July 2023

Rep. McClain Introduces ACES Act

Congresswoman Lisa McClain (R-MI) introduced the Anti-Chinese Communist Party (CCP) Espionage via Social Media (ACES) to counter the national security threat posed by the Chinese platform TikTok. This bill forces TikTok’s parent company, ByteDance, to divest all its assets in America. This bill:

Sen. Warner, Colleagues Reintroduce Bipartisan Legislation to Encourage Competition in Social Media

US Senator Mark Warner (D-VA) led a bipartisan group of colleagues in reintroducing the Augmenting Compatibility and Competition by Enabling Service Switching (ACCESS) Act, legislation that would encourage market-based competition with major social media platforms by requiring the largest companies make user data portable – and their services interoperable – with other platforms, and to allow users to designate a trusted third-party service to manage their privacy and account settings. The Act would increase market competition, encourage innovation, and increase consumer choice by requiring

Case Study: Verizon and the Communications Workers of America (CWA) Training Program

The world is facing a pressing need for a skilled workforce that can meet the demands of the 21st-century economy. That’s where workforce development comes in. The National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) has created the Telecommunications Training and Workforce Development Best Practice Checklist to help support Eligible Entities as they’re developing their Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment (BEAD) workforce plans. Verizon and the Communications Workers of America (CWA) have collective bargaining agreements in place that, among other things, provide for high-

Biden-Harris Administration Announces Nearly $1 Billion in New Internet for All Funding Available to Tribal Lands

The Department of Commerce’s National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) announced the availability of nearly $1 billion in funding to expand Internet access and adoption on Tribal Lands. This second round of funding from the Internet for All initiative’s Tribal Broadband Connectivity Program (TBCP) will make up to approximately $980 million available for Native American, Alaska Native, and Native Hawaiian communities for the deployment of Internet infras