This blog post is part of a series on communications policies Public Knowledge recommends in response to the pandemic. You can read more of our proposals here and view the full series here. Medical experts agree that the most important thing we can do to support the efforts against the COVID-19 outbreak is a medical […]

Every American should expect their communications systems to work regularly and reliably, especially during a public emergency. As we transition to new, more sophisticated and technologically-advanced networks that support an array of new services, users should expect those networks to work as reliably as the networks they replace. Those networks must also not disrupt services […]

This blog post is part of a series on communications policies Public Knowledge recommends in response to the pandemic. You can read more of our proposals here and view the full series here. In response to COVID-19, public health officials have recommended a suite of changes to our daily behavior. One of the major strategies […]

This week, the House of Representatives passed a bipartisan bill, the Broadband DATA Act, aimed at improving the Federal Communications Commission’s data collection process for broadband mapping. Since the bill has already passed the Senate, but will return due to procedural reasons, we will likely see the Senate pass this bill soon and then send […]

I began working on privacy as a public policy issue in 2010 when Senator Al Franken started up the Privacy, Technology, and the Law Subcommittee on the Judiciary Committee. It was very difficult, because back in 2010, not many people cared about digital privacy. The questions back then focused heavily on “What is the harm?” […]

Late last year, while folks were carving up turkeys and shopping for holiday gifts, the Commerce Committees on both sides of Capitol Hill were busy introducing long-awaited privacy legislation. For years now, Public Knowledge has been calling for comprehensive federal privacy legislation to protect our fundamental right to privacy online that includes (among other things) […]

Last week, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) released its Report and Order about the new Rural Digital Opportunity Fund (RDOF), which provides $20.4 billion to fund broadband deployment in rural areas over 10 years. However, the Order, as written, could actually broaden the digital divide by punishing states that have taken steps to fund broadband […]

This piece was originally published by the Shorenstein Center on Media, Politics and Public Policy, where Gene Kimmelman is a Senior Fellow. It’s an evolution on the ideas first laid out in Gene’s 2019 piece, “The Right Way to Regulate Digital Platforms.” Both are part of the Digital Platforms & Democracy Project’s efforts to explain and disseminate […]

The United Kingdom’s Competition and Markets Authority (“CMA”) released its interim report on digital advertising markets in December. The report deserves careful attention by U.S. policymakers and the public. Of course, the findings are “interim,” so they may change as the CMA receives feedback and compiles its final report. (In case you are not inclined […]

Today is Public Domain Day! Come celebrate with us from 5- 9 pm at American University Washington College of Law. View the program and register here. 2019 was the first year that works protected by the Copyright Extension Act—those created after 1923—entered the public domain. This year we are celebrating all the copyrighted works from […]