Montana Democrats Push for Rural Broadband, Hints for Big Tech under Biden, Parler CEO Fired

February 8, 2021—Montana state Democrats have announced a legislative package that aims to fill the rural broadband gap.

State Rep. Katie Sullivan has introduced LC 2670, a bill that would see the creation of either a broadband manager or an advisory board under the state’s executive.  The goal of this body would be to create a roadmap for future legislation designed to improve broadband infrastructure in Montana.

In addition to outlining plans for the future, Democrats are also trying to determine how best to secure investment in developing broadband infrastructure.

Rep. Tyson Running Wolf has put forward LC 1548, a bill that would seek to establish new lines of credit that could be used to fund various endeavors aimed at enabling broadband expansion. These lines of credit would be overseen by the broadband manager or advisory board Representative Sullivan aims to create.

Additionally, Rep. Derek Harvey has proposed a “dig once” initiative known as LC2940. Like other “dig once” policies from around the country, LC 2940 would require the Montana Department of Transportation to communicate with telecom providers to coordinate road construction and fiber laying activities to minimize cost.

An additional bill in this package is Representative Kelly Kortum’s LC 1539. This legislation would incentivize the production of new tech jobs by allowing communities to purchase broadband infrastructure. In addition to incentivizing tech jobs, this effort would also promote remote work, the bill says.

Adam Kovacevich offers thoughts for a new era of tech

There is no denying that the beginning of the Biden Administration signals the dawn of a new era for the tech industry.

The past four years represented a departure from the Obama Administration’s rose-tinted approach to tech policy, and now it is President Joe Biden’s chance to set the tone for how his administration will approach the issues facing the sector.

In his piece for Protocol,  Adam Kovacevich outlined his recommendations for big tech and the course itcan chart alongside the administration. Kovacevich’s first recommendation to big tech was to seek out opportunities to help the Biden Administration accomplish its biggest goals, namely “beating the coronavirus, aggressive action against climate change, [and] tackling racial and income inequality.”

Kovacevich pointed to Amazon’s offer to aid in the distribution of vaccines as a prime example of the actions that this sector can be taking to aid the administration.

Kovacevich also recommended that if tech companies want to accomplish their goals, they need to hitch their wagon to progressive causes. During this administration, tech companies will need to be able to demonstrate that their goals (whether they are producing autonomous vehicles, investing in telemedicine, or expanding broadband coverage) can accomplish Biden’s stated goals, such as reducing inequality and emissions, increasing wages, and improving American infrastructure. Kovacevich points to these policy areas as crucial examples of opportunities that tech companies need to capitalize on.

As the new administration begins to settle in, Kovacevich also advised tech companies to begin to “wave the U.S. flag” and recommit to promoting U.S. interests and leadership on the world stage. He also sought to remind the tech industry that “Democrats like policymaking,” and that they need to be active at the policy-making table if they want to have input on issues such as consumer privacy and addressing the future of Section 230.

Kovacevich’s final piece of advice to the tech industry was to seek out “voluntary wins,” or actions taken by the sector to police themselves so that the federal government does not have to step in and do it.

One such example of the tech industry already engaging in this behavior is Apple dropping Parler, a platform that housed conspiracy theorists, from the Appstore—a move that has been lauded by progressives as taking a stand against extremism.

Parler CEO and founder John Matze out

Parler’s CEO and founder John Matze was fired by the website’s board. This came as the latest twist in the controversial platform’s short history, as it was dropped by Amazon in January following the January 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol, in addition to providing a safe space for extremism and hateful speech.

In an interview with National Public Radio’s Morning Edition, Matze stated that he “did not participate in this decision,” and that he believes that his firing came because of a disagreement he had with conservative donor and board member, Rebekah Mercer.

Matze claimed that his vision for Parler would require the website to crack down on domestic terror groups, those who call for or attempt to incite violence, and even those who disseminate QAnon conspiracies.

Matze stated that he felt as though the Capital riot was a clear indication that Parler had to take a more active role in moderating the content shared on the platform and that things would only get worse if the website failed to act.

Matze’s firing comes at a crucial time as various entities in the tech sector are attempting to navigate how they will work with or against President Biden’s goals during his administration.