Policymakers

I would like to discuss how my approach to select communications policies is informed by certain conservative principles, with a fair hint of libertarianism. In my first visit to Hudson, I declared preserving and advancing economic freedom to be my primary goal
and the paramount lens by which I would examine issues at the Commission.  Fast forward four years and economic freedom has generated some subcomponents worthy of discussion, thereby allowing a more fulsome examination of certain policy matters. So, with your indulgence, I’d like to explore some of these this afternoon:

Air Force Brig. Gen. Robert Spalding, the author of a memo arguing for a government takeover of development of the nation’s 5G mobile network, is no longer serving as National Security Council Senior Director for Strategic Planning. He was not fired; his detail ended and he was not renewed. His last day as a White House staffer was Jan. 31. Brig. Gen.

[Commentary] One year ago, President Trump designated Ajit Pai as chairman of the Federal Communications Commission. New America reviews Pai’s first year as chair, which was marked by a radical agenda that rolled back consumer protections and rubber-stamped corporate wish lists.

1. Repealed Net Neutrality
2. Abandoned Consumer Privacy
3. Put Industry Ahead of Consumers
4. Exacerbated the Digital Divide 
5. Stoked Mergers and Stifled Competition
6. Kept the Public in the Dark

American Action Forum Director of Technology and Innovation Policy Will Rinehart: “The FCC needs to be a datafirst organization, and the creation of such an office could help reorient the agency toward more empirically grounded analysis.” (Full Steam Ahead On The FCC’s Office Of Economics And Analytics, Blog, 1/17/18)

[Commentary] Last week, Forbes contributor Rosyln Layton was fed up with what she saw as a lack of journalistic stridency in reports by FierceCable, DSL Reports, as well as numerous tech media publications, on a study (PDF) published by Harvard’s Berkman Klein Center for Internet and Society concluding that municipal broadband was generally a better deal for consumers. Layton went on to accuse FierceCable of “blindly” accepting the Berkman study.

Congress should legislate on technology like it’s 1995, according to a policy paper from R Street Institute, a right-leaning think tank. Specifically, Congress should reinstate the Office of Technology Assessment, an internal research organization that advised congressional committees on thorny questions about emerging technology and science.

After sitting vacant for a year, the Trump administration has nominated a new permanent federal Chief Information Officer (CIO): Suzette Kent, currently a principal with law firm Ernst & Young’s financial services practice. The White House announced Jan. 26 the president’s intention to nominate Kent as the next administrator of the Office of Electronic Government within the Office of Management and Budget, a role most have come to know as the federal CIO.

[Commentary] Federal Communications Commission Chairman Ajit Pai has a lot on his plate. On top of running a critical independent federal agency, he now must do so under a cloud of hate speech and death threats directed at him and his young children. This behavior is unacceptable in any circumstance, and it is an especially sad irony that it’s being directed at a public servant who has made it his No.

The Federal Communications Commission announced the appointment of Albert Shuldiner as Chief of the Media Bureau’s Audio Division. To ensure a smooth transition, current Audio Division Chief Peter Doyle will, on a temporary basis, assume a new part-time role as Senior Advisor in the Division.  Shuldiner brings decades of legal experience to the FCC, including positions at DTS, Inc., Ibiquity Digital Corporation, and Vinson & Elkins, LLP. He received a J.D. from the University of Pennsylvania Law School and a B.A. from Johns Hopkins University.