House Passes Reconciliation Bill, State AGs Investigate Instagram, Broadband’s Q3 Rebound
President Biden’s social safety net and climate package now faces hurdles in the Senate.
Robocall
Facebook Changes and Second Whistleblower, Comcast’s Spam Call Feature, AT&T Picks Ericsson for 5G
Facebook is nudging teens away from harmful content, Comcast’s new spam call blocker, AT&T goes with Ericsson for standalone 5G.
FCC
Facebook Pauses Instagram for Kids, $1.2B from Emergency Connectivity Fund, Ransomware Attacks
Facebook pauses photo-sharing app for kids, FCC announces $1.2B in first wave of ECF, ransomware attacks on the rise.
Social Media
Members of Congress Request Facebook Halt ‘Instagram For Kids’ Plan Following Mental Health Research Report
Letter follows Wall Street Journal story that reports Facebook knew about mental health damage Instagram has on teens.
Social Media
Facebook’s Oversight Board Members Seek to Clarify the Organization’s Role and Impact
Often characterized in the media as the Supreme Court of Facebook, Oversight Board members explained how the board actually functions.
Antitrust
FTC Divided Over Increasing Agency Jurisdiction at Congressional Hearing
FTC commissioners were split at a Congressional hearing on Wednesday at the prospects of increasing FTC jurisdiction.
FTC
Facebook Requests FTC Recuse Khan, Entry-Level Broadband Prices, FCC’s Open RAN Showcase
Facebook follows Amazon in asking for recusing Khan, Entry-level broadband prices fell, FCC has Open RAN showcase.
Section 230
Companies May Hesitate Bringing Section 230 Arguments in Court Fearing Political Ramifications: Lawyers
Legal experts say changing views on Section 230 will make platforms less willing to employ that defense in future cases.
Section 230
Despite Speculation, Section 230 Is Here to Stay: Rep. Bob Latta
Republican representative Bob Latta said Section 230 is not going anywhere anytime soon.
FCC
Biden Revokes Trump-Era Executive Order Designed To Crack Down On Big Tech
Biden orders FCC and FTC to stand down on Trump-era order targeting social media companies.
Social Media
Oversight Board Upholds Trump’s Ban From Facebook
The Oversight Board has sent the decision back to Facebook management, criticizing it for setting a “standardless” penalty.
Antitrust
Lawmakers And Newsmakers Tackle Google and Facebook Market Power
Sen. Klobuchar, Rep. Cicilline and experts discuss antitrust, big tech and local journalism.
Reverse Auction For Faster Deployment, Pandemic Increased Telecom, Trump’s New Social Platform
March 22, 2021—A report published by the Information Technology and Innovation Foundation suggests that significant investments in a rural, reverse-auction could make immense progress in bridging the digital divide. On Monday, the group said a $40-billion reverse-auction program targeted at rural, u
Infrastructure
Big Tech Not Anticompetitive, But May Require Careful Regulation
March 8, 2021 – Lawmakers should not rush to paint big technology companies as monopolists and should carefully analyze what is worth regulating, according to commentators speaking at a Thursday Law and Economics Center webinar. The fallacious notion that big tech companies don’t have much competiti
Biden-Harris Administration
Transition Between White House Social Media Accounts More Complicated Than in 2016
January 21, 2021—Tech platforms are approaching the 2021 presidential transition with caution, lest their tools get used to livestream another historic insurrection, after providing the platforms which amplified ideology that resulted in a problematic string of events preceding Donald Trump’s last d
COVID
Aspen Institute Panelists Discuss Technology’s Role in Combatting Mental Illness
August 13, 2020 — As a result of 2020’s myriad challenges, including the COVID-19 pandemic, widespread economic instability and a societal reckoning with inequality, mental health issues are on the rise across various populations. This moment of heightened loneliness and mental health crises unders
