Funding
Senate Passes Bill to Protect USF from Weak ISPs
Bill requires ISPs to disclose financial strength to receive funds
BEAD
Lutnick Promises New Funding Notice for BEAD, Funds Released This Year
Declines to comment on rebidding, or on per-location cost caps
Briefs
Senate Commerce Committee Passes NET Act
FCC would need to evaluate impact of network equipment supply chain on broadband access.
Congress
Senators Press Trusty on FCC Independence, Diversity, and Universal Service
Democrats warn of growing White House influence over regulators.
BEAD
NTIA Nominee Roth Mostly Noncommittal on Key BEAD Issues
Roth offered no guarantees that states won’t have to restart BEAD subgrantee selections.
IIJA
Senators Revive Bill to Prevent BEAD Supply Chain Bottlenecks
The NET Act would address supply chain delays ahead of the government dolling out $42.5 billion for broadband.
AI
Outlook for AI Regulation Uncertain Under Full Republican Control
President-elect Donald Trump has pledged to rescind President Joe Biden’s sweeping AI executive order.
X (Twitter)
Senate Passes Bills Aimed at Protecting Children Online
'Government mandates and censorship will not protect children online,' said Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., one of the 'No' votes.
FCC
AI Transparency Bill, Counties Opposed Permitting Bill, Robocalls Down But Costs Up
The bill would require the federal government to notify the public when agencies use AI.
FCC
Senators Set Up Universal Service Fund Working Group, As Cruz Mounts Criticism of Broadband Program
A new Senate working group is set to consider reforms to the USF.
Biden-Harris Administration
Senate Witnesses Call For AI Transparency
Regulatory AI transparency will increase federal agency and company accountability to the public.
New York Times
Cyber Warfare with Russia, Justice Department on Cyber Bill, Surgeon General on Misinformation
The Ukrainian Defense Ministry claims to have enlisted a private cyber group to disrupt flow of arms from Russia.
X (Twitter)
TikTok Harms Investigated, Big Tech Actions Against Russian Media, Senate Passes Cyber Alert Bill
Attorneys general from across the nation will investigate TikTok to determine if the platform is harmful to minors.
IIJA
Alan Davidson’s NTIA Nomination Clears Commerce Committee, On to Senate Floor
The committee did not raise Gigi Sohn’s nomination during its meeting.
FAA
New Anti-Robocall Tools, House Passes 3 Tech Bills, Senate Commerce Clears Others, Is Open RAN Facilitating Protectionism?
The Secure Telephone Identity Governance Authority announced new policies to advance the STIR/SHAKEN protocol in the fight against illegal robocalls. Through STIR/SHAKEN cryptographic system, service providers can mark calls with digital certificates and verify the accuracy of caller ID. The STI-GA
Section 230
Google, Facebook and Twitter Defend Themselves as GOP Slams Big Tech and Dems Mock Hearing
October 30, 2020 – Tech platform companies Google, Facebook, and Twitter said they not in favor of redefining the phrase, “otherwise objectionable,” that has become a key source of controversy in the political firestorm surrounding Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act. The CEOs of the three
