Cristiano Lima

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.

Federal Communications Commission General Counsel Tom Johnson is set to rebut net neutrality advocates on Feb. 1 before the DC Circuit Court of Appeals — and he previewed the agency’s arguments during a Free State Foundation event Nov 9.

The Federal Communications Commission's Brendan Carr is taking off the gloves in a fight with San Jose (CA) Mayor Sam Liccardo. “We must do better than Mayor Liccardo’s failed broadband policies,” Commissioner Carr wrote on Twitter  in response to a Liccardo op-ed. “Under his 3+ year leadership, San Jose approved zero small cells-ZERO-depriving residents of broadband options.

As Tennessee voters head to the polls, Senate candidate Phil Bredesen (D) is taking aim at Rep Marsha Blackburn’s legacy on broadband. In a recent campaign ad, former-Gov Bredesen calls out the House Telecommunications Subcommittee chair for having “voted against $600 million in broadband initiatives.” At issue: Blackburn’s March 2018 vote against the sprawling omnibus government funding bill that contained a series of committee-negotiated tech legislation central to Blackburn’s panel.

The furor over Rep. Steve King’s ties to white nationalist figures and groups has struck the telecom industry, where two heavyweights castigated Rep. King (R-Iowa) over some of his recent remarks. NCTA – The Internet & Television Association, denounced King’s remarks and could “no longer support his campaign.” And AT&T, which has contributed to King’s campaign, said it will not make further campaign contributions to the lawmaker in 2018. Rep.

Left-leaning groups are pouring money into online advertising on platforms like Facebook ahead of the midterms — and cash from Silicon Valley staffers is flowing to Democratic campaigns, according to recently released data. Donations to Democratic candidates from tech staffers, political action committees and outside groups is more than triple that of Republican candidates, $13.4 million to $3.7 million.

Assistant Attorney General for Antitrust Makan Delrahim shot down the idea that new antitrust laws are necessary to address large tech companies, telling an audience of industry leaders that existing rules are ”perfectly equipped, at least for now.” Critics argue that tech companies have amassed significant market power through their vast networks of users and pools of data, but that their dominance is overlooked because their services are free or inexpensive. Delrahim contends, however, that price isn’t the only way government officials can measure how firms affect consumers.

House Commerce Committee Chairman Greg Walden (R-OR) and Telecommunications Subcommittee Chairman Marsha Blackburn (R-TN) want more information from the Federal Communications Commission on a petition from USTelecom seeking regulatory relief from some unbundling requirements, as well as details on the agency’s recent Connect America Fund broadband subsidy auction.

Twitter’s release of millions of tweets relating to foreign influence campaigns on the platform created a treasure trove of data for journalists and researchers to mine through. The information sheds light on the vast, yearslong campaign to sow discord and influence US politics, not only by Russia’s infamous Internet Research Agency but by accounts tied to Iran as well.

Federal Trade Commissioner Rohit Chopra set the stage for the agency’s look at tech platforms by focusing on how digital marketplaces harvest data, and how operators set the rules for buying and selling in the marketplaces.