June 2015

PRIVACY/SECURITY

WHAT JUST HAPPENED TO NSA REFORM?
[SOURCE: Benton Foundation, AUTHOR: Kevin Taglang]
[Commentary] On June 2, 2015, the Senate passed and President Barack Obama signed into law the USA FREEDOM Act of 2015. This week’s actions have been both celebrated and damned by all sides, it seems, of the political spectrum. Is it time to celebrate? Or move to Canada?
https://www.benton.org/blog/what-just-happened-nsa-reform
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HOW USA FREEDOM IS A VICTORY FOR AMERICAN SPY AGENCIES
[SOURCE: Christian Science Monitor, AUTHOR: Melanie Teplinsky]
[Commentary] The USA Freedom Act puts an end to the National Security Agency's warrantless bulk collection of phone records. But given today's political realities, the bill that President Obama signed into law on June 2nd is still a big win for the national security community. While the new law is an important step in intelligence reform – both in substance and as a possible harbinger of things to come – it does nothing to restrict the NSA’s ability to conduct a wide range of controversial surveillance activities. For example, USA Freedom does not address the NSA’s controversial PRISM program, which targets Internet communications of non-US citizens but may unintentionally allow access to the communications of US citizens under certain circumstances. As one American Civil Liberties Union lawyer exhorted: “No one should mistake this bill for comprehensive reform. The bill leaves many of the government’s most intrusive and overbroad surveillance powers untouched.” As public debate over intelligence reform continues in the coming weeks and months, the important question will not be whether other proposed reforms make NSA’s job more difficult. In fact, they may. The real question is whether it is worth paying that price in order to secure our freedom and privacy in this age of advanced information technology.
[Melanie Teplinsky teaches information privacy law at the American University Washington College of Law as an adjunct professor]
benton.org/headlines/how-usa-freedom-victory-american-spy-agencies | Christian Science Monitor
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THE GOVERNMENT MIGHT STILL SEE YOUR PHONE DAT -- BUT YOU WON'T KNOW IT
[SOURCE: Washington Post, AUTHOR: HL Pohlman]
[Commentary] With surveillance issues very much in the news, I want to follow up on my last post — which argued that it is possible that the new USA Freedom Act might actually broaden the government’s program of collecting and analyzing telephone metadata. The wording of the law might allow the program to shift from a tool linked only to counterterrorism to one that can be used to analyze such data for the broad purpose of conducting American foreign policy. The question is unsettled because the new law (in Section 104) explicitly gives the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court (FISC) authority to impose additional “minimization procedures” on the government. The Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court (FISC) could conceivably use that power to confine the metadata program to its original counterterrorism purpose. Ironically, though, we may not find out what, if anything, the FISC does with its power — that is, whether it is closing the curtains on Americans’ privacy or opening them even wider than before. I fear we are once again likely to be in the dark about exactly what the National Security Agency is doing with our telephone metadata. Why? After all, the new law hoped to make FISC proceedings more transparent. It even requires the Director of National Intelligence (DNI), “in consultation with the Attorney General,” to conduct a declassification review of each decision, order, or opinion issued by the FISC that includes “a significant construction or interpretation” of any provision of law and make it publicly available “to the greatest extent practicable.” The USA Freedom Act aims to be a step in the direction of privacy and transparency, but I fear it is an insidious step in the other direction. Worse, the American people will be left in the dark about whether the government is analyzing international and domestic telephone metadata more, not less, than it did prior to its passage.
[H.L. Pohlman is a professor of political science at Dickinson College]
benton.org/headlines/government-might-still-see-your-phone-data-you-wont-know-it | Washington Post
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OWNERSHIP

MERGER SPREE BY PHONE CARRIERS POSES THREAT TO NET NEUTRALITY
[SOURCE: Fortune, AUTHOR: Jeff John Roberts]
[Commentary] Big phone companies are swallowing up video partners. How long until subscribers get “free TV” data offers? Will this upset network neutrality? In February, the Federal Communications Commission ruled that Internet providers can’t use throttling, paid prioritization, or other tactics to favor some websites over others. The ruling affirmed the idea of “net neutrality,” but soon that principle could be tested as the result of a recent trend: phone carriers acquiring TV and content companies. None of these proposed mergers—specifically AT&T-DirectTV, Verizon-AOL, and T-Mobile-Dish -- are final for now. But if they go through, it likely won’t be long until the combined companies begin to explore internet plans that undercut net neutrality with offers of “free” data for certain types of web video. Indeed, there’s already a precedent for such offers: T-Mobile’s “Music Freedom” plan lets subscribers stream songs without regard to their paid data caps. Will we soon see the same for TV? Using their sway over data pricing, carriers could prod subscribers into various video “walled gardens” and away from the open Internet. The real question is whether the carriers and the FCC see it this way too. At the agency’s epic February vote, FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler deflected questions about whether T-Mobile’s “Music Freedom” is a net neutrality violation, and suggested the question would be considered later under the agency’s “general conduct” rules.
benton.org/headlines/merger-spree-phone-carriers-poses-threat-net-neutrality | Fortune
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AT&T, DRIECTV EXECUTIVES MEET WITH FCC ABOUT DEAL
[SOURCE: CNN, AUTHOR: Brain Stelter]
Apparently, top executives from the two companies met with Federal Communications Commission staffers in Washington. At the meeting, which was held at FCC headquarters, the executives discussed some of the conditions that the government agency may impose on the deal. The conditions aren't said to be particularly onerous. The regulatory review of this acquisition has not been characterized by the kind of hostility and doubt that accompanied Comcast's bid for Time Warner Cable. Conventional wisdom in the industry is that it will be approved. But the review has taken a long time: AT&T and DirecTV announced their proposed combination back in May 2014. Since then, Comcast gave up on Time Warner Cable, citing the government's opposition, and a new cable provider, Charter, stepped forward to buy Time Warner Cable.
benton.org/headlines/att-directv-executives-meet-fcc-about-deal | CNN
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CHARTER MEETS WITH FCC CHAIRMAN TO TALK MERGER, NET NEUTRALITY
[SOURCE: The Hill, AUTHOR: Mario Trujillo]
Charter Communications President Tom Rutledge sat down with Federal Communications Commission Chairman Tom Wheeler in what appears to be the first publicly disclosed meeting since the company announced its proposed merger with Time Warner Cable. The FCC, along with the Justice Department, must give the go-ahead for the merger to go through. Comcast's attempt to merge with Time Warner Cable fell through earlier this year after regulatory concerns about harm to competition in the online video market. The one-page disclosure filing released Friday is brief and written with the knowledge it will be made public. But Charter argued the merger would be good for consumers and not harm competition. "Mr. Rutledge explained that the transactions will bring substantial consumer benefits, including providing a better Internet experience for watching on-line video, gaming, and using other data-hungry apps at more competitive prices, and that the mergers will not harm competition," according to the filing. Aside from merger talks, the two sides also discussed the FCC's controversial new network neutrality order. In the meeting, Rutledge agreed that the new rules would not harm Charter's investment in building out its network.
benton.org/headlines/charter-meets-fcc-chairman-talk-merger-net-neutrality | Hill, The
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COMCAST PURCHASES AD TECH FIRM VISIBLE WORLD
[SOURCE: Variety, AUTHOR: Brain Steinberg]
Comcast has agreed to buy Visible World, a New York ad-tech firm that helps marketers tailor commercials to specific audiences and geographies, the companies confirmed. The move would help Comcast, best known for its large cable business and its NBCUniversal operations, extend its reach into the burgeoning world of helping advertisers navigate a better-defined path to consumers using data and technology. Comcast has been making more noise about using its vast stores of viewership data culled from viewers set-top boxes to help advertisers place ads in front of discrete batches of audience. During a recent “upfront” presentation in May, Linda Yaccarino, who oversees ad sales at NBCUniversal, told marketers the company would be able to use Comcast set-top box data to help them tailor ad placements and mine better-defined audiences. Visible World also uses set-top box data, among other sources, to help place commercials. Terms of the transaction could not be immediately learned.
benton.org/headlines/comcast-purchases-ad-tech-firm-visible-world | Variety | WSJ
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INTERNET/BROADBAND

FCC SAYS PRICE COUNTS IN ANNOUNCING NEW BROADBAND PLAN
[SOURCE: Center for Public Integrity, AUTHOR: Allan Holmes]
The Federal Communications Commission, concerned about the high cost of broadband, wants to put cell phones that can access the Internet in the hands of America’s poor in hopes of reducing the digital divide. FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler is proposing to beef up the $1.7 billion Lifeline program, funded by charges on phone bills, and originally created to subsidize the cost of landline phones. The program now reaches 12 million families and has been expanded to limited-use cellphones. The proposal is far from being a done deal -- still to come are comments on what a minimum service package should look like. For example, the amount of data usage and voice minutes to be permitted will need to be determined. Chairman Wheeler also asked for comments on how to increase competition among mobile phone providers to reduce prices. Chairman Wheeler hopes to reduce fraud and abuse in the oft-criticized subsidy program, and shrink the digital divide. Whether that can be accomplished through a wireless connection is an open question. The program does nothing about wireline connections, which are faster, more robust and cheaper than wireless phones. Regardless, a disproportionate number of low-income families do not have Internet connections of any sort, and low-cost wireless access may be their best option. No connection means no easy access to the wealth of online information that most Americans enjoy, such as health research, job openings, education and training, and banking and government services. Chairman Wheeler, in his proposal to reform the Lifeline program, is coming down on the price side of the argument over how to reduce the divide. And he has data that supports his position.
benton.org/headlines/fcc-says-price-counts-announcing-new-broadband-plan | Center for Public Integrity
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HELP THE POOR GET ONLINE
[SOURCE: New York Times, AUTHOR: Editorial staff]
[Commentary] Federal Communications Commission Tom Wheeler has proposed expanding a telephone subsidy program to help the poor gain access to high-speed Internet service. A few Republican lawmakers — notably Sen John Thune (R-SD) and Rep Fred Upton (R-MI) — have complained of fraud in the existing program. The complaints are overblown and are no reason to undermine an excellent idea. Under the Wheeler’s proposal, Americans who qualify for Lifeline could chose to apply the program’s $9.25 a month subsidy toward wired or wireless Internet service. Currently, people can use the money only for a home phone or mobile phone service. To qualify, people have to make less than 135 percent of the federal poverty level or already receive benefits like Medicaid, food stamps or federal housing vouchers. Wheeler’s plan is modest — perhaps too modest. A subsidy of $9.25 a month, though helpful, will not go very far. The FCC estimates that the average price for a home Internet connection that can download data at more than 15 megabits per second was $59.40 a month in 2013. And Lifeline’s $1.7 billion annual spending will not grow. Lifeline is an important benefit that helps keep the least fortunate Americans connected. There is no question it should be expanded to include Internet service, which children need to do homework and adults need to look for jobs and training.
benton.org/headlines/fcc-should-help-poor-get-online | New York Times
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A NEW YORK STATE OF MEGABITS
[SOURCE: Medium, AUTHOR: Susan Crawford]
[Commentary] Here’s a parallel for you: When it comes to high-capacity Internet access, Cuba is to the US as the US is to Norway, Korea, and a bunch of other places in northern Europe and Asia. So it was great to get back to New York and be able to report on what is called the “New NY Broadband Program.” It involves a $500 million expenditure to help ensure that New Yorkers across the state have access to current-generation Internet capacity. There’s lots of potential in the plan, targeted at providing every New Yorker with access to 100 megabit per second (Mbps) service (10 Mbps uploads) by the end of 2018. Because New York expects a 1:1 match from the private sector for each grant or loan it makes, that means the state hopes to be deploying at least $1 billion on high-speed Internet access infrastructure. On the other hand, if the plan is not nurtured by aggressive leadership and implemented with skill, it won’t change much at all in the State of New York, much less set the pace for the rest of the nation. Our top officials must find the courage to require competitive markets and make policy changes that open the way for new entrants. Otherwise the plan could end up allowing the existing players to dig in and hold on to their territories -- leaving upstate New Yorkers not much better off than they are now, albeit with “access” to unreasonably priced higher-capacity connections. For a Cuban, US Internet access is miraculous; for someone from South Korea or Seoul, coming here feels like a rural vacation because life is so disconnected and slow. It’s time the Empire State raised our American expectations.
[Susan Crawford is co-director of the Berkman Center for Internet & Society at Harvard University]
benton.org/headlines/new-york-state-megabits | Medium
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IOWA LAWMAKERS OK BROADBAND EXPANSION PLAN
[SOURCE: Des Moines Register, AUTHOR: William Petroski, Brianne Pfannenstiel]
Iowa state legislative leaders reached agreement on a plan to expand broadband service in Iowa that's been a top priority of Gov Terry Branstad (R-IA). House File 655 was approved by the Iowa Senate on a 48-2 vote and was sent to the House, where it passed 82-12. The goal is to provide high-speed Internet service to underserved areas in Iowa, particularly in rural communities. State Sen. Steve Sodders (D-State Center), said the Senate agreed to support a version of a bill approved by the House earlier this session that provides property tax abatements to companies installing equipment to build out the broadband infrastructure. The measure also provides a framework for a grants program, but there is no state appropriation to fund it, he said. The idea is to fund the grants program in the future with state, federal or private money to provide an incentive for companies to expand broadband service, State Sen Sodders said. The bill defines high-speed Internet service as offering a minimum of 25 megabits per second for downloads and 3 megabits per second for uploads.
benton.org/headlines/iowa-lawmakers-ok-broadband-expansion-plan | Des Moines Register
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MAINE GETS FIRST GLIMPSE OF 'GAME CHANGER' INTERNET SERVICE
[SOURCE: Bangor Daily News, AUTHOR: Darren Fishell]
Camden-based Redzone Wireless launched its wireless Internet service in Greater Portland (ME) and Waterville (ME), marking the start of service Gov. Paul LePage (R-ME) and state officials said could be a “game changer” for expanding broadband Internet in the state. The service uses a specific range of the wireless spectrum the Federal Communications Commission set aside for educational institutions, which Redzone uses through a 30-year agreement with the University of Maine. Jim McKenna, president of the Camden-based Redzone, said the company planned to set up service at 15 towers in 2015, including in Lewiston and parts of Bangor. Four of those first 15 towers will serve the Greater Portland region, McKenna said. Whether that initial effort allows the company to break even will determine how quickly the company may expand to rural areas of the state, McKenna said. “If we do that and are successful, then we enter 2016 and we immediately start looking to rapidly expand to more rural areas of the state,” McKenna said, noting that timeline remains uncertain. But the potential is large as the company seeks to build its network on top of existing cell tower and fiber-optic cable infrastructure. McKenna said there are 600 cell towers in the state connected to fiber-optic cables. Setting up a new site involves connecting its radio heads to that fiber-optic cable and using 4G LTE, or long-term evolution, radio technology similar to what phone companies use to send data to smartphones to connect with a router in a customer’s home or business. The wireless model is similar to what existing cable providers do in the state, extending a fiber connection from a local “node” out to specific households using coaxial cables. Redzone instead provides what’s called “last-mile” service over the air using the type of technology cell phone providers use for data service.
benton.org/headlines/maine-gets-first-glimpse-game-changer-internet-service | Bangor Daily News
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HOW NET NEUTRALITY INVITES THE FEDS TO IGNORE THE FIRST AMENDMENT & CENSOR THE INTERNET
[SOURCE: Center for Boundless Innovation in Technology, AUTHOR: Fred Campbell]
If the Federal Communications Commission had admitted the Internet offers communications capabilities that are functionally equivalent to the printing press, mail carriage, newspaper publishing, over-the-air broadcasting, and cable television combined, it would have been too obvious that classifying broadband Internet service providers (ISPs) as common carriers is unconstitutional. Like all other means of disseminating mass communications, broadband Internet access is a part of the “press” that the First Amendment protects from common carriage regulation. The unprecedented restrictions imposed by the open Internet rules eviscerate the freedom of the press without regard to scarcity. In the Second Internet Order, the FCC expressly disclaimed any intent to find that ISPs have market power. It instead relied on the ideology of “gatekeeper control” to justify its total ban on the editorial discretion of ISPs. This ideology presumes that all content providers who wish to use a particular system for disseminating mass communications require a government-mandated right of free access to all other users of such systems at all times in order to survive, innovate, and compete.[6] Its corollary presumption is that the operators of mass media communications systems have no recognizable interest, constitutional or otherwise, in exercising editorial discretion.
benton.org/headlines/how-net-neutrality-invites-feds-ignore-first-amendment-censor-internet | Center for Boundless Innovation in Technology
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WIRELESS/SPECTRUM

GROUP OPPOSES 'HARMONIZING' ATSC 3.0 WITH AUCTION
[SOURCE: Multichannel News, AUTHOR: John Eggerton]
Dish Network, competitive wireless carriers, tech companies, Public Knowledge and the Expanding Opportunities for Broadcasters Coalition have jointly asked the Federal Communications Commission not to delay the early 2016 start of the broadcast incentive auction for any reason, including to "harmonize it" with the launch of a new transmission standard. The letter is not anti-ATSC 3.0, one of the members points out, just anti-auction delay. That joint request came in a statement filed with the commission, in which they said: "The undersigned broadcasters, wireless carriers, trade associations, think tanks and public interest groups, including supporters of ATSC 3.0, strongly support the planned First Quarter 2016 start of the 600 MHz Incentive Auction. And we oppose delaying the Incentive Auction in an attempt to synchronize TV Station repacking and the transition to ATSC 3.0. Our opposition to delaying the 600 MHz Incentive Auction does not express a joint position on the ATSC 3.0 standard itself for any purpose."
benton.org/headlines/group-opposes-harmonizing-atsc-30-auction | Multichannel News
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EDUCATION
‘Sesame Street’ and its surprisingly powerful effects on how children learn

SESAME STREET HELPS PREPARE CHILDREN
[SOURCE: Washington Post, AUTHOR: Jim Tankersley]
The most authoritative study ever done on the impact of “Sesame Street” finds that the famous show on public TV has delivered lasting educational benefits to millions of American children — benefits as powerful as the ones children get from going to preschool. The paper from the University of Maryland’s Melissa Kearney and Wellesley College’s Phillip Levine finds that the show has left children more likely to stay at the appropriate grade level for their age, an effect that is particularly pronounced among boys, African Americans and children who grow up in disadvantaged areas. After “Sesame Street” was introduced, children living in places where its broadcast could be more readily received saw a 14 percent drop in their likelihood of being behind in school. Levine and Kearney note in their paper that a wide body of previous research has found that Head Start, the pre-kindergarten program for low-income Americans, delivers a similar benefit. The researchers also say those effects probably come from “Sesame Street’s” focus on presenting viewers with an academic curriculum, heavy on reading and math, that would appear to have helped prepare children for school.
benton.org/headlines/sesame-street-and-its-surprisingly-powerful-effects-how-children-learn | Washington Post
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JOURNALISM

LIFE AFTER SNOWDEN: JOURNALISTS' NEW MORAL RESPONSIBILITY
[SOURCE: Columbia Journalism Review, AUTHOR: Alan Rusbridger]
[Commentary] Journalism after Snowden? Two very big questions linger on—one about whether the very technologies Edward Snowden revealed are compatible with independent, inquiring reporting; and one crucial question about journalism itself, which could be boiled down to: “What is it supposed to be, or do?” Journalists have a moral responsibility to absorb what Edward Snowden has been telling us. But how many have? My guess is a tiny minority of news reporters have taken the time and effort to read up on what forms of communication are (relatively) safe and how to send and receive encrypted emails. How many news organizations have secure drop boxes for sources wanting safely to submit documents? How many foreign correspondents have changed their habits in terms of the phones or computer equipment they travel with? Some have. My suspicion is that most haven’t. Which leads to the second, even more profound, question raised by the Snowden coverage—the essence, independence, and purpose of journalism itself.
[Alan Rusbridger was formerly the editor in chief of The Guardian and The Observer in London]
benton.org/headlines/life-after-snowden-journalists-new-moral-responsibility | Columbia Journalism Review
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STORIES FROM ABROAD

GOOGLE'S EUROPEAN MEA CULPA
[SOURCE: Politico, AUTHOR: Zoya Sheftalovich, Nicholas Hirst]
Google’s European chief executive acknowledges that the company has mishandled its messaging in Europe and is offering an olive branch to the European Commission. Matt Brittin, who oversees Google’s European activities, said in his first interview addressing the anti-trust charges lodged against the company in April, that while the search engine giant disagrees with the accusations, it remains open to a settlement agreement. “We want to be pragmatic and get to a point where we can continue to invest in building great products for everyone,” he said. Brittin acknowledged that Google had failed to explain its business and vision to policymakers in Brussels and elsewhere in Europe, and said that the company was trying to adjust its American-rooted Silicon Valley image. He said that in countries like Germany, France or Spain, Google for too long has seemed “like a West coast-driven, liberal values thing.” “We don’t always get it right,” Brittin said. “As far as Europe is concerned: we get it. We understand that people here are not the same in their attitudes to everything as people in America.” “We just didn’t have the people on the ground to be able to have some of those conversations as we grew.” His role as president for Europe, a new position created to unify Google’s operations here, reflects that realization. Brittin said Google should better explain how it benefits Europe’s economy, culture and small enterprises. He now expects to be in Brussels at least once a month, although he declined to specify what percentage of his time he spends on public affairs.
benton.org/headlines/googles-european-mea-culpa | Politico
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WHAT SILICON VALLEY CAN LEARN FROM SEOUL
[SOURCE: New York Times, AUTHOR: Jenna Wortham]
Like most young people in the Bay Area, Mike Kim grew up believing that the future of technology was being forged in Silicon Valley. “When I was in San Francisco, we called it the mobile capital of the world,” he said. “But I was blown away because Korea is three or four years ahead.” Back home, Kim said, people celebrate when a public park gets Wi-Fi. But in Seoul, even subway straphangers can stream movies on their phones, deep beneath the ground. “When I go back to the U.S., it feels like the Dark Ages,” he said. “It’s just not there yet.” Tim Chae, who runs small funding organization 500 Kimchi, said that American investors have begun to think of Seoul as a sort of crystal ball. In it, they can glimpse a future where the most ambitious dreams of Silicon Valley — a cashless, carless, everything-on-demand society — have already been realized. Nearly all of Seoul’s residents use smartphones, and many of the services just now gaining in popularity in the United States have been commonplace in South Korea for years. Much of this was made possible by two decades of enormous public investment. Seoul is blanketed with free Wi-Fi that offers the world’s fastest Internet speeds — twice as fast as the average American’s. Back in 1995, the government began a 10-year plan to build out the country’s broadband infrastructure and, through a series of public programs, to teach Koreans what they could do with it. South Korea also eased regulations on service providers to ensure that consumers would have a multitude of choices — in marked contrast to America, where a handful of cable and telecommunications monopolies dominate the market. Such healthy competition in Korea keeps the cost of access low.
benton.org/headlines/what-silicon-valley-can-learn-seoul | New York Times
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Daily Digest

Analysis

June 2015

Lawmakers: Don’t Take China-Linked US Hack Lying Down

Sen Leahy Denounces Alarmists Over Latest Massive Cyberattack

Why the New NSA Restrictions Won’t Harm National Security

Chairman Wheeler's Response to Senator Wyden and Senator Merkley Regarding Proposed Field Office Closures

Online abuse is a real problem. This congresswoman wants the FBI to treat it like one.

Xiaomi, China’s New Phone Giant, Takes Aim at World

Sprint Secures Plan to Modernize Its Network. But at What Cost?

How Hacking Helped Me Become Obama's CTO

June 8, 2015 (NSA Reform; Mergers and Net Neutrality; Lifeline)