Cristiano Lima

House Judiciary Antitrust Chairman Cicilline wants to modernize antitrust

A Q&A with House Judiciary Antitrust Subcommittee Chairman David Cicilline (D-RI). 

Next Step on Net Neutrality? Legislation

House Commerce Committee Chairman Frank Pallone (D-NJ) said this week's hearing on net neutrality won’t be the last — and a bill is forthcoming: “It’s going to be quickly followed after a couple hearings with legislation that would repeal the repeal, if you will, of net neutrality, bring back net neutrality,” Chairman Pallone pledged during a video update.

Tech and 2020 Contenders

The Democratic senators running for president share a common feature: They’ve all received congressional campaign donations from the tech or telecom industries.

Lawmakers: Shutdown wearing on tech agencies

Lawmakers are voicing concern about how the partial government shutdown is slowing the work of key tech and telecom agencies. House Commerce Committee Chairman Frank Pallone (D-NJ) called a Jan. 31 hearing on how the shutdown is affecting federal agencies, and the Federal Communications Commission and Federal Trade Commission will be part of the mix. Both agencies have furloughed large parts of their staff, and many of their regular activities have been paused. Expect questions about the FCC’s ability to police robocalls and the FTC’s stalled investigation of Facebook’s privacy practices.

On Pai Alert

Federal Communications Commission  Chairman Ajit Pai has long attracted rumors that he may run for political office one day. And despite committing to serving out his remaining two years as chair, recent retirement news from Sen. Pat Roberts (R-KS) has set off another round of whispers about whether the Kansas-bred Pai might be eyeing a run. Kansas’ two senators said they have not heard word of any interest on Pai’s part but immediately endorsed his talents.

Rifts Risk Democrats' Privacy Plans

House Democrats want to use the coming months to execute a bold tech agenda ahead of the 2020 presidential election, but they may need to make peace with each other first. While Democrats insist they bring a unified front to the issue of online privacy, they're kicking off this year with a clash between Rep. Ro Khanna (D-CA), a thought leader on privacy issues, and House Commerce Committee Chairman Frank Pallone (D-NJ), who's committee is responsible for shepherding any such legislation. “If Democrats can’t agree with each other, how can they come to a single position with the Republicans?"

Democrats' 'Tech Wall' Talk Draws Fire

Fight for the Future is taking issue with Democratic leaders’ proposal to develop a “technological wall” to counter Trump’s demand for a physical barrier along the southern US border. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) proposed that funding on border security would be best spent investing in technology to scan cars for drugs and other contraband at legal points of entry into the country. “The positive, shall we say almost technological wall that can be built is what we should be doing,” she said.

House Democrats' Net Neutrality Playbook

Rep. Mike Doyle (D-PA) offered up an early look at how Democrats in the House may approach net neutrality legislation in the new Congress.

Trump Airwaves Takeover?

As reports emerged that President Donald Trump considered declaring a national emergency to fund a wall on the Southern border, Federal Communications Commissioner Jessica Rosenworcel wrote on Twitter such a move permits the president to “shut down or take over communications in war or emergency.” It's not clear just how expansive that little-tested power is — if, for instance, a president could use it to hijack TV broadcasts or disrupt Americans' internet service.

Broadband on the Brain

Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-MN), one of several Democratic lawmakers mulling a 2020 presidential bid, thinks Democrats could “run on” and even “win on” wonky-but-important talk about issues like rural broadband. Sen Klobuchar told The New Yorker that while the issue might not be on the radar for “most people in urban areas … a lot of parts of our rural countryside can’t even access cell-phone service, much less broadband.” But would that matter as a campaign issue in the age of Trump, who has not commented extensively on issues like broadband?

FCC Nominees Against the Clock

Multiple holds may prevent the Senate from advancing long-stalled Federal Communications Commission nominations before Congress adjourns, which could come as soon as Dec 21 if lawmakers resolve government funding negotiations. Sens. Joe Manchin (D-WV) and Dan Sullivan (R-Alaska) still maintain holds on the nomination of FCC Commissioner Brendan Carr for a full term.

The future of Russian disinformation

The researchers behind the blockbuster reports detailing a sweeping online influence campaign by Russia during and after the 2016 election offer what to expect ahead. Bharath Ganesh of Oxford University said trolls are likely to move into the background and “embed” themselves among activist groups critical of US institutions in order to amplify their voices.

The Latest Net Neutrality Head Count in the House

Rep. Mary Gay Scanlon (D-PA) became the latest lawmaker to come out in favor of the discharge petition to bring net neutrality to a vote on to the House floor. The latest pledge comes just a few days after the formal deadline to file the discharge petition elapsed.

Bills, Bills, Bills

The Senate advanced a series of tech and telecom-related bills by unanimous consent on Dec 13, including:

Chairman Pai hopes to find common ground with lawmakers in the new Congress

Federal Communications Commission Chairman Ajit Pai didn’t quite rule out an eventual run for office and said he hopes to find common ground with lawmakers in the new Congress. He said his 2019 agenda will focus on on rural broadband, telemedicine, 5G, public safety communications and robocalls. Regarding the Mobility Fund, he wouldn’t say the consequences carriers could face as a result of the investigation into whether one or more carriers overstated their wireless coverage for maps that will determine eligibility for subsidies under the $4.5 billion program.

Small Broadband Wary On Farm Bill

The Senate passed the compromise farm bill, HR 2, notching a win for Democrats who opposed the House’s plan to impose tighter work requirements on food stamp recipients. The bill would raise the annual budget for Department of Agriculture broadband loans, loan guarantees and grants to $350 million from 2019 to 2023 and allows funding to go toward grants as well as loans. Other compromise farm bill broadband provisions include raising the “minimum acceptable level of broadband service for a rural area” to 25 Mbps downstream and 3 Mbps upstream – up from a previous 4/1 Mbps.

Senators Urge FCC to Spike Text Message Plan

A group of 10 senators is calling on Federal Communications Commission Chairman Ajit Pai to stand down on his proposal to classify text messaging as an information service. “We urge you to right this wrong and classify text messaging as a telecommunications service, affording this vital means of communications protections that promote innovation and support freedom of speech,” the lawmakers write in a letter led by Sen. Ed Markey(D-MA) and co-signed by eight Senate Democrats as well as Bernie Sanders (I-VT).

Tech Critic Gets Pushback From Industry

Sen-elect Josh Hawley (R-MO), who launched investigations into top tech players like Google and Facebook during his tenure as Missouri attorney general, is already drawing backlash from the industry over his critical remarks. During an interview with Fox News’ Tucker Carlson, Hawley took aim at tech companies over Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act, a liability protection for online platforms cherished by the industry. “My question is, should they really be getting this special immunity from the government if they’re also going to act like censors?

Lawmakers Weigh Wicker's Funding Gambit for Broadband Mapping

Lawmakers are broadly receptive to concerns Sen. Roger Wicker (R-MS) is raising about the accuracy of Federal Communications Commission broadband maps. But most are not ready to commit to supporting Wicker’s attempt to hitch language to the year-end government funding bill to force the FCC to revisit the mapping. Congress is looking to wrap up its final fiscal 2019 funding measure by Dec. 21. Although Senate appropriator Jon Tester (D-MT) quickly endorsed the idea, others say they are still assessing.

George H.W. Bush’s legacy on tech & telecom

George H.W. Bush was president before the iPhone, before Netflix, before Facebook. But his imprint was felt on the telecom and nascent tech sectors. “I think the most consequential part of that period would be the leadership in transitioning from analog to digital technologies,” said Al Sikes, who served as Federal Communications Commission chairman under Bush from 1989 to 1993. “We were an all-analog world except for the computer sector.” Sikes counts carving out spectrum for emerging technologies, such as mobile digital devices, as one of the Bush administration’s key tech achievements.

Democrats Hit Back at FCC IG Report

Democrats on the House Commerce Committee are pushing back on a report by the Federal Communications Commission Inspector General finding no evidence of a "concealment or cover-up" by FCC Chairman Ajit Pai in communications with the White House regarding the failed Sinclair-Tribune merger.

Frustration With FCC Broadband Mapping

Bipartisan interest is growing on Capitol Hill in using a year-end funding bill to force the Federal Communications Commission to take stock of the accuracy of its broadband data. Sen. Roger Wicker (R-MS) is leading the effort. “I’ll be very frank: I’m going to try to stick something on the spending bill to make the FCC take another look at this,” said Sen. Wicker, the likely incoming chairman of the Senate Commerce Committee. He called the FCC’s mapping “fatally flawed.” And count Sen. Jon Tester (D-MT) in, too. Sen.

Rep Nadler Sounds Off On Google Hearing

House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) has called an upcoming House Judiciary Committee hearing with Google CEO Sundar Pichai an important “step to restoring public trust in Google & all the companies that shape the Internet.” But the prospect of Republican lawmakers using the appearance to air allegations of bias against tech companies is giving Democratic leaders pause.

FCC You Soon

The new Democratic majority in the House is wasting no time in preparing its oversight efforts. “We’re getting ready to send a letter over to the [Federal Communications Commission] letting them know we intend to have a lot more oversight hearings and we want to start getting them on their schedule early,” said Rep. Mike Doyle (D-PA). He predicted an FCC oversight hearing is “not going to be too much later” than January, if not then. He plans to meet with incoming House Commerce Chairman Frank Pallone (D-NJ) next week to game out the subcommittee agenda. Rep.