Press Release

The Kansas congressional delegation called on Federal Communications Commission Chairman Ajit Pai to restore sufficiency and predictability to the Universal Service Fund (USF) High Cost program’s budget. The letter was signed by every member of the delegation, including Sens Jerry Moran (R-KS) and Pat Roberts (R-KS) and Reps Roger Marshall (R-KS), Lynn Jenkins (R-KS), Kevin Yoder (R-KS) and Ron Estes (R-KS).

Federal Communications Commission Chairman Ajit Pai announced that his special counsel, Nirali Patel, will now serve as his wireline advisor. Patel replaces Dr. Jay Schwarz, who is returning to the FCC’s Office of Strategic Planning & Policy Analysis. In addition, Preston Wise is joining the Office of Chairman Pai as an acting special counsel.

Data from the Federal Communications Commission’s Disaster Information Reporting System shows that Hurricane Michael caused substantial communications outages along its destructive path.

Public Knowledge joined 20 rural advocacy organizations, rural healthcare providers, rural network operators, and public interest advocates (including the Benton Foundation) in a letter urging Federal Communications Commission Chairman Ajit Pai to preserve the existing Citizens Band Radio Service (CBRS) rules that enable small providers to offer service in rural areas.

Today’s commercial practices have grown over the past decades unencumbered by regulatory constraints, and increasingly threaten the American ideals of self-determination, fairness, justice and equal opportunity. It is now time to address these developments: to grant basic rights to individuals and groups regarding data about them and how those data are used; to put limits on certain commercial data practices; and to strengthen our government to step in and protect our individual and common interests vis-à-vis powerful commercial entities.

Senate Commerce Committee Chairman John Thune (R-SD) will convene a hearing titled “The Race to 5G: A View from the Field,” on Oct 12, 2018 at Carnegie Town Hall in Sioux Falls (SD). This hearing will focus on identifying existing barriers to broadband deployment of next generation wireless technology deployment and ways to streamline broadband infrastructure siting and encourage investment in next generation communications services. Witnesses (subject to change):

What should a new consumer privacy framework look like? Legislation must be simple to understand, targeted to consumers’ needs and today's digital reality, and national in scope so all Americans are equally protected. Verizon believes a consumer privacy bill should be bipartisan and focus on the following key principles:

The term “fake news” has become a cudgel for political leaders trying to discredit reporting, but disinformation – false content created explicitly to deceive or misinform – runs rampant online. Politico is trying to identify and trace the origins of political disinformation and debunk it.

A set of consumer data privacy regulations principles for an ‘Internet Bill of Rights.’ You should have the right:

(1)       To have access to and knowledge of all collection and uses of personal data by companies;

(2)       To opt-in consent to the collection of personal data by any party and to the sharing of personal data with a third party;

(3)       Where context appropriate and with a fair process, to obtain, correct, or delete personal data controlled by any company and to have those requests honored by third parties;

House Commerce Committee Ranking Member Frank Pallone, Jr. (D-NJ) wrote to the CEOs of Alphabet, Facebook and Twitter following concerning reports of Russia-linked efforts to influence the national debate over the Supreme Court nomination of Judge Brett Kavanaugh. In his letters, Ranking Member Pallone requests answers on the companies’ efforts to safeguard the American political system and to combat foreign interference campaigns on their platforms.