Tech companies are assessing their roles in protecting their users as officials in Washington debate whether the government should take a firmer hand in safeguarding Americans’ privacy. To that end, Facebook is offering responses from tech industry analysts and former government officials on “how best to spur innovation while protecting privacy.” The company sought insights on how to balance privacy and data portability — the ability to transfer personal data among different apps and services. Facebook recently announced a new collaborative effort with Google, Microsoft, and Twitter to develop recommendations and guidelines on that front. Multiple federal agencies are probing Facebook over the Cambridge Analytica scandal. And the appetite for answers from the company on its privacy practices remains high on Capitol Hill, with Facebook and other tech companies on the hook to appear for another high-profile congressional hearing in September. Meanwhile, the White House and Commerce Department continue to iron out principles for potential national privacy standards. Such factors have put pressure on Facebook to demonstrate it is taking tangible steps to avoid another data breach and show it can internally evaluate and address weaknesses in its privacy protocols.

With too many students in too many places falling into the homework gap, we need to upgrade the E-Rate program by extending the school classroom to the school bus. This would ensure that school districts are reimbursed by the program when they add this technology to their transportation. To drive this change, proposals have been introduced in the Senate and House of Representatives. They deserve serious consideration. By turning ride time into connected time, we can make sure that every student, no matter who they are or where they live, has a fair shot at getting their homework done — and the opportunity for digital age success.

People who end up in jail in New York City will now be able to use the phones there for free, after Mayor Bill de Blasio signed a bill into law that will eliminate the charge. The city had been collecting about $5 million per year from calls made by incarcerated people and their families. The billion-dollar prison phone industry has drawn increased scrutiny in recent years, and the move by New York City is part of a nationwide push from prison-rights groups, public defenders, and the families of those who are incarcerated to limit private companies from profiting off incarceration. New York is the first major city in the nation to make phone calls free.

Because the stakes are so high, we need to look with extreme skepticism at proposals primarily designed to prop up the current consolidated and dysfunctional media landscape. If we want to address the very real problems created by a dysfunctional media, we need to separate which of these problems can properly be attributed to dominant platforms and which to structural problems in the traditional news industry. Additionally, legitimate fears of the ability of dominant platforms to act as gatekeepers, or concerns about their outsized influence on the economics of news production and dissemination, should not justify solutions that destroy the extremely important role these platforms have played – and continue to play – in civic engagement and enhancing the creation of new and independent outlets for news. We could start by honestly acknowledging the longstanding problems with the media and that the current crisis is not simply a result of the emergence of a handful of dominant online platforms or even changes in technology. What are the possible solutions to the underlying problems in journalism? How do we repair journalism? Equally important, how do we repair the public’s trust in journalism?

For several months, my office has been aware of and cooperating with the Office of Inspector General’s independent investigation into the incident involving the FCC’s Electronic Comment Filing System (ECFS) that took place on May 7-8, 2017. The Inspector General’s office asked my office not to discuss this investigation while it was ongoing so as not to jeopardize it, and my office has accommodated that request.... I am deeply disappointed that the FCC’s former Chief Information Officer (CIO), who was hired by the prior Administration and is no longer with the Commission, provided inaccurate information about this incident to me, my office, Congress, and the American people. This is completely unacceptable. I’m also disappointed that some working under the former CIO apparently either disagreed with the information that he was presenting or had questions about it, yet didn’t feel comfortable communicating their concerns to me or my office. On the other hand, I’m pleased that this report debunks the conspiracy theory that my office or I had any knowledge that the information provided by the former CIO was inaccurate and was allowing that inaccurate information to be disseminated for political purposes....

First and foremost, this report highlights the need for the FCC to revamp ECFS. While our information technology staff worked hard to keep the system up and running in the weeks and months following this incident, it has become abundantly clear that ECFS needs to be updated. I’m therefore pleased that Congress last week approved a reprogramming request that provides us with the funding necessary to redesign ECFS. We’re looking forward to getting that important project started. Moreover, my office has made it clear that we welcome the participation in this effort of the IT experts in the Inspector General’s office who worked on this report....

[I]t has become clear that in addition to a flawed comment system, we inherited from the prior Administration a culture in which many members of the Commission’s career IT staff were hesitant to express disagreement with the Commission’s former CIO in front of FCC management...we will make it clear that those working on information technology at the Commission are encouraged to speak up if they believe that inaccurate information is being provided to the Commission’s leadership.