1. Monthly archive
  2. December 2019

December 2019

Chairman Pai Calls on Congress to Repeal T-Band Mandate

In 2012, Congress passed legislation requiring the Federal Communications Commission to reallocate and auction T-Band spectrum used for decades by public safety licensees and fund the relocation of those licensees elsewhere. The agency has extensively analyzed the T-Band and concluded that moving forward is not viable—relocation costs for public safety licensees would likely far exceed any potential auction revenue, making it impossible to fund the relocation and comply with the mandate.

Gigi Sohn one of thought leaders laying the groundwork for future policy change

Throughout her 30 years in telecommunications and technology policy, Gigi Sohn has worn many hats—a telecom lawyer, a progressive advocate, a top aide at the Federal Communications Commission, an academic. But if there’s one thread uniting the career of a woman widely viewed as the godmother of progressive tech policy in Washington, it’s her ability to bridge the vast chasms between industry, the advocacy community, and the federal government. “I spend a lot of time building bridges between industry and public interests—and also between the public-interest groups themselves,” Sohn said.

Sponsor 

Public Knowledge

Date 
Fri, 12/06/2019 - 21:30 to 23:30

A discussion on BigTech and data portability. Authors Michael Weinberg and Gabriel Nicholas of the Engelberg Center at NYU will present their new paper “Data Portability and Platform Competition: Is User Data Exported From Facebook Actually


Sponsor 

Senate Commerce Committee

Date 
Wed, 12/04/2019 - 16:00

How legislative proposals intend to provide consumers with more security, transparency, choice, and control over personal information both online and offline.Proposals that provide the Federal Trade Commission with more resources and authority to oversee business data practices in the marketplace.

 Witnesses:


Related Headlines 
Senators' year-end push on privacy
Senate Commerce Hearing: Senators inch forward on federal privacy bill

Many Pregnant Women Live Too Far From a Doctor to Get Regular Care. Here's How Technology Can Help

For anyone who is pregnant, having a hospital delivery room nearby means knowing that when the baby arrives medical assistance will be close at hand. But for too many of those in rural America, this comfort is often no longer available—and it is putting both women and babies at risk. In fact, the United States is the only industrialized nation with an increasing rate of maternal mortality and this problem hits women of color especially hard. The Federal Communications Commission has a long history of working to promote access to telehealth in rural communities.

How we got Cyber Monday

Cyber Monday — with a predicted $9 billion in US sales online — has become a self-sustaining phenomenon in the world of e-retail, with email blasts and ad blitzes pushing pre-holiday season discounts. This event did not emerge organically. It's a marketing construct built around a discredited prefix that was originally coined for an invented science. Back in 2005, data showed online sales spiking the Monday after Thanksgiving.

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