Associated Press

Verizon to end location data sales to brokers

Verizon is pledging to stop selling information on phone owners’ locations to data brokers, stepping back from a business practice that has drawn criticism for endangering privacy. The data has allowed outside companies to pinpoint the location of wireless devices without their owners’ knowledge or consent. Verizon said that about 75 companies have been obtaining its customer data from two little-known CA-based brokers that Verizon supplies directly — LocationSmart and Zumigo.

Biden’s vow of affordable internet for all is threatened by the looming expiration of subsidies

President Joe Biden traveled in January to North Carolina to promote his goal of affordable internet access for all Americans, but the promise for 23 million families across the US is on shaky ground. That’s because the Affordable Connectivity Program (ACP), which provides $30 a month for qualifying families in most places and $75 on tribal lands, will run out of money by the end of April if Congress doesn’t extend it further. The program is key to the Biden administration’s plans to make the internet available to everyone, which the president has touted repeatedly as he has ramped up his r

A torpedoed Biden FCC nominee shows the power of dark money campaigns and a ‘perfect storm’ of industry interests

When President Joe Biden nominated Gigi Sohn [Senior Fellow and Public Advocate at the Benton Institute for Broadband & Society] to serve on the Federal Communications Commission, the longtime consumer advocate expected to face criticism over her desire to expand free internet access and improve competition among broadband providers. Instead, Sohn found herself the target of an aggressive campaign funded by a conservative group that doesn’t have to disclose its donors. The American Accountability Foundation called Sohn too partisan, anti-police, and soft on sex trafficking.

House approves antitrust bill targeting Big Tech dominance

The House of representatives approved antitrust legislation targeting the dominance of Big Tech companies by giving states greater power in competition cases and increasing money for federal regulators. The Merger Filing Fee Modernization Act passed by a 242-184 vote. It was separated from more ambitious provisions aimed at reining in Meta, Google, Amazon, and Apple and cleared by key House and Senate committees. Those proposals have languished for months, giving the companies time for vigorous lobbying campaigns against them.