Washington Post
A smart use for $50 billion of covid relief funds: Broadband
When President Joe Biden asked what critics would have him cut from his covid relief bill, he got plenty of answers about reducing the $510 billion in aid to state and local governments — including from us. Now some moderate Senate Democrats are suggesting a middle way: Earmark $50 billion of those funds for broadband investment. The idea, spearheaded by Sens Angus King (I-ME) and Mark Warner (D-VA), is a political crowd-pleaser more likely to attract cross-aisle support than most big spending.
Net neutrality law to take effect in California after judge deals blow to telecom industry
California may soon begin enforcing its first-in-the-nation net neutrality law after a federal judge ruled against broadband providers that had sought to scuttle the state’s open-Internet safeguards.
Growing computer chip shortage alarms Biden Administration and Congress (Washington Post)
Submitted by Robbie McBeath on Tue, 02/23/2021 - 16:33Opinion: Republicans fearmonger about regulation, but deregulation is what left Texas in the dark (Washington Post)
Submitted by benton on Tue, 02/23/2021 - 14:29How social media helped fuel false claims about Texas power outages (Washington Post)
Submitted by benton on Tue, 02/23/2021 - 11:03Facebook to reverse news ban on Australian sites, government to make amendments to media bargaining code
Facebook will walk back its block on Australian users sharing news on its site after the government there agreed to make amendments to the proposed media bargaining laws that would force major tech giants to pay news outlets for their content. The code is structured so that if Facebook and Google do not sign commercial deals with traditional media outlets the Treasurer can "designate" them, and force them to pay for access to news content. The government promised to make further amendments to the code, including giving Facebook more time to strike those deals.