Op-Ed

[Commentary] Just seven years after the $30 billion mega-merger between Comcast and NBCUniversal, the behemoth company has been freed from the temporary rules the Federal Communications Commission imposed to prevent it from discriminating against its competitors. Whether you’re a TV consumer, another cable company or a content provider, there’s good reason to be concerned. Comcast-NBCU has found ways to leverage its assets in ways that harm consumers and competition, and some of these moves have violated the FCC's conditions.

[Commentary] As Congress continues to hold hearings on “internet expansion” and a possible infrastructure bill is developed, we recommend three action steps that President Trump, Congress and the FCC can and should take to solidify their commitment to improving broadband access in rural America:

[Commentary] I voted to release the Nunes memo because I believe that the duty to inform the American public is one of my biggest responsibilities as an elected representative in our democratic republic. This is in accordance with the Legislative Reorganization Act of 1946, which directed House and Senate committees to “exercise continuous watchfulness” over executive-branch programs.

[Commentary] In the wake of ongoing concerns about online harassment and harmful content, continued terrorist threats, changing hate speech laws, and the ever-growing user bases of major social media platforms, tech companies are under more pressure than ever before with respect to how they treat content on their platforms—and often that pressure is coming from different directions. There is a clear need for hard data about specific company practices and policies on content moderation, but what does that look like?Part of the answer to these questions can be found by looking to the growing

[Commentary] Mark Zuckerberg announced recently that Facebook plans to ask its community to help rate news producers’ credibility. Randomly selected users will be asked whether they are familiar with an outlet, and if so, invited to judge its trustworthiness. The ratio that results — of those who know the source, the proportion that trusts it — will “inform ranking in the News Feed” (though Facebook has remained vague about its relevance compared with other metrics).

[Commentary] For a year now, I've been hoping that 5G networks will inject competition into the home Internet service provider market, but those plans appear to be stalled. iI's possible to use mobile internet as your primary home internet, but so far, mobile service providers have been unwilling to offer the gigabyte buckets that American homes generally seek. With the large, for-profit companies seemingly uninterested in competing with cable, maybe the only way for Americans to get more ISP choice is to roll up their sleeves and do it themselves. The cable monopolies on fast internet may

[Commentary] Rural America now has an opportunity to work with, and add to, the Nationwide Public Safety Broadband Network, FirstNet.  A recent study in Arizona showed a number of businesses would relocate to rural areas with sufficient workforces if the areas weren’t lacking broadband coverage. It has also been reported by Connect America, a group under the direction of the federal government, that areas that deploy broadband services are more likely to keep businesses already located in their area.

[Commentary] Republicans have been largely supportive of the [Sinclair Broadcast Group and Tribune Media mega-merger], not just because of the principle that the government should stay out of business decisions, but also for political reasons: Conservatives are excited about the prospect of a national broadcast giant with a distinct right-leaning perspective. In the short term, they’re right to be excited: The merged broadcaster would have 215 TV stations covering more than 72 percent of U.S. households, an unprecedented reach into Americans’ living rooms.

[Commentary] Where significant negative externalities are created, companies should be on the hook for the costs, just as an oil company is responsible for covering the costs of cleaning up a spill. The cost of the damage caused by election meddling is difficult to calculate. One possible solution is a two-strike rule: with the first strike, you fix the problem and, if possible, pay a fine; with the second strike, government regulators will change or remove the features that are being abused.

[Commentary] The battle over net neutrality is rightfully capturing headlines in Washington and worldwide. Far less attention is being paid, however, to a looming threat that could have an even greater impact on the future: The Internet has outstripped the ability of governments to keep up. On issues as diverse as hate speech, espionage and copyright infringement, governments fear a loss of sovereignty in a fast-moving digital world. On taxation and privacy rights, Government 1.0 can’t stay abreast of Technology 4.0.