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  2. August 2019

August 2019

FCC Commissioner Starks Visits New Mexico Tribal Communities

The week of Aug 12, Federal Communications Commissioner Geoffrey Starks visited Tribal communities in New Mexico where he discussed the challenges of internet inequality with House Assistant Speaker Ben Ray Luján (D-NM) and community leaders. Commissioner Starks toured the Pueblos of San Felipe and Santo Domingo with Rep Luján, visited the Mescalero Apache Tribe with members of the NM Public Regulation Commission, and met with the leadership of the To’Hajiilee Navajo Chapter.

Fearing data privacy issues, Google cuts some Android phone data for wireless carriers

Apparently, Google has shut down a service it provided to wireless carriers globally that showed them weak spots in their network coverage because of Google’s concerns that sharing data from users of its Android phone system might attract the scrutiny of users and regulators. The withdrawal of the service has disappointed wireless carriers that used the data as part of their decision-making process on where to extend or upgrade their coverage.

FTC Chairman Simons says breaking up Facebook would be hard to do. Intends to complete investigation before 2020 election.

Federal Trade Commission Chairman Joseph Simons said that Facebook’s effort to integrate Instagram and WhatsApp more closely could stymie any attempt to break up the social media giant. Chairman Simons said all options were on the table as the FTC investigates Facebook for potential antitrust violations, including major divestitures, but added that the plan by Mark Zuckerberg, chief executive, to knit together Facebook’s three major brands could complicate any case.

FCC’s CenturyLink 911 Outage Report Reveals Tech Transition Risk

The Federal Communications Commission released a report on the 911 outage originating in CenturyLink’s network that occurred Dec 27, 2018. The findings are the latest example of the risks involved in what the FCC calls the telecom “tech transition.” The 911 outage studied in the report was what is known as a “sunny day” outage – one not caused by weather or other natural disaster.

The Data Portability Act: More User Control, More Competition

For twenty years, the US’ approach to protecting privacy has relied primarily on notice and consent. As US policymakers work to develop legislation to protect users’ privacy, however, it is time to move away from that regime. Users want more control over the data they provide companies, and granting users certain rights over their data can facilitate increased control.

President Trump tweets without evidence that Google 'manipulated' votes in the 2016 election and 'should be sued'

President Donald Trump tweeted, "Wow, Report Just Out! Google manipulated from 2.6 million to 16 million votes for Hillary Clinton in 2016 Election! This was put out by a Clinton supporter, not a Trump Supporter! Google should be sued. My victory was even bigger than thought! @JudicialWatch." President Trump’s tweet appears to refer to documents leaked to conservative group Project Veritas, but the documents do not appear to contain any outright allegation of vote manipulation or attempts to bias the election.

Letter to the Editor: Don’t throw away this valuable federal Lifeline

The Aug 12 editorial “Stuck without Internet” outlined possible solutions to address the challenge of connecting more Americans to the Internet. We already have a broadband program to bridge the divide for poor rural Americans. It’s easy to get distracted by talk of spectrum, satellites or running expensive fiber across the entire country.

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