Upcoming event

Sponsor: 

USTelecom

Date: 
Thu, 10/28/2021 - 13:00 to 14:30

From Washington to State Capitals to Wall Street, broadband connectivity and the drive toward universal connectivity is front and center.

As Congress wraps the infrastructure bill and prepares billions for state capitals to deploy high-speed broadband, USTelecom’s 2021 Broadband Investment Forum takes a look at what comes next for American connectivity with national and state policymakers, broadband CEOs and financial analysts.



Sponsor: 

National Hispanic Media Coalition

Date: 
Mon, 10/25/2021 - 09:00

Platforms like Facebook continue to prioritize profits over public safety, and these harmful practices show a complete disregard of the risks posed to Latinx, Natives, Blacks, Asians, LGBTQ+ and other vulnerable communities. 



Sponsor: 

Subcommittee on Consumer Protection, Product Safety, and Data Security

Senate Commerce Committee

Date: 
Tue, 10/26/2021 - 10:00

Children and teens face immense peer pressure to be on apps such as Snapchat, TikTok, and YouTube. While social media can provide entertainment and educational opportunities, these apps have also been misused to harm kids and promote destructive acts, such as vandalism in schools, deadly viral challenges, bullying, eating disorders, manipulative influencer marketing, and grooming. This hearing will examine how tech companies treat young audiences, including how algorithms and product design choices can amplify harms, addiction, and intrusions into privacy.



Sponsor: 

Federal Communications Commission

Date: 
Wed, 11/10/2021 - 10:00

At this meeting, the Task Force plans to vote on reports and recommendations discussed during the Task Force’s initial term.



Sponsor: 

Georgetown Center for Business and Public Policy

Date: 
Wed, 10/20/2021 - 12:00

A discussion featuring Jefferson Wang, the bestselling author of The Future of Home in the 5G Era. Mr. Wang is Accenture's Global 5G Lead, focused on the convergence of business and technology. For decades, he has worked with network operators, original equipment manufacturers, content owners, and technology providers to create executable growth strategies through the end-to-end product lifecycle, making him a key voice in the tech and telecom industry.



Sponsor: 

Office of Native Affairs and Policy and the Wireline Competition Bureau

Federal Communications Commission

Date: 
Wed, 10/27/2021 - 14:00

The session will discuss a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) adopted on October 1, 2021, which proposes to update the definition of libraries in its rules to clarify that Tribal libraries are eligible to participate in the Federal Communications Commission’s E-Rate program. The NPRM also solicits input on other steps the FCC could take to encourage and support Tribal schools and libraries’ participation in the E-Rate Program.



FTC Announces Agenda for October 21 Open Commission Meeting

Federal Trade Commission Chair Lina Khan announced that an open meeting of the FTC will be held virtually on Thursday, October 21, 2021. The open meeting will begin at 1 pm EST and will be followed by a time for members of the public to address the FTC. Staff will present some findings from evidence gathered pursuant to the 2019 6(b) orders issued to six Internet service providers and three of their advertising affiliates in regards to their privacy practices. The public release of the report is subject to commission vote.

Sponsor: 

Information Technology & Innovation Foundation

Date: 
Tue, 11/09/2021 - 13:00 to 14:00

The contentious 2020 election and the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic have added fuel to the already fiery debate surrounding the treatment of political speech on social media. Many on the left have called for increased regulation to ensure social media platforms remove hate speech and misinformation, while many on the right have called for laws that would prohibit social media platforms from restricting users based on their viewpoints.



Sponsor: 

Center for Data Innovation

Date: 
Thu, 11/18/2021 - 10:00 to 11:00

A number of major technological changes on the horizon will have a significant impact on the future of online advertising. These changes include web browsers phasing out third-party cookies and mobile operating systems altering how third-parties can access device IDs. How will these changes impact online advertising in Europe for both consumers and businesses?

A panel discussion about how online ads work, what data they use, how they deliver value for advertisers and consumers, and what kinds of technological developments are changing the nature of targeted online advertising. 



Sponsor: 

Federal Communications Commission

Date: 
Wed, 11/03/2021 - 10:00 to 13:30

The first meeting of the Federal Communications Commission’s rechartered Communications Equity and Diversity Council (CEDC). The charter for the CEDC has been renewed for a two-year period beginning June 29, 2021.

The agenda for the meeting will include introducing members of the CEDC, including the Council Chair and Vice Chairs, and establishing working groups that will assist the CEDC in carrying out its work. This agenda may be modified at the discretion of the CEDC Chair and the DFO.



Sponsor: 

Congressional Internet Caucus Academy

Date: 
Thu, 10/21/2021 - 15:00 to 16:00

At the dawn of Web 1.0 policymakers nearly quashed the Internet with legislation such as the Communications Decency Act and key escrow. Many policy experts fear the same cycle has begun at the advent of Web 3.0. The clumsy cryptocurrency language in the Infrastructure Bill laid bare the lack of policymaker awareness of the broader "Web3" ecosystem. 

Experts draw parallels between mistakes made in the 1990s and why policymakers must better understand the promise and potential of Web 3.0. 



FCC Announces Agenda for October 26, 2021 Open Meeting

The Federal Communications Commission announced that the items below are tentatively on the agenda for the October 26, 2021 Open Commission Meeting:

Sponsor: 

Subcommittee on Communications, Media, and Broadband

Senate Commerce Committee

Date: 
Thu, 10/07/2021 - 10:00

The hearing will examine the importance of access to telehealth services, the utilization and changes during the COVID-19 pandemic, the critical role of access to broadband in the public health response, and how to structure future deployment and policy to address the needs of underserved communities. 



Sponsor: 

Federal Communications Commission

Date: 
Wed, 10/06/2021 - 10:00 to 12:00

The Forum will consist of two panels focused on the Emergency Broadband Benefit program and successful outreach strategies, and the importance of communities supporting connectivity.

This is a public event and will be streamed live on fcc.gov/live and the FCC’s YouTube channel. We encourage the public and interested stakeholder to engage in this discussion by sending questions in advance of the event to livequestionns@fcc.gov.



Sponsor: 

John S. and James L. Knight Foundation

Date: 
Tue, 11/02/2021 - 12:00 to Wed, 11/03/2021 - 15:00

What is the future of the Internet? Thirty years after the creation of the first web page, what have we learned about the impact of the Internet on communication, connection, and democracy?  

A virtual symposium that will explore and evaluate what key figures in the development of the Internet and online communities have learned from their experiences. Curated by two leading experts on Internet law, these conversations will feature contributions from pivotal Internet figures, technologists, and cyber scholars.



Sponsor: 

NetGain Partnership

Date: 
Thu, 10/07/2021 - 11:00 to 12:00

Tech sector whistleblowers have played an increasingly vital role in exposing racism and toxic workplace environments, algorithmic bias, and other platform harms. But the cost of coming forward with information can be tremendous – including psychological, legal, and employment ramifications. This webinar will explore what is needed to build and maintain safe and secure channels for tech whistleblowers to share platform harms with the public, and how civil society can support whistleblowers who boldly tell the truth.



AT&T’s Best Bet to Catch 5G Rivals Begins With Airwaves Auction

AT&T gets a chance to close a 5G airwaves gap with its rivals as bidding begins in a US auction of frequencies for ultrafast wireless service that’s expected to attract $25 billion in bids. The third-largest US wireless carrier is predicted to be the top bidder in the spectrum auction run by the Federal Communications Commission. Mobile leaders Verizon and T-Mobile are also ready to take part in the sale that starts October 5, as is Dish Network. The airwaves being sold are in the 3.45-3.55 GHz range, and are known as midband frequencies.

Sponsor: 

New America's Open Technology Institute and Consumer Reports

Date: 
Wed, 10/06/2021 - 12:00 to 14:00

Consumer labeling schemes are an important component of consumer protection—they create mandatory and standard disclosures that consumers can rely on when selecting products and services. The label that probably comes to mind for most is the standardized Nutrition Facts label, which debuted in 1994 after a mandate by the USDA, that appears on all food packages in the United States. However many other industries currently use or are examining the future use of standardized labeling to help customers compare between different products using the same set of criteria. In August 2021 the U.S.



Sponsor: 

Senate Commerce Committee

Date: 
Wed, 10/06/2021 - 10:00

This hearing is the second in a series examining the growing urgency to protect consumer privacy and safeguard our data, as well as the need to ensure the Federal Trade Commission is equipped with the authorities and resources to fight digital harms and hold bad actors accountable for increasing privacy violations, data breaches, internet scams, ransomware assaults and other harmful data abuses.



Sponsor: 

Subcommittee on Consumer Protection, Product Safety, and Data Security

Senate Commerce Committee

Date: 
Tue, 10/05/2021 - 10:00

Recent Wall Street Journal investigations have revealed troubling insights regarding how Instagram affects teenagers, how it handles children onto the platform, and other consumer protection matters related to Facebook. The hearing will provide an opportunity for a Facebook whistleblower to discuss their perspective and experience with the Subcommittee, including how to update children’s privacy regulations and other laws to protect consumers online.



Waiting for Godot

As you might imagine, we thought there would be exciting news to share today about broadband. Not so much. As we wait for a vote on the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (could it come today?

Sponsor: 

Communications and Technology Subcommittee

House Commerce Committee

Date: 
Wed, 10/06/2021 - 12:00

A legislative hearing on 12 communications bills:



Sponsor: 

Technology Learning Collaborative Philadelphia

Date: 
Wed, 10/06/2021 - 14:00

Hear from the National Digital Inclusion Alliance (NDIA) about the federal Infrastructure Bill (as of now passed by the Senate but not the House) and its implications on digital inclusion work. We’ll also have the opportunity to discuss national and regional best practices in the field.

This event is being hosted jointly by the Digital Inclusion Practitioners of New Jersey (DIPNJ) and Technology Learning Collaborative (TLC Philly) and is a part of national Digital Inclusion Week.



Sponsor: 

National Digital Inclusion Alliance and Clever

Date: 
Thu, 10/07/2021 - 11:00

For National Digital Inclusion week, Clever hosts a conversation on how resources can be strategically and creatively leveraged to increase digital equity and equitable learning opportunities.

Executive leadership in trailblazing school districts in Baltimore and Seattle will share innovative practices employed to build digital equity and inclusion for their school communities, with the support of their city municipalities.