Government & Communications

Russia Inches Toward Its Splinternet Dream

Russia is making progress in creating a “splinternet,” a move that would effectively detach the country from the rest of the world’s internet infrastructure. Such a move would allow Russia to control conversations more tightly and tamp down dissent—and it's getting closer by the day. Controlling a country’s internet requires two major components: separating yourself from the rest of the world, and cutting access from within. But both are harder for Russia than China because it’s starting from a comparatively open internet, after years of engagement with the West.

What US courts learned using video communications platforms

In courtrooms across the US, judges hear from lawyers, prosecutors, plaintiffs, law enforcement officers, witnesses and others, all with the mission to resolve criminal and civil disputes fairly and transparently. Most observers agree, however, that the volume and complexity of cases before the courts in recent years have slowed the proverbial wheels of justice to a crawl. Then suddenly, the courts came to grips with the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and scrambled to defer in-person hearings. Many feared cases might grind to a standstill. Instead, something remarkable happened.

NTIA Adds Key Broadband Leaders to its Growing Team

The National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) is continuing to build out its senior leadership team as it prepares to launch the grant programs in the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act:

Cut Off From the Courthouse: How the Digital Divide Impacts Access to Justice and Civic Engagement

After exploring the connection between broadband policy and access to courts, civic engagement, and government services, this report by Next Century Cities and the Samuelson Law, Technology & Public Policy Clinic at the University of California-Berkeley offers the following conclusions:

FCC Announces April Open Meeting Agenda

The Federal Communications Commission has announced its April 2022 Open Meeting Agenda. The following are on the agenda for the FCC:
  • Innovative spectrum management:  The FCC will consider an inquiry on how receiver improvements could provide greater opportunities for efficient use of spectrum. It would also seek comment on legal authority and market-based mechanisms that could help create a more transparent and predictable radiofrequency environment for all spectrum users.

FCC Releases its 2021 Annual Performance Report

The Federal Communications Commission has released its Annual Performance Report for Fiscal Year (FY) 2021. The report details the FCC's efforts in 2021 under four main goals: closing the digital divide, promoting innovation, protecting consumers and public safety, and reforming the FCC's processes. FCC Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel highlights the FCC's actions over the course of 2021, stating, "During FY 2021, the Commission mounted an extraordinary response to a historic crisis.

FCC and NTIA Leaders Hold Inaugural Monthly Meeting

Federal Communications Commission Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel and Assistant Secretary of Commerce Alan Davidson met on March 29 to discuss spectrum policy efforts, the first monthly FCC/NTIA coordination meeting since the leaders launched their Spectrum Coordination Initiative. The leaders also announced that they have launched a joint task force which met this week to begin discussing the details of a new Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between the agencies.

Reps Cammack and Costa Urge USDA to Prioritize ReConnect Funding in Rural and Underserved Communities

Reps Kat Cammack (R-FL) and Jim Costa (D-CA) led a letter with their colleagues to urge US Department of Agriculture (USDA) Secretary Vilsack to ensure the ReConnect Pilot Program serves rural America and the underserved communities that need it most.

Democrats Weigh Tactic to Break Stalemate on President Biden's FTC and FCC Nominees

Under pressure from progressive activists, Democrats are considering employing a rarely used parliamentary maneuver to push through President Biden’s nominees for the Federal Trade Commission and Federal Communications Commission. Republicans on the Senate Commerce Committee have so far blocked the nominations of Georgetown University law professor Alvaro Bedoya to the FTC and Gigi Sohn [Senior Fellow and Public Advocate at the Benton Institute for Broadband & Society] to the FCC, largely on grounds that they are too partisan.

President Biden Announces US Government Budget Proposal for 2023

On March 28, President Biden announced a $5.8 trillion budget proposal for the US government for fiscal year 2023. Biden's proposal includes:

Department of Commerce's Fiscal Year 2022-2026 Strategic Plan Includes $50 Billion Investment in Broadband

 The Department of Commerce released its fiscal year 2022-2026 Strategic Plan laying out an agenda for innovation, resilience and equity to strengthen US competitiveness in the 21st century. The Department of Commerce's National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) will take the lead in ensuring all Americans can access affordable, future-proof broadband by implementing a nearly $50 billion investment in infrastructure, planning, digital inclusion, and workforce development. The Department's four broadband strategies included in its Strategic Plan are the following:

FCC Submits Budget Request for Fiscal Year 2023

On March 28, the Federal Communications Commission presented its fiscal year 2023 budget request. The budget request will be used to support the following Strategic Goals:

US government-backed company Lantern works to build an "unbreakable" internet in Russia

As Russia makes preparations to possibly disconnect from the global internet in a bid to control the narrative around the invasion of Ukraine, Lantern is rushing to lay the final pieces of an unbreakable network that the Kremlin won’t be able to take down. The company has seen staggering growth inside Russia in the last four weeks for its app that allows users to bypass restrictions the Kremlin has put in place on platforms like Facebook, Twitter

United States and European Commission Announce Trans-Atlantic Data Privacy Framework

The United States and the European Commission have committed to a new Trans-Atlantic Data Privacy Framework, which will foster trans-Atlantic data flows and address the concerns raised by the Court of Justice of the European Union when it struck down in 2020 the Commission’s adequacy decision underlying the EU-US Privacy Shield framework. By ensuring a durable and reliable legal basis for data flows, the new framework will underpin an inclusive and competitive digital economy and lay the foundation for further economic cooperation. Through the framework, the US makes commitments to:

We're still waiting on President Biden's pick for FCC inspector general

President Biden has yet to announce his pick for inspector general for the Federal Communications Commission. That position, which is meant to audit FCC spending and investigate potential fraud and abuse, is set to assume new significance, with billions of dollars in pandemic relief and infrastructure cash now flowing into the agency.

President Biden's FTC and FCC nominees face further confirmation delays

Senate Democrats likely won’t be setting up floor votes this week on President Biden’s long-pending Federal Trade Commission and Federal Communications Commission nominees, according to Senate Commerce Chair Maria Cantwell (D-WA). “We’re missing a few people,” she said, citing the absence of Sen Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH) due to COVID-19, as well as a few other Democrats.

FCC and NTIA Name Staff Representatives to Advisory Committees to Further Technical Collaboration

Federal Communications Commission Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel and Assistant Secretary of Commerce Alan Davidson named staff representatives to participate on each other’s advisory committees. This is a critical component of the FCC and National Telecommunication and Information Administration’s Spectrum Coordination Initiative, under which they are taking actions to strengthen the processes for decision making and information sharing and to work cooperatively to resolve spectrum policy issues.

Russia is risking the creation of a “splinternet”—and it could be irreversible

Russia’s disconnection from the online services of the West has been as abrupt and complete as its disconnection from real-world global trade routes. The moves have raised fears of a “splinternet” (or Balkanized internet), in which instead of the single global internet we have today, we have a number of national or regional networks that don’t speak to one another and perhaps even operate using incompatible technologies. That would spell the end of the internet as a single global communications technology—and perhaps not only temporarily.

Consumer advocacy groups urge House Judiciary leadership to hold a legislative hearing on right to repair

A coalition of 55 consumer advocacy groups sent a letter to House Judiciary Leadership on March 16 urging the lawmakers to hold a legislative hearing on the Freedom to Repair Act (

House Subcommittee on Communications and Technology Holds Hearing on Spectrum Policy

The House Subcommittee on Communications and Technology held a hearing on spectrum policy entitled "5G and Beyond: Exploring the Next Wireless Frontier." The hearing covered a range of spectrum topics, including the Federal Communications Commission’s authority to conduct spectrum auctions. The FCC’s auction authority, which has been extended several times since originally granted in 1993, is set to expire on September 30, 2022.

Sen Wicker Calls for Oversight Review on COVID-19 Broadband Spending

Sen Roger Wicker (R-MS) urged the Pandemic Response Accountability Committee (PRAC) to conduct an oversight review into pandemic-related spending to ensure broadband funds were used appropriately for assisting unserved communities and those economically affected by the pandemic. In response to the need for broadband amid the COVID-19 pandemic, Congress created multiple broadband accessibility programs that allocated billions of dollars to assist Americans in their participation in remote activities.

House Republicans Express Concerns With the Biden Administration's Statements on Health Misinformation Online

House Republican Leaders sent a letter to US Surgeon General Vivek Murthy regarding the Biden Administration's approach to COVID-19 related misinformation on tech platforms. "We write with significant concerns that the Biden Administration continues to undermine the First Amendment by pressuring technology companies to censor specific users and certain speech," reads the letter sent by Reps Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R-WA), Jim Jordan (R-OH), Steve Scalise (R-LA) and James Comer (R-KY). "The First Amendment prohibits the government from directly censoring speech it finds objectionable.

Russia Rolls Down Internet Iron Curtain, but Gaps Remain

Russia is dropping a digital iron curtain over its population, creating a big, new fracture in the global internet—but there are still big gaps in President Vladimir Putin’s efforts to cut off the country from online information accessible in much of the rest of the world. At the same time, more Western companies are pulling back some digital services from Russia under pressure from Western sanctions. It is too early to say how permanent the restrictions will be.

Why Russia’s “disconnection” from the Internet isn’t amounting to much

Rumors of Russian Internet services degrading have been greatly exaggerated, despite unprecedented announcements recently from two of the world’s biggest backbone providers that they were exiting the country following its invasion of Ukraine. Just as ISPs provide links connecting individuals or organizations to the Internet, backbone services are the service providers that connect ISPs in one part of the world with those elsewhere. These so-called transit providers route massive amounts of traffic from one ISP or backbone to another.