Upcoming event
A fully remote joint hearing on misinformation and disinformation plaguing online platforms.
Memorandum from Chairman Pallone to the Subcommittee on Communications and Technology and the Subcommittee on Consumer Protection and Commerce
Witnesses
Mark Zuckerberg
Chairman and Chief Executive Officer
Facebook
Federal Policy Trends & Expectations for the Wireless Industry Under a New Administration
12:30-1:45 PM each day
From the House Judiciary Committee’s Report to federal antitrust regulators and state Attorneys General initiating lawsuits against Facebook and Google, more and more of our government officials are once again calling for more aggressive antitrust enforcement to go after large tech businesses.
A dive into how current calls to break up Big Tech could leave Americans without affordable and convenient technology for decades to come. The current lawsuits against Facebook and Google as well as the negative impact these policies could have on consumers and our wallets.
Speakers
The events of the past year have brought a new urgency to debates about technology and power and their implications for both individual rights and democracy writ large. Overlapping public health, human rights, and electoral crises in 2020 raised tough new questions for companies about their role in protecting users’ data and freedom of expression in the face of government censorship and surveillance demands.
The Federal Communications Commission recently concluded the controversial Rural Digital Opportunity Fund (RDOF) auctions, kicking off its plan to disperse $9 billion to service providers over the next 10 years. Former FCC Chairman Ajit Pai called the auction “the single largest step ever taken to bridge the digital divide,” but other broadband advocates are not so optimistic. The SHLB Coalition, for example, is troubled that funding recipients aren't required to serve schools, libraries, healthcare providers, and other anchor institutions.
AT&T CEO John Stankey will join Steve Clemons, Editor at Large of The Hill, to discuss how Congress and the private sector can work together to end the broadband gap.
Public Knowledge is hosting a webinar to discuss its “Diversity in Early-Career Tech Policy Roles: Challenges and Opportunities” Report. The report explores the types of early career opportunities available in tech policy nonprofits and the diversity within these roles, as well as the steps organizations are taking to increase diversity.
At this meeting, the Task Force will consider and vote on a report from its Accelerating Broadband Deployment on Unserved Agricultural Lands Working Group. The Task Force will also discuss any updates and matters from its other working groups.
This agenda may be modified at the discretion of the Task Force Chair and the Designated Federal Officer.