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  2. February 2023

February 2023

Durbin (D-IL), Blumenthal (D-CT), Hirono (D-HI) Introduce Bill To Protect Children's Online Privacy

As the collection of personal information by internet companies is encroaching more and more on the privacy of every American, US Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), Chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee, and US Senators Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) and Mazie Hirono (D-HI)  introduced legislation to strengthen online privacy protections for children when websites collect their personally identifiable information.

Sens. Schatz (D-HI), Thune (R-SD) Reintroduce Legislation To Strengthen Rules, Transparency For Online Content Moderation, Hold Internet Companies Accountable

US Senators Brian Schatz (D-HI) and John Thune (R-SD) reintroduced the Internet Platform Accountability and Consumer Transparency (Internet PACT) Act, bipartisan legislation which updates the Communications Act of 1934 by requiring social media companies to establish clear content moderation policies and holding them accountable for the content that violates their own policies or is illegal. There is widespread bipartisan agreement that social media platforms have inconsistent and opaque content moderation practices due to a lack of accountability.

Verizon advisors slam AT&T’s influence over FirstNet investments

Five members of Verizon’s First Responder Advisory Council are calling attention to a report that is critical of FirstNet’s relationship with AT&T in terms of billions of dollars in investments. The report, which was published in November 2022, was based on the findings of auditors at the office of the Inspector General at the US Department of Commerce. FirstNet is owned by the FirstNet Authority.

Sen. Hawley (R-MO) Introduces Two Bills to Protect Kids Online, Fight Back Against Big Tech

US Senator Josh Hawley (R-MO) introduced two bills to protect kids online and prevent harm by social media companies. The 

Here’s how broadband providers might react to Biden’s effort to scrap ‘junk fees’

President Joe Biden called on Congress during his State of the Union address to pass legislation that would prevent operators from levying so-called “junk fees.” That’s unlikely to actually happen, but similar ideas could be adopted at the state level and operators will be left looking for new ways to pass on costs to consumers. The details of the Junk Fee Prevention Act have yet to be released.

Broadband in paradise faces a special set of problems, island experts say

Peter Dresslar, a broadband and digital equity consultant for both the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (CNMI) and American Samoa, is of two minds. While he knows that the Federal Communications Commission is working as hard as it can to deliver accurate broadband maps to the country, some of the oversights in the mapping of the Pacific Territories have been darkly comic.

State of Illinois, U of I System launch broadband, digital equity initiative

The Illinois Office of Broadband and the University of Illinois System announced the launch of the Connect Illinois Broadband and Digital Equity Planning Initiative. This year-long local coordination, engagement, and planning project will enable the state to receive the historic federal Digital Equity (DE) and Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment (BEAD) program funds in 2024 and 2025, respectively. The initiative will leverage growing capacity within the Illinois Broadband Lab, which leverages $12.5 million in state and federal funding to support and sustain current programming

Five sources of federal funding that are fueling broadband investment.

Here is an overview of the major federal funding vehicles for broadband that are helping to fuel the broadband investment cycle and are aimed at closing the digital divide so that all Americans have access to high-speed, reliable, affordable broadband:

Chairwoman Rosenworcel’s Response to Members of Congress Regarding the Commission’s Efforts to Develop an Iterative National Broadband Map

On December 22, 2022, members of the US Senate wrote to Federal Communications Commission Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel urging the FCC and the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) to extend the deadline to submit location and availability challenges to the FCC’s broadband maps by at least 60 days, or until March 14, 2023.

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