Report on past event

FCC Commissioners Carr, O'Rielly Raise Big Tech Red Flags at CPAC

Federal Communications Commissioner Brendan Carr, addressing allegations of conservative bias on online platforms, said he did not think the answer was "to do nothing." He cited what he said was a leaked document from Twitter "that it would soon be able to allow political ideologues to stamp tweets as misinformation based on their perspective," saying: "I don't think that's the right thing." "If you don't want MSNBC fact-checking the information you see on Twitter," he said, "I think you should be empowered to make that decision and turn those types of bias filters off." Asked to weigh in o

Commissioner Starks Remarks at Rural Broadband Roundtable

The persistent problem of the digital divide is hardening into a state of “Internet Inequality.” We know that millions of Virginians still lack access to high-quality affordable broadband. But, because of flaws in how the Federal Communications Commission collects its broadband data, we don’t actually know where they all are. That’s a cause for concern, and I am pleased that our friends in Congress sitting here today are also working to require the FCC to secure reliable broadband deployment data. For too long, the FCC has subsidized networks that are obsolete by the time they are built.

New Momentum Building for State Broadband Support Work

A new momentum has taken hold of state government work to support broadband infrastructure, access and usage. This momentum, experts say, is a direct result of an increased societal understanding of broadband as a utility, rather than as somewhat of a frivolous luxury.

In states, concerns with fairness of FCC's rural broadband fund

Amid widely conflicting reports of how many Americans truly lack access to high-speed internet, state broadband officials said that there’s too much funding at stake to rely on the Federal Communications Commission’s unreliable census-block data.

FCC's Ajit Pai Still Thinks Killing Net Neutrality Was a Brilliant Idea

Federal Communications Commission Chairman Ajit Pai continues to double down on the claim that net neutrality was a huge boon for American consumers, even if supporting evidence for that claim remains largely nonexistent. Speaking at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES), Chairman Pai once again insisted that his decision to ignore the public and repeal net neutrality protections resulted in faster broadband speeds for consumers—and a spike in overall network investment. “Since we made the decision in December 2017, broadband speeds are up 60 percent according to Ookla, infrastructure investm

Tech Giants Defend Privacy Efforts, Promise Improvements

Privacy experts from Facebook and Apple defended the security and use of consumer data on their platforms, though they said greater protections and public education are needed, especially as technology evolves and new laws around it take shape.

Bridging the Broadband Availability Gap

At Broadband Communities’ 2019 economic development conference, held in October in Alexandria, Virginia, participants shared stories about how communities are improving broadband access to facilitate economic development, digital literacy and consumer choices. Followi the link to some of the highlights of the conference sessions.

Knock, Knock. Who's There? Ajit Pai

At the Federal Communications Bar Association's annual Chairman's Dinner, Federal Communications Commission Chairman Ajit Pai delivered a solid set of inside jokes. 

Local CIOs Strategize on Broadband Use

The Metropolitan Information Exchange (MIX) is a close-knit association of CIOs from U.S. cities and counties with populations over 100,000. Gathering annually for over 51 years, members focus on sharing insights and cases from their own communities in order to build their collective knowledge and capabilities as leaders.

Senate Commerce Hearing: Senators inch forward on federal privacy bill

Senators argued over their dueling proposals for a federal privacy law during a highly anticipated hearing Dec 4, marking the first time key senators have taken their disputes public after months of closed-doors negotiations.