Robbie McBeath

Sen. Warren Gets Specific on Breaking Up Big Tech

On March 8, 2019, Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) took to Medium to outline her plan to break up digital monopolies. Her proposal aims to restore competition in the tech sector and ensure online platforms play by the rules. Warren goes beyond the familiar “break ‘em up” rhetoric and actually offers sustainable sector-specific regulation -- an important step in advancing the policy debate around Big Tech.

Can We All Agree on Network Neutrality Legislation?

With much fanfare on March 6, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) launched the Save the Internet Act, legislation that would restore the strong, court-approved net neutrality rules that the Federal Communications Commission repealed in 2017.

Examining Problems, and Solutions, for Journalism in the Age of Online Platforms

On Feb 25, 2019, Free Press released Beyond Fixing Facebook. The authors, Timothy Karr and Craig Aaron, look beyond Facebook to address a deeper problem infecting the entire "attention economy": the abuse of targeted advertising.

Lawsuits, Libel, and Lampooning: An Update on the War on the Press

President Donald Trump’s war on the press hasn’t stopped. This week, he praised a $250 million libel lawsuit against the Washington Post, got some support from a Supreme Court Justice to review the nation’s libel laws, and issued his sharpest words yet against the New York Times, calling the newspaper “a true ENEMY OF THE PEOPLE!” Political journalists often ask the question: Is Trump winning his war on the media? Winning or losing, the point is that the war is ongoing. As we stated a year ago, the question should be: Are the American people the losers in this fight?

Trump Administration Update on the American Broadband Initiative

On February 13, 2019, the White House released the American Broadband Initiative Milestones Report, an update on the Trump Administration’s signature inter-agency strategy to stimulate increased private investment in broadband infrastructure and services to fill broadband connectivity gaps in America.

We All Agree on Net Neutrality, Except When We Don’t…Again

On Feb 7, the House Communications Subcommittee held a hearing, “Preserving an Open Internet for Consumers, Small Businesses, and Free Speech,” another conversation on net neutrality and an opportunity for lawmakers to spend three hours claiming they support an open internet, while rehashing old, partisan debates and making little progress towards a legislative solution.

The Partisan Divide: Looking Back at Broadband Policy in 2018

Upon reflection, it is easy to see that 2018 was a year of widening divides. Communications policy was no exception. In the midst of a partial government shutdown, we take a look at how partisan division at the Federal Communications Commission is shutting down progress towards closing the digital divide. While we expect partisan division to persist, the change in House leadership means we are likely to see more scrutiny of Chairman Pai's deregulatory agenda.

New Data, Old Divides

On Dec 6, the US Census Bureau released the 2013-2017 American Community Survey (ACS) five-year estimate including data on internet subscription rates. The new data provide powerful insight into the inequity of US broadband adoption, especially among neighboring counties. But the research also re-emphasizes the necessity for more accurate broadband maps.  At Benton, our goal is to bring open, affordable, high-capacity broadband to all people in the U.S. to ensure a thriving democracy. Accurate broadband maps are one necessary step towards realizing this vision. 

Listening to Consumer Privacy Advocates

On Oct 10, privacy advocates got their turn to speak before the Senate Commerce Committee, laying out the necessity of a national privacy law that goes beyond the protections already offered by some states. The hearing highlighted that consumer advocates and industry representatives don’t always see eye-to-eye on how protective a national law should be. But who will get to influence the legislation while it is drafted? “I want to be clear that the next federal privacy law will not be written by industry,” Chairman John Thune (R-SD) said.

Senate Commerce Committee Hearing on Consumer Data Privacy

On Oct 10, the Senate Commerce Committee held a hearing titled "Consumer Data Privacy: Examining Lessons From the European Union’s General Data Protection Regulation and the California Consumer Privacy Act.” The hearing provided the opportunity for Sens to hear from privacy advocates about the types of consumer protections to consider in future legislation. Witnesses included: Dr.

Net Neutrality: I'll See You In Court

On Sept 30, 2018, Gov. Jerry Brown (D-CA) signed SB 822, California’s net neutrality law -- the strictest in the nation and widely seen as a challenge to the federal government. The Department of Justice quickly sued the state to block enactment of the rules. Two days later, lobbyists for broadband service providers filed their own suit. Everybody seems to be suing everybody in the latest chapter of the net neutrality saga. But, some clarity could come from it. And, ya know, Congress could act and settle the matter.

Senate Privacy Hearing: Apologies, Explanations, And Weak Support

On September 26, 2018, executives from six major U.S. tech and communications companies testified before the Senate Commerce Committee at a hearing titled Examining Safeguards for Consumer Data Privacy. Representatives from Amazon, AT&T, Google, Twitter, Apple, and Charter were there to help lawmakers as they all discussed “possible approaches to safeguarding privacy more effectively.” Tech companies, on the whole, followed the trend that has emerged out of Silicon Valley when they testify before Congress: Apologize, explain, and offer to work with lawmakers on a regulatory solution.

Your Community's Role in the Future of 5G

On September 26, at the Federal Communications Commission’s open meeting, commissioners will vote on an order that will limit the roles of local policymakers in the deployment of fifth generation (5G) wireless infrastructure.

A Platform for Political Theater

On September 5, 2018, lawmakers on Capitol Hill hosted two hearings with the heads of Facebook and Twitter. In the morning, Facebook COO Sheryl Sandberg and Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey testified before the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence at the hearing on Foreign Influence Operations’ Use of Social Media Platforms.

FCC Oversight and Overlooks

The Senate Commerce Committee held an oversight hearing of the Federal Communications Commission on August 16. When he announced the hearing, Committee Chairman John Thune (R-SD) said, “From efforts to better utilize spectrum powering our wireless economy to expanding rural broadband access, combatting robocalls, and reviewing the media landscape, the FCC and its operations are critically important.

Nine Months Late, an FCC Oversight Hearing

The House Communications Subcommittee held a long-delayed Federal Communications Commission oversight hearing July 25. Overall, the review of the FCC was split along partisan lines. Republican representatives generally expressed satisfaction with the work of the FCC over the last nine months. Democratic representatives felt differently.  The hearing touched on a variety of policy issues, from spectrum allocation, to cybersecurity, to emergency alerts.

House Communications Subcommittee Oversight Hearing of FCC

The House Communications Subcommittee held a long-delayed Federal Communications Commission oversight hearing July 25. Notably, FCC Chairman Ajit Pai stood by the FCC's decision to designate the Sinclair-Tribune deal for hearing. Full House Commerce Committee Ranking Member Frank Pallone (D-NJ) took the lead in pressing Chairman Pai on President Donald Trump's tweet criticizing the FCC for not approving the Sinclair-Tribune deal and his suggestion there was a need for a conservative voice like Sinclair's.

Introducing Judge Brett Kavanaugh: Siding with Big Business and Big Brother

On July 9, President Donald Trump nominated Judge Brett Kavanaugh to fill the Supreme Court vacancy left by the retirement of Justice Anthony Kennedy. This week, we examine some of Judge Kavanaugh’s decisions on key communications policy issues, like net neutrality, the First Amendment, and surveillance. At 53, Kavanaugh is relatively young, consistent with President Trump's desire to appoint judges who can serve on the High Court for decades. Since 2006, Kavanaugh has served on the U.S.

Disruptive Competition in 5G: T-Mobile and Sprint Submit Their Public Interest Statement

On April 29, 2018, T-Mobile US and Sprint announced that the companies would merge. In the telecom world, an announcement like this always means at least one thing: a really long engagement. After the companies come to a merger agreement, regulators get a chance to review the deal.

Sharpening Blades in the FCC's Regulation Weed Wacker

Federal Communications Commission Chairman Ajit Pai (in)famously said, “We need to fire up the weed whacker and remove those rules that are holding back investment, innovation, and job creation.” On June 1, 2018, we learned a bit about how far follow-Republican FCC Commissioner Michael O’Rielly is willing to go to cut back consumer protections. In FCC Regulatory Free Arena, Commissioner O’Rielly highlights the pervasiveness of the “app economy” to argue that traditional companies regulated by the FCC should seek to be released from their regulatory obligations.

Happy GDPR Day

On May 25, the European Union’s new data and privacy law takes effect. The EU’s General Data Protection Regulation (GDRP) changes the rules for companies that collect, store or process large amounts of information on residents of the EU, requiring more openness about what data the companies have and with whom they share it.

Why Is FCC Chairman Pai Dragging His Feet?

[Commentary] More than four months after the Federal Communications Commission voted to repeal its network neutrality rules, the rules adopted in 2015 are technically still on the books. And we still do not know when the repeal will take effect. The situation is “highly unusual” according to telecommunications policy expert Harold Feld. The question is, why is FCC Chairman Ajit Pai dragging his feet now when he’s so close to his goal?

What We Learned From Mark Zuckerberg This Week

After some 10 hours of testimony and questions from almost 100 politicians, we finally learned some things from Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg this week. Just some things. But are we any closer to a regulatory solution? Probably not so much. Still, this week marked an important moment in the on-going debate about privacy in the Digital Age. 

Is Facebook a 'Bug' in Our Democracy? Part 1

[Analysis] Is it time to recognize that Facebook, and ‘Big Tech’ at large, may be a bug in our democracy? The Cambridge Analytica story reveals the harmful effects of business models that rely on massive data collection. What is lost is our privacy, contributing to the declining health of our democratic discourse. Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg acknowledged the massive data comprise in an apologetic media tour. For many, Zuckerberg's response has been seen as a small concession that does not address the much bigger problem.