April 2018

Simmons College, Open Technology Institute, Internet2 Awarded Grant from Institute of Museum and Library Services

Simmons College’s School of Library & Information Science, along with New America's Open Technology Institute and Internet2, have received an Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS) FY2018 National Leadership Grants for Libraries award. Their 24-month research project, “Measuring Library Broadband Networks for the National Digital Platform” will examine how advanced broadband measurement capabilities can support the infrastructure and services needed to respond to the digital demands of public library users across the US. The project will gather quantitative and qualitative data

The day net neutrality died, Colorado lawmakers put an extra nail in the coffin

A Republican-led Colorado state Senate panel rejected a net neutrality bill April 24. The state-level measure attempted to disqualify internet service providers from receiving grants from a broadband program if they manipulated access and speed based on content. The measure also would have required governments contracting for service to give preference to providers who certified allegiance to open-internet standards. “It uses the nexus of state support to protect the idea … of free internet,” said CO state Sen  Kerry Donovan, (D-Vail).

Facebook willingly handed over data to the man it now blames for the Cambridge Analytica scandal

Facebook handed over data, with no strings attached, to the man it now blames for the Cambridge Analytica scandal. That was the testimony Aleksandr Kogan — the data scientist behind the app that harvested information from 87 million Facebook accounts — gave to a committee of lawmakers in Britain on April 24.

Google Parent Posts Surge in Profit, but Expenses Also Jump

Google parent Alphabet posted surging profits as advertisers kept swarming to the search giant amid a global debate about internet privacy that threatens to affect its main revenue generator. Alphabet’s earnings also got a multibillion-dollar boost from the company’s stakes in startups including Uber but were tempered by the costliest spending spree in its 14-year history as a public company. Net profit jumped 73% to $9.4 billion in the first quarter, up from $5.4 billion in the same period in 2017, a performance that highlights the firm’s huge lead in the global market for online ads.

Inside the Intense, Combative World of Covering the Trump White House

Most reporters share a sense that covering President Donald Trump is a challenge like no other, at a time when political journalists and the First Amendment are under siege. With the easy accessibility of social media, some political reporters find themselves getting death threats. 

President Trump Dumps on White House Correspondent Association Dinner

President Donald Trump is using his planned absence from the White House Correspondents Association dinner Saturday, April 28, to try and raise money for his next election. The President didn't show up for 2017's dinner, either, where the press and the President customarily get together to trade barbs and toasts, a temporary glove-dropping that had become a regular stop for President's of both parties before the current one.