Government & Communications

Democrats on the House Commerce Committee are pushing back on a report by the Federal Communications Commission Inspector General finding no evidence of a "concealment or cover-up" by FCC Chairman Ajit Pai in communications with the White House regarding the failed Sinclair-Tribune merger.

The Federal Communications Commission has once again refused a New York Times request for records that the Times believes might shed light on Russian interference in the net neutrality repeal proceeding. The Times made a Freedom of Information Act (FoIA) request in June 2017 for FCC server logs and sued the FCC in September 2018 over the agency's ongoing refusal to release the records. The court case is still pending, but the Times had also appealed directly to the FCC to reverse its FoIA decision.

Remember when futurists told us that the internet would result in the “death of distance”? That prophecy has fallen short, as cities remain hubs for commerce and community. The growing geographic consequences of digital technologies puts new demands on decision makers at all levels of government. Bolstering their levels of expertise on these issues is clearly needed and each of the local policy issues raised above would benefit from additional analytical scrutiny.

The House passed by bipartisan voice vote the 21st Century Integrated Digital Experience Act, or 21st Century IDEA, which would require agencies to improve online customer experience by making new websites more user-friendly. The bill ultimately aims to make citizens less reliant on paper processes when interacting with federal agencies. The bill would set minimum accessibility, searchability and security standards for all new government websites, and require agencies to adopt web analytics tools to constantly improve sites’ functionality.

Senate has unanimously approved a resolution on protecting press freedom, including calling on the President to be a leader in defending a free press, including a press that promotes "government accountability."

Whereas freedom of the press is a cornerstone of American democracy and is enshrined in the first amendment to the Constitution;

The 21st Century IDEA (HR 5759) would require agencies to update their websites, increase the use of electronic forms, implement the use of e-signatures, standardize information technology (IT) throughout the federal government, and improve the overall government IT experience for users. From Congressional Budget Office’s review of the current federal digital environment, it is not clear that agencies would take any extra steps to implement HR 5759 beyond those measures already under way or planned.

A Q&A with New York Times White House reporter Katie Rogers. 

“Something has to be done,” President Donald Trump tweeted Nov 26. Frustrated by CNN, with which he has an ongoing beef, President Trump suggested that the United States create its own “worldwide network to show the World the way we really are — GREAT!” Despite the proposal’s origin in conflict with the press, it’s a really good idea. So good, in fact, that under another president’s watch — Franklin D. Roosevelt in 1942 — it happened. Seventy-six years ago, the world was a dark place.

More than 30 Google employees have joined a petition protesting the company’s plans to build a search engine that complies with China’s online censorship regime. An employee-led backlash against the project has been churning for months at the company, but Nov 27’s petition marks the first time workers at Google have used their names in a public document objecting to the plans. The existence of the project, code-named Dragonfly, was confirmed by chief executive Sundar Pichai in Oct.

President Donald Trump said that the United States should launch its own state-run cable TV network that would compete with CNN for viewers across the globe, a suggestion that prompted comparisons to networks run by the governments of Russia and China. In afternoon tweets, President Trump said, "While CNN doesn’t do great in the United States based on ratings, outside of the U.S. they have very little competition. Throughout the world, CNN has a powerful voice portraying the United States in an unfair....and false way.