Federal

Federal Communications Commissioner Nathan Simington announced that he has appointed Adam Cassady to serve as his chief of staff. Former chief of staff, Erin Boone, will join FCC Chairman Brendan Carr's office.

Surf Internet has been selected to provide high-speed internet connectivity to the South Bend Community School Corporation (SBCSC), one of Indiana’s largest school districts serving over 15,000 students. This initiative will connect 33 district sites, including schools and administrative buildings, to a dedicated high-speed fiber network. Each site will receive a 10 Gbps connection, with Surf supplying 20 Gbps of dedicated internet service districtwide.

The Senate Commerce Committee is back at work, considering key presidential nominations, and marking up legislation.

Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg sought to reassure his workforce that the social media company’s values haven’t changed despite a slew of policy shifts that included ending its diversity and fact-checking programs. In a companywide meeting, Zuckerberg told employees that 2025 would be a “big year for resetting our relationship with governments around the world.” But he specified that Meta would not forsake its values. The message appeared to be an attempt to reassure employees after dramatic ch

Sen Roger Wicker (R-MS) reintroduced the Proper Leadership to Align Networks (PLAN) for Broadband Act. The legislation requires the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) to develop a national strategy to close the digital divide, as well as a plan to implement this strategy. Previous reports from the Government Accountability Office found that federal broadband efforts are fragmented and overlapping.

Federal Communications Commissioner Anna M. Gomez announced changes to her staff. Hayley Steffen, who has served as her Legal Advisor on Wireline and Space issues, will be joining the FCC’s Office of International Affairs. Jessica Greffenius, who has been serving as her Acting Legal Advisor on Wireline and Public Safety issues, will be returning to the Wireless Telecommunications Bureau. And Jonathan Uriarte will be joining Commissioner Gomez’s office as a Strategic Communications and Policy Advisor.

The chairman of the Federal Communications Commission has waded into the politicized debate over NPR and PBS, ordering up an investigation that he said could be relevant in lawmakers’ decision about whether to continue funding the public news organizations.

Federal workers are on edge after the Trump administration spent its first days dismantling long-held protections for career staffers. There’s another safeguard that government employees worry the Trump administration will kneecap before it even gets off the ground: protecting them from online harassment.

A recent article published by the Russian Foreign Affairs Council (RFAC) claimed that some of organizations that engage in Internet governance have a clear U.S. bias.The Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) responded, saying the claims are false. This all sounds like worldwide politics in action, but it raises a good question—who owns the Internet? There is no easy answer to that question.

Howard Lutnick, a wealthy donor to President Trump who has been chosen to lead the Commerce Department, defended Mr. Trump’s plans to impose broad tariffs and said he would take a tough stance on technology sales to China during his Senate confirmation hearing. If confirmed, Lutnick would lead on trade policy and oversee a broad portfolio of government programs touching on business promotion, technology and science.