Los Angeles Times

Los Angeles councilman proposes new department to improve broadband internet access

A city councilman proposed that Los Angeles (CA) study creating a new publicly owned and operated department to provide affordable broadband internet services to residents. According to a motion introduced by Councilman Paul Krekorian, the new department's mission would be to improve the city's network capabilities, provide community and economic development with at-cost internet service to businesses and residents and bridge the digital divide among neighborhoods lacking high-speed services.

President Trump hasn't given an order to counter Russian meddling, NSA chief says

National Security Agency Director Mike Rogers said that the United States hasn’t done enough to deter Russian meddling in national politics, even as he acknowledged that President Donald Trump hasn’t directed cybersecurity officials to take more aggressive offensive actions against Moscow.  “I believe that President Putin has clearly come to the conclusion that, there’s little price to pay here and therefore I can continue this activity,” Rogers told the Senate Armed Services Committee.  Rogers’ testimony was a reminder of the gap between the president, who has downplayed Russian interferen

Propaganda, lies and social media: Harvard's Nicco Mele on how the tech we love hurts us

Five years ago. Nicco Mele warned that technology — particularly social media — was taking power from big institutions and and giving it to individuals. When used for good, he said in his 2013 book “The End of Big: How the Internet Makes David the New Goliath,” new technologies could empower individuals, give smaller players a fighting chance and challenge incumbents. But there was also a dark side to the power shift, warned Mele, the director of the Shorenstein Center on Media, Politics, and Public Policy at the Harvard Kennedy School.