1. Monthly archive
  2. April 2021

April 2021

Reps Matsui and Langevin Urge Biden Administration to Address Cybersecurity Threats in K-12 Schools

Reps. Doris Matsui (D-CA-06) and Jim Langevin (D-RI-02) sent a letter to Education Secretary Miguel Cardona, urging him to issue guidance that will allow K-12 schools to make investments in increased cybersecurity measures. The Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act and the Coronavirus Response and Relief Supplemental Appropriations Act, 2021 (CRRSA) Act both included funding streams to support school operations during the pandemic.

7% of Americans don’t use the internet. Who are they?

7% of US adults say they do not use the internet. Internet non-adoption is linked to a number of demographic variables, but is strongly connected to age – with older Americans continuing to be one of the least likely groups to use the internet. Today, 25% of adults ages 65 and older report never going online, compared with much smaller shares of adults under the age of 65. Educational attainment and household income are also indicators of a person’s likelihood to be offline.

How to Close America's Digital Equity Gaps: Toward a Digital Futures Foundation

Is our practice of dumping the proceeds from the privatization of the public airwaves into the federal treasury, as is now routinely done, the best use of this precious public resource? No. The nation should dedicate a sizable share of spectrum auction proceeds to closing these digital equity gaps and should establish a reliable, proven vehicle to pursue this task. An endowed, independent, and private charitable foundation would best have the flexibility, research focus, long-term time perspective, and ability to engage other partners that such a mission will require.

Supreme Court vacates ruling barring Trump from blocking Twitter critics, saying case is moot

The Supreme Court vacated a lower court opinion that said President Donald Trump could not block critics from his Twitter feed, which since has been suspended by the company. The US Court of Appeals for the 2nd Circuit in New York had ruled that because the president had used the forum to regularly communicate with the public, he could not block critical individual users.

Big Tech's big DC threat: the FTC

While antitrust lawsuits and Capitol Hill hearings get headlines, Big Tech's biggest threat in Washington may come from the Federal Trade Commission. The FTC is gearing up to flex its muscle, by both enforcing current rules and trying to draft new ones.

Sponsor 

New America

Date 
Wed, 04/07/2021 - 11:30

Digital inclusion is about having the right access, skills, motivation and trust to confidently go online. Today’s network infrastructure is the lifeline on which much of modern life depends. Without it, the ramifications of Covid-19 would have been far more severe. As the internet becomes a public utility that shapes our social, political, and economic lives, we must take a hard look on what it means to be disconnected, and raise ambitions to meet people’s need for affordable meaningful connectivity.


Sponsor 

Information Technology & Innovation Foundation

Date 
Fri, 04/09/2021 - 10:00 to 10:45

The House Report on Competition in the Digital Markets issued last October constitutes the groundwork for the antitrust reforms expected this year. The report focuses on a handful of tech giants to draw policy recommendations about antitrust enforcement. One of the most dramatic policy recommendations of the report is the structural separation of digital platforms – namely, the break-up of tech giants such as Google, Facebook, Amazon, and Apple.


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