By John Eggerton, Multichannel News, 12-19-23 House Republicans are taking the Biden administration to task for what they allege is allowing states to regulate broadband rates as part of the implementation of the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA), even though that law “explicitly prohibits” such rate regulations. House Energy and Commerce Committee chair [...]
By John Eggerton, Multichannel News, 12-15-23 Already the FCC’s busiest docket, the effort to restore network neutrality rules saw a rush of new comments Dec. 14, the deadline for initial submissions by interested parties looking to affect the outcome of the proceeding. Replies to those comments are due Jan. 17, after which the FCC [...]
By John Eggerton, Multichannel News, 11-15-23 In a party-line 3-2 vote, the Democratic-led Federal Communications Commission has voted to adopt new rules to prevent discrimination in the provision of broadband service – including pricing. The rules target both intentional and unintentional discriminatory actions and policies and FCC Chair Jessica Rosenworcel pledged the agency would [...]
By John Eggerton, Multichannel News, 11-13-23 The Biden Administration has released a long-awaited National Spectrum Strategy, but one lacking the specifics sought by some industry players. That strategy, released Nov. 13 by the National Telecommunications and Information Administration, rests on the following four “pillars”: (1) a spectrum pipeline to feed advanced and emerging tech; [...]
By Cat Zakrzewski and Anthony Faiola, washingtonpost.com, 11-1-23 Governments from six continents on Nov. 1 agreed to a broad road map to limit the risks and harness the benefits of artificial intelligence, coming together in Bletchley Park, England, the symbolic birthplace of the digital era, for the first clear international declaration on a potentially world-altering [...]
By Ann E. Marimow, washingtonpost.com, 10-31-23 The Supreme Court on Oct. 31 struggled to agree on how to determine when public officials can block critics from their private social media accounts, reviewing two cases that will have broad implications for citizen interactions with politicians online. All nine justices seemed to acknowledge the challenge and importance [...]
By Cristiano Lima and Cat Zakrzewski, washingtonpost.com, 10-30-23 President Biden signed a sweeping artificial intelligence executive order on Oct. 30, marking the U.S. government’s most ambitious attempt to spur innovation and address concerns the burgeoning technology could exacerbate bias, displace workers, and undermine national security. The sprawling order tackles a broad array of issues, [...]
By John Eggerton, Multichannel News, 10-19-23 The Federal Communications Commission has voted 3-2 to begin the process of giving utility-style authority to regulate broadband access by reclassifying broadband as a Title II telecommunications service subject to some common-carrier regulations and then restoring bright-line rules against blocking, throttling and paid prioritization…. Broadband access is currently [...]
By John Eggerton, Multichannel News, 10-13-23 The Supreme Court has agreed to hear a case early next year that could impact how much regulatory discretion the FCC has over the communications industry. The court agreed Friday to hear Relentless Inc., et al. v. Dept. of Commerce, et al., a case about federal fishing rules…. The [...]
By John Eggerton, Multichannel News, 9-20-23 Two former Obama-era solicitors general are arguing the FCC should not restore network neutrality rules eliminated under Republican Chair Ajit Pai. In a new paper co-written by Donald B. Verrilli Jr. and Ian Heath Gershengorn, the veteran legal minds advise that the Federal Communications Commission does not have [...]