Reports that employ attempts to inform communications policymaking in a systematically and scientific manner.
Research
US Consumer Privacy Bill Blueprint
This framework for US privacy legislation outlines clear rules of the road for entities using personal data, details strong rights for people who interact with those entities, and gives the FTC effective authority to make and enforce these rules as technologies evolve. In general, it is designed to shift more of the burden to safeguard personal data from users to companies, and to alleviate the burden on individuals.
Democrats Seek FCC Explanation of Faulty Broadband Coverage Data
House Commerce Committee leadership -- Chairman Frank Pallone (D-NJ), Communications Subcommittee Chairman Mike Doyle (D-PA), and Rep. A. Donald McEachin (D-VA) -- wrote the Federal Communications Commission looking for answers as to how inaccurate broadband data made it into a draft of its upcoming Sec. 706 report to Congress on the availability of advanced communications. “If we don’t have accurate information about where broadband Internet is available, how are we ever going to connect our rural and underserved communities?” Rep. McEachin said.
Millions of sensitive Facebook user records were left exposed on public web, security researchers say
More than 540 million Facebook records — including users’ comments, likes, account names and more — were left exposed on an Amazon cloud-computing server, researchers announced, marking the latest major privacy and security mishap to plague the social-networking giant. The trove is one of two data sets discovered to be in full public view by the security firm UpGuard, which also raised alarms with a second app developer that appears to have mishandled Facebook records including users’ interests and potentially their app passwords. Facebook said its policies prohibit app developers from “sto
The hearing will examine the current state of the nation’s broadband maps, and evaluate the ongoing efforts within the federal government and private sector to collect more accurate broadband coverage data. The hearing also will examine ways to increase coordination among federal agencies that administer broadband deployment programs to ensure resources are targeted to unserved areas.
Witnesses:
Broadband Affordability Report: Nearly Half of US Population Lacks Access to a Low-Price Offering
Nearly half of the US population (45%) lacks access to a low-price wired broadband offering, according to a new broadband affordability report from BroadbandNow, the organization that maintains a detailed database of broadband offerings throughout the US. The research also showed that people in rural areas pay higher prices and that, ironically, people in areas with higher average income pay less for service. Other key findings from the BroadbandNow research:
Why Losing Our Newspapers Is Breaking Our Politics
There are no doubt many reasons for the rise of partisanship, but our research, using voting data from across the country over a four year period, recently uncovered an important one: the loss of local newspapers. As local newspapers disappear, citizens increasingly rely on national sources of political information, which emphasizes competition and conflict between the parties.
Mapping and Measuring the Information Society: A Social Science Perspective on the Opportunities, Problems and Prospects of Broadband Internet Data in the United States
There are concerns across government, industry, and academia over the adequacy of data about broadband Internet connections. Due to the uneven availability and adoption of broadband, these inadequacies are important to consider because government policy and regulation, industry and business strategies, and scholarly research can be impacted by inaccurate or distorted data.
A business case for 5G mobile broadband in a dense urban area
This article studies the impact of different elements driving the business case of a 5G network. The study was performed within 3 boroughs of central London, UK, for the period 2020–2030. 5G-related costs and revenues were calculated to derive the business case. The results show that the business case for a 5G network providing mobile broadband services alone is positive over the time period 2020–2030 but has some risk in the later years of this time period.
For Local News, Americans Embrace Digital but Still Want Strong Community Connection
The digital era is making its mark on local news. Nearly as many Americans today say they prefer to get their local news online as say they prefer to do so through the television set. The 41% of Americans who say they prefer getting their local news via TV and the 37% who prefer it online far outpace those who prefer a printed newspaper or the radio (13% and 8%, respectively). The degree to which the public accesses each type of provider digitally versus non-digitally varies a great deal.
Republicans and Democrats have never been more divided on confidence in the media
More than two-thirds of Republicans say they have little confidence in the media, a figure that has risen nearly 20 points since 2014. On the other end of the political spectrum, fewer Democrats express low confidence in the media than at any point in nearly 30 years. The result is a gap of 43 points between members of the two parties, a broad gulf on whether the news media is trustworthy.