Policymakers

Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson, President Joe Biden’s pick to replace Justice Stephen Breyer on the Supreme Court, will inevitably have to weigh in in important cases related to technological issues including data privacy, intellectual property, telecommunications and antitrust if confirmed. Here are a couple cases where Jackson’s weighed in on key tech topics: Equal Rights Center v. Uber and Electronic Privacy Information Center v. Department of Justice.

Sen. Krysten Sinema (D-AZ)—widely seen as the key swing vote in the Biden administration’s quest to confirm Gigi Sohn as the fifth commissioner at the Federal Communications Commission—has finally (sort of) weighed in on Sohn’s promise to recuse herself from certain television broadcast copyright and retransmission issues. In questions for the record, which stemmed from Sohn’s unusual second confirmation hearing on Feb.

At least 17 members of Congress, including both Republicans and Democrats, have children who work or have recently worked for Google, Amazon, Meta, or Apple, according to an analysis by Emily.

In December 2021, Gov. Ton Wolf (D-PA) signed House Bill 2071 to create the Pennsylvania Broadband Development Authority to serve as a one stop shop for all things broadband in Pennsylvania. The office will manage at least $100 million in federal aid to coordinate the rollout of broadband across Pennsylvania. The Pennsylvania Broadband Development Authority is made of an 11-member board.

Federal Communications Commission Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel, in consultation with Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack, has appointed Working Group members to serve on the Task Force for Reviewing the Connectivity and Technology Needs of Precision Agriculture in the United States. The following working groups will assist the Task Force in carrying out its work: (1) Mapping and Analyzing Connectivity on Agricultural Lands; (2) Examining Current and Future Connectivity Demand for Precision Agriculture; (3) Encouraging Adoption of Precision Agriculture and Availability of High-Quality Job

Nathan Simington is the newest commissioner at the Federal Communications Commission, but just one year into his role, the former National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) official is bringing his all to the table. The Republican commissioner recently spoke about his reaction to the FCC and NTIA's newly announced Spectrum Coordination Initiative, as well as his views on inter-agency collaboration and social media regulation.

National Economic Councilmember Tim Wu said the Biden administration has adopted a different perspective on how to promote innovation — while previous White Houses might’ve said “trust the giants,” this one believes “small is beautiful.” Wu, Special Assistant to the President for Technology and Competition Policy, pushed back on what he termed the “monopoly innovation” theory that he says has dominated antitrust thinking for several decades. According to that view, he said, the high prices a monopoly can charge encourages it to innovate and develop new technologies.

Change is coming to the House Energy and Commerce Committee in the next Congress, a pattern of turnover that has become a staple of the powerful panel over the past 15 years. The list of those leaving is already significant. Five Democrats on the committee won’t be back for the 118th Congress. Among Republicans, Rep Billy Long (R-MO) is making his own Senate run. Other committee members are in real danger of losing their seats, including Reps David McKinley (R-WV) and Tom O’Halleran (D-AZ), both of whom are locked in tough reelection fights after redistricting.

Alan Davidson, the newly confirmed head of the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA), will manage tens of billions of federal spending on broadband — but he's also talking about helping set administration policy around app stores and privacy. In his first major interview since taking the NTIA helm, Davidson said his biggest priority is making sure every American has access to affordable, high-speed internet.

Vice President Kamala Harris called on all US internet service providers to back efforts to provide more affordable broadband options for consumers, as the Federal Communications Commission announced more than 10 million people have signed up for its Affordable Connectivity Program (ACP).