Cristiano Lima

Federal Communications Commission Chairman Ajit Pai is offering a suggestion to lawmakers: Perhaps forget about loading the Department of Agriculture with cash to subsidize broadband buildout and supply the FCC with those funds instead?

All eyes are on Federal Communications Commission Chairman Ajit Pai on whether he’s about to unveil a potential order to approve a long-pending application from Virginia-based satellite company Ligado Networks, which wants to light up 5G operations in some airwaves it currently holds. Lawmakers have nudged him for months to make a call on this industry request, but the Pentagon and other parts of the Trump administration have cried foul and said Ligado’s plans would disrupt their own critical operations in nearby airwaves — charges Ligado disputes.

Google and Apple’s plan to team up to create new contact tracing technology to combat the coronavirus is already raising eyebrows among key policymakers in Washington.

Berin Szóka, president of Washington-based think tank TechFreedom, is stepping down as its president after tweeting that it would be “poetic justice” if President Donald Trump died from the coronavirus. He will take an indefinite sabbatical to write a book on tech policy. Shane Tews, a longtime member of the group's board, will lead the organization in his stead. The move deals a blow to one of the tech industry’s staunchest defenders in Washington, where Szóka has served as its combative and outspoken leader for nearly a decade.

President Donald Trump’s vow to scour “the dark recesses of the internet” came as deadly gun violence provoked ire over fringe online platforms like 8chan, an anonymous message board that has hosted a racist manifesto linked to Aug 3's deadly shooting in El Paso (TX). But any effort to curb dangerous extremism online will run into a host of obstacles:

Count Federal Communications Commissioner Jessica Rosenworcel and Sen. Ed Markey (D-MA) as critics of a proposal from FCC Chairman Ajit Pai to explore a spending cap on telecommunications subsidies to expand telephone and broadband access. “Any effort that could harm classroom learning, broadband deployment, rural health opportunities, or connecting more individuals should be shelved and never considered again,” said Markey said of the FCC proposal, which would target Universal Service Fund programs.

Here’s what you need to know about Attorney General Barr’s summary of the special counsel investigation into Russian election interference in 2016 — and what it said about social media:

Democratic leaders and industry officials cast GOP talk of cracking down on tech’s content moderation practices as out of touch with conservative values. Sen. Ron Wyden (D-OR), who helped author Section 230, said “calls for government regulation of online speech and the business practices of private corporations run counter to everything conservatives claim to believe.” Sen Wyden added altering liability protections would unleash “an onslaught of bad-faith lawsuits and pressure campaigns” on tech companies.

Federal Communications Commissioner Geoffrey Starks said the “rosy picture” FCC Chairman Ajit Pai gave on broadband access needs to be reworked before the agency votes on its annual deployment report. Chairman Pai first teased the report in Feb 2019, saying he’d circulated it to his fellow commissioners and hoped to get a vote on it soon (commissioners can vote in favor of adopting the annual report or can dissent if they disagree with its findings).

Want to know where Beto O’Rourke (D-TX) stands on key tech and telecom policy debates? 1) He's a   longtime net neutrality, privacy advocate, 2) he supports beefing up antitrust, and 3) he's a favorite among tech staffers and a prolific social media campaigner.