Government & Communications

The Government Accountability Office is investigating the Federal Communications Commission’s claim that its commenting system suffered a distributed denial-of-service attack during a controversial debate over repealing net neutrality rules in May 2017. The alleged DDoS attack, which slowed but did not completely disable the commenting site, came after comedian John Oliver urged his viewers to submit comments opposing the net neutrality rewrite favored by the Trump administration. The timing has led some critics to suggest the massive increase in traffic to the FCC commenting site may have

On June 5, President Donald Trump tweeted an unfounded conspiracy theory that originated in some of the internet’s worst “fake news” corners. “Strzok-Page, the incompetent & corrupt FBI lovers, have texts referring to a counter-intelligence operation into the Trump Campaign dating way back to December, 2015,” the president wrote. “SPYGATE is in full force!” The supposed source for this claim is text messages between two FBI employees, Peter Strzok and Lisa Page, who were having an affair during the 2016 campaign.

The close working relationship between Verizon and information technology officials in Sacramento (CA) could turn out to be a model for communities across the country as cities move forward with smart city projects and the high-capacity communications networks needed to support them. About two years ago, Verizon approached the city to launch a 5G, fiber-optic build-out, with Sacramento as Verizon’s first foray into launching 5G.

The Precision Agriculture Connectivity Act (S. 2343) would direct the Federal Communications Commission to establish the Task Force for Reviewing the Connectivity and Technology Needs of Precision Agriculture in the United States and select 15 members to serve two-year terms. The task force would be required to recommend rules and steps the FCC should take to expand broadband Internet access to unserved agricultural land and to report annually to the FCC. The task force would terminate on January 1, 2025.

Fresh concerns about digital privacy and security are budding in Washington amid revelations of potential surveillance activity in the DC region, causing some lawmakers to demand action from the Trump administration. Sen. Ron Wyden (D-OR) is demanding action from the Federal Communications Commission and private phone companies to better protect Americans from being spied on or tracked. But he accused FCC Chairman Ajit Pai of “stonewalling” his pleas for action.  “Mr. Pai and the FCC are dragging their feet here,” Sen Wyden said. “They are stonewalling. They are ducking.

A response to FCC Emails Show Agency Spread Lies to Bolster Dubious DDoS Attack Claims.

Edward Snowden has no regrets five years on from leaking the biggest cache of top-secret documents in history. He is wanted by the US. He is in exile in Russia. But he is satisfied with the way his revelations of mass surveillance have rocked governments, intelligence agencies and major internet companies.

As it wrestled with accusations about a fake cyberattack, the Federal Communications Commission purposely misled several news organizations, choosing to feed journalists false information, while at the same time discouraging them from challenging the agency’s official story.

National Republicans are looking to boost turnout in June 5's pivotal CA primaries with texts targeting GOP voters in key districts. The National Republican Congressional Committee (NRCC) is targeting 115,000 Republican voters who have either not turned in their vote-by-mail ballots or need to vote on Election Day. Voters began receiving text messages the week May 25 and will receive one more on June 5 reminding them to vote. Voters will receive a text message that reads "ELECTION ALERT: Today is Primary Day!

For nearly a year, the denials from President Trump’s lawyers and spokeswoman were unequivocal. No, the president did not dictate a misleading statement released in his son’s name. But in a confidential, hand-delivered memo to the special counsel, Trump’s lawyers acknowledged that, yes, President Trump had dictated the statement, which attempted to deflect questions about a meeting with a Kremlin-tied lawyer at Trump Tower.