WASHINGTON, June 22, 2018 — People living, working, or traveling in the United States gained a bit more privacy Friday after the Supreme Court found that police must obtain a search warrant before asking wireless carriers to turn over some types records which reveal a mobile phone’s location history. In the case of Carpenter v.… Keep Reading
WASHINGTON, June 21, 2018 - The United States Supreme Court on Thursday dealt a blow to the online retail industry by overturning a 26-year-old ruling, Quill v. North Dakota, which had prohibited states from forcing mail-order retailers to collect sales tax from customers in states where they lacked a physical presence. The 5-4 ruling on Thursday, in South… Keep Reading
WASHINGTON, June 21, 2018 - Top digital advertising experts defended the importance of data collection against a committee skeptical of ad companies’ ethics. With data privacy increasingly at the forefront of tech policy debate, a June 14 House Energy and Commerce Committee hearing on the digital advertising ecosystem became a flashpoint for the debate between… Keep Reading
WASHINGTON, June 21, 2018 - The man behind the app at the heart of the Cambridge Analytica data scandal defended the company’s use of personal data in front of the Senate, claiming he believed there was “almost no chance” that the data helped political campaigns in the 2016 election. The U.S. Senate Committee on Commerce,… Keep Reading
WASHINGTON, June 20, 2018 - Data privacy experts questioned the effectiveness of the European General Data Protection Regulation as a means of regulating international data privacy on the grounds that it may be incompatible with current U.S. policies. At the 2nd Annual Transatlantic Symposium on information communications technology and policy, industry and policy experts joined… Keep Reading
BROADBAND BREAKFAST INSIGHT: Blockchain is beginning to be recognized as much more than simply the technology powering Bitcoin. As this understanding seeps into the popular consciousness, policy-makers will begin to recognize how significant this innovation is for distributed computing and automating processes - financial, transactional, logistical and legal. Shane Tews at AEI Ideas delves into… Keep Reading
WASHINGTON, June 13, 2018 – Was a federal district court judge’s decision to permit AT&T’s merger with Time Warner a victory for the rule or law over politics – or was it instead another defeat for the consumer at the hand of ever-consolidating mega-entities? That question permeated Tuesday’s conference on “Free Speech and Democracy in… Keep Reading
WASHINGTON, June 12, 2018 - A federal district judge on Tuesday ruled that AT&T can proceed with its $85 billion merger with entertainment giant Time-Warner, spurning Justice Department arguments that the allowing the deal to proceed would harm consumers by driving up cable television costs. District Judge Richard Leon flatly rejected the Justice Department’s contention that… Keep Reading
This article was written and reported by Andrew Feinberg and Heather Heimbach. WASHINGTON, June 12, 2018 - As the Federal Communications Commission’s repeal of Obama-era network neutrality rules took effect Monday, Democrats and net neutrality advocates vowed to continue the effort to use a Congressional Review Act resolution to roll back the new FCC rules.… Keep Reading
WASHINGTON, June 11, 2018 – Before the official date on which the Federal Communications Commission’s action changing net neutrality were to go into effect, conservative technology experts slammed a recent Senate vote to restore those Obama-era network neutrality protections “The [Congressional Review Act vote] is purely being used as a political tool, and it is… Keep Reading
WASHINGTON, June 11, 2018 – The Pew Charitable Trusts recently announced a new broadband research effort amid concerns that government’s past data collection methods are not enough to inform policy makers on the nation’s broadband access gap. In a May 30 webinar event on this new broadband research initiative focused on improving data collection methods… Keep Reading
WASHINGTON, June 8, 2018 – Concerns that consumers will fail to adopt even basic security measures to protect themselves - and thereby endanger the entire internet ecosystem – is becoming an increasingly dire issue. That was the message delivered at a Thursday cybersecurity policy forum hosted by the trade group US Telecom. Panelists included public… Keep Reading
WASHINGTON, June 7, 2018 – A top Facebook policy official on Wednesday defended the social media giant’s new policies about safeguarding privacy and data transparency against the doubts of an audience at the New America Foundation, a think tank generally friendly to Facebook. In recent months, Facebook has faced heavy scrutiny from Congress for potential… Keep Reading
BROADBAND BREAKFAST INSIGHT: Last week Google announced three new phones on its Project Fi network. Which raises the question (particularly for those iPhone users blocked out of the project) about what on earth is Project Fi, and how does it work? In sum, it's Google's version of a virtual mobile network stitching together elements of… Keep Reading
BROADBAND BREAKFAST INSIGHT: The traditional pairing of one Republican and one Democrat for Federal Communications Commission spots may not apply in this case because, with the departure of Mignon Clyburn on May 10, the agency is currently experiences a 3-1 margin of Republican governance. Trump grants Democrats’ request for a new FCC commissioner, from Ars… Keep Reading
WASHINGTON, June 4, 2018 - If the tenor of a Thursday event at the CATO Institute is any indication, Facebook continues to face tough scrutiny from many sides in Washington. Although the event was titled, “Will Social Media Save Democracy?”, the panel instead became a multi-pronged attack on the company framed around a more negative… Keep Reading
BROADBAND BREAKFAST INSIGHT: With Jeffrey Katzenberg getting into the game, we now see a multitude of video entities and many over-the-top outfits promoting an array of content offerings. Katzenberg's take? Short-form TV. Let a thousand flowers bloom! Katzenberg’s NewTV Video Startup Raises $800 Million, from Bloomberg Hollywood mogul Jeffrey Katzenberg has secured about $800 million… Keep Reading
WASHINGTON, May 21, 2018 — Finding a way to allow Chinese telecommunications equipment maker ZTE back into US markets is not part of the Trump administration's ongoing trade talks with China and any solution will still punish the company for past actions, National Economic Council Director Larry Kudlow said Monday. Kudlow described ZTE as "part of… Keep Reading
WASHINGTON, May 17, 2018 -- National Economic Council Director Larry Kudlow on Thursday said President Donald Trump's calls to reverse a Commerce Department order banning the Chinese telecommunications equipment firm ZTE from exporting American products came in response to a request from Chinese president Xi Jinping. "I think the president is responding to a request from President Xi to take another… Keep Reading
WASHINGTON, May 16, 2018 -- Senate Democrats on Wednesday joined forces with Republicans Susan Collins, John Kennedy, R-La. and Lisa Murkowski, R-Ak. to approve a bill which rolls back the Federal Communications Commission’s repeal of network neutrality rules enacted under former President Obama, 52-47 The bill, S.J. Res. 52, is a so-called resolution of disapproval… Keep Reading