July 2019

Big Tech Bashed in Senate Hearing On Protecting Kids Online

The Senate Judiciary Committee held a hearing "Protecting Innocence in a Digital World" July 9 on protecting kids online, and Big Tech came in for further criticism over its handling of the issue. Chairman Lindsey Graham (R-SC) said he hoped to learn a lot from the witnesses about the perils of social media sites, and the internet in general, for children. He also signaled there would be a follow-on hearing where Big Tech was called to account. 

President Trump looks to rally controversial online allies at White House social media summit

President Donald Trump has summoned Republican lawmakers, political strategists and social media stars to the White House on July 11  to discuss the “opportunities and challenges” of the Web — but his upcoming summit, critics say, could end up empowering online provocateurs who have adopted controversial political tactics entering the 2020 election campaign. The high-profile gathering follows months of attacks from President Trump claiming that Facebook, Google and Twitter — all services the president taps to talk to supporters — secretly censor right-leaning users, websites and other conte

Chairman Pai Announces Action To Help Americans Reach 911 And Be Quickly Located By First Responders

Federal Communications Commission Chairman Ajit Pai announced that the FCC will vote at its Aug meeting on rules to help ensure that people who call 911 from multi-line telephone systems which commonly serve hotels, office buildings, and college campuses—can reach 911 and be quickly located by first responders. The Chairman has circulated draft rules that would implement two recently enacted laws to improve emergency calling, the Kari’s Law Act of 2017 and RAY BAUM’S Act of 2018, and extend 911 location requirements to additional calling platforms. 

Modernizing the E-Rate Program for Schools and Libraries NPRM

The Federal Communications Commission’s E-Rate program is a vital source of support for connectivity to—and within—schools and libraries. In particular, the E-Rate program provides funding for internal connections, which are primarily used for Wi-Fi, a technology that has enabled schools and libraries to transition from computer labs to one-to-one digital learning. We propose to make permanent the approach adopted by the FCC in 2014 to fund these internal connections.

An Interview with Gigi Sohn: Net neutrality was repealed a year ago. What’s happened since?

A Q&A with Gigi Sohn, Benton Senior Fellow and a distinguished fellow at Georgetown Law’s Institute for Technology Law and Policy.

U.S. newsroom employment has dropped a quarter since 2008, with greatest decline at newspapers

Newsroom employment across the US continues to decline, driven primarily by job losses at newspapers. And even though digital-native news outlets have experienced some recent growth in employment, they have added too few newsroom positions to make up for recent losses in the broader industry, according to a Pew Research Center analysis of Bureau of Labor Statistics Occupational Employment Statistics survey data.