Press Release

[Commentary] When Congress killed Federal Communications Commission rules that would stop internet providers from selling your browsing history to advertisers, supporters of that move told upset internet users to cheer up. Now, they all said, we could finally protect your privacy everywhere online! Instead of having rules that constrained only internet providers while letting sites and apps have fun with your data, we’d get our shot to develop a comprehensive privacy framework for all these companies. Two months later, something interesting has happened: A new bill by House Communications Subcommittee Chairman Marsha Blackburn (R-TN).

Blackburn’s BROWSER Act of 2017—as in, “Balancing the Rights of Web Surfers Equally and Responsibly”—would apply an opt-in standard to both providers and sites. And many of the people who had so much to say about online privacy in March have nothing to say about this bill… which suggests it will fare as well as other attempts to write new privacy laws. You’d think this bill would warrant a comment by the trade groups that had supported developing a uniform privacy standard—or the internet providers that had pledged in January to operate by an opt-in standard. You would be wrong. Spokespeople for the 21st Century Privacy Coalition, NCTA, CTA, the Chamber, and Comcast all said they had yet to take a stance on the bill, which has drawn four Republican co-sponsors to date. CTIA did not respond to queries but has yet to post anything about Blackburn’s proposal either.

What’s the next Wi-Fi frontier? And how can we tap into it for public good? A key band of airwaves that companies are seeking is the unused spectrum in lower frequencies that sit between TV channels. The spectrum in the gaps between bands of airwaves reserved for broadcast television offers prime real estate for companies seeking to bolster connectivity. Those unused bands of airwaves, known as “TV white spaces” (TVWS), are a target for Microsoft in particular. The company recently introduced a program to bring free Internet access to rural families to help bridge the “homework gap” in Charlotte and Halifax counties in southern Virginia.

In 2016, New America’s Open Technology Institute also urged the Federal Communications Commission to allow schools to leverage TVWS to give students lacking broadband at home remote access to the school’s high-capacity broadband, which would be subsidized by the federal E-Rate program.

The American people rightfully expect that all federal programs operate as efficiently as humanly possible and are targeted to help those truly in need. As Commissioners at the Federal Communications Commission, we have an obligation – as stewards of federal programs funded by monthly fees on American’s communications bills – to improve the functionality and effectiveness of the programs we oversee, including the Federal universal service fund (USF). Failure to do so would waste consumers’ hard-earned income, diverting it from the intended purposes and undermining public confidence in the programs. We should end the practice of spending scarce USF high-cost support to illogically subsidize the cost of communications services for very rich people who happen to live in the more rural portions of our nation. Because of our budgetary constraints, each dollar spent subsidizing service unnecessarily is a dollar that is not being used to help bring broadband to unserved Americans, particularly those who cannot afford the full cost of service. We seek comment on whether, and if so how, to implement means-testing within the high-cost universal service program.

Federal Communications Commission Chairman Ajit Pai announced that the agency has chosen Timothy Strachan to serve as director of the Office of Legislative Affairs, continuing the work he has been doing as acting director. Strachan has been an attorney in the Office of Legislative Affairs since joining the Commission in 2008. Prior to that, he was counsel to the Senate Committee on the Judiciary where he worked predominantly on civil legal policy. Strachan earned his JD degree from Georgetown University Law Center and his undergraduate degree in communication from the University of Maryland. Outside of his work at the FCC, Strachan is a motivational speaker and a radio sportscaster covering University of Maryland football games for the university.

CoSN and the Alliance for Excellent Education issued two complementary resources for school leaders to advance digital equity and increase broadband connectivity to students nationwide. Advancing Digital Equity and Closing the Homework Gap details the current state of broadband access, its adoption, and its barriers in US communities. The second brief, Advancing Digital Equity: An Update on the FCC’s Lifeline Program, recaps efforts to modernize the Lifeline Program, explains how these changes are at risk, and puts forth ways school leaders can stand up for the program and its positive impact on learning.

In the briefs, the groups underscore current data that paint the picture of broadband access and its implications:

• The Pew Research Center found that 5 million households with school-age children do not have broadband access. Low-income families make up a heavy share of those households.
• According to the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, 42 percent of teachers reported that their students lack sufficient access to technology outside of the classroom.
• Results from CoSN’s 2016 Annual Infrastructure Survey show that 75 percent of district technology leaders ranked addressing the lack of broadband access outside of school as a “very important” or “important” issue for their district to address.
• In the same survey, 68 percent of respondents reported that affordability is the greatest barrier to out-of-school broadband access.

Over time, the Lifeline Program has provided critical support for underserved Americans to help improve these trends.

House Commerce Committee Chairman Greg Walden (R-OR) and Communications and Technology Subcommittee Chairman Marsha Blackburn (R-TN) announced the following staff announcements for the Communications and Technology Subcommittee:

• Robin C. Colwell, Chief Counsel, Subcommittee on Communications and Technology: Colwell will serve as Chief Counsel for the Subcommittee on Communications and Technology beginning in July. She has served as FCC Commissioner Mike O’Rielly’s Chief of Staff and Senior Legal Advisor since December of 2014. Prior to that Robin served as a Legislative Counsel for Senator Tim Scott (R-SC) and as a Counsel at the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science & Transportation’s Subcommittee on Tourism, Competitiveness, and Innovation.
• Timothy J. Kurth, Senior Professional Staff, Subcommittee on Communications and Technology: Kurth returns to Capitol Hill after a career in the private sector. Kurth worked in Congress from 1995 - 2004, including as the senior advisor on technology and telecommunications issues for the Speaker of the House, Congressman Dennis Hastert (R–IL), and prior to that as Hastert’s legislative assistant during his time on the House Commerce Committee. Kurth began his career in Washington with stints at the U.S. Department of State, as well as interning in the leadership office of Congressman Bob Michel (R-IL).

Federal Communications Commission Chairman Ajit Pai announced that Michelle Carey to serve as chief of its Media Bureau, continuing the work she has been doing as acting chief.

Before serving as acting chief, Carey served for six years as deputy chief of the bureau she now leads. She has also served as a senior advisor to the assistant secretary at the National Telecommunications and Information Administration in the Department of Commerce. Carey was also a senior legal advisor to then-FCC Chairman Kevin Martin and previously held senior leadership positions in the agency’s Wireline Competition Bureau. Carey received her J.D. from the Georgetown University Law Center and her B.A. from Georgetown University. The FCC’s Media Bureau plays a key role in promoting innovation in the media marketplace, as it develops, recommends, and administers the policy and licensing programs relating to the media industry, including cable television, broadcast television, and radio. It also handles post-licensing matters for satellite services and releases public reports on the data collected from the industry.