Agenda

One after another, 15 Democratic senators — nearly a third of their caucus — stepped to a microphone on Capitol Hill to call for tough rules to protect net neutrality. The turnout, which included Senate Democratic leader Charles E.

Senate Democrats filed a long-promised petition to prevent the repeal of net neutrality rules in a move that will force a vote of the full Senate by a deadline of June 12. The Senate will have to vote on a Congressional Review Act (CRA) resolution of disapproval, which would nullify the Federal Communications Commission's December 2017 vote to repeal the nation's net neutrality rules.

[Op-ed] I support net neutrality. I support rules that prevent blocking, throttling, and paid prioritization of internet traffic. I believe these principles should guide us on Capitol Hill as we work to expand broadband access to even the most remote and rural areas of the country. You might be surprised to learn that most of my fellow senators believe this too. Unfortunately, manufactured controversy often gets more attention in Washington than real solutions. The internet is too important for partisan politics.

[Commentary] Is our government bound by the rule of law or the rule of President Trump? The Department of Justice's Antitrust Division must consider this question. Here's why. There is a two-part, simple legal standard for deciding whether the proposed combination of Sprint and T-Mobile should be allowed. Would it harm competition in such a way that consumers would suffer?

You might be seeing a lot of red on the internet May 9. Many sites, including Etsy, Reddit, and OKCupid will adorn their pages with “red alerts” asking readers to tell their representatives to save net neutrality.

T-Mobile’s John Legere and Sprint’s Marcelo Claure met with Federal Communications Commission Chairman Ajit Pai to sell their $26.5 billion deal. Legere and Claure also met with FCC Commissioner Brendan Carr.

T-Mobile appears to be rallying former regulators and legislators to its side, while some congressional Democrats and some public interest groups are formulating their arguments against the deal. Sitting in the middle are the Federal Communications Commission and Department of Justice, which must sign off on the transaction. It’s unclear how those agencies might act on the deal: Although most observers see the Trump administration as favorable to big businesses, the DoJ filed a lawsuit against AT&T’s attempts to purchase Time Warner.

Wireless speaker company Sonos, Apple, Facebook, and Twitter  have updated their global privacy rules in anticipation of the European Union's General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). GDPR is the latest sign of the EU’s growing power in global regulation. With increasing frequency, EU rules targeting industries within the bloc—from consumer products to financial services—have set international benchmarks. Some are taken piecemeal, as with GDPR, from which non-EU companies are cherry-picking elements. Other rules have become de facto world-wide references.

First Lady Melania Trump said she would focus her official effort as first lady on teaching children to put kindness first in their lives, particularly on social media. She unveiled a program called “Be Best,” which she said would tackle opioid abuse, social media pressures and mental health issues among young people.