Policymakers

ACCESS BROADBAND Act (S 1046) would direct the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) to establish the Office of Internet Connectivity and Growth to help communities develop strategies to expand the deployment and use of high-speed Internet services. The office would conduct workshops, develop broadband training, create and distribute publications, consult with other federal agencies that offer broadband support programs to streamline and standardize their applications processes, and develop a central website for information about federal broadband programs.

Public Knowledge announces that it will not accept funding from Facebook for any of the organization’s programs or initiatives. The decision follows a June 1 meeting between Facebook’s CEO Mark Zuckerberg and civil rights leaders to discuss the company’s choice to leave up without moderation comments made by President Donald Trump, including one in which he posted, “when the looting starts, the shooting starts,” in reference to protests over George Floyd’s death. Twitter, meanwhile, labeled the content with a disclaimer that it “glorified violence.”

As the country confronts its long, deeply rooted history of racism, we must all acknowledge our own role in racist systems and make changes to ensure we are part of the solution, rather than the problem. With over 2.6 billion users, Facebook has a clear responsibility to reckon with its role in these systems or risk continuing to facilitate oppression that imperils Black lives. Despite repeated calls to action from inside and outside the company, Facebook has long struggled with this responsibility.

Federal Communications Commissioner Geoffrey Starks has created the Digital Opportunity Equity Recognition (DOER) Program to commend organizations, institutions, companies and individuals who, through their actions and responses to the COVID-19 crisis, have helped to make quality affordable broadband service available to unserved or underserved communities.

The Senate confirmed Michael Pack, a conservative filmmaker who President Donald Trump has said he hopes will dictate more favorable news coverage of his administration, to lead the United States Agency for Global Media, the independent agency in charge of state-funded media outlets.

Federal Communications Commission Chairman Ajit Pai has appointed members to serve on the Broadband Deployment Advisory Committee (BDAC) Disaster Response and Recovery Working Group:

He rails against the "far left's" hoaxes. He says the World Health Organization has been “beclowned” over its response to the coronavirus. And he describes a “secret and partisan surveillance machine” run by House Intelligence Chairman Adam Schiff (D-CA). Those aren't President Donald Trump's words. They came from Brendan Carr, the junior Republican on the Federal Communications Commission, who is embracing a flavor of distinctly Trumpian rhetoric that could help him leapfrog his way to the chairmanship of the five-member regulatory agency.

I am honored to participate in the Department of Commerce’s celebration of Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month. I was born in Taiwan and spent most of my childhood in Seattle. I spent the early part of my career as a software engineer in network architecture and database internals. But as the Internet went mainstream, I became more interested in the socio-economic implications of the digital divide and who might be left behind. So in 1999, I left the private sector to study public policy at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT).

States play a crucial role in efforts to expand broadband to the millions of Americans who still lack access to this vital service. Nearly all states have responded to the growing demand for reliable, high-speed internet by creating broadband offices or designating responsibility for broadband to a state agency, task force, or council. While their structures might vary, state programs share many similarities, including working with local officials and other stakeholders to close gaps in service, managing data on broadband access, and administering grant programs.