Digital Divide
Brookings Analyst Calls for Connecting Digital Underclass
Nicol Turner Lee supports new efforts to close the digital divide
FCC
'Authentication' of AI Needed to Protect the Public, Says OpenAI CEO Sam Altman
More efforts are needed to protect the public from fraudulent artificial intelligence, says noted CEO.
FSF
Industry Experts Pessimistic On Potential ACP Extension
Two experts discussed the roadblocks standing in the way of an ACP extension
Senators Pitch New Agency for Tech Regulation to Address FTC Shortcomings
Democratic Sens. Michael Bennet of Colorado and Peter Welch of Vermont urging the creation of a new tech regulatory agency.
AI
Workforce Training Needed to Address Artificial Intelligence Bias, Researchers Suggest
Building on the Blueprint for an AI Bill of Rights by the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy.
Union Association Requests Congress Attach Hiring Strings to Federal Broadband Dollars
The Communications Workers of America wants provisions in broadband bills barring hiring of subcontractors.
Congress
Republicans Leaders in a ‘Tight Spot’ After Insurrection Led By Trump, Say Brookings Panelists
Moderate Republicans fear retaliation if they do not support Trump supporters.
E-Rate
At US Telecom Event, Broadband Leaders Call For Changes in Universal Service Funding Mechanism
December 4, 2020 — Broadband industry leaders on Thursday called for the Federal Communications Commission to modernize Universal Service Fund programs, and highlighted other steps critical to making broadband affordable and available to all Americans, speaking during a US Telecom forum. “Affordabil
Biden-Harris Administration
Biden Administration Should Take a Trial-and-Error Approach to Antitrust, Say Brookings Panelists
December 1, 2020 — Experts recommended the incoming Biden administration take a trial-and-error approach to antitrust policy, during a Brookings Institute webinar on Tuesday. The new administration should “use litigation as a tool for learning,” said Matt Perault, associate professor and director of
Former FCC Chief Tom Wheeler Proposes Spectrum Sharing, Communications and Disabilities, 5G in South Korea
In a Brookings Institute post, Former Federal Communications Commission Chairman Tom Wheeler, recommends spectrum sharing to minimize the spectrum shortage caused by increased demand for wireless radio frequencies. As of yet, spectrum is a rivalrous asset. If one party owns it, another party cannot
Social Media
Don’t Blame Russia for American Disinformation: The Cause is Domestic Political Polarization
October 6, 2020 – Starting in 2014, domestic forces—not just foreign forces—began to spread the idea that America was rigged against you, according to Renée DiResta, technical research manager at Stanford Internet Observatory. Everyone was a target, DiResta explained, speaking at a Friday webinar sp
AI
Labeling and Rating Potentially Harmful AI Systems Is Inherently Complex, Say Brookings Panelists
October 5, 2020 — Germany has attempted to improve awareness of the potential degree of consumer harm that artificial intelligence systems cause by developing categories about the degree of environmental, economic, and societal impact it could cause. To hear expert opinions on whether policymakers a
FCC
Mobile Technology Aided the Growth of Black Lives Matter, But Will Hashtag Outrage Lead to Change?
September 21, 2020 — In the United States, widespread public use of mobile phone cameras and social media has thrust the longstanding issue of police brutality against Black Americans into the national spotlight like never before. Delving deeply into the subject of how digital tools have contributed
EU
Irish Data Protection Commission Asks Facebook to Stop Sending European Data to the United States
September 14, 2020 – The transatlantic relationship between the European Union and the United States has reached a critical point, as the countries’ data privacy policies continue to clash. On July 16, a legal decision by the Court of Justice of the European Union, Schrems II, moved to invalidate th
Antitrust
Brookings Panelists Call For Breaking Up and Breaking Open Big Tech Powerhouses
August 4, 2020 — Panelists in a Tuesday Brookings Institution webinar discussed their takes on the historic House Judiciary Antitrust Subcommittee hearing on July 29. The hearing brought the CEOs of four of Silicon Valley’s most affluent businesses — Facebook, Amazon, Apple and Google — together to
AI
Government Needs to Step Up and Regulate AI Algorithms, Argue Authors at Brookings Institution
WASHINGTON, January 14, 2020 – Artificial intelligence algorithms need to be regulated to combat racial and gender biases, said Michael Kearns and Aaron Roth in a Tuesday presentation at the Brookings Institution. Kearns, co-author of The Ethical Algorithm: The Science of Socially Aware Algorithm De
