The Hill
Cuba hands note of protest to U.S. over internet task force
Cuba handed a note of protest to the top U.S. diplomat in Havana on Jan 31 over the Trump administration’s creation of a Cuba Internet Task Force that it said was an attempt to violate its sovereignty and carry out subversive activities. The U.S. State Department said recently it was convening the task force to promote “the free and unregulated flow of information” on the Communist-run island that has one of the lowest internet penetration rates in the world. The group would examine ways of “expanding internet access and independent media”, it said.
Chris Christie joining ABC as a contributor (The Hill)
Submitted by Robbie McBeath on Mon, 01/29/2018 - 17:14
Zuckerberg promises to show Facebook users more local news
Mark Zuckerberg said that Facebook will now start showing users more local news stories in their feeds — the latest in a string of reforms the company has announced in 2018. “Local news helps build community — both on and offline,” Zuckerberg wrote in a post. “It's an important part of making sure the time we all spend on Facebook is valuable.”
House Commerce Committee Chairman Walden rejects idea of nationalizing 5G: 'We're not Venezuela' (The Hill)
Submitted by Robbie McBeath on Mon, 01/29/2018 - 14:58
Dividing the country won’t bridge the digital divide
[Commentary] [Democratic members of the House Commerce Committee's] infrastructure plan provides critical support for the next-generation communications networks. We are proposing to:
Prepared Testimony of FCC Public Safety Chief "This is Not a Drill: An Examination of Emergency Alert Systems", Senate Commerce Committee
The false alert issued on January 13th by the State of Hawaii, in which recipients were warned of an imminent ballistic missile attack, was absolutely unacceptable. The Federal Communications Commission acted swiftly in the wake of this incident to open an investigation into the matter.
President Trump to announce $1.7 trillion infrastructure package at State of the Union (The Hill)
Submitted by Robbie McBeath on Wed, 01/24/2018 - 17:36Democratic Reps ask DOJ, FBI to include all agencies in fake comments investigation
Democratic lawmakers are calling on the Justice Department to expand any planned investigation into the hundreds of fake comments that appeared on the Federal Communications Commission’s network neutrality rule to rulemakings from all agencies. In a letter, Reps Bobby Scott (D-VA), Frank Pallone Jr.
House Commerce Committee Leaders Demand Answers on Spectre and Meltdown Cyber Flaws
House Commerce Committee leaders are demanding answers from major technology companies affected by the Spectre and Meltdown cybersecurity flaws that leave computer chips vulnerable to hackers. In a letter, lawmakers pressed the CEOs of Intel, Apple, Microsoft, Amazon, Google, AMD and ARM to explain the need for an "information embargo" agreement between the companies to keep information on the cybersecurity vulnerabilities from the public.