Press Release

House Commerce Committee Ranking Member Frank Pallone, Jr. (D-NJ) and Communications Subcommittee Ranking Member Mike Doyle (D-PA) wrote to Republican Committee leaders with a list of eight additional witnesses that they say should be added for the full committee hearing on the Federal Communications Commission’s network neutrality hearing. The two Democratic Committee leaders wrote that it is the responsibility of the Minority to balance the panel of witnesses at hearings before the committee. Reps Pallone and Doyle have selected the following individuals to be invited to testify:

Jonathan Jackson is a co-founder and the Head of Corporate Branding for Blavity.
Ruth Livier is an actress, writer, and doctoral student who is a pioneer in the fight for equal representation in media.
Jesse Vollmar is co-founder and CEO of FarmLogs,
Myrna Morales is an expert in library science in Boston.
Johari Farrar is a performer with the Truthworker Theater Company.
Brandi Collins is the Senior Campaign Director for Media and Economic Justice at Color of Change.
Steven Renderos is the Organizing Director at the Center for Media Justice.
Bryan Mercer is the Executive Director of Media Mobilizing Project.

Federal Communications Commission Chairman Ajit Pai released the following statement regarding unanimous U.S. Senate passage of Kari’s Law Act of 2017: “I am pleased that the U.S. Senate unanimously passed Kari’s Law. This legislation will help ensure that every call to 911 directly connects those in need with those who can help. I also commend Hank Hunt, Kari's father, for channeling his pain into a passion for change. Thanks to his efforts and those of many others, Americans will one day be able to call 911 and reach first responders without having to dial an access code. I hope that this critical public safety measure will soon become law.”

Federal Communications Commission Chairman Ajit Pai announced that the agency has chosen Jim Balaguer to serve as deputy director of the Office of Legislative Affairs.

Since 2010, Balaguer has served as an associate director and senior legislative analyst in the Office of Legislative Affairs, where he was the primary liaison to Congress on wireline issues, including universal service, broadband adoption, and the Internet Protocol transition. Prior to his most recent position, Balaguer served in several roles in the Office of Legislative Affairs as lead liaison on consumer protection issues, including telemarketing policy, caller ID spoofing, and disability access policy, as well as tribal telecom and international communications issues. He began his FCC career in the former Enforcement Division of the bureau that is now known as the Wireline Competition Bureau. Balaguer received an MA from George Washington University’s Graduate School of Political Management and a BA from Loyola University in Maryland.

On August 3, the Senate confirmed 63 presidential nominees by unanimous consent. Nine fall under the jurisdictional responsibility of the Senate Commerce Committee including Jessica Rosenworcel and Brendan Carr to be members of the Federal Communications Commission. Carr’s term expires on June 30, 2018. Although FCC Chairman Ajit Pai has also been re-nominated for a new term, the Senate has not acted on that nomination.

On August 3, the passed the following technology and telecommunications bills:

1. S. 19, Making Opportunities for Broadband Investment and Limiting Excessive and Needless Obstacles to Wireless Act (MOBILE NOW Act), Legislation to increase spectrum availability for next-generation gigabit wireless services and foster broadband deployment. Sponsors: Sens. John Thune (R-SD), Bill Nelson (D-FL)
2. S. 96, Improving Rural Call Quality and Reliability Act of 2017, Legislation to require the FCC to establish quality and reliability standards for rural phone networks. Sponsors: Sens. Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.), John Thune (R-SD), Jon Tester (D-MT)
3. S. 123, Kari’s Law Act of 2017, Legislation initiated after the murder of Kari Hunt in a hotel in Marshall, Texas, when Hunt’s daughter tried to call 911 but was unsuccessful due to a required “9” prefix on the hotel phone. This legislation bans the requirement of a prefix when dialing 911 for assistance. Sponsors: Sens. Amy Klobuchar (D-MN), Deb Fischer (R-NE), Brian Schatz (D-Hawaii), John Cornyn (R-Texas), John Thune (R-SD), Ted Cruz (R-Texas)
4. S. 134, Spoofing Prevention Act of 2017, Legislation to stop the transmission of misleading or inaccurate caller ID information, including such calls and text messages originating overseas. Sponsors: Sens. Bill Nelson (D-Fla.), Deb Fischer (R-Neb.), Amy Klobuchar (D-MN), Roy Blunt (R-MO)
5. S. 174, Federal Communications Commission Consolidated Reporting Act of 2017, Legislation to require the FCC to condense duplicative reports on competition in the telecommunications market into one comprehensive report released every two years. Sponsors: Sens. Dean Heller (R-NV), Brian Schatz (D-Hawaii)
6. S. 88, Developing Innovation and Growing the Internet of Things Act (DIGIT Act), Legislation to bring together private sector and government entities to assess the needs of the Internet of Things (IoT) and study the readiness of government to support the IoT. Sponsors: Sens. Deb Fischer (R-NE), Cory Booker (D-NJ), Cory Gardner (R-CO), Brian Schatz (D-Hawaii)

[Commentary] Journalists are facing the challenge of covering one of the most unusual and unreliable governments in modern history: President Donald Trump disseminates lies, twisted facts, and changes in policy in real time through his Twitter account. His advisors send contradictory messages on sensitive national topics and change policies at the last minute, surprising even Cabinet members. Federal data vanishes from the “thin cloud” on matters such as climate change and the environment. Despite—or perhaps because of—all of this, investigative journalism is flourishing and growing as it did during the Watergate days. However, this time, journalists are much better equipped for finding the truth independently, thanks to data and technology. The challenge for journalists is to thoroughly and selectively grasp the power of technology while upholding the profession’s core journalistic mission. To that end, the Columbia Journalism School is launching a Master of Science in Data Journalism that we hope will advance data journalism education and contribute to building the next generation of newsroom leaders.

[Giannina Segnini is director of the Master of Science in Data Journalism program at the Columbia Journalism School.]

[Commentary] Sinclair provided pro-Trump coverage throughout the presidential campaign, and continues to employ surrogates like its chief political strategist Boris Epshteyn, a senior adviser to the Trump campaign whose pro-White House commentaries air regularly. Sinclair is reaping the rewards for its service to President Trump — and preparing to blanket the country with coverage promoting his agenda.

While Sinclair bills itself as a “local” news company, the organization actually is known for sending “must-run” segments out to affiliates, requiring them to air pieces that are far-right leaning and completely unrelated to local communities. And yet the silencing of local issues and dismantling of local news production isn’t even the worst of Sinclair’s authoritarian practices. Every night Sinclair affiliates are forced to run a segment called the “Terrorism Alert Desk.” One recent report focused on French legislation against burkinis, a type of modesty swimsuit worn by some Muslim women. What does swimwear have to do with terrorism? This isn’t news. It’s propaganda designed to incite fear and hatred — the same kind that Donald Trump and others like him regularly peddle to amass power and wealth while destroying Black, Brown, LGBTQ and Muslim lives. What can we do? Speak up now: Tell the FCC to keep current rules in place and keep Sinclair’s racist, Islamophobic trash off the local news.

The Federal Communications Commission proposed an $82,106,000 fine against an individual who apparently made more than 21 million illegally spoofed robocalls in violation of the Truth in Caller ID Act. The law prohibits callers from deliberately falsifying caller ID information – a practice called “spoofing” – to disguise their identity with the intent to harm, defraud consumers, or wrongfully obtain anything of value. The FCC found that Best Insurance Contracts and its owner/operator, Mr. Philip Roesel (doing business as Wilmington Insurance Quotes) apparently made millions of illegally spoofed robocalls consumers around the country. Roesel of Wilmington (NC) displayed inaccurate caller ID information when making robocalls in an effort to sell health insurance, which especially targeted vulnerable consumers, including the elderly, the infirm, and low-income families.

The Federal Communications Commission took the next step toward launching an auction that will provide nearly $2 billion over ten years to expand high-speed Internet access to consumers and businesses in rural areas that are currently unserved by fixed broadband. This proceeding represents the first use of an auction by the FCC to allocate ongoing Connect America Fund support for fixed broadband and voice services in rural areas.

Use of this market-based “reverse auction” mechanism will enable the FCC to expand and support high-quality rural fixed broadband and voice services at a lower cost and to maximize the value of its investment. The auction will commence in 2018. The Public Notice seeks comment on the proposed application and bidding procedures for the auction, including how interested parties can qualify to participate in the auction, how bidders will submit their bids, and how the FCC will process bids to determine the winners and support amounts. This first-of-its-kind auction of support for fixed broadband and voice service is expected to attract parties that have never participated in an FCC auction. Recognizing that, the FCC’s Rural Broadband Auctions Task Force, along with the Wireline Competition Bureau and Wireless Telecommunications Bureau, plan to provide detailed educational materials and hands-on practice opportunities in advance of the auction.

The Federal Communications Commission is exploring ways to improve the quality, accuracy, and usefulness of the data it collects on fixed and mobile voice and broadband service. At the same time, the FCC is examining how it can reduce burdens on industry by eliminating unnecessary or onerous data filing requirements. A Further Notice of Proposed Rulemaking seeks comment on proposals to accomplish both these goals as part of the FCC’s ongoing efforts to improve the value of the data it collects.