Government & Communications

The 2020 US Census will be the nation’s first high-tech count, with residents encouraged to primarily respond online. While this has the potential to foster a more efficient Census, advocates and officials say many hard-to-count populations are not comfortable using computers. Or lack access to high-speed Internet at home. Or have cybersecurity concerns. Or don’t know how to find and fill out the Census online.

The Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations chaired by Sen Rob Portman (R-OH) held a hearing the same day it released a bipartisan report that shows regular misuse of the systems that 14 federal agencies use to collect comments from the public on proposed rules. Agency officials told lawmakers they are exploring modern technologies like CAPTCHA and reCAPTCHA (which prompt humans to prove that they are humans) and developing new approaches to reform Americans’ ability to leave digital feedback—and trust that their comments are seen and voices are heard—using federal comment platforms.

After the Federal Communications Commission received nearly 24 million comments in the course of just one rulemaking proceeding in 2017 and its website crashed due to the volume of comments submitted simultaneously, the Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations initiated a review of federal commenting systems to understand their flaws and develop recommendations to improve them. The Subcommittee  found:

An internal memo on cybersecurity warns that "the White House is posturing itself to be electronically compromised once again." That's after at least a dozen top- or high-level officials have resigned or been pushed out of a cybersecurity mission that was established under former-President Barack Obama to protect the White House from Russian hacking and other threats. Warnings by officials from the former Office of the Chief Information Security Officer (OCISO) — which in July was folded into the Office of the Chief Information Officer (OCIO) — suggest new intelligence vulnerabilities. The

Some public and private stakeholders argue that financial matters such as return on investment (ROI) must be heavily considered when expanding broadband to unserved populations.

Public comment processes are supposed to promote government of the people, by the people and for the people. So what happens when the people aren’t who they say they are? BuzzFeed reports that political operatives are engaging in campaigns of impersonation to co-opt opportunities for everyday Americans to tell officials and lawmakers what they think of pending policies.

Facebook Chief Executive Officer Mark Zuckerberg said he believes it is dangerous for people to focus more on their desired political outcomes than giving a range of voices the opportunity to be heard. He compared the current moment of political polarization to other periods of intense social change, including the civil-rights movement. “Some people believe that giving more people a voice is driving division rather than bringing people together,” he said. “I am here today because I believe we must continue to stand for free expression.”

Twitter will continue to be lenient with world leaders who appeared to violate its policies against violent speech because the company believes preserving those tweets served the public interest. “The accounts of world leaders are not above our policies entirely,” the company said in a blog post.

“Fox News is Trump’s Walter Cronkite,” said Anthony Scaramucci, who served briefly as Mr. Trump’s White House communications director — and has recently become a vocal critic. “Once he loses the majority of them, it’s over. He knows it, which is why he is bashing and intimidating them.”

It is clear that the online comment system at the Federal Communications Commission, and very likely other public agencies, is easily exploitable and likely broken to the point that it’s causing more harm than good. Though it may seem like an arcane issue, it’s a big problem. When it comes to crafting new federal policies, the notice and comment process might be the only direct way a member of the public can have a voice in federal decision-making. Regulators are legally required to consider opinions shared by Americans.