By John Eggerton, Multichannel News, 12-8-21 President Biden is promoting broadband investment as one of the ways his administration is strengthening American democracy. The White House issued a fact sheet Wednesday outlining all the things his team has done to advance those values “against the backdrop of a rise in authoritarianism and increasing threats [...]
By John Eggerton, Multichannel News, 12-8-21 It’s official. The Senate has voted to confirm Federal Communications Commission Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel to a new, five-year term on the commission, her third term but first as chair – President Joe Biden designated her chair Oct. 26 after she had been acting chair since January. The vote [...]
By John Eggerton, Multichannel News, 12-2-21 The House on Thursday (Dec. 2) passed three communications-related bills, including one requiring the Federal Communications Commission to start kicking the tires on 6G wireless. The bills are the FUTURE Networks Act (HR 4045), the Understanding Cybersecurity of Mobile Networks Act (HR 2685), and the American Cybersecurity Literacy [...]
Participated in an amicus brief (with the Reporters Committee and other amici) filed with the Supreme Court of Wisconsin in Wisconsin Manufacturers & Commerce v. Evers. This case concerns the Wisconsin Department of Public Health’s plan to release the names of businesses employing at least 25 people where at least two employees have tested positive [...]
By John Eggerton, Multichannel News, 11-29-21 The House Energy & Commerce Committee has lined up Facebook whistleblower Frances Haugen as its lead-off witness for a Dec. 1 hearing--"Holding Big Tech Accountable: Targeted Reforms to Tech's Legal Immunity." – on legislation to curb social media sites' immunity from civil liability over third-party content. That's according [...]
By John Eggerton, Multichannel News, 11-17-21 Arguing that the “infection” of Big Tech algorithms threatens democracy, a threat from companies putting profits before people, the House Energy & Commerce Committee has scheduled two Big Tech-related legislative hearings for December, meaning Democrats are serious about passing bills to rein in social media platforms, including by [...]
By John Eggerton, Multichannel News, 11-17-21 Sen. Ed Markey (D-Mass.) plans to introduce legislation to reclassify broadband as a Title II service, which would subject it to common-carrier rules, restore the Federal Communication Commission’s oversight of broadband access and reverse the Republican FCC’s elimination of net neutrality rules. If Democrats want a legislative net [...]
By John Eggerton, Multichannel News, 11-15-21 The White House has established a task force to implement the bipartisan $1.2 trillion infrastructure package that includes $65 billion for broadband. The president signed the infrastructure legislation on the afternoon of Nov. 15. The task force will be headed by National Economic Council director Brian Deese and the [...]
Participated in an amicus brief (with the Reporters Committee and other amici) filed with the U.S. Supreme Court in Tuggle v. United States. This case from the Seventh Circuit involves the question of whether the government may engage in long-term, targeted camera surveillance of a home without the need to obtain a warrant or demonstrate individualized [...]
By John Eggerton, Multichannel News, 11-10-21 Some high-profile Senate Republicans are asking the Department of Agriculture not to impose net neutrality conditions on broadband buildout subsidies, conditions that are essentially a USDA imposition of the FCC’s scrapped net neutrality rules. In its rural development broadband ReConnect grant and loan program, applicants get a preference – [...]