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October 2016

Federal Communications Commission, Institute for Public Representation -- Georgetown University Law Center, Benton Foundation
October 19, 2016
1:00 p.m. - 5:15 p.m.
http://transition.fcc.gov/Daily_Releases/Daily_Business/2016/db1004/DOC-...
Participant bios

1:00 p.m. Brief Welcome from FCC Commissioner Mignon Clyburn

1:05 p.m. – 1:45 p.m. Lightning Round 1: Bridging the Affordability Gap
Moderator: Dr. Nicol Turner-Lee, Multicultural Media, Telecom and Internet Council

Pitch Participants:

  • Chike Aguh, CEO, EveryoneOn
  • Bryan Mercer, Executive Director, Media Mobilizing Project
  • Anne Schwieger, Broadband and Digital Equity Advocate, City of Boston Dept. of Innovation & Technology
  • Diane Smith, Founder & CEO, American Rural

1:50 p.m. – 2:30 p.m. Panel Discussion: Ushering in the Next Chapter of Broadband and Health
Moderator: Dr. Chris Gibbons, The Greystone Group, Inc. and Senior Consultant, Connect2HealthFCC Task Force

Panelists:

  • Justin Sims, Co-CEO & President, Voxiva Inc.
  • Fenly Davis, Program Strategist, C Spire
  • Kerry McDermott, MPH, Vice President, Public Policy and Communications, Center for Medical Interoperability
  • Ellis Lindsay, Senior Principal of Internet of Things Strategy, Corporate Strategy and Development Group, Nokia Corporation

2:35 p.m. – 3:15 p.m. Lightning Round 2: Combating Inequality in the Communications Sector
Moderator: Commissioner Ronald Brisé, Florida Public Service Commission

Pitch Participants:

  • Loris Taylor (Hopi Nation), President/CEO, Native Public Media Inc.
  • Monica Martinez, Advisor, Mobile Future
  • Paul Wright, Director, Human Rights Defense Center
  • Dave Power, President and CEO, Perkins School for the Blind

3:35 p.m. – 4:00 p.m. Keynote Remarks from Commissioner Mignon Clyburn

4:05 p.m. – 4:45 p.m. Lightning Round 3: Digital Inclusion in the 21st Century
Moderator: Adam Clayton Powell, III, USC Annenberg Center on Communication Leadership and Policy, University of Southern California

Pitch Participants:

  • David Cerullo, Chairman & CEO, INSP, LLC
  • Ravi Kapur, Founder & CEO, DiyaTV & Major Market Broadcasting
  • Jouelzy, Content Creator/Writer
  • Dr. Kimberly Scott, Executive Director & Associate Professor, Center for Gender Equity in Science and Technology, Arizona State University
  • Dr. Kevin Clark, Ph.D., Professor of Learning Technologies and Founding Director of the Center for Digital Media Innovation and Diversity, George Mason University

4:30 p.m. – 5:15 p.m. Lightning Round 4: Unlocking the 5G Revolution
Moderator: Laura Moy, Visiting Assistant Professor, Georgetown Law

Pitch Participants:

  • Gary Jabara, CEO, Mobilitie
  • Mike Kilgore, Vice President, Rural Wireless Association, Inc. and General Manager & CEO, Sagebrush Cellular and Nemont Telephone Cooperative
  • Renee Gregory, Senior Policy Advisor, White House Office of Science and Technology Policy
  • Michael Mattmiller, Chief Technology Officer, City of Seattle
  • Jay English, Public Safety Program Manager, National Coordinating Center for Communications, U.S. Department of Homeland Security

Inspired by Hatch HS Student, Sen Udall Calls on FCC to Make Wi-Fi Available on School Buses

Sen Tom Udall (D-NM) called on the Federal Communications Commission to do more to ensure all students in New Mexico and across the country have equal access to the Internet for educational and economic opportunity. Specifically, Sen Udall wrote in a letter to FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler, the FCC should extend the successful E-rate program, which pays for Internet access in schools, and provide Wi-Fi on school buses so students can have more time to do their homework.

While the E-Rate program has helped ensure schools are equipped with broadband Internet, a third of New Mexico households - and homes across the country - still lack access, either because families can't afford it or because it simply isn't available. But with seven in 10 teachers nationwide assigning homework that requires Internet access, students without access at home are now at an unfair disadvantage to their peers. "Broadband should help create educational opportunities for these children, not a new barrier to their success at school," Sen Udall wrote to Chairman Wheeler.

How and Old Hacking Law Hampers the Fight Against Online Discrimination

Thirty years ago, during the Reagan Administration, Congress passed the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act, which was designed in large part to prohibit the theft of government data. (Reagan became interested in the issue after watching the 1983 film “WarGames,” in which a young hacker, played by Matthew Broderick, inadvertently gains access to a supercomputer that controls the US nuclear arsenal.) The text of the CFAA begins reasonably enough, by targeting hacks that put the national defense and foreign relations at risk. From there, though, the law grows like an algae bloom, expanding the definition of fraud to include any “unauthorized access” to a “protected computer.”

Rather than explaining precisely what “unauthorized” means, the CFAA leaves it up to the owner of the computer to decide. As a result, companies have the right to sue people who violate their terms of service, even for such mundane activities as sharing a password with a friend. What’s more, the federal government can subject alleged offenders to criminal prosecution, seeking to impose prison time and hefty fines, essentially turning the US Department of Justice into corporate muscle.

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