Press Release

As the eye of Hurricane Harvey bears down on the Texas coastline, the Federal Communications Commission is taking action to protect the American public and our nation’s communications networks. We are working in close coordination with the Department of Homeland Security and state and local partners to prepare for the impacts of the storm. We have activated our Disaster Information Reporting System, deployed personnel to Texas, and provided emergency response officials and licensees with emergency contact information. These actions will enable us to monitor the extent of communications outages and, working with industry and government partners, support restoration efforts. And, as always, the FCC’s Operations Center will be open on a 24/7 basis. Our thoughts and prayers are with those on the Gulf Coast, and we urge residents of the affected areas to take shelter and other necessary precautions.

During my confirmation hearing last month, I spoke about the important role that tech and telecom policies can play in creating jobs, spurring investment, and growing the economy for the benefit of all Americans. It is one of the reasons that I am focused on policies that will promote broadband deployment. Whether it is the workers that manufacture and deploy broadband infrastructure, the app economy that runs over high-speed networks, or the businesses that use these connections to reach customers around the world, I testified about the ability of broadband to harness the talents of all Americans, to create good-paying jobs, and to help drive our nation’s economic growth.

[Commentary] Yes, mistrust of the media was growing even before President Donald Trump emerged on the political scene. But this much is unmistakable: The president is significantly adding to what is, without question, the worst anti-press atmosphere I’ve seen in 25 years in journalism, and real, chilling consequences have surfaced, not just in the United States, but around the world.

What seemed to particularly sting on Aug 23 was the way that Trump had impugned journalists’ patriotism. “Claim bias. Fine. Claim elitism. Fine,” Jim VandeHei, chief executive of Axios, wrote on Twitter. “But to say reporters erase America’s heritage, don’t love America, turn off cameras to hide truth, are to blame for racial tension, is just plain wrong.” Anyone with a passing interest in history knows that the founders viewed an independent press as essential to democracy. Talk about heritage.

[Commentary] President Donald Trump’s caricature of journalists as dishonest is hypocritical, and it insults the courage and professionalism of my colleagues who sometimes risk their lives trying to get a story. I’ve lost reporter and photographer friends in war zones all over the world, and have had other friends kidnapped and tortured. When Trump galvanizes crowds against reporters in the room, I worry that we may lose journalists in the line of duty not only in places like Syria but also right here at home. Trump will get people hurt.

This is an extraordinary moment in our nation’s history, for we are enduring an epic struggle over the principles on which our country was founded. These include the idea that a flawed free press is an essential institutional check on flawed leaders. So may I humbly suggest that when a megalomaniacal leader howls and shrieks at critics, that is when institutional checks on that leader become a bulwark of democracy.

With the open internet under attack, thousands of Free Press members heeded the call and donated to our $100K in 100 Days campaign to save Net Neutrality. Thanks to their generosity, we exceeded our goal and are continuing to work around the clock to stop the Trump Federal Communications Commission from handing control of the internet over to companies like Comcast and Verizon.

Saturday, Aug 26, Free Press’ News Voices: North Carolina project will host The News Charlotte Needs: A Public Forum on the Role of Journalism in Tackling Inequity. We’ll bring together local residents, media makers, activists, artists and others to sit down with reporters and discuss the stories they think the city needs to move from talk to action. News Voices forums use structured, small-group conversations to give everyone who attends an opportunity to speak.

I have directed that United States Cyber Command be elevated to the status of a Unified Combatant Command focused on cyberspace operations. This new Unified Combatant Command will strengthen our cyberspace operations and create more opportunities to improve our Nation’s defense. The elevation of United States Cyber Command demonstrates our increased resolve against cyberspace threats and will help reassure our allies and partners and deter our adversaries. United States Cyber Command’s elevation will also help streamline command and control of time-sensitive cyberspace operations by consolidating them under a single commander with authorities commensurate with the importance of such operations. Elevation will also ensure that critical cyberspace operations are adequately funded. In connection with this elevation, the Secretary of Defense is examining the possibility of separating United States Cyber Command from the National Security Agency. He will announce recommendations on this matter at a later date.

The Technology Policy Institute is pleased to announce John Horrigan has joined the Technology Policy Institute as a Senior Fellow. “We are thrilled to have John join TPI,” said TPI President Scott Wallsten. “He is the nation’s leading researcher of barriers to digital inclusion. Not only has he written extensively on this and other issues, his survey work has generated publicly-available data that others, in turn, have used to study many aspects of our digital lives. We look forward to helping John continue his steady production of thoughtful research and data.”

Horrigan was most recently a senior researcher at Pew Research Center, where he focused on libraries, technology, and communities as well as open data and open government. Prior to rejoining Pew Research Center in 2015, he served as research director for the development of the National Broadband Plan at the Federal Communications Commission. He is a nationally recognized expert on research into barriers to home broadband adoption and use, expertise cultivated as a consultant and in his first stint at Pew Research Center from 2000-2009. He has a PhD in public policy from the University of Texas at Austin and a B.A. in economics and government from the University of Virginia.

Comcast Corporation announced that its acclaimed Internet Essentials program, the nation’s largest and most comprehensive high-speed Internet adoption program, has now connected more than four million low-income Americans, in one million households, to high-speed Internet service at home. The State of Florida is second to California with the most connected households in the country, having connected more than 120,000 low-income households benefitting nearly 500,000 Floridians.

The company also announced three key program enhancements:
For the fourth time in six years, Comcast will increase the program’s Internet service speeds, this time from 10/1 Mbps to up to 15/2 Mbps.
To help family members connect to the Internet on the go and save money on their wireless bills, Internet Essentials customers will now enjoy 40 hours of free out-of-home WiFi access per month to the company’s growing network of 18 million Xfinity WiFi hotspots.
Comcast is also expanding its pilot program for low-income senior citizens from five cities and metropolitan areas to 12, including today in Miami-Dade County (FL).

MacArthur announced $5.7 million in grants to seven organizations to support professional nonfiction media makers from diverse backgrounds. A total of $2.25 million will be re-granted directly to independent film projects over three years, with remaining funds providing support for fellowships, workshops, training programs, and professional development.

The grants include support to both interactive and feature documentary projects through the Sundance Documentary Fund's New Frontier and Native Programs; enable black filmmakers to experiment with non-linear digital storytelling through Black Public Media's 360 Incubator + Lab; provide a new stream of grant funds specifically for filmmakers in the U.S. South through the Southern Documentary Fund; and equip social movements with nonfiction short films created by filmmakers representing and accountable to affected communities through the Docs in Action project at Working Films. These organizations join eight other nonfiction multimedia storytelling institutions already supported by MacArthur, including Firelight Media, American Documentary, ITVS, Kartemquin, Tribeca, AIR, Chicken & Egg, and the recently launched IDA Enterprise Documentary Fund. Over the last two years, the Foundation has been steadily growing its investment in the documentary community through new partnerships with organizations that can provide comprehensive support to a growing number of filmmakers and new media artists.