Aug 7, 2018
K.J. Bagchi: The Obstacle is the Myth (Ep. 149)
K.J. Bagchi joined Joe Miller to discuss how the Model Minority Myth negatively impacts Asian Americans and impedes an inclusive policy dialogue.
Bio
K.J. Bagchi (@kjbagchi) is the Senior Staff Attorney for Telecommunications, Technology, and Media at Asian Americans Advancing Justice | AAJC.
K.J. has broad experience providing counsel and policy advice for elected members at the local, state and federal levels. He worked as Legislative Counsel at the D.C. City Council and for former Congressman Mike Honda. He has drafted legislation in a variety of areas including juvenile justice, immigration, and consumer protection. Through various roles, K.J. has developed programs, trainings, and conversations to embolden and empower the AAPI community in civic participation.
K.J. holds a bachelor’s degree from University of California Davis and a law degree from Seattle University School of Law. He is admitted to practice in the State of Maryland.
Resources
Asian Americans Advancing Justice | AAJC
14: Stories that Inspired Satyajit Ray by Bhaskar Chattopadhyay
News Roundup
Facebook reveals new disinformation campaign
Facebook revealed a new disinformation campaign last week which led to its removal of 32 pages and accounts on Facebook and Instagram. Facebook wrote that the accounts were engaged in “inauthentic behavior”. The company said that it was unable to attribute the campaign to Russia. But Virginia Senator Mark Warner said this provides what he termed as “further evidence” that the Kremlin is attempting to impact the midterm elections. Facebook is set to testify before the Senate Intelligence Committee on September 5th.
Facebook teams up with banks to share customer data
The Wall Street Journal reported Monday that Facebook has sought detailed banking information from the likes of JP MorganChase, Wells Fargo, Citigroup, and US Bancorp. Facebook wants users to be able to communicate with their banks within Messenger. In a press release, Facebook pushed back writing that the Wall Street Journal report is overblown as it is seeking no more information than other technology firms such as Google and Amazon. But this new revelation is sure to come up during the September 5th hearing on the Hill.
States sue to stop 3D printing of guns
AP reports that several states are suing the Trump Administration for settling with a purveyor of plans to make homemade 3D printed guns. A federal judge had blocked Defense Distributed from releasing plans that would allow anyone with a 3D printer to print the plastic firearms. But the Trump Administration stepped in and negotiated a settlement. Nineteen states including the District of Columbia filed a lawsuit. And there’s newly introduced legislation in the House that would either prevent the 3-D printing of guns, or make 3D-printed guns detectable at security checkpoints.
Advertisers sue Sinclair
Sinclair Broadcasting’s troubles got worse last week after advertisers brought a class action lawsuit against it, Tribune Media, and several co-defendants for coordinating to inflate ad prices in violation of the Sherman Antitrust Act. The Department of Justice is currently probing the possibility that Sinclair worked with competitors to manipulate prices, after it discovered suspicious behavior during the course of its review of Sinclair’s $3.9 billion acquisition of Tribune. The FCC has since sent the merger to an Administrative Law Judge to decide, an act that experts largely see as the death knell for the merger. Lobbying disclosure statements show that the FCC’s decision has led Sinclair to retain more lobbyists than it has since the year 2000. They’re working with the S-3 Group—a Republican lobbying firm -- according to the Hill.
Apple hits a $1 trillion market valuation
Apple closed with a $1 trillion market cap on Thursday, making it the first firm to do so. Notably, the company has hung on to that valuation, with a market cap of over $1 trillion for the August 6th close.
Facebook, Apple, YouTube, and Spotify remove all Alex Jones’ Content
Facebook, Apple, YouTube, and Spotify have removed all of conspiracy theorist Alex Jones’ channels for failing to meet community guidelines against hate speech and glorifying violence. The conservative commentator founded InfoWars in 1999 and is largely seen as having been instrumental to the election of President Donald Trump.
The net neutrality fight is the gift that keeps on giving
The net neutrality fight is the gift that keeps on giving. First, the FCC’s own Inspector General has found that the FCC lied back in May of 2017 when it said a wave of comments following John Oliver’s net neutrality segment on Last Week Tonight led to a large-scale Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS) attack. I repeat: the attack . never. happened. As Commissioner Jessica Rosenworcel noted—they were actual comments. The inspector general’s findings haven’t been released, but FCC Chairman Ajit Pai tried to get out in front of it by making the announcement on Monday and blaming the former CIO for saying it was a DDoS attack—which he never did.
Also, the FCC and DOJ have filed a petition with the Supreme Court to vacate the DC Court of Appeals ruling to uphold the 2015 net neutrality rules. The FCC’s repeal of those rules wasn’t enough I suppose.