Yesterday, the Federal Communications Commission voted on circulation to approve a Report and Order to establish the Emergency Broadband Benefit Program, a $3.2 billion federal initiative to provide qualifying households discounts on their internet service bills and an opportunity to receive a discount on a computer, laptop, or tablet. The program created by Congress subsidizes broadband and device payments for low-income consumers or families hit hard by the pandemic, including students and the unemployed.

Public Knowledge Competition Policy Director Charlotte Slaiman will testify before the U.S. House Judiciary Committee’s Subcommittee on Antitrust, Commercial, and Administrative Law this Thursday, Feb. 25 at 10:00 a.m. Her testimony will argue for new laws and rules, like interoperability, to combat the power of Big Tech.

In a bench ruling, Judge John A. Mendez in the Eastern District of California rejected the attempt by a group of broadband providers to prevent California from enforcing its landmark net neutrality law, which grants the state’s residents the strongest net neutrality protections in the nation.

This week, Facebook announced that the company “will restrict publishers and people in Australia from sharing or viewing Australian and international news content” in response to Australia’s “Media Bargaining law,” which would require Big Tech to pay publishers for linking to news content. There is no doubt that civic journalism faces a global crisis, but Public Knowledge contends that imposing public interest obligations, like an Internet Superfund, on dominant platforms is a better way to support local journalism for our communities as opposed to blocking users sharing news online or encouraging Big Tech and Big Media to strike deals that benefit themselves — both are predictable outcomes of this flawed legislation.

Yesterday, Public Knowledge joined New America’s Open Technology Institute in filing comments in response to the Federal Communications Commission’s Public Notice on the use of E-Rate funds to enable remote learning.

We conducted a survey on racial and ethnic diversity in early-career roles and the hiring processes in technology policy nonprofits to understand some of the barriers that people of color face in securing entry-level positions in our field while also advancing the conversation to remove these barriers.

Today, Public Knowledge released principles to help guide discussions of possible Section 230 reform to ensure that any changes promote the public interest. These principles are meant to provide guardrails for policymakers to protect consumers’ ability to freely express themselves online while also addressing the challenges posed by content moderation.

Today, Public Knowledge filed a petition asking the Federal Communications Commission to reconsider the agency’s determination under Chairman Pai that its deregulatory agenda was more important than public safety, the infrastructure access necessary for broadband competition, or universal service.

Recently, CBS stations owned by Cox Media Group have been pulled from thousands of viewers across the country, and more blackouts may come soon. Unless resolved, this could prevent those viewers from watching the Super Bowl this Sunday.

Today, Senator Amy Klobuchar (D-MN), incoming chair of the Senate Judiciary’s Antitrust Subcommittee, introduced the “Competition and Antitrust Law Enforcement Reform Act” to make it easier for the government to stop anticompetitive mergers and conduct.