Elections and Media

It's very likely that the incoming Trump administration will smile on satellite Internet companies such as SpaceX's Starlink and Amazon's Project Kuiper. And that could have serious implications for fiber vendors like Calix and Corning, as well as fiber network operators like AT&T, Brightspeed, Altice, Windstream and others. The Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment (BEAD) program is designed to funnel $42.45 billion through US states for broadband networks in rural areas.

Elon Musk—the most influential backer of President-elect Trump, thanks to his money, time and X factor—now sits at the pinnacle of power in business, government influence and global information (and misinformation) flow. As this election showed, politics and influence flow downstream from information control. Musk, once seen by many as a fool for buying Twitter, now controls the most powerful information platform for America's ruling party. X makes Fox News seem like a quaint little pamphlet in size, scope and right-wing tilt. Imagine you wanted to help mold America.

Some Silicon Valley leaders and investors who have long itched to apply their startup toolkit to government see a big opening in the Republican victory, with Elon Musk taking charge of a 

Presidential elections have real impacts arriving quickly. I think the following changed policies and strategies will happen fast, because the glidepath is both well-lit and pre-planned. 

With Election Day in the rearview mirror, the U.S. is considering what a second Donald Trump administration means for the country. For the broadband industry, that means wondering what will happen with the $42.5 billion Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment (BEAD) Program. The long and the short of it? The biggest influence on BEAD could come from outside the government.

Dear Chairwoman Rosenworcel:  The results of the 2024 presidential election are now apparent and leadership of the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) will soon change. As a traditional part of the peaceful transfer of power, the FCC should immediately stop work on any partisan or controversial item under consideration, consistent with applicable law and regulation. There are many bipartisan, consensus items that the FCC could pursue to fulfill its mission before the end of your tenure. I urge you to focus your attention on these matters.

The red wave that swept Donald Trump to re-election did not, despite what some podcasters might claim, originate in Silicon Valley. In San Francisco, rank-and-file tech workers still largely vote for Democrats. And while some prominent tech leaders came out in support of Trump—most notably, Elon Musk and a cluster of right-wing executives and venture capitalists who bankrolled his campaign—many others either supported Kamala Harris or parked themselves comfortably on the sidelines.

“A star is born: Elon,” said Donald Trump in a lengthy shout out to his biggest donor while claiming victory in the US presidential race on Wednesday morning.  Trump’s win ushers in a new era for Musk—already the world’s richest person with a $260bn fortune—whose gamble on a knife-edge US election paid off as he is set to become one of the incoming president’s most influential political and business advisers. Musk’s promised role as head of a new Department of Government Efficiency will give the billionaire sweeping powers to recommend deep cuts to what he deems a “vast federal bureaucracy 

The world's biggest digital advertising companies saw significant sales growth last quarter, driving momentum for the U.S.

In April 2024, Free Press released a report on social-media companies’ commitments to 2024 election integrity. We analyzed 12 major technology companies’ readiness to address political disinformation, manipulation and hate on their networks. Free Press scored the companies’ responses (or lack thereof) as either “Adequate,” “Partial,” “Insufficient” or “Fail.” Now, less than a week before Election Day, Free Press has revisited and updated its April analysis.