Open government
![](https://www.benton.org/sites/default/files/styles/thumbnail/public/FTCLogo_465-new_1.png?itok=8WMqJ_wS)
FTC Announces Tentative Agenda for September 2021 Open Meeting
Federal Trade Commission Chair Lina Khan announced that an open meeting of the FTC will be held virtually at 11 am EST on Wednesday, September 15, 2021. The following items will be on the tentative agenda:
-
Privacy Breaches by Health Apps and Connected Devices: The FTC will vote on whether to issue a policy statement on the importance of protecting the public from privacy breaches by health apps and other connected devices.
Wicker Requests Agencies to Account for Spending on COVID-19 Broadband Funding
Ranking member of the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation Roger Wicker (R-MS) sent letters to the Department of Education, Department of Agriculture, and Department of Treasury requesting the agencies to report on the disbursement of funds received for broadband deployment, adoption, or other connectivity initiatives.
![](https://www.benton.org/sites/default/files/styles/thumbnail/public/AG_James.jpg?itok=E3pqdzh2)
Fake Comments: How US Companies & Partisans Hack Democracy to Undermine Your Voice
This report is the product of an extensive investigation by the New York Office of the Attorney General (OAG) of the parties that sought to influence the Federal Communications Commission’s 2017 proceeding to repeal the agency’s net neutrality rules. In the course of that investigation, the OAG obtained and analyzed tens of thousands of internal emails, planning documents, bank records, invoices, and data comprising hundreds of millions of records. Our investigation confirmed many contemporaneous reports of fraud that dogged that rulemaking process.
Supreme Court vacates ruling barring Trump from blocking Twitter critics, saying case is moot
The Supreme Court vacated a lower court opinion that said President Donald Trump could not block critics from his Twitter feed, which since has been suspended by the company. The US Court of Appeals for the 2nd Circuit in New York had ruled that because the president had used the forum to regularly communicate with the public, he could not block critical individual users.
Sen Wicker Seeks Information on Universal Service Fund
As I evaluate the Universal Service Fund for the upcoming congressional session, I am requesting information regarding the full funding capabilities that the Federal Communications Commission has at its disposal.
![](https://www.benton.org/sites/default/files/styles/thumbnail/public/fcc-official-logo-tn_231_12.jpg?itok=U9VixwZf)
Remarks Of FCC Chairman Ajit Pai To The Free State Foundation
It would certainly make sense for me to use today’s platform to detail all the ways that we have cleared out the Federal Communications Commission’s regulatory underbrush since I spoke to Free State one month before taking this position. But I’d like to go in a less obvious direction. Instead, I’d like to lay out my theory for good governance and how the reforms we’ve made since January 2017 have fundamentally transformed the agency’s operations for the better. Along the way, I’ve picked up a few lessons about what I believe to be the keys to effective governance.
![](https://www.benton.org/sites/default/files/styles/thumbnail/public/blair_levin1_2.jpg?itok=9gOr7ETQ)
Increasing Public Engagement and Transparency at the FCC by Holding a Second Monthly Meeting
This proposal outlines a series of actions to introduce a second monthly meeting of the five commissioners who comprise the Federal Communications Commission. During the additional meeting, FCC staff should present on major items that might be brought before the Commission for a vote in the next several months. This forward-looking monthly meeting gives the public information needed to provide meaningful input to the Commission prior to its decision-making. The meeting would also improve the Commissioners’ own ability to respond to policy recommendations.
House Commerce Leaders Request Public Transparency for FCC's COVID-19 Telehealth Program
House Commerce Committee Chairman Frank Pallone, Jr. (D-NJ) and Communications Subcommittee Chairman Mike Doyle (D-PA) sent a letter to Federal Communications Commission Chairman Ajit Pai requesting that the FCC provide additional transparency on the distribution of public funds through the COVID-19 Telehealth Program, which Congress created in the CARES Act. As of June 10, the FCC has announced it has awarded more than $104 million of the total $200 million in appropriated funds through the COVID-19 Telehealth Program.
![](https://www.benton.org/sites/default/files/styles/thumbnail/public/court-gavel_2.jpg?itok=zeRJ5Rwm)
FCC Ordered To Disclose Data About Net Neutrality Commenters
Siding with The New York Times, a federal judge has ordered that the Federal Communications Commission must disclose information about users who submitted comments during the 2017 net neutrality proceeding, despite the agency's objections that doing so could compromise people's privacy. US District Court Judge Lorna Schofield in the Southern District of New York ruled that disclosure of the data -- including commenters' IP addresses, time stamps, and user-agent headers -- is in the public interest, particularly given concerns that many comments were fraudulent.
Crisis requires co-ordinated digital response
The challenges we face demand an unprecedented alliance between business and government. Broadband is needed everywhere to support vulnerable populations. What’s happening in Seattle (WA), the first US city affected by the coronavirus outbreak, provides a glimpse. A public-private alliance of the region’s largest employers, Challenge Seattle, became the town square for sharing data and best practices, managing the crisis and planning our return to work.