Former Reporter Em McPhie studied communication design and writing at Washington University in St. Louis, where she was a managing editor for the student newspaper.
Rural
WASHINGTON, August 12, 2019 — The Federal Communications Commission on Monday authorized over $121 million in rural broadband funding, marking the fourth wave of support from last year’s Connect America Fund Phase II Auction. The funding is expected to bring broadband access to more than 36,000 unse
FCC
WASHINGTON, August 8, 2019 — Following more than six years of public input and review, Federal Communications Commission Chairman Ajit Pai on Thursday introduced a proposal to maintain the agency’s existing radiofrequency exposure limits. These limits are set in close consultation with the Food and
FCC
Congress and the Federal Communications Commission are working together to stop robocalls, wrote FCC Chairman Ajit Pai and Rep. Bob Latta, R-Ohio, in an op-ed on Wednesday. Rep. Latta in April introduced legislation that encourages phone companies to automatically block unwanted robocalls, and in Ju
Social Media
WASHINGTON, August 7, 2019 — As the second anniversary of the Unite the Right rally approaches, activists are calling for Twitter to ban key advocates of white supremacy from its platform. David Duke, Richard Spencer, and other key organizers of the alt-right rally—which left counter-protester Heath
House
WASHINGTON, August 6, 2019 — The United States should be cautious about including language similar to the Communication Decency Act’s Section 230 in trade agreements, wrote two members of the House Energy & Commerce Committee in a letter to U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer. Article 19.17
AEI
A recent report from the CoBank Knowledge Exchange detailed new insights into successful broadband partnerships. The report, written by economists Jeff Johnston and Tom Binet, found that partnerships between Rural Local Exchange Carriers and Electric Distribution Cooperatives are uncommon, but can b
FCC
WASHINGTON, August 1, 2019 — The Federal Communications Commission on Thursday initiated a new process for collecting fixed broadband data for mapping purposes. The new Digital Opportunity Data Collection aims to replace the current, Form 477-based data collection methodology utilized since 2000, o
FCC
The Universal Service Fund should be subject to a budget cap, argued Technology Policy Institute Senior Fellows Sarah Oh and Scott Wallsten in a filing to the Federal Communications Commission. “A budget cap will create incentives for the entire USF community to assess the program, experiment with n
X (Twitter)
WASHINGTON, August 1, 2019 — Sen. Josh Hawley, R-Mo., took the stage at the National Conservative Student Conference on Wednesday to thunderous applause and dozens of phones held in the air to capture his entry on Snapchat and Instagram. But Hawley, the youngest member of the Senate, is no friend to
FTC
WASHINGTON, July 31, 2019 — The Justice Department’s recently announced settlement on the T-Mobile/Sprint merger has drawn widespread criticism, even though the agreement maintains four nationwide carriers by drawing Dish Network into the marketplace. Dish has fiercely defended its ability to quickl
FCBA
WASHINGTON, July 30, 2019 — Closing the digital divide will require a multifaceted long-term solution, and better broadband maps are an essential step towards getting there, said panelists at a discussion hosted by New York Law School and the Federal Communications Bar Association on Tuesday. Indian
FTC
Third party websites that use Facebook’s “Like” button can be held liable for processing personal user data and transmitting it to Facebook, according to the European Union’s top court. The owner of a website can be held jointly responsible for “the collection and transmission to Facebook of the per
Congress
WASHINGTON, July 29, 2019 — Policy experts and tech executives emphatically defended the controversial Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act at an Internet Governance Forum conference on Thursday. The statute, which has been the target of attacks from both sides of the aisle in recent weeks,
WASHINGTON, July 25, 2019 — The efficacy of antitrust enforcement against big tech companies was energetically debated at an Internet Governance Forum conference on Thursday. The current consumer welfare standard sufficiently supports robust antitrust merger analysis, claimed Keith Klovers, an attor
Congress
WASHINGTON, July 24, 2019 — The Federal Trade Commission announced on Wednesday details of its $5 billion settlement with Facebook over privacy violations such as the Cambridge Analytica scandal. In addition to the fine, the company will have to provide quarterly compliance reports and form an indep
ISP
Locally-run internet service providers offer better broadband than their private sector counterparts, according to a recent study by PCMag. The data shows that six of America’s ten fastest ISPs either involve some form of public-private partnership or were run directly by a local community. “Local n
