Reporting

In 2017, the broadband industry appeared to win its battle against net neutrality. Under the Trump administration, the US Federal Communications Commission rolled back rules that barred internet service providers from blocking or slowing down traffic to certain websites or charging some sites a fee for preferential treatment. Net neutrality was, effectively, dead. But the regulatory change turned out to be a Pyrrhic victory for telecom companies.

When Lt. Gov. Delbert Hosemann and lawmakers in the Mississippi legislature got $1.2 billion in federal money from the first stimulus bill in March, they decided to do something different.

Lawmakers and industry groups are jockeying to shape the broadband internet investments likely to be embedded in President Joe Biden’s infrastructure efforts. Senior Democrats like House Whip Jim Clyburn (D-SC) are eyeing a revival of their $100 billion package aimed at connecting the unconnected and funding programs to bolster digital equity, which is likely to take center stage in coming weeks. But Republicans, bless their hearts, bristle over bigger price tags and instead point to less costly ways to close the digital divide.

Democrats are morphing their scrutiny of online falsehoods into a broader campaign against misinformation on right-leaning television outlets — a development that Republicans and some media organizations are calling a government attack on the First Amendment. The Democratic efforts include a House hearing where lawmakers lambasted conservative-leaning broadcasters and ca

On Feb 23, Judge John Mendez of US District Court for the Eastern District of California rejected a telecommunications-industry challenge to California’s two-year-old net neutrality law, clearing the way for the state to begin enforcing the consumer protections. "I have heard that argument and I don't find it persuasive," Judge Mendez said. "It's going to fall on deaf ears. Everyone has been on their best behavior since 2018, waiting for whatever happened in the DC Circuit [court case over the FCC's repeal of net neutrality].

Without the fear of Republican obstruction, tech and public interest advocates have begun pushing for President Joe Biden to act quickly to fill out the Federal Communications Commission. They say the president has come at a "critical opportunity" to pick a "bold" choice. President Biden can go one of two ways to fill out the FCC. He could elevate Acting Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel to become the permeant chair of the agency, or he could nominate someone who would come in with the expectation that they would become the chair.

School districts that serve vulnerable and disabled students in Pennsylvania, Wisconsin and 24 other states will receive free Wi-Fi hotspots from AT&T and Connected Nation, a nonprofit that provides communities with broadband technology and support. Through a portion of a $10 million award from AT&T, Connected Nation will provide 124 school districts and community organizations with hotspots, data subscriptions and content filtering services, potentially providing internet access to at least 35,000 school-age kids who don’t have reliable internet access. 

Facebook said it would spend at least $1 billion to license material from news publishers over the next three years, a pledge that comes as tech giants face scrutiny from governments around the world over paying for news content that appears on their platforms. The spending plans are in addition to $600 million that Facebook paid since 2018 in deals with publishers like the Guardian, Financial Times and others to populate its Facebook News product in some countries.

An interview about West Virginia’s bipartisan approach to closing the digital divide, with state Senator Robert “Bob” Plymale (D) and state Delegate and Assistant Majority Whip Daniel Linville (R). Broadband expansion is unusual in these politically polarized times: a public policy issue that enjoys bipartisan support.

California may soon begin enforcing its first-in-the-nation net neutrality law after a federal judge ruled against broadband providers that had sought to scuttle the state’s open-Internet safeguards.