Social Media
The Biggest Tech Companies – Amazon, Apple, Facebook and Google – Have Nowhere to Go But Down, Say Panelists
One of the four big tech giants won’t even be around in 10 years, a panelist argued.
Defense Department
FCC Approves Radio Frequency Traffic Cops, Including Google and Sony, Bringing Commerce to 3.5 GHz Spectrum
WASHINGTON, January 27, 2020 – The FCC on Monday named four companies— Google, Sony, CommScope, and Federated Wireless— as Spectrum Access System administrators, the final step toward full commercial deployment of the 3.5 GigaHertz (GHz) band of wireless frequencies. The Federal Communications Commi
Section 230
In Interview With New York Times Editorial Board, Joe Biden Urges Revoking Section 230
WASHINGTON, January 22, 2020 – Former Vice President Joe Biden called for the repeal of Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act, a piece of legislation passed in 1996 that has proved pivotal to the growth of computer networks and social media. In an interview conducted by The New York Times
FTC
FTC Settlement with YouTube Has Creators Upset and Worried About FTC Approach to Children’s Privacy
WASHINGTON, January 14, 2020 – Google’s decision to require all content creators for YouTube to designate whether their videos are intended for children is negatively impacting online free speech, a bevy of influencers said at a TechFreedom event on Monday. The market-oriented non-profit organized p
ITIF
Panelists at CES 2020 Disagree About Both the Problem and the Solution in Tackling Big Tech
A tense debate over curbing the power of the biggest companies in high tech broke out at CES 2020 in Las Vegas late Thursday. Speakers agreed that antitrust laws were not well-suited to handle the challenges posed by high tech, but divided over the merits of sweeping regulation. As the presidential
China
Federal Trade Commission Chair Joseph Simons Talks Competition, Seeks Modern Privacy and Consumer Protection Statue
Federal Trade Commission Chairman Joseph Simons on Tuesday talked up the role of competition, and his agency’s role in enforcing it, at a CES 2020 Event with the Consumer Technology Association in Las Vegas. In a question and answer session with CTA CEO Gary Shapiro, Simons stressed the FTC’s dual f
Antitrust
Advocates for Antitrust Enforcement Say Consumer Welfare Standard Only One Layer of Competition Law
WASHINGTON, December 6, 2019 – Antitrust enforcement must adapt to the changing structures of the media market, according to experts at a Capitol Forum conference Thursday. Economic change, said Jonathan Kanter of Paul, Weiss, has introduced questions about the goals of enforcement as well as how to
Infrastructure
New Hampshire Plans a Broadband System, Microsoft on Californian Privacy, and Google Collects Medical Data
New Hampshire state legislature is in the works of forming a bill authorizing multi-town districts for the purpose of establishing a broadband system, Government Technology reports. Although the bill has yet to be finished, said State Sen. Jeanne Dietsch, its framework will help the smallest towns t
Infrastructure
FCC Commissioner Starks Touts High-Speed Internet as the ‘Great Equalizer’ at Broadband Communities Event
ALEXANDRIA, Virginia, November 1, 2019 – High-speed broadband has the potential to be the “great equalizer,” said Federal Communications Commissioner Geoffrey Starks at a regional Broadband Communities event Thursday. However, more work needs to be done in connecting and empowering underserved commu
EFF
Internet Industry Under the Microscope as House Committee Grills Witnesses on Liability for Online Content
WASHINGTON, October 16, 2019 – The chairman of the House Energy and Commerce Committee on Wednesday said that technology companies need to “step up” and better address challenges surrounding online content. If not, they will likely have to navigate a world in which Section 230 of the Communication D
Broadband Mapping and Data
With or Without Negative Latency, Google Stadia Likely to Massively Churn Broadband Bandwidth
WASHINGTON, October 10, 2019 – The tech world is buzzing about the alleged “negative latency” that the search engine giant hopes to achieve with its new cloud gaming service Google Stadia. But the service will have a big downside for broadband users, according to a new study. Indeed, millions of gam
Antitrust
Broadband Roundup: Comcast vs. Google, Sprint’s Open 5G Network, Ransomware Rises
Comcast is emerging as an antitrust foe against big tech companies such as Google, according to US News and World Report. Last month, Comcast’s video ads division FreeWheel accused Google of using privacy concerns as a pretext to limit FreeWheel’s ability to resell ads of its customers YouTube chann
NCC
Broadband Roundup: Everyone (Almost) Gangs Up on Google, Muni Broadband Fact Sheet, SHLB Anchornet Conference
It seems that everyone except California and Alabama wants in on the action, whatever that action is, against Google. Attorneys general for 48 U.S. states, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico on Monday announced an antitrust investigation, although not a lawsuit, against search engine giant Goo
Privacy
Ranking Digital Rights Project Seeks to Compare Privacy and Free Expression by Big Tech and Internet Companies
WASHINGTON, September 5, 2019 – In the context of the increasing scrutiny faced by global technology and internet companies, the think tank New America has taken a stab at producing a comprehensive overview of how these powerful and influential global companies address and respect users’ privacy, tr
Free Speech
Part IV: As Hate Speech Proliferates Online, Critics Want to See and Control Social Media’s Algorithms
WASHINGTON, August 22, 2019 — Lurking at the corners over the renewed debate over Section 230 the Communications Decency Act is this question: Who gets to control the content moderation process surrounding hate speech? Even as artificial intelligence is playing a greater role in content moderation o
FCC
Justice Department Collaborating with State Attorneys General’s Antitrust Investigation of Big Tech, Says Chief
ASPEN, Colorado, August 20, 2019 – More than a dozen state attorneys general have launched an antitrust investigation of big tech giants, and they are working cooperatively with the Justice Department’s antitrust division, said Makan Delrahim, the division’s head. “We come at this with no preconceiv
