Policymakers

The competition is stiff, but Federal Communications Commission Chairman Pai may be the most reviled man on the internet. He is despised as both a bumbling rube, trying too hard to prove he gets it, and a cunning villain, out to destroy digital freedom. The anger emanates from his move, shortly after being appointed by President Donald Trump, to repeal Obama-era net ­neutrality regulations. He called his policy the Restoring Internet Freedom Order, an Orwellian touch in the view of his critics, who see ­it as a mortal threat.

The Trump administration has eliminated the White House’s top cyber policy role, jettisoning a key position created during the Obama presidency to harmonize the government's overall approach to cybersecurity policy and digital warfare. The decision is part of an effort to “streamline authority” for the senior directors who lead most NSC teams.

One of the largest contributions to President Donald Trump’s inaugural committee in 2016 appears to have been orchestrated by a set of powerful conservative legal activists who have since been put in the driver’s seat of the administration’s push to select and nominate federal judges. 

Sourcelist is a database of experts in technology policy from diverse backgrounds. We built Sourcelist on the principle that technology policymaking stands to benefit from the inclusion of the voices of a broader diversity of people. It aims to help journalists, conference planners, and others to identify and connect with experts outside of their usual sources and panelists. Sourcelist’s purpose is to facilitate more diverse representation by leveraging technology to create a user-friendly resource for people whose decisions can make a difference.

A Q&A with former-FCC Commissioner Mignon Clyburn

MCN: You didn’t have to leave until the end of the year, or until your successor has been confirmed, so why are you leaving now?

Mignon Clyburn: I feel I can be more effective in speaking about the things I care about from the outside.

MCN: And those are?

The four new commissioners who joined the Federal Trade Commission -- with another waiting in the wings -- are poised to weigh in on major tech issues, from privacy to concentration of market power. 

Federal Communications Commission Chairman Ajit Pai has selected Paul D’Ari to serve as Designated Federal Officer (DFO) of the Broadband Deployment Advisory Committee (BDAC), effective May 14, 2018. D’Ari, who currently serves as Deputy DFO, will replace Brian Hurley, who is leaving the agency. Deborah Salons and Jiaming Shang will serve as the new Deputy DFOs.

[Commentary] Many people understand the duty of public service. But for Mignon Clyburn, it is a calling. Too many people who care deeply about social justice dismiss communications law as a wonky specialty. Those with the passion to follow the instruction of the prophet Isaiah to “learn to do good, seek justice, comfort the oppressed, demand justice for the orphan and fight for the widow” often chose to go into fields where this struggle is more obvious such as civil rights or immigration law.

Earl Comstock, a high-ranking deputy to Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross, is quietly pushing for President Donald Trump to support a congressional effort to restore the net neutrality rules, He is advising that President Trump back a resolution that would reverse the Federal Communications Commission repeal, a move that would put President Trump in direct opposition to Ajit Pai, his hand-picked FCC chairman.

A Q&A with Mignon Clyburn, outgoing commissioner at the Federal Communications Commission.