Politico
Trump administration lists some of Amazon's foreign websites as 'notorious' counterfeit markets (Politico)
Submitted by benton on Wed, 04/29/2020 - 16:41White House shuffles communications duties as it looks to reopening (Politico)
Submitted by benton on Wed, 04/29/2020 - 09:39Rural Internet Providers Struggle to Get Protective Gear
As the pandemic batters America for its second month, small broadband providers are having a harder time finding protective gear needed to allow workers to go into the field. “I got about four emails today from people being like, ‘Help me get PPE, we can't get equipment,’” said Shirley Bloomfield, head of rural telecom trade group NTCA. Rural ISPs are turning to local distilleries for hand sanitizer and lumber yards for gloves, according to Bloomfield. USTelecom has expressed similar anxiety among its larger ISP members and ongoing dialogue with the Department of Homeland Security.
Amazon under fire over testimony on sellers’ data (Politico)
Submitted by Robbie McBeath on Fri, 04/24/2020 - 12:59Rural areas struggle with remote learning as broadband remains elusive
The public health crisis has exposed New York’s digital divide. Lawmakers representing communities in upstate New York have voiced concerns about the issue for years, fighting to increase access to high-speed internet in rural communities that often struggle to even get a bar of cell service. But despite repeated pledges by state officials to remedy the situation, access to high-speed broadband internet remains elusive in the state’s bucolic areas.
President Trump Targets Broadband for COVID Negotiations
President Donald Trump on April 21 tweeted that broadband internet will be one of his own priorities in hashing out an upcoming fourth phase of coronavirus relief.
Tech world decries President Trump’s immigration plan (Politico)
Submitted by Robbie McBeath on Wed, 04/22/2020 - 12:17Why the FCC Doesn't Want to Vet Trump's COVID Broadcasts
Federal Communications Commission General Counsel Tom Johnson joined The Federalist to discuss why the commission quickly shot down a recent emergency petition from advocacy group Free Press asking the agency to investigate what it calls bogus coronavirus information from talk radio and White House task force briefings.
Coronavirus Raises the Stakes in the .Org Battle
April 20 was originally the deadline by which ICANN, which oversees the internet's address system, would issue its decision on whether to stop or allow the transfer of the dot-org (.org) domain registry to a private equity firm. The proposed deal — which would turn over a part of the internet typically used by nonprofits to a for-profit enterprise, Ethos Capital — has for months raised alarm among charities worried they might see the cost of their sites skyrocket.