June 2016

Facebook will train employees to identify and check their political leanings, the company’s latest step to quell concerns over the treatment of conservative viewpoints on the social network.

Chief Operating Officer Sheryl Sandberg said that Facebook plans to add a section on “political bias,” to its class on “managing bias.” All Facebook executives and many employees have taken the class, which focuses on identifying and neutralizing racial, age, gender and other types of bias, Sandberg said during a discussion at the American Enterprise Institute.

Topping July’s meeting agenda will be our Spectrum Frontiers Report and Order and FNPRM, which will accelerate the development and deployment of the next generation of wireless connectivity, a fifth generation – or 5G. As I outlined in recent remarks at the National Press Club, 5G connectivity will likely be more than an incremental evolutionary step forward in wireless technology. It promises quantum leaps forward in three key areas: speeds resembling fiber that are at least 10 times and maybe 100-times faster than today’s 4G LTE networks; responsiveness less than one-thousandth of a second, which enables real-time communication; and network capacity multiples of what is available today. Coupling this ultra-fast, low-latency, high-capacity connectivity with the almost unlimited processing power of the cloud will enable autonomous vehicles, smart-city energy grids and water systems, immersive education and entertainment, and, most important, killer applications yet to be imagined.

The interconnected world of the future will be the result of decisions we must make today. That is why 5G is a national priority, and why I am circulating to my colleagues proposed new rules that will identify and open up vast amounts of spectrum for 5G applications. If the Commission approves the Spectrum Frontiers item, the United States will be the first country in the world to open up high-band spectrum for 5G networks and applications. That’s a big deal because it means U.S. companies will be first out of the gate.

It's natural for top political aides to jump to the media after being fired. They need new jobs, after all, and news outlets want analysts with first-hand insights. When Sen Ted Cruz (R-TX) dumped communications director Rick Tyler in February, for instance, MSNBC picked him up almost immediately. But Corey Lewandowski's hiring by CNN seems a bit less natural than most.

We would even venture to say that it could be problematic on a couple of levels. First, Donald Trump's former campaign manager, who was relieved of his duties June 20, obviously brings knowledge of the presumptive Republican presidential nominee that few can match. But he also brings unparalleled baggage, including an incident in which he reportedly pushed a reporter from the channel that now employs him — CNN's Noah Gray — away from Trump as the reporter tried to ask a question. Lewandowski had previously threatened to "blacklist" Gray, saying he would revoke the reporter's access to campaign events. More broadly, Lewandowski ran the campaign of a candidate who has repeatedly disrespected CNN's reporting. Trump has taken to calling the cable channel the Clinton News Network lately, reviving a disparaging nickname that dates to the 1990s.