I am deeply grateful to the President of the United States for designating me the 34th Chairman of the Federal Communications Commission. I look forward to working with the new Administration, my colleagues at the Commission, members of Congress, and the American public to bring the benefits of the digital age to all Americans.
[Commentary] Incoming Federal Communications Commissioner Chair Ajit Pai will rise to the top spot as one of the best prepared and best-liked commissioners in FCC history. Pai's public service includes positions as FCC deputy general counsel, senior positions at the Justice Department, and deputy chief counsel at the Senate Judiciary Committee. In the private sector, Pai was an attorney at a high-powered Washington law firm and appointed associate general counsel at Verizon communications.
Now Pai stands on the doorstep of his biggest role ever: FCC chairman. It is a role for which he has been preparing for over a decade, and a role for which he is imminently qualified. Pai has taken the time to master the arcane statutory and regulatory grist that drives the mill at the FCC.
[Adonis Hoffman is chairman of Business in the Public Interest and adjunct professor of Communication, Culture & Technology at Georgetown University. He is a former chief of staff and senior legal adviser for an FCC commissioner.]
President Trump began recasting America’s role in the global economy, canceling an agreement for a sweeping trade deal with Asia as one of his first official White House actions. After meeting with business executives to discuss the US manufacturing industry, President Trump headed to the Oval Office to sign an executive order formally ending the United States’ participation in the Trans-Pacific Partnership. The move was largely symbolic -- the deal was unlikely to make it through Congress -- but it served to signal that President Trump’s tough talk on trade during the campaign will carry over to his new administration.
White House press secretary Sean Spicer said at his first press briefing that future briefings will include four "Skype seats" for reporters who are outside of the Washington (DC) area. Spicer did not specify how it would be decided which outlets would be brought in via Skype, the world's largest video call service owned by Microsoft. He did say those eligible for consideration need to live more than 50 miles from Washington. Spicer added that the technology would open up briefings to a “diverse group” of journalists who can’t afford to travel to DC.
“Maybe we solicit talk radio and regional newspapers to submit questions — because they can't afford to be in Washington — but they still have a question," Spicer said in an interview Jan 8. "Maybe we just let the American people submit questions that we read off as well,” he added.
[Commentary] American values and interests face three major threats online. First, the volume of private data, about every aspect of our lives, is growing exponentially but is often poorly protected. Second, terrorists, propagandists and purveyors of fabricated news are taking advantage of the online space to undermine democracy. Third, because citizens use the internet to expose corruption, document human rights abuses and mobilize political action, authoritarian governments restrict online freedom, and their controls are rapidly growing in reach and sophistication.
A free and open internet is fundamental to US interests in the world and American values — commerce, innovation, social interaction, and political engagement — but it is coming increasingly under strain. The Trump administration will need to put in place and pursue a broad policy agenda to preserve the internet's benefits and potential for the United States going forward.
[Daniel Calingaert is executive vice president of Freedom House.]
Questions about the Trump administration’s handling of factual information could lead to more of what has already happened in the past when there have been gaps in the government’s data: outside groups, including news organizations, trying their best to find answers. “[If] we can’t assume good faith and good practices in government data, it’s going to be a lot more work for everyone,” said JM Berger, a fellow with the International Centre for counter-Terrorism at The Hauge. “Government data isn’t always reliable or complete, and journalists and academics have filled in the gaps before, but if we have to question and vet everything on a consistent basis, it’s going to command a lot of our resources and make it harder to do new and important research.”
[Commentary] Not once in the eight years that George W. Bush was president did he handle the press with the derision and contempt President Donald Trump displayed in his first week. Instead, the media in the Bush era relied on access and sources to assimilate the most catastrophic lie in American history. Compared to President Bush and Vice President Cheney’s smooth, respectful manipulation and subjugation of the media, President Trump and his regime’s snarling hostility and barefaced lying to the press—ie, their openness about their motives—are a gift to the republic.
[Lee Siegel is the author of five books and the recipient of a National Magazine Award for Reviews and Criticism. ]
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