Building the Digital Platform Commission: How To Design a Regulator To Rein in Big Tech
A discussion about the need for a sector-specific digital regulator and suggests how to design that regulator to enhance competition and protect consumers.
April 2025
An Open Source Pioneer Wants to Unleash Open Source AI Robots (Wired)
Submitted by zwalker@benton.org on Mon, 04/14/2025 - 09:17Meet the California Legislator Who Introduced the State’s $15 Internet Bill
“A good friend of mine… calls this ‘the single mom with two kids bill,’” said California Assemblymember Tasha Boerner, about the $15 internet bill she introduced in March 2025. “I always think about the single mom working two jobs — and her kids still have to get online and upload their homework to Google Classroom,” said Rep Boerner. Rep Boerner, whose district extends along the coastline of southern California between San Diego and Carlsbad, serves as chair of the state’s Committee on Communications and Conveyance.
Daily Digest 4/14/2025
Submitted by zwalker@benton.org on Mon, 04/14/2025 - 09:08Daily Digest 4/14/2025 (Jean Lyndsay Torren Marsh; Jorge Mario Pedro Vargas Llosa)
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Mon, 04/14/2025
Today's top broadband news
Broadband's Role in the Los Angeles Fires Response and Recovery Efforts
On January 7, 2025, fires erupted across the city of Los Angeles, California. The Eaton Fire burned through the eastern side of the city, burning through the Altadena, Pasadena and Sierra Madre communities and causing 18 deaths, destroying 9,400 structures, and scorching 14,000 acres of land. In the west, the Palisades Fire led to twelve deaths, destroyed over 6,000 structures, and covered over 23,000 acres in the Pacific Palisades, Topanga and Malibu. The Hurst, Kenneth and Hughes fires also burned through parts of northwestern and central LA.
50 U.S. States Broadband Speed Performance
The number of states with 60% or more users experiencing the Federal Communications Commission’s minimum standard for fixed broadband speeds of 100 Mbps downstream and 20 Mbps upstream increased from nine states in the first half (1H) 2024 to 22 states (and the District of Columbia) in 2H 2024. Seven states have 65% of more users experiencing the FCC’s minimum standard for broadband of 100/20 Mbps. New Mexico, Colorado, and Minnesota had the biggest year-over-year increase in the percentage of Speedtest users that receive 100/20 Mbps broadband speeds. New Jersey, Connecticu