January 2021

California Democrats Urge Incoming Attorney General to Prioritize Net Neutrality

Rep. Anna Eshoo (D-CA-18) and 13 members of California’s congressional delegation sent a letter to Attorney General-designate Merrick Garland urging him to withdraw the US federal government’s lawsuit against the State of California over its net neutrality law as one of the first actions after the inauguration. “With the new Administration, we have an opportunity to restore the damage the Trump FCC has done to the free and open internet in the last four years,” said Rep.

CARES Act Broadband Funding Lights up New Hampshire Town

CARES Act broadband funding helped enable the town of Bristol, New Hampshire, to deploy 24 miles of fiber to pass 400 Bristol residences and connect to Plymouth State University. The CARES Act funding was a $1.52 million grant. In a separate project, additional fiber backbone and fiber distribution will be deployed to connect all Bristol municipal, educational and commercial buildings with funding through a Northern Border Regional Commission grant and town appropriation.

GitHub reportedly fired a Jewish employee who warned co-workers to stay safe from Nazis (Vox)

Submitted by benton on Tue, 01/12/2021 - 17:35

Extremists move to secret online channels to plan for Inauguration Day in DC (NBC)

Submitted by benton on Tue, 01/12/2021 - 17:34

FCC Adopts 3 Items in Advance of Chairman Pai's Last Meeting

The Federal Communications Commission adopted the following items scheduled for consideration at the Wednesday, January 13, 2021, Open Meeting:

Governor Cuomo Announces Proposal to Enact a First-In-The-Nation Guarantee of Affordable Internet for Low-Income Families as Part of the 2021 State of the State

Gov Andrew Cuomo (D-NY) announced his proposal to enact a first-in-the-nation requirement for affordable internet for all low-income families as part of the 2021 State of the State agenda.

Facebook and Twitter could be sued for “censorship” under proposed North Dakota state law (Ars Technica)

Submitted by benton on Tue, 01/12/2021 - 17:22

Finding the Limits of Free Speech Online

President Trump used social media to encourage his supporters to storm the Capitol to attempt to maintain his power.

FCC’s Rural Digital Opportunity Fund Auction Was Supposed to Significantly Reduce America’s Rural Broadband Gap (Benton Institute for Broadband & Society)

Submitted by benton on Tue, 01/12/2021 - 16:34

How Not to Close the Digital Divide -- Part 1,421 (Benton Institute for Broadband & Society)