Feb 14, 2017
Harold Feld (@haroldfeld) is Public Knowledge's Senior Vice President. Before becoming Senior Vice President at Public Knowledge, Harold worked as Senior Vice President of Media Access Project, advocating for the public interest in media, telecommunications, and technology policy for almost 10 years. Prior to joining MAP, Harold was an associate at Covington & Burling, worked on Freedom of Information Act, Privacy Act, and accountability issues at the Department of Energy, and clerked for the D.C. Court of Appeals. He received his B.A. from Princeton University, and his J.D. from Boston University Law School. Harold also writes Tales of the Sausage Factory, a progressive blog on media and telecom policy. In 2007, Illinois Senator Dick Durbin praised him and his blog for "[doing] a lot of great work helping people understand how FCC decisions affect people and communities on the ground."
In this episode, we discussed:
- early trends from the Ajit Pai FCC.
- what to expect on FCC reform from the 115th Congress.
- where consumer advocates and the Trump administration can find common ground.
Resources
The Wealth of Nations by Adam Smith
NEWS ROUNDUP
The Federal Trade Commission
found last week that
Vizio--the TV manufacturer--has
been spying on its 11 million customers. The company had apparently been collecting
and selling customers' locations, demographics and viewing habits.
Vizio will now have to pay a $2.2 million settlement to the FTC and
New Jersey Attorney General's office. Hayley Tsukayama covers
this in the Washington Post.
--
The
Department of Homeland Security is
considering requiring refugees and
other immigrants from the 7 Muslim Ban countries to turn over their
social media usernames and passwords before entering the United
States. DHS Secretary
John Kelly made the announcement last week before the House
Committee on Homeland Security. But of course a three-judge panel
of the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals upheld a lower court ruling
last week which blocked the President's ban on refugees entering
the country. Next steps include possible appeals to the full 9th
Circuit, or to the U.S. Supreme Court. David Kravets has the story
in Ars Technica.
--
The
White House mysteriously let go its Chief Information Security
Officer, Cory Louie, last week. Louie, who is Asian, had been appointed to the
position by former President Obama and was one of the few
minorities on Trump's staff. Check out Zack Whittaker's coverage in
ZD Net.
--
A
federal grand jury has indicted the National Security Agency
contractor accused of stealing highly sensitive materials from the
United States government, which he then collected at his Maryland
home. Harold Thomas
Martin faces up to 200 years in prison if convicted of all 20
criminal counts he has been charged with. Dustin Volz covers this
for Reuters.
--
The
House passed last week the Email Privacy Act, which would update
existing law to require law enforcement to get a search warrant
before asking technology companies for their users'
emails. The bill is
expected to get some resistance in the Senate. Dustin Volz has this
story as well, in Reuters.
--
Benjamin Herold reports for Ed Week that
the
Ajit Pai FCC has rescinded a report
the previous administration put out illustrating the success of the
E-rate program. The
E-rate program is a multi-billion dollar initiative designed to
help schools and libraries access high speed internet
service.
Democratic leaders
as well as consumer and tech
advocates took Pai to task accusing Pai of paying lip service to
the digital divide, while pursuing contradictory
policies.
--
Finally,
Amazon expressed serious concerns
Friday about President Trump's "America First"
agenda. The company said
this more protectionist attitude has the potential to harm its
business. Jeffrey Dastin has the story in Reuters.