Broadband Roundup: Zuckerberg and EU Discuss Rules for Facebook, Trumps Supports Oracle, Nevada Caucus Anxieties

Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg proposed a “third status for Facebook that would fall between telecom provider and publisher, while expressing skepticism at the idea of one single EU regulator” in meetings this week with European leaders, reports Politico.

Politico reports that EU officials regarded Zuckerberg wearily.

“Zuckerberg and senior Facebook executives say that they want governments to come up with new rules to police the online world, and that it should not be left to private firms to determine how much of the digital economy is run.”

European Commissioner Thierry Breton said, “It’s not for us to adapt to those companies, but for them to adapt to us.”

Trump administration weighs in for Oracle, not Google

In the high-profile copyright dispute of Google v. Oracle, Oracle is garnering support from the Trump administration.

Oracle accused Google of violating copyright laws when it used Oracle’s Java application programming interfaces.

“The Trump administration, including U.S. Solicitor General Noel Francisco and Joseph Hunt, the assistant attorney general of the Justice Department’s civil division, argued that ‘computer programs are copyrightable’ and Oracle ‘holds a valid copyright’ over the code in question,” reports Emily Birnbaum for The Hill.

While Microsoft and IBM are backing Google, Oracle is receiving support from proponents of strong copyright protection including the Recording Industry Association of America and former Sen. Orrin Hatch, R-Utah.

Nevada caucus hopes to avoid replica of Iowa debacle

After the Iowa Democratic Caucus debacle, Nevada caucus participants are scared that a similar tech disaster is approaching for their votes on February 22, writes Laura Barrón-López in Politico.

Volunteers said “the party has not provided sufficient training on how to use the Google form that will compile vote total.”

Volunteers will use iPads—yet another training that was not administered by caucus workers. And “questions remain about the security of the Wi-Fi” connection.

“Others with more intimate knowledge of the process, including a state party official and a volunteer who has worked the caucuses previously, contend that backup systems are in place in the event of any technical snafus,” reports Barrón-López.