Today, the U.S. House of Representatives passed the (FY) 2017 Financial Services and General Government Appropriations bill, HR 5485. The bill includes appropriations for the Federal Communications Commission less than the requested amount.

Today, presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton released her Initiative on Technology and Innovation, a document outlining the candidate’s tech policy agenda for her administration. Public Knowledge commends Secretary Clinton for her commitment to net neutrality, support of broadband and 5G deployment, pledge to expand the Federal Communications Commission’s Lifeline program to broadband, and balanced copyright approach. Public Knowledge also remains encouraged by Secretary Clinton’s support of spectrum sharing and a federally funded “civic Internet-of-Things”.

Today, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit released its opinion reviewing the Federal Communications Commission’s February 2015 decision to reclassify wireline and wireless broadband access service as a “Telecommunications Service” and to use the authority of Title II of the Communications Act to impose network neutrality rules. Public Knowledge supports an Open Internet, which is the idea that no Internet Service Provider should be able to block or throttle your connection to control your online experience.

Today, the House Appropriations Committee marked up its fiscal year (FY) 2017 Financial Services and General Government Appropriations bill. The bill includes appropriations for the Federal Communications Commission of approximately $315 million — $69 million less than the agency received in 2016 and $43 million below the requested amount.

Today, the Financial Services Subcommittee marked up its fiscal year (FY) 2017 Financial Services and General Government Appropriations bill without amendments. The bill includes appropriations for the Federal Communications Commission of approximately $315 million — $69 million less than the agency received in 2016 and $43 million below the requested amount.

Today, Public Knowledge launches a call for applications for the 2016 class of the online Open Internet Course, a free, Spanish-language course created to train digital rights activists in Latin America to strategically advocate for Open Internet policies from a human rights perspective. Hosted by Peer 2 Peer University (P2PU), this course explores strategic planning, SMART goals development, internet governance, cybersecurity, net neutrality, spectrum management, internet access and more.

Public Knowledge announces a new hire to grow our telecommunications, copyright and internet policy advocacy. Ryan Clough, a litigator and former congressional staffer, joins Public Knowledge as General Counsel to direct the organization’s legal team.

Today, the House of Representative approved H.R. 2666, the “No Rate Regulation of Broadband Internet Access Act” by a vote of 241-173. Public Knowledge has testified in opposition to the bill in front of the House Energy and Commerce Committee and has repeatedly noted that the bill goes far beyond simply banning rate regulation, threatening the Federal Communications Commission’s net neutrality rules and jeopardizing the agency’s consumer protection capabilities.

Today, Public Knowledge joined more than 49 other public interest groups in a letter to Speaker Paul Ryan (R-WI) and Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) urging Congress to vote against H.R. 2666, the “No Rate Regulation of Broadband Internet Access Act,” because the bill would prevent the Federal Communications Commission from performing its consumer protection duties. Public Knowledge contends that the legislation would undermine the FCC’s Open Internet Order, basic consumer protection powers, and even agency oversight of broadband provider charges and business practices.

Today, the Federal Communications Commission unveiled a labeling system for consumer broadband, developed by the Commission’s Consumer Advisory Committee with support from the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. The sample labels and format closely mirror the widely recognizable food nutritional labels, and seek to provide consumers with information they need to evaluate various broadband service options. The labels provide clarity and certainty for broadband providers, as adopting them for use both at point of sale and online will presumptively satisfy the Commission’s transparency requirements under the 2015 Open Internet Order.