure" and adding that he has urged FCC Chairman Ajit Pai to act immediately to correct the situation. Chairman Pai's office signaled it agreed the FCC's budget-control mechanism worked against closing the rural digital divide, and it was on the way to fixing it.

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