Press Release

Federal Communications Commission Chairman Ajit Pai announced that the agency has chosen Larry Hudson to serve as Director of the Office of Workplace Diversity, continuing the work he has been doing as acting director.

Prior to joining the FCC in 2015, Hudson served as the Chief, Employee and Labor Relations for the Bureau of Administration, Bureau of Information Resource Management, and Bureau of Conflict and Stabilization Operations at the State Department. He has held positions at the Federal Transit Administration, Federal Aviation Administration and the National Park Service. Hudson possesses more than 20 years of labor and employee relations experience from the private, public and military sectors. His initial introduction to human resources came while he served active duty in the US Air Force. Hudson is a trained mediator, formerly certified by the Virginia Supreme Court. He has also obtained the Professional in Human Resources (PHR) certification and Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI) practitioner certification. He has a Master of Science Degree in Human Resources Management from Chapman University, a Master of Science Degree in Administration from Central Michigan University, and a Bachelor of Science Degree in Management from the University of Maryland.

The Fiber Broadband Association commended the Federal Communications Commission’s efforts towards removing regulatory roadblocks to nationwide broadband deployment. FBA also offered significant barrier-reducing steps to help make that happen. First, FBA suggested that the Commission should amend its pole attachment rules to address practices of many pole owners and existing attachers that delay and increase the cost of access. Second, FBA urged the Commission to repeal the 2015 network change notification rule, which imposes an unnecessary and costly process, thereby hindering investment in fiber infrastructure. Third, FBA proposed that the Commission adopt criteria that can be used to readily determine which state and local laws and regulations violate Section 253 of the Communications Act and inhibit broadband deployment.

[Commentary] In hindsight, it’s easy to say CNN shouldn’t have gone with such a flimsy, improperly vetted story. Unfortunately, journalism isn’t a hindsight business. Journalism happens in real time, against a deadline clock, and in a competitive atmosphere. Only ombudsmen, press critics and libel attorneys get to second-guess what they do. As the Supreme Court noted in the landmark libel case Times v. Sullivan, the First Amendment is of little use unless we provide “breathing space” for controversial reports that end up containing unintentional mistakes—like the CNN story—as long as they’re made without malice.

The Federal Communications Commission released an Order taking a necessary procedural step so that the Code of Federal Regulations contains an accurate reflection of the FCC’s current privacy rules.

Specifically, the FCC’s pre-2016 Privacy Order rules that applied to wireless and wireline telephone carriers have been reinstated following the recent resolution of disapproval of the FCC’s 2016 privacy regulations under the Congressional Review Act (CRA). The resolution of disapproval of the FCC’s privacy regulations, signed by President Trump on April 3, 2017, declared that the 2016 Privacy Order “shall have no force or effect” and “shall be treated as though [it] had never taken effect.” In addition, the June 29, 2017 Order also dismisses as moot 11 petitions for reconsideration of the Commission’s 2016 Privacy Order.

Although there has been great progress extending broadband’s reach to more and more Americans, there remain too many households and communities that are not enjoying the benefits of broadband. Research shows, for example, that families earning under $25,000 a year are about half as likely to have the Internet at home as families that are the most well-off. The Federal Communications Commission’s Lifeline program brings the many benefits of reliable, robust Internet access to low-income households. That means better access to job listings and workforce training, to education and healthcare, and allows people to fully engage in today’s society. In 2016, the FCC outlined plans for a Lifeline National Eligibility Verifier that would relieve from carriers the responsibility of checking on households’ Lifeline eligibility. We urge the FCC to move swiftly to implement those plans and ensure the program’s financial health.

Federal Communications Commission Chairman Ajit Pai issued the following statement after PBS and America’s Public Television Stations (APTS) announced an agreement with T-Mobile whereby T-Mobile will provide financial assistance during the post-incentive auction repack to translator stations that extend public television signals into hard-to-reach rural areas: “I commend PBS, APTS, and T-Mobile for developing a creative solution to assist millions of TV viewers during the post-incentive auction transition. The financial assistance provided by TMobile will help the many Americans who rely on public television, especially in rural areas. It will also help expand wireless connectivity in rural America. Today’s announcement is precisely the kind of cross-industry cooperation we need to ensure a smooth transition for broadcasters, wireless providers, and American consumers.”

The Government Accountability Office (GAO) released a report finding that deceased individuals had enrolled in the program and noting that GAO could not confirm the eligibility of 36 percent of the subscribers it reviewed. Federal Communications Commission Chairman Ajit Pai issued the following statement in response: “Last year, I led an investigation into the Lifeline program that revealed serious weaknesses in federal safeguards. Today’s GAO report confirms what we discovered then: Waste, fraud, and abuse are all too prevalent in the program. Commission staff and the Office of Inspector General have already been developing recommendations to better safeguard taxpayer funds. I stand ready to work with my colleagues to crack down on the unscrupulous providers that abuse the program so that the dollars we spend support affordable, high-speed broadband Internet access for our nation’s poorest families"

Federal Communications Commission Chairman Ajit Pai announced that the agency has chosen Wayne Leighton as chief of the FCC’s Office of Strategic Planning and Policy Analysis, continuing the work he has been doing as acting chief. Prior to serving as acting chief, Leighton served as a senior economist in the Wireless Telecommunications Bureau and as wireless advisor to then-FCC Commissioner Deborah Taylor Tate. Prior to his FCC service, Leighton worked for an economic consulting firm, was senior economist with the U.S. Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs, and has been a professor of economics at Universidad Francisco Marroquín in Guatemala. He earned a doctorate in economics from George Mason University and undergraduate degrees in business and economics from Texas A&M University.

New America announces its first class of Public Interest Technology Fellows. Fellows will come to New America from across private and public-sector organizations, including Facebook, Google, and the United States Digital Service at the White House. Together, they will work to influence demand for technology expertise among public interest organizations by building concrete examples that show the transformative impact of bringing technologists onto their teams. The goal of the initiative is to build a long-term, robust infrastructure that allows advocates, service providers, and leaders to harness the power of technology in serving communities.

[Commentary] Donald Trump won the presidency by assuring voters he could do everything, and do it quickly. Much of his presidency so far has been spent covering up the fact that he can’t. And we keep learning a painful lesson: There’s not much we can do about it.

There’s a term for the sort of military strikes insurgent groups and underpowered forces employ: asymmetric warfare. As it turns out, Donald Trump was eminently prepared to launch an asymmetric warfare campaign against the institutions of American democracy, nowhere more effectively than against the media. His career — part salesman, part showman, part hustler — taught him a key lesson that, as it turns out, was as effective against the media as an IED could be against a military caravan: Never admit you’re wrong.