Thursday, December 2, 2021
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Senate Commerce Committee Advances Rosenworcel for FCC, Bedoya for FTC
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Recap: Sohn, Davidson Nomination Hearing
Recap | Holding Big Tech Accountable: Targeted Reforms to Tech's Legal Immunity
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News From the Hill
The Senate Commerce Committee voted to advance two of President Joe Biden's nominees:
- Current Federal Communications Commission Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel for a new five-year term at the agency. Chairwoman Rosenworcel received support from the entire panel except Sen Ron Johnson (R-WI).
- Georgetown Law's Center on Privacy & Technology Founding Director (and former chief counsel of the Senate Judiciary subcommittee on privacy, technology and the law) Alvaro Bedoya to be a commissioner on the Federal Trade Commission. The panel was split 14-14 on his nomination, but under rules it can proceed to the full Senate for a vote. Bedoya’s confirmation in the full Senate would give the FTC a 3-2 Democratic majority.
The Senate Commerce Committee held a hearing to consider the nominations of Gigi Sohn to be a commissioner on the Federal Communications Commission and Alan Davidson to head the National Telecommunications and Information Administration. Sohn has a history of advocating for open and affordable communications networks. She is a distinguished fellow at the Georgetown Law Institute for Technology Law & Policy and a Senior Fellow and Public Advocate at the Benton Institute for Broadband & Society. Between 2003 and 2016, Sohn served as a counselor to former FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler. Davidson is currently a senior advisor at the Mozilla Foundation, a global nonprofit that promotes openness on the internet. He served in the Obama administration as the first director of Digital Economy at the Department of Commerce. And he started Google’s public policy office in Washington (DC) in 2005, leading government relations there until 2012. [much more at the URL below]
The House Commerce Committee's Subcommittee on Communications and Technology held a legislative hearing on four bills:
- H.R. 2154, the "Protecting Americans from Dangerous Algorithms Act"
- H.R. 3184, the "Civil Rights Modernization Act of 2021"
- H.R. 3421, the "Safeguarding Against Fraud, Exploitation, Threats, Extremism, and Consumer Harms Act" or the "SAFE TECH Act"
- H.R. 5596, the "Justice Against Malicious Algorithms Act of 2021"
The hearing included two panels of witnesses. The first will focus on the insidious problems from which some social media platforms online are profiting. And the second will consider how reforms to Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act can play a part in addressing those problems. [much more at the URL below]
Sens Roger Wicker (R-MS) and John Thune (R-SD) introduced the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) Reauthorization and Reform Act (S.3288). The NTIA Reauthorization and Reform Act would:
- Reauthorize NTIA for two years at $52,831,000;
- Promote the head of NTIA from Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Communications and Information to Under Secretary of Commerce for Communications and Information;
- Clarify NTIA’s role coordinating executive branch views on matters before the Federal Communications Commission;
- Require NTIA to coordinate with other agencies to promote and share information about workforce-development programs tailored to the telecom industry, which will help address its workforce shortage;
- Require NTIA and the FCC to update their memorandum of understanding on spectrum management (S.1472); and
- Improve the process for selecting the United States head of delegation and ambassador to the quadrennial World Radiocommunication Conference of the International Telecommunication Union.
Information regarding the households participating in the Emergency Broadband Benefit Program, including types of services received, support amounts claimed, and demographic details such as geographic locations and Tribal status. 48.53% of program participants qualified because they also participate in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), 39.7% Medicaid, 20% National School Lunch or Breakfast Program, 11.5% because they demonstrated a household income below 135% of the Federal Poverty level. Of the over 7 million households enrolled in the Emergency Broadband Benefit Program as of November 1, 2021, 52% were Lifeline partipants, 25.6% applied through the National Lifeline Verifier, and 22.2% were enrolled because they were participating because they were previously in a broadband provider's low-income program. Most Emergency Broadband Benefit households (~68%) receive discounted mobile broadband services from their provider.
Report of the Task Force for Reviewing the Connectivity and Technology Needs of Precision Agriculture in the United States
This Task Force seeks to address the digital divide with recommendations that will advise the federal government on ways it can improve access, specifically on rural, agricultural lands. Broadband is the foundational element for all other issues. The recommendations fall largely within five primary categories with some additional key considerations. The five main priorities that the Task Force recommends are to:
- Improve federal broadband maps and consistently validate user experiences;
- Increase incentives and clarify that precision agriculture infrastructure are eligible expenses for federal broadband programs to increase adoption and build out a robust infrastructure;
- Enhance the high-speed standards to meet the technology needs in agriculture;
- Improve collaboration between federal agencies and remove regulatory impediments; and
- Increase digital access to education and training for individuals engaged in farming.
Additional consideration should also be given to cyber security concerns and interoperability standards.
Even as lawmakers in Washington advance both of President Biden’s signature proposals to strengthen and expand America’s social safety net, it is doing conspicuously little to address one of the more pressing issues facing low-income communities of color across the country: a lack of access to affordable and reliable broadband internet. First, we need to make high-speed internet available to everyone, everywhere — no matter where they live or who they are. Second, we need to make the internet affordable. No one should be priced out of the future — or the present. Third, we need to democratize access to the hardware and software people need to take full advantage of the internet’s capabilities. Fourth, we need a maintenance ecosystem — digital educators, designers, repair workers, and accessibility consultants — to ensure improvements last long into the future. This can create jobs too. If we achieve these goals, we could end the vicious cycle of digital poverty.
[Jeremy White is a former special assistant for the White House Office of Faith-Based and Community Initiatives and a national diversity advocate.]
In the past few weeks, the Biden Administration has finally moved forward with nominations to the Federal Trade Commission and the Federal Communications Commission. As the agencies move forward, fully staffed at last, we hope they will both recognize the role they can play in promoting net neutrality – meaning, in preventing ISPs from taking advantage of their effective gatekeeping roles to favor some services over others. Most people think of net neutrality as the province of the FCC, at least at the federal level. But that view loses sight of a prior problem: lack of competition in the ISP space. If we had a competitive broadband market, we might not need net neutrality rules, or at least not so many. But we don’t. If we had good net neutrality rules, the lack of competition might be less dangerous. Right now, in most places, we have neither. Instead, a few major companies—AT&T, Verizon, Comcast, and the like—have enormous power over our access to essential services, power they can use, in turn, to manipulate our online experience promoting or prioritizing some services over others.
[Katharine Trendacosta is Associate Director of Policy and Activism and Corynne McSherry is Legal Director at the Electronic Frontier Foundation.]
Alaska could receive more than $1 billion from the recently passed federal infrastructure package for high-speed broadband networks. According to Alaska Telecom Association executive director Christine O'Connor, that amount of funding would be “transformational.” “We’ve never seen an environment like this before for broadband,” she said. O’Connor was a member of a broadband task force established by Gov Mike Dunleavy (R-AK) that recently released a report on improving internet access. The federal package, supported by Alaska’s congressional delegation, is expected to provide more than $1 billion to the state for high-speed broadband. Funding also is expected for tribes across the country. The task force report says projects currently are underway that will bring new broadband service to more than 13,000 Alaskans in rural areas over the next two years. Among the task force's recommendations was that the state prioritize investing in fiber cables as the “gold standard” for new broadband networks. The group also proposed the formation of a state broadband office.
Residents of St. Helena Parish (LA) have long driven on roads that seem to cave in as quickly as they’re fixed. However, local officials are lauding President Joe Biden’s $1.2 trillion bipartisan infrastructure law as a chance for change. Broadband internet and roads — two resources that draw frequent complaints in this rural parish with deeply-rooted infrastructure troubles — are key areas the massive bill targets. It holds $65 billion for internet upgrades nationwide, and $110 billion to refurbish bridges and roads. Recovery from Hurricane Ida, which swept through the parish on August 30, further illuminated an already-pronounced lack of internet access as residents struggled to communicate in the aftermath of the storm. “The goal for us is to have fiber in every home. We’ve been talking about all these other funding sources to do that with,” said Roderick Matthews, the parish’s emergency director. “But I think with the infrastructure bill having passed, now it’s like, this will probably be a reality,” he added.
Platte County and Loup Power District have joined a memorandum of understanding (MOU) for broadband infrastructure development, investigating a public-private partnership to bring higher quality broadband to the rural area. The partnership is the brainchild of Nebraska Public Power District (NPPD) Special Assistant to the Vice President of Corporate Strategy and Innovation Pat Pope. Since retiring from his longtime position as the president and CEO of NPPD in February 2020, Pope has been working on rural broadband development. NPPD is also on board with the MOU. Nebraska law prohibits public power districts from selling internet to end users, but they could -- theoretically -- allow telecommunications companies to lease use of fiber-optic infrastructure owned by the power districts.
Platforms/Social Media
Federal judge blocks Texas law that would have opened doors for right-wing lawsuits against social media
Federal Judge Robert Pitman blocked a Texas law (HB 20) that would allow any state resident banned from a social media platform for their political views to sue the companies. “HB 20’s prohibitions on ‘censorship’ and constraints on how social media platforms disseminate content violate the First Amendment,” determined Judge Pitman in the decision. “Content moderation and curation will benefit users and the public by reducing harmful content and providing a safe, useful service,” Judge Pitman said, explaining why the injunction was beneficial. “Social media platforms have a First Amendment right to moderate content disseminated on their platforms,” the order reads, citing three separate Supreme Court decisions affirming the principle. “Private companies that use editorial judgment to choose whether to publish content — and, if they do publish content, use editorial judgment to choose what they want to publish — cannot be compelled by the government to publish other content.”
The preliminary injunction came one day before the law was scheduled to take effect. The decision is a blow to Texas lawmakers who alleged Facebook, Twitter, and Google’s YouTube censor right-wing views. The state law was motivated in part by the social media suspensions of former President Donald Trump after the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol. Technology trade groups that represent the major social media companies challenged the law signed in September by Gov. Greg Abbott (R-TX), saying it would chill the First Amendment rights of corporations to “exercise their own editorial discretion and to be free from state-compelled speech." “Texas’ law would have forced online platforms to pull the referees from social media sites, giving anti-vaxxers, conspiracy theorists, and insurrectionists free reign,” said Chamber of Progress CEO Adam Kovacevich. “Today’s court decision is a big victory for social media users who want less hate speech and misinformation in their online communities.”
Company News
Comcast Expands Digital Equity Efforts to Recognize National Veterans and Military Families Month
To help recognize National Veterans and Military Families Month, Comcast announced it would install free WiFi in up to 100 veteran-focused facilities as part of its expanding Lift Zones program. Lift Zones provide free WiFi access outside the home in neighborhood community centers. They complement Comcast’s Internet Essentials program, which provides low-cost broadband to eligible consumers, including veterans, inside the home. Both efforts are part of Project UP, Comcast’s comprehensive, ten year, $1 billion commitment to help build a future of unlimited possibilities. Comcast has already installed nearly 25 Lift Zones inside veteran-serving organizations and it will continue over the next several months to work with members of the military community to identify additional locations.
Gigi Sohn [Senior Fellow and Public Advocate at the Benton Institute for Broadband & Society], President Joe Biden's pick to fill the vacant seat on the five-member Federal Communications Commission, will pave the way for the restoration of Obama-era net neutrality protections if confirmed by the US Senate. With FCC Chair Jessica Rosenworcel and Sohn both confirmed, Democrats would have their majority and be poised to fulfill Biden's promise to get net neutrality regulations back on the books. The question that remains is how far the FCC will go in terms of re-establishing net neutrality rules. The agency may simply reinstate the 2015 rules Sohn helped draft. Those rules would require internet service providers, like Comcast and Verizon, to treat all internet traffic equally and bar them from offering "fast lanes" where some companies could pay for their customers to access sites and services faster than via their competitors. The rules also reclassified broadband as a so-called Title II service under the Communications Act, which gave the FCC the power to regulate broadband. "I'm not advocating for just reinstating the old rules," Sohn said then. "We need to push for FCC authority to adopt policy to handle issues like zero-rating and data caps."
A coalition of 18 center-right organizations sent a letter to the US Senate opposing the nomination of Gigi Sohn [Senior Fellow and Public Advocate at the Benton Institute for Broadband & Society] to serve as a Commissioner on the Federal Communications Commission. "[Sohn's] views on Title II are emblematic of her longstanding tendency to promote policies that over-regulate the industries in the FCC’s jurisdiction," says the letter. "Sohn was one the chief architects of the short-lived Title II common-carriage rules that she claimed were necessary to enforce net neutrality. The rules drove down broadband investment, increased prices, and decreased the adoption of home Internet service. Sohn has made it clear that she not only wants to reinstate these rules, but wants to take them further, including a ban on “zero-rating,” the free wireless data services that are particularly popular among low-income users."
Stories From Abroad
New generation of smaller alternative networks in UK are forcing incumbents to increase investment in broadband
There was once a time when the words “fixed line” turned investors cold — as the extraordinary growth of wireless telecoms and mobile data made cabling seem antiquated. Yet, in the age of full-fibre broadband, those tables have turned. Investors are backing a new generation of smaller, alternative cabled networks — dubbed “alt-nets” — forcing larger incumbents to increase their investment in broadband. “There are two big things in telecoms right now: 5G and fibre,” says William Hare, an analyst with Omdia, a technology consultancy. “But, through the pandemic, fibre has become much more of a priority.” Political pressure has played a part, with various governments actions leading to upgrades of fibre broadband networks. These have ranged from threats to break up telecoms companies to offers of subsidies and tax incentives to encourage investment, particularly in rural areas. In the five years to 2024, the growth in fixed-line connectivity will be most pronounced in Spain, China, Egypt and the US, according to forecasts from Omdia.
Benton (www.benton.org) provides the only free, reliable, and non-partisan daily digest that curates and distributes news related to universal broadband, while connecting communications, democracy, and public interest issues. Posted Monday through Friday, this service provides updates on important industry developments, policy issues, and other related news events. While the summaries are factually accurate, their sometimes informal tone may not always represent the tone of the original articles. Headlines are compiled by Kevin Taglang (headlines AT benton DOT org) and Grace Tepper (grace AT benton DOT org) — we welcome your comments.
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