May 2017

BENTON'S COMMUNICATIONS-RELATED HEADLINES for THURSDAY, MAY 18, 2017

If memory serves, something’s going on at the FCC today – see https://www.benton.org/calendar/2017-05-18

COMMUNICATIONS AND DEMOCRACY
   Trump’s Urging That Comey Jail Reporters Denounced as an ‘Act of Intimidation’
   Video: DHS chief caught on hot mic suggesting Trump use sword 'on the press' [links to Washington Post]
   Video -- Sen. Blumenthal: 'A lot of the credit goes to the free press' [links to Washington Post]
   President Trump talked of jailing journalists - editorial
   President Trump Can’t Jail Journalists for Reporting Leaks – Or Can He? [links to Benton summary]
   Would James Comey go to war with President Trump through the media? [links to Washington Post]
   Robert Mueller, Former FBI Director, Is Named Special Counsel for Russia Investigation [links to Benton summary]
   Trump Team Knew Flynn Was Under Investigation Before He Came to White House [links to Benton summary]

CIVIC ENGAGEMENT
   Are net neutrality supporters wasting their time by filing comments at the FCC?
   House Commerce Committee Democrats Seek Hearing on FCC Web Issues [links to Benton summary]
   Fight for the Future Seeks Net Neutrality Docket Investigation
   Will Pai “Pull A Putin” And Hack the FCC Process? Or Will He Get Over Himself and Start Acting Like The Chairman? - analysis
   How the US can hold Erdogan’s brawling guards accountable — and keep it from happening again

NET NEUTRALITY
   FCC’s Internet-Rules Revamp Likely to Bring Big Changes Online
   Lawmakers rally net neutrality supporters ahead of key FCC vote [links to Benton summary]
   Why net neutrality needs a congressional solution - Nicol Turner-Lee analysis
   Only Congress, Not the FCC, Can Fix Net Neutrality - Berin Szóka op-ed
   Small but Powerful: Despite Objections, Small ISPs Need Net Neutrality Too - analysis
   Cable Operators Reaffirm Commitment to an Open Internet
   Sorry, FCC Chairman Pai: Your Investment Numbers Don't Add Up [links to Free Press]
   FCC Commissioner Clyburn: “Much rhetoric in [the Open Internet] proceeding is completely divorced from reality.” - Gus Hurwitz op-ed [links to Benton summary]

MORE INTERNET/BROADBAND
   House Commerce Democrats Unveil Comprehensive Infrastructure Package - press release
   Schools, Libraries, and Companies Urge Trump Administration to Invest in Broadband Infrastructure - press release
   Gigabit Broadband Availability Reaches Over 200M Globally, 56 Million in the US [links to Benton summary]
   Why a Dedicated High Speed Broadband Network to Connect the Unconnected is a Game Changer - Lev Gonick op-ed
   Tech Adoption Climbs Among Older Adults - Pew research

OWNERSHIP
   Sinclair deal puts heat on FCC [links to Benton summary]

KIDS AND MEDIA
   Kids can handle the truth - David Kleeman op-ed [links to Benton summary]

CONTENT
   1 in 3 Internet Users Has Made a Purchase Based on Sponsored Content [links to AdWeek]
   Crime in Ohio to post anything “for the purpose of abusing … or harassing” anyone (unless you’re in the media) [links to Washington Post]

SECURITY
   With Ransomware, It’s Pay and Embolden Perpetrators, or Lose Precious Data [links to New York Times]
   New Threats Fuel Fears of Another Global Cyberattack [links to Wall Street Journal]

GOVERNMENT PERFORMANCE
   House Passes IT Modernization Bill

POLICYMAKERS
   President Trump Taps David Redl to Head NTIA - press release
   DC Reacts to David Redl's NTIA Nomination [links to Broadcasting&Cable]
   Georgetown Law’s New Institute for Technology Law & Policy Announces Appointment of Gigi Sohn as Distinguished Fellow - press release
   National Digital Inclusion Alliance Names the National Telecommunications and Information Administration’s Emy Tseng the 2017 Charles Benton Digital Equity Champion - press release

COMPANY NEWS
   Google Wants to Be Everywhere With Everyone [links to New York Times]
   Google, Not the Government, Is Building the Future [links to New York Times]
   The top 7 cable, satellite and telco pay TV operators in Q1: Ranking Comcast, DirecTV, Charter and more [links to Fierce]

STORIES FROM ABROAD
   EU fines Facebook $122 million for misleading information over WhatsApp buyout [links to Associated Press]
   Google's Project Loon helps bring the internet to flooded Peru [links to CNN]
   Hackers steal Zomato data on 17 million users [links to CNN]
   Bronwyn Howell: Has Australia really bungled its $36 billion high-speed internet rollout? [links to American Enterprise Institute]

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COMMUNICATIONS AND DEMOCRACY

ACT OF INTIMIDATION
[SOURCE: New York Times, AUTHOR: Michael Grynbaum, Sydney Ember, Charlie Savage]
During a private meeting in February with former-FBI Director James Comey, President Donald Trump floated a proposal that, even by the standards of a leader who routinely advertises his disdain for the news media, brought editors and reporters up short. You should consider, President Trump told Comey, jailing journalists who publish classified information. Presidents are rarely afraid to wrangle and bully reporters, and Trump’s predecessor, President Barack Obama, was pilloried by news organizations for aggressively prosecuting leakers. But Trump’s suggestion breached new territory for political reporters who already consider their profession under siege. “Suggesting that the government should prosecute journalists for the publication of classified information is very menacing, and I think that’s exactly what they intend,” said Martin Baron, The Washington Post’s executive editor. “It’s an act of intimidation.” While Trump’s proposal to Comey could be construed as a private fit of pique, journalists and press freedom groups said that they were alarmed by the possibility that he considered, even casually, enlisting the Justice Department to quash reporting he disliked.
benton.org/headlines/trumps-urging-comey-jail-reporters-denounced-act-intimidation | New York Times
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JAILING JOURNALISTS
[SOURCE: Radio Television Digital News Association, AUTHOR: Mike Cavender]
Along with asking former FBI Director James Comey to drop the Bureau’s investigation of Michael Flynn, President Trump also talked about putting reporters in jail for publishing classified information. The information came to light after Comey wrote a detailed memo for his files about his conversation with Trump and the contents were provided to the Times. Whether it was more of Trump’s hyperbole or if he really believes that should be done is unknown. He often complains about the media and leaks and continues to tout his claim that much of what is broadcast and published is fake news. RTDNA agrees with the Reporter’s Committee for Freedom of the Press that no President has the right to jail journalists. Courts and judges exist to determine what’s right and what’s wrong. The Justice Department has generally widely honored the concept of a free press, including when addressing issues involving leaks. Trump’s comments are just another example of the need for journalists to stand up in defense of the First Amendment. That’s the reason why RTDNA formed its Voice of the First Amendment Task Force. We hope you’ll join with us and support our efforts.
benton.org/headlines/president-trump-talked-jailing-journalists | Radio Television Digital News Association
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CIVIC ENGAGEMENT

FCC AND PUBLIC INPUT
[SOURCE: Los Angeles Times, AUTHOR: Jim Puzzanghera]
A warning to the hundreds of thousands of people publicly urging the Federal Communications Commission to keep its tough net neutrality rules: You might be wasting your time. The FCC’s Republican majority has indicated it won’t be swayed by the electronic messages flooding the agency’s website. “Commission outcomes are not and cannot be decided by poll numbers or letter counts,” said FCC Commissioner Mike O’Rielly, a Republican. A top aide to FCC Chairman Ajit Pai, who is leading the charge to repeal the rules, echoed that view. Robert McDowell, a former Republican FCC commissioner who has known Chairman Pai for years, said the facts on the issue will outweigh the volume of public comment. “Ajit Pai will be data-driven and not poll-driven,” McDowell said. Supporters of the regulations said it’s still important for members of the public to express their views: The opinions of average Americans could influence judges if a rule change is challenged in court as well as members of Congress if they decide to write net neutrality legislation. Commissioners Pai and O’Rielly could be taking a big risk if they dismiss public sentiment, said Gigi Sohn, who served as counselor to former FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler, a Democrat who pushed the rules into place. “I say defy the American people at your own peril,” Sohn said. “To the extent the FCC is supposed to act in ‘the public convenience interest and necessity,’ it might be important what the people think,” she said, quoting a phrase from the telecommunications law regarding the FCC’s oversight of the public airwaves. American Enterprise Institute’s Jeffrey Eisenach, who advised the Trump transition team on telecommunications policy, said, “When you get millions of comments that basically say, ‘Net neutrality is a principle that has to be upheld. I don’t really know the facts. If you vote against this rule, you’re the scum of the Earth,’ that’s not the kind of evidence that the commission should be weighing.” But Sohn said Americans are busy and even filing a short statement to the FCC shows that the issue is important to them. The agency’s leaders should care about that. “To simply kind of wipe your hands of the public submissions is really not what an administrative agency should be doing,” she said. “They’ve got to take them into account.”
benton.org/headlines/are-net-neutrality-supporters-wasting-their-time-filing-comments-fcc | Los Angeles Times
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NET NEUTRALITY DOCKET INVESTIGATION?
[SOURCE: Broadcasting&Cable, AUTHOR: John Eggerton]
Fight for the Future is asking the Federal Communications Commission and state attorneys general to investigate what it says is potential fraud related to the filing of comments in the FCC's network neutrality docket. Campaign Director Evan Greer said the group has been collecting evidence that "a large number of anti-net neutrality comments have been submitted to the FCC using real people's names and addresses without their knowledge or permission." Greer argues that the FCC needs to investigate that potential fraud before it votes on its plan to roll back Title II classification of ISPs, which is scheduled for the May 18 public meeting. Greer cited reports of people confirming that they knew nothing about the anti-net neutrality comments filed under their names and said Fight for the Future had interviewed a dozen people itself who said that was the case.
benton.org/headlines/fight-future-seeks-net-neutrality-docket-investigation | Broadcasting&Cable
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HACKING THE FCC PROCESS
[SOURCE: Tales of the Sausage Factory, AUTHOR: Harold Feld]
[Commentary] In my 20+ years of doing telecommunications policy, I have never seen a Federal Communications Commission Chairman so badly botch a proceeding as Chairman Ajit Pai has managed to do with his efforts to repeal Net Neutrality. For all the fun that I am sure Chairman Pai is having (and believe me, I understand the fun of getting all snarky on policy), Pai’s failure to protect the integrity of the process runs the serious risk of undermining public confidence in the Federal Communications Commission’s basic processes, and by extension contributing to the general “hacking of our democracy” by undermining faith in our most basic institutions of self-governance. Yeah, I know, that sounds over the top. I wish I didn’t have to write that. I also wish we didn’t have a President who calls press critical of him “the enemy of the American people,” triggering massive harassment of reporters by his followers. What both President Trump and Chairman Pai seem to fail to understand is that when you are in charge, what you say and do matters much more than what you said and did before you were in charge. You either grow up and step into the challenge or you end up doing serious harm not only to your own agenda, but to the institution as a whole. Worse, in a time when the President and his team actually welcomed Russia’s “hacking” of our election, and remain under suspicion for coordinating with Russia for support, Pai’s conduct creates concern and distrust that he will also “pull a Putin” by welcoming (or worse, collaborating with) efforts to de-legitimize the FCC’s public comment system and hack the public debate around net neutrality generally.
benton.org/headlines/will-pai-pull-putin-and-hack-fcc-process-or-will-he-get-over-himself-and-start-acting | Tales of the Sausage Factory
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ERDOGAN’S BRAWLING GUARDS
[SOURCE: Washington Post, AUTHOR: Phillip Bump]
On May 16, a brief but violent altercation erupted outside the home of the Turkish ambassador on Washington’s Embassy Row. At least nine people were injured in the fighting. Video taken at the scene would indicate that most of the injured were protesters standing across the street from the ambassador’s residence. At least some of those involved in causing the injuries were guards for Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. It’s worth noting that this is not the first time that Erdogan’s bodyguards have been implicated in harassing or assaulting people on American soil. When Erdogan visited Washington in March 2016, Turkish journalists charged his guards with verbally attacking them and, in at least one instance, kicking a journalist hard enough to make him bleed. But the incident on Tuesday was of another scale entirely. In the video, a group of men, many in suits and wearing badges, charge into the group of demonstrators, who were protesting Erdogan’s policies in Turkey, Syria and Iraq, according to a Facebook video. Turkey’s state news agency said the security team sought to disperse the protest because D.C. “police did not heed to Turkish demands to intervene” — sensibly, since American police are expected to allow peaceful protests to continue. After the fighting begins, D.C. police are seen trying to break up the brawl but appear outnumbered. At a news conference, D.C. Police Chief Peter Newsham said that several of the guards involved in the melee were armed, making intervention “dicey.” He also noted that applying legal remedies might be tricky because some of those involved might have diplomatic immunity.
benton.org/headlines/how-us-can-hold-erdogans-brawling-guards-accountable-and-keep-it-happening-again | Washington Post
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NET NEUTRALITY

BIG CHANGES ONLINE
[SOURCE: Wall Street Journal, AUTHOR: John McKinnon]
The Federal Communications Commission is set to move forward with a plan that would blow up the rules that have governed the internet in recent years and essentially start anew, opening the door to fundamental shifts in consumers’ online experiences. The final regulation is expected to take some time to develop. The FCC’s planned action begins a rule-making process that will likely take months, meaning the broadband internet business won’t change overnight. But eventually the new rules, depending on how the commission fills in the details, have the potential to allow new alliances between broadband providers and major entertainment, shopping, search and social media platforms. Those deals could allow cable and wireless broadband providers to lure consumers with higher speeds and better quality video for favored services, even as their choices are potentially narrowed. Critics note that the providers’ profits would probably grow in the meantime. Even supporters of the changes acknowledge the new rules could give internet providers broad latitude to offer new services that arguably are inconsistent with recent ideas about net neutrality. The biggest potential change would allow providers to offer paid prioritization, a practice that would allow some internet traffic to move more quickly or more reliably in exchange for payment to the carrier. The current rules bar paid prioritization.
benton.org/headlines/fccs-internet-rules-revamp-likely-bring-big-changes-online | Wall Street Journal
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NET NEUTRALITY NEEDS CONGRESSIONAL SOLUTION I
[SOURCE: Brookings, AUTHOR: Nicol Turner-Lee]
[Commentary] Net neutrality advocates and opponents alike have demonstrated their steady investment in a specific outcome that juxtaposes regulation over no regulation. These deep seated divisions are played out among members of Congress, industry leaders, activists, and even academics. Given the tumultuous history of net neutrality at the Federal Communications Commission, the future of internet regulations will remain uncertain in the US. Today’s decisions will be vulnerable to challenges from a possible Democratic administration and potentially overturned if argued before the Supreme Court. Congress may be the only entity that can offer a more permanent solution to what is driving the debate – adherence to the principles of an open internet and the application of the appropriate legal authority. As the FCC works on its repeal, Congress should exercise leadership to identify a legislative solution that marries – rather than polarizes – these two perspectives to reach bipartisan agreement. Clearly, a congressional solution cloaked in partisanship will not be the starting place for such negotiations. Congress cannot remain gridlocked on this issue given their constituents’ reliance on the digital economy. Citizens are increasingly leveraging the internet and other new technologies for employment, entrepreneurship, health care, education, civic engagement, and other critical functions. Elected officials must start the negotiations in radical agreement on internet openness, given that the digital economy will continue to face broadband capacity challenges (i.e., spectrum and infrastructure concerns) as demand for services rises. As such, Congress should delve into the question of legal authority conditioned not on emotion or political party, but on the most appropriate and sustainable framework for its application. Under this scenario, a bipartisan agreement could abandon Title II based on its outdated and perfunctory application to the online economy and focus on codifying the bright line rules through statute. A compromise might also include an additional bright line rule that offers consumers a formal means for complaint and adjudication at the Commission. Or FCC authority can perhaps be shared with the FTC: making one agency the cop on the beat over behavioral and commercial practices (FTC) and the other over technical misgivings and other consumer concerns (FCC).
benton.org/headlines/why-net-neutrality-needs-congressional-solution | Brookings
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NET NEUTRALITY NEEDS CONGRESSIONAL SOLUTION II
[SOURCE: Wired, AUTHOR: Berin Szóka]
[Commentary] In 2006, House Republicans passed legislation empowering the Federal Communications Commission to enforce the Open Internet Policy Statement, but the bill died in the Senate. In 2010, a court blocked the FCC’s subsequent attempt to enforce the policy statement. Democrats wanted legislation, and Google and Verizon even negotiated a deal. Congressional Republicans wanted to negotiate after retaking the House. By then, the FCC had already issued its first net neutrality rules, which partially failed in court in 2014. The following year, Republicans offered a deal, and Democrats have stonewalled since. Lawmakers should enshrine rules against blocking and throttling, enforced by either the FCC or the Federal Trade Commission, and deny the FCC a blank check over the internet. Until Congress acts, telecom Groundhog Day will keep replaying over and over and over.
[Szóka is president of TechFreedom]
benton.org/headlines/only-congress-not-fcc-can-fix-net-neutrality | Wired
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SMALL ISPs AND NET NEUTRALITY
[SOURCE: Public Knowledge, AUTHOR: Sara Kamal]
As we gear up to defend and protect the net neutrality rules, parties on both sides are speaking up. One particular group, small Internet Service Providers, claim that the Federal Communication Commission’s 2015 Open Internet Order has been a death sentence for them, hindering their ability to invest and compete in the market. These small ISPs have taken to advocating against net neutrality rules but there is something missing from their claims: substance. Usually represented by trade groups like the Competitive Carriers Association, US Telecom Association, and the American Cable Association, to name a few, small ISPs generally serve a customer base in the hundreds or thousands. Compare that to the likes of Comcast, Verizon, Charter, and AT&T, which control 70 percent of the market, with consumer counts in the millions. Given their comparatively small size, these small ISPs don’t believe the net neutrality rules should apply to them. Citing regulatory burdens of complying with the Open Internet Order and the uncertainty of the newly minted rules, they believe the rules put them in a high cost/low benefit situation because they don’t have the same market power or incentive to make deals with edge providers. But these claims are hollow. First, the idea that these companies don't have "market power" is wrong. Additionally, none of the small ISPs or trade associations that represent them actually point to or identify the particular regulations that are oh-so-burdensome to their businesses.
benton.org/headlines/small-powerful-despite-objections-small-isps-need-net-neutrality-too | Public Knowledge
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NCTA AD
[SOURCE: NCTA – The Internet and Television Association, AUTHOR: Press release]
As providers of broadband internet access service in many communities across America, we’ve always been committed to an open internet that gives you the freedom to be in charge of your online experience. And that will not change. An open internet means that we do not block, throttle or otherwise impair your online activity. We firmly stand by that commitment because it is good for our customers and good for our business.
benton.org/headlines/cable-operators-reaffirm-commitment-open-internet | NCTA – The Internet and Television Association
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MORE INTERNET/BROADBAND

INFRASTRUCTURE PROPOSAL
[SOURCE: House of Representatives Commerce Committee, AUTHOR: Press release]
Democrats on the House Commerce Committee introduced a broad 21st Century infrastructure package that includes key areas within the Committee’s jurisdiction, including broadband, drinking water, healthcare, the electric grid, brownfields and renewable energy infrastructure. The Leading Infrastructure For Tomorrow’s America Act, or LIFT America Act (H.R. 2479), sets out five years of funding for essential infrastructure improvements, job growth, and greater protections for public health and the environment. The LIFT America Act includes investments in several key areas including $40 billion for the deployment of secure and resilient broadband to expand access for communities nationwide while promoting security by design. The LIFT America Act will invest in programs with proven records of job creation. The legislation requires the payment of prevailing wages. The bill will also spur new high-paying technology jobs by supporting deployment of smart buildings, smart grid, and Smart Communities technology. The LIFT America Act is sponsored by Reps Frank Pallone, Jr. (D-NJ), Bobby Rush (D-IL), Anna Eshoo (D-CA), Eliot Engel (D-NY), Gene Green (D-TX), Diana DeGette (D-CO), Mike Doyle (D-PA), Jan Schakowsky (D-IL), G.K. Butterfield (D-NC), Doris Matsui (D-CA), Kathy Castor (D-FL), John Sarbanes (D-MD), Jerry McNerney (D-CA), Peter Welch (D-VT), Ben Ray Lujan (D-NM), Paul Tonko (D-NY), Yvette Clarke (D-NY), Dave Loebsack (D-IA), Joe Kennedy III (D-MA), Tony Cárdenas (D-CA), Raul Ruiz (D-CA), Scott Peters (D-CA) and Debbie Dingell (D-MI).
benton.org/headlines/house-commerce-democrats-unveil-comprehensive-infrastructure-package | House of Representatives Commerce Committee
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ANCHORS, BROADBAND AND INFRASTRUCTURE
[SOURCE: Schools, Health and Libraries Broadband Coalition, AUTHOR: Press release]
Connecting our nation’s schools, libraries, health clinics, and other community anchor institutions (CAIs) to affordable high-speed broadband needs to be a national infrastructure priority, especially in rural markets. In an effort to accomplish this goal, the Schools, Health & Libraries Broadband (SHLB) Coalition released a letter to President Trump signed by 30 companies and anchor institutions urging the Trump Administration to include funding to deploy high-capacity broadband to and through anchor institutions in rural markets in the upcoming infrastructure package. The term “anchor institution” refers to any large community institution that serves the needs of the general public, and includes community colleges, public housing, community centers, public media, and local government offices in addition to schools, libraries, health clinics and hospitals. These community anchor institutions are crucial to closing America’s digital divide. The letter stresses that deploying high-capacity broadband to all rural anchor institutions is a cost-effective model to connect entire communities and stimulate economic growth. Unfortunately, the needs of anchor institutions are not addressed by existing funding mechanisms like the FCC’s Connect America Fund because anchor institutions need much greater bandwidth than the 10 Mbps service provided to residential consumers. The letter emphasizes the importance of an open application process for federal funding to spur competition, networking sharing to promote public-private partnerships, and coordinated and streamlined deployment, such as “dig once” and “make ready” policies. The digital divide is most acutely felt in rural America. The costs of deploying high-speed broadband in rural areas can be two to three times higher than in urban markets which makes it difficult for commercial companies to invest without financial support.
[Editor’s note: Benton is a member of the SHLB Coalition and signed the letter.]
benton.org/headlines/schools-libraries-and-companies-urge-trump-administration-invest-broadband-infrastructure | Schools
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CLEVELAND BROADBAND
[SOURCE: LinkedIn, AUTHOR: Lev Gonick]
[Commentary] Recently, DigitalC launched the Connect the Unconnected program. Here I offer details on the technical design, the solution architecture, and our hopes for America's first, dedicated gigabit network designed specifically to support the unserved and underserved members of our community. The Connect the Unconnected network aspires to connect the 50% of Cleveland residents with no wired broadband access. Designing and launching a reference architecture for a dedicated high speed broadband network and all the attendant wrap around services and support is my definition of civic technology. Connect the Unconnected is about making a small contribution to a simple idea. When history is written, our ability to extend access to the digital economy and all of its opportunities is the surest way to bet on a future of prosperity for all of us. Connecting the Unconnected is the promise of supporting those unserved and underserved to restart their dreams and hopes for a better tomorrow.
[Gonickis is Chief Executive of DigitalC, a civic tech collaboration that partners with the community to design technology-driven programs and services]
benton.org/headlines/why-dedicated-high-speed-broadband-network-connect-unconnected-game-changer | LinkedIn
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TECH ADOPTION CLIMBS AMONG OLDER ADULTS
[SOURCE: Pew Research Center Internet and Technology, AUTHOR: Monica Anderson, Andrew Perrin]
A record 46 million seniors live in the United States today, and older Americans – those age 65 and older – now account for 15% of the overall U.S. population. Pew Research Center surveys find that seniors are moving towards more digitally connected lives. Around four-in-ten (42%) adults ages 65 and older now report owning smartphones, up from just 18% in 2013. Internet use and home broadband adoption among this group have also risen substantially. Today, 67% of seniors use the internet – a 55-percentage-point increase in just under two decades. And for the first time, half of older Americans now have broadband at home. Yet despite these gains, many seniors remain largely disconnected from the digital revolution. One-third of adults ages 65 and older say they never use the internet, and roughly half (49%) say they do not have home broadband services. Meanwhile, even with their recent gains, the proportion of seniors who say they own smartphones is 42 percentage points lower than those ages 18 to 64. And as is true for the population as a whole, there are also substantial differences in technology adoption within the older adult population based on factors such as age, household income and educational attainment.
benton.org/headlines/tech-adoption-climbs-among-older-adults | Pew Research Center Internet and Technology
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GOVERNMENT PERFORMANCE

HOUSE PASSES IT MODERNIZATION BILL
[SOURCE: nextgov, AUTHOR: Frank Konkel]
Next stop for Rep. Will Hurd’s Modernizing Government Technology Act: the Senate. The bill passed the House in a floor vote, highlighting the bipartisan concern lawmakers share regarding the nation’s aging federal technology, which includes at least 10 critical systems more than four decades old. The MGT Act’s journey through the House was swift, sailing through the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee only days after its April 28 introduction. Companion legislation in the Senate, however, is moving slower. The bill, a bipartisan effort that included input from the White House, the Government Accountability Office and top Democrats, would create two new ways for agencies to modernize their IT systems. First, it would allow CFO Act agencies to create working IT capital funds. Hurd has referred to these funds as “the meat” of the bill, and it would allow agencies to recoup savings from existing modernization efforts rather than give cash back to the Treasury Department. Hypothetically, an agency that realizes savings from moving to the cloud could hold on to the savings for up to three years, so long as it uses those savings for further modernization efforts. In addition to agency-specific working capital funds, the MGT Act creates a central modernization fund and authorized appropriators to fund it up to $250 million per year for two years. Agencies strapped for cash could then make their cases to borrow against the fund to modernize certain systems. The final say for what agencies get money will come down to the commissioner of the Technology Transformation Service, an office within the General Services Administration.
benton.org/headlines/house-passes-it-modernization-bill | nextgov
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POLICYMAKERS

REDL TO HEAD NTIA
[SOURCE: The White House, AUTHOR: Press release]
President Donald Trump announced his intent to nominate David J. Redl of New York to be Assistant Secretary for Communications and Information, Department of Commerce. Redl is currently Chief Counsel at the US House of Representatives Commerce Committee. He serves as principal legal advisor to the Chairman and Members of the Commerce majority on communications and technology matters. Prior to his time with the Commerce Committee, Redl was Director of Regulatory Affairs at CTIA - The Wireless Association, where his work focused on spectrum policy, wireless broadband, and reducing regulatory mandates. Redl earned a BA in Journalism and a BA in Political Science from the Pennsylvania State University and a JD from the Catholic University of America. Redl is admitted to the New York and District of Columbia bars.
benton.org/headlines/president-trump-taps-david-redl-head-ntia | White House, The
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GIGI SOHN JOINS INSTITUTE FOR TECHNOLOGY LAW AND POLICY
[SOURCE: Georgetown University, AUTHOR: Press release]
Georgetown Law’s Institute for Technology Law & Policy today announced the appointment of Gigi Sohn as a Distinguished Fellow. A renowned public interest lawyer who has worked in communications and technology policy for nearly 30 years, Sohn recently concluded three years of service as counselor to then-Chairman of the Federal Communications Commission, Tom Wheeler. During that time, Sohn played a central role as the agency formulated and adopted key policies relating to net neutrality, broadband privacy, broadband access and other matters. Sohn’s work at Georgetown Law’s Tech Institute will focus on the vital role of open, democratic, accessible and affordable communications networks, media and technology. During her appointment, Sohn will publish articles, convene public events and contribute to Georgetown’s academic community.
benton.org/headlines/georgetown-laws-new-institute-technology-law-policy-announces-appointment-gigi-sohn | Georgetown University
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EMY TSENG
[SOURCE: Benton Foundation, AUTHOR: Press release]
The National Digital Inclusion Alliance (NDIA) announced that this year’s recipient of the Charles Benton Digital Equity Champion Award is Emy Tseng, a Senior Communications Program Specialist at the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA), an agency of the US Department of Commerce. Since joining the NTIA in 2009, Tseng has worked to increase broadband access and adoption in underserved communities throughout the United States. From 2009 to 2014, she managed a portfolio of local government and K-12 education grants for the Broadband Technology Opportunities Program. She was a major contributor to the Broadband Adoption Toolkit published by NTIA in 2013. She continues her work with NTIA’s BroadbandUSA program providing technical assistance to local and state governments that foster digital equity. Throughout her career, Tseng has demonstrated the ability to combine policy, practice, and data to create a holistic approach to digital inclusion. Before joining NTIA, Tseng served as the Digital Inclusion Director for the City of San Francisco, where she shaped one of the earliest local government digital inclusion programs and served on the first California State Broadband Task Force. Her work in San Francisco not only promoted computer ownership, digital skills, and Internet access, but also paid special attention to the needs of marginalized communities, showing that it is in the best interest of cities to bridge the digital divide. Tseng additionally served as a fellow at the Berkman Klein Center for Internet and Society at Harvard University, where her work on “inclusive innovation” analyzed how vulnerable communities use, adapt, and shape technology to address their needs and goals.
https://www.benton.org/node/259628
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