Ali Breland

Senate Minority Leader Charles Schumer (D-NY) asked the Federal Communications Commission for a waiver to unscramble anonymous phone numbers that had been used to call in bomb threats to a New York Jewish Community Center. A wave of anti-Semitic acts, including bomb threats to JCCs and vandalism of Jewish cemeteries, has drawn concern in Washington and around the nation. Since the start of 2017, there have been roughly 100 threats to 81 JCCs across the US.

Sen Schumer's letter specifically referred to a series of bomb threats that were made on Feb 27 to 11 JCCs, several of them in or near New York. Sen Schumer called on FCC Chairman Ajit Pai to issue a waiver that would allow law enforcement to trace the anonymous calls. Sen Schumer recalled former Chairman Tom Wheeler granting a waiver to handle a bomb threat problem at a school in Long Island (NY). “The access enabled critical school personnel and law enforcement officials to coordinate with one another in their attempts to quickly respond to swatting calls made to the School District,” Sen Schumer said.

Sen Dick Durbin (DIL) railed against President Donald Trump, blasting the president for his attacks on the news media. “The integrity of the news industry is under an unprecedented attack,” Sen Durbin said at an event put on by National Association of Broadcasters. “These attacks aren’t just coming from outside our border or the Russian government. The attacks are coming from our own government.”

In his speech, the Democratic senator outlined several protections for journalists that he wants Congress to pursue, including preserving federal libel standards and spending more on public media. He also implored President Trump and his Vice President Mike Pence to consider working with Congress to pass a shield law that would protect journalists from revealing their sources. The Illinois senator noted that he was particularly concerned by the president’s remarks in the context of Trump’s tone on Russia. “His near-constant stream of invective towards the media is even more troubling when you consider that President Trump has had only praise for a dictator and former KGB official who ordered a cyber act of war against our nation, Russian President Vladimir Putin,” Durbin told the crowd.

Technology advocacy groups and trade associations representing companies such as Facebook, Google and Microsoft criticized a suggestion from the head of the Department of Homeland Security that foreign nationals should provide social media passwords to enter the US. “This proposal would enable border officials to invade people’s privacy by examining years of private emails, texts, and messages,” the groups wrote in a letter. "It would expose travelers and everyone in their social networks, including potentially millions of US citizens, to excessive, unjustified scrutiny.”

The letter rejecting collecting non-citizen’s social media passwords was prompted by Department of Homeland Security Secretary John Kelly’s comments during a House Homeland Security Committee hearing. The letter’s signatories included trade groups such as the Computer and Communications Industry Association (CCIA) and the Internet Association. Google, Facebook and Amazon belong to both groups. Other signatories included the American Library Association, Internews and Access Now.

Liberal groups are turning to new technology to help organize their fight against President Trump's administration. Activists are no strangers to harnessing technology and social media to promote their cause, but organizers say a new generation of tools is helping them build larger movements and sustain their protests. Organizers of high-profile events, including the demonstrations against the Dakota Access Pipeline and the record-setting Women's March on Inauguration weekend, are using a new platform from the nonprofit group The Action Network to improve communications with members and organize on the fly. Another new digital tool is Hustle, a growing mass-texting app, that lets groups better communicate directly with supporters on the ground.

AT&T defended its $85 billion acquisition of Time Warner, writing in a letter to Sen Al Franken (D-MN) and three other Sens that “this merger is about giving consumers what they want." The letter is written by AT&T Executive Vice President for Federal Relations Tim McKone and Time Warner Senior Vice President of Global Public Policy Steve Vest. They say the merger would allow the combined company to offer cheaper and more robust services to their consumers. “The merger will allow us to offer customers more attractive bundles of broadband and video services, prodding cable companies and other competitors to respond by improving their own services,” it states. “And the merger will further incentivize AT&T and other wireless carriers to deploy lightning-fast 5G wireless technology faster and deeper in their networks.”

Democratic Reps are hammering Federal Communications Commission Chairman Ajit Pai over his decision to cut nine companies from a program that provides subsidized internet service to low-income people. Forty-one Reps, including Reps Ro Khanna (D-CA), Anna Eshoo (D-CA) and Ron Kind (D-WI), signed a letter saying that Chairman Pai’s move would hurt poor communities. “Your action will hurt those in our country that need the most help,” they wrote. “Your arbitrary decision will hurt poor children and widen the digital divide.” The House letter follows one sent on Feb 10 from 15 Democratic Sens that also blasted the decision. House Commerce Committee Ranking Member Frank Pallone Jr. (D-NJ) blasted the decision earlier in Feb, calling it a “baseless action.”

Republicans in Congress and at the Federal Communications Commission may have to make some tough decisions soon on how to tackle the Obama administration's landmark network neutrality rules.

At this early stage, it's unclear whether Republicans and Democrats in Congress will work out a legislative solution to the battle over the net neutrality rules that went into effect in 2015. Both sides have interests in putting a compromise into law. Some Republicans worry that actions FCC Chairman Ajit Pai could take to roll back the rules could just be reversed under a future Democratic administration. And Democrats may want to shore up the net neutrality principles in the meantime against a broader rollback. But a compromise is already proving to be a hard sell in some quarters. Democrats vowed to combat any attempts to pare back net neutrality. FCC Chairman Ajit Pai has yet to reveal how he's going to handle going after the net neutrality rules, which he has criticized for reclassifying internet service providers to treat broadband as a public utility.

Two key Senate Republicans say they are open to a bipartisan legislative compromise on network neutrality, but their effort faces skepticism from both parties.

Since the election, Senate Commerce Chairman John Thune (R-SD) and Sen. Roger Wicker (R-MS), the chairman of a Commerce subcommittee on the internet, have said they are willing to work on a measure that keeps the core of the controversial internet rules, but also allows Congress to limit the Federal Communications Commission's powers. Some opponents think it would be easiest to undo the rules through the FCC, where Republicans have a majority. But under that approach, net neutrality could just be restored when Democrats take back the White House, some say. That uncertainty has many in the tech world hoping Congress can craft lasting rules and has Chairmen Thune and Wicker believing they have an opening.

But many Democrats are also openly skeptical of a legislative fix.

Intel Corp announced a $7 billion investment that the company projects will create 10,000 new jobs. The company will use the $7 billion to complete its Fab 42 factory in Chandler (AZ) Intel CEO Brian Krzanich said at a meeting at the White House with President Trump.

Krzanich said the decision to make the announcement with the White House was borne out of Intel’s support for Trump’s economic and trade policies. “We support the Administration’s policies to level the global playing field and make U.S. manufacturing competitive worldwide through new regulatory standards and investment policies,” Krzanich wrote in an e-mail to Intel employees. “When we disagree, we don’t walk away,” he continued. “We believe that we must be part of the conversation to voice our views on key issues such as immigration, H1B visas and other policies that are essential to innovation.” President Trump tweeted about the meeting, calling it a “great investment” in “American INNOVATION and JOBS!”

Democratic lawmakers vowed to stand firm against any efforts by Republicans to roll back the Federal Communications Commission's (FCC) network neutrality rules. “The big broadband barons and their Republican allies want to turn back the clock and make big cable and big cellphone companies the gatekeepers for internet access,” said Sen Ed Markey (D-MA). “They have a new FCC chairman in Ajit Pai who will do their bidding.” Supporters of the internet rules, which require broadband providers to treat all traffic the same, are worried net neutrality could be on the chopping block under a GOP-controlled Congress and FCC. "You’ve got Senate Democrats who understand how important this issue is,” said Sen Ron Wyden (D-OR). “If it comes down to the citizens and the people at the grassroots against the special interests, we’ve shown we can win that. I’m looking forward to that fight again,” he added, noting the millions of comments filed in support of net neutrality in 2014.