Broadcasting&Cable

The Federal Communications Commission completed a three-month, Congressionally-mandated report by the FCC's Media Bureau looking into the television content rating system.

House Majority Whip James Clyburn (D-SC) has launched the House Task Force on Rural Broadband to try and help close the rural digital divide and eliminate "digital deserts." “High-speed internet is an essential service in America today—yet too many of our fellow citizens in rural communities are being left behind," said Rep Clyburn. "I have heard numerous stories of families traveling many miles to places where their children can access the internet to do their homework. It’s unacceptable in 2019 that many rural communities have limited to no access to the internet.

Sen Marsha Blackburn (R-TN) said that Silicon Valley has been arrogant, with a "toxic undercurrent" to industry practices that "can't be ignored," -- and wouldn't be ignored by Washington. She suggested that Big Tech needed to lose the attitude and engage with policymakers "more directly and respectfully" rather than "ducking out on hearings when called to testify." She said the only thing Facebook has done right in the past year is to prove they can no longer self-regulate.

The House Appropriations Committee has proposed to increase funding for the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, approving the recommendation of the Subcommittee on Labor, Health and Human Services, Education and Related Agencies, which in April approved a funding boost of $50 million (or about 15%) to $495 million for fiscal year 2022. The subcommittee also approved full funding of $20 million for interconnection and infrastructure, which the full committee also approved.

The Federal Trade Commission testified before the House Commerce Committee's Subcommittee on Consumer Protection and Commerce about its efforts to effectively protect consumers and promote competition, while anticipating and responding to changes in the marketplace.

During a hearing on the Federal Communications Commission's budget, Sen. John Neely Kennedy (R-LA) called on the Senate to forge a new bill to enshrine net neutrality protections but appeared to back away from his earlier advocacy of the Obama-era open internet rules. Sen Kennedy once voted in favor of restoring those regulations, but he now sees “flaws” in that model. “I think we have more in common than we don’t,” he said. “We need to stop passing the buck and we need to pass a net neutrality bill.” But bipartisan consensus may prove elusive.