Federal Communications Commission Chairman Ajit Pai is continuing his multi-year battle against local broadband regulation with a plan that would stop cities and towns from using their authority over cable TV networks to regulate Internet access. Chairman Pai's proposal, scheduled for a vote at the FCC's Aug 1 meeting, would also limit the fees that municipalities can charge cable companies. Cable industry lobbyists have urged the FCC to stop cities and towns from assessing fees on the revenue cable companies make from broadband. But does the FCC have the power to preempt these local fees and requirements? Consumer-advocacy group Public Knowledge argues that the FCC can't preempt local broadband regulations because the Pai-led FCC gave up its own authority over broadband when it reclassified broadband as an information service as part of its repeal of net neutrality rules. The FCC could "assert ancillary authority over broadband" using its power to regulate "services that fall within its general jurisdictional scope of 'communications by wire or radio,'" Public Knowledge said. But the FCC has declined to assert such ancillary authority in this case, so it doesn't have the power to preempt, the group argued.

The Federal Communications Commission authorized over $524 million in funding over the next decade to expand broadband to 205,520 unserved rural homes and businesses in 23 states, representing the third wave of support from 2018’s successful Connect America Fund Phase II auction. Providers will begin receiving funding in July. In total, the auction from fall 2018 allocated $1.488 billion in support to expand broadband to more than 700,000 unserved rural homes and small businesses over the next 10 years. The FCC has already authorized two waves of funding in May and June, and funds from those first two waves are expanding connectivity to nearly 100,000 homes and businesses that lack service. Today’s action brings total authorized funding to nearly $803 million, or over half of the $1.488 billion allocated through the auction, expanding connectivity to 305,518 homes and businesses. In the coming months, the FCC will be authorizing additional funding as it approves remaining applications of the winning bidders from the auction.

When Apple CEO Tim Cook privately hosted six Democratic lawmakers at the company’s space-age headquarters spring 2019, he opened the conversation with a plea — for Congress to finally draft privacy legislation after years of federal inaction. But a number of privacy advocates and lawmakers say Apple has not put enough muscle behind any federal effort to tighten privacy laws. And state lawmakers, who are closest to passing rules to limit data sharing, say Apple is an ally in name only — and in fact has contributed to lobbying efforts that might undermine some new data-protection legislation. While Apple formally supports the notion of a federal privacy law, the company has yet to formally back any bills proposed on the Hill — unlike Microsoft. And in CA, WA, and IL, home to the most significant state privacy bills, the company has sought to battle back or soften local legislators’ proposed bills, often through its trade associations.

President Donald Trump is a prolific Twitter user, using the social media site to promote his policies and criticize his opponents. But determining just how many Americans follow President Trump on the platform is more challenging than it may sound: Twitter, after all, is an international platform used by institutional accounts and bots as well as living, breathing people in the US. A new Pew Research Center analysis estimates that around one-in-five adult Twitter users in the US (19%) follow Trump’s personal account on the platform, @realDonaldTrump. President Trump’s immediate predecessor, Barack Obama (@BarackObama), is followed by 26% of US adult Twitter users.  The estimate is based on the 87% of adult Twitter users in the study who have public-facing accounts; it does not include the 13% of these users who have private accounts since it is not possible to independently verify which accounts those users follow.  About two-in-ten adult Twitter users with a public account (21%) follow at least one member of Congress; 17% of these users follow one or more Democratic members of Congress, and 8% follow one or more Republican members of Congress. That includes the official, campaign, or personal accounts of all members of the House and Senate.

Federal Communications Commission Chairman Ajit Pai has appointed members to serve on the Communications Security, Reliability, and Interoperability Council (CSRIC or Council) VII. The CSRIC will hold its first meeting on July 19. Charlotte Field, senior vice president at Charter Communications, will chair the council.