Three Democratic 2020 presidential hopefuls proposed or restated plans Friday to guarantee universal broadband access and other tech and telecom priorities. Many of the leading Democratic candidates have proposed multibillion-dollar funding for broadband deployments, with a special focus on increasing service to rural consumers (see 1909040061). Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., wants to ensure “every American household will have affordable, high-speed internet by the end of his first term” if he's elected president. “Our tax dollars built the internet and access to it should be a public good for all, not another price gouging profit machine for Comcast, AT&T, and Verizon,” he said in the plan. He would “instruct the FCC to regulate broadband internet rates” and “work with Congress to codify net neutrality protections into law to prevent a future FCC from repealing them once again” as it did in rescission of 2015 rules. Sanders committed to “appoint members of the FCC who will use [Communications Act] Title II authority to promote competition, choice, and affordability for broadband service.” He would establish “a dedicated, accelerated last-mile fund through the Department of Agriculture’s [Rural Utilities Service] to provide capital funding to connect all remote rural households and businesses and upgrade outdated technology and infrastructure, prioritizing funding for existing co-ops and small rural utilities.” Sanders also wants to pre-empt all state-level laws “that limit or bar” municipal broadband. Sen. Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn., “will work to codify strong net neutrality principles and make immediate progress in her first 100 days by using federal contracting requirements to encourage broadband providers to honor net neutrality principles and promote a free and open internet,” her campaign blogged. Klobuchar would also “push for” legislation similar to her Social Media Privacy and Consumer Rights Act (S-189) “to require companies to notify users within 72 hours when their data has been breached and offer meaningful remedies for people whose data has been compromised.” Sen. Cory Booker, D-N.J., also wants to “guarantee access to broadband.” He would “close the digital divide once and for all by making unprecedented federal investment for broadband in rural areas and Indian Country, updating and increasing flexibility in existing federal programs to better serve rural needs, automatically enrolling low-income families into the FCC Lifeline program, investing in rural cooperatives, and passing his Community Broadband Act to push back on efforts by [ISPs] to restrict or prohibit municipal and cooperatively-owned broadband that could lower costs and improve access” (see 1703280022). Free Press Policy Manager Dana Floberg lauded the Sanders and Klobuchar plans.
U.S. consumers and businesses paid $38 billion in U.S. tariffs on Chinese goods “as a result of the trade war and will continue to take hits as long as talks linger,” emailed Naomi Wilson, Information Technology Industry Council senior policy director-Asia. She responded to President Donald Trump's comments he would perhaps delay a trade deal until after the 2020 presidential campaign. It’s “imperative” that both parties' “political leadership” in Congress “maintain the pressure” on the Trump administration “to reach an agreement that meaningfully addresses unfair trade practices and rolls back harmful tariffs,” said Wilson Tuesday. The White House didn’t comment Wednesday.
The Commerce Department proposed new procedures for reviewing transactions, including imports, that involve information and communications technology and services seen as a potential national security threat, it said Tuesday. The proposed rules are aimed at implementing President Donald Trump's May executive order, which directed Commerce to issue regulations to bar some foreign companies' technology from U.S. networks. The order was seen potentially targeting Chinese's Huawei and ZTE (see 1905150066). Commerce proposes "a case-by-case, fact-specific approach to determine those transactions that meet the requirements" in the EO. Parties subject to it will be expected to "maintain records related to such transaction in a manner consistent with the recordkeeping practices used in their ordinary course of business for such a transaction," Commerce says in Wednesday's Federal Register. Transactions are "any acquisition, importation, transfer, installation, dealing in, or use of any information and communications technology or service." Transactions subject to the reviews are any that involve people or property under U.S. jurisdiction, plus "any property in which any foreign country or a national thereof has an interest," it says. Transactions "initiated, pending, or completed" after May 15 would be subject to review. Comments are due Dec. 27 in docket DOC-2019-0005 via Regulations.gov. The Telecommunications Industry Association “has long maintained that supply chain risk management is best addressed by public-private partnerships and consensus-based, industry-driven standards, but there is a place for targeted and careful government intervention,” said CEO David Stehlin. “Today’s rules exemplify this approach and, through the invitation of comments from industry, represent a clear step forward towards a public-private effort." USTelecom is glad Commerce accepted “our recommendation to seek industry comment before establishing interim final rules, a process that should reduce the risk of unintended consequences,” said Senior Vice President-Cybersecurity Robert Mayer. “We are especially encouraged the Department has already adopted a process to determine whether a transaction meets the requirements.” The Information Technology Industry Council appreciates Commerce's “wise decision to issue proposed rather than final rules to maximize the ability of the Department to account for crucial industry feedback,” said CEO Jason Oxman. “The tech industry will continue to engage with the White House, Commerce, and other stakeholders to ensure this process furthers important national security imperatives while allowing U.S. innovation to thrive as it is finalized.”
The U.S. is 24 years “behind on technology” because the Office of Technology Assessment was shuttered, candidate Andrew Yang said during Wednesday evening’s Democratic presidential primary debate, citing China as a threat. The U.S. is in the “process of potentially losing the [artificial intelligence] arms race to China right now, because they have more access to more data than we do,” he said, noting the billions China has spent subsidizing AI development. It was the only mention of tech and telecom policy issues. OTA closed in 1995.
The Senate voted 74-20 Thursday to pass a continuing resolution to extend federal government funding through Dec. 20 (HR-3055). The House passed the measure earlier this week 231-192. It had previously been an amended version of the House-passed minibus FY 2020 budget bill that includes funding for NTIA, other Commerce Department agencies and the Agriculture Department (see 1910310054). The bid to avert a shutdown, which would happen at midnight Thursday, now heads to President Donald Trump. The White House said he planned to sign it.
Federal investment in artificial intelligence has “generated impactful breakthroughs” across 23 federal agencies, the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy said Wednesday in its 2016-2019 Progress Report on Advancing Artificial Intelligence Research and Development. The Trump administration requested nearly $1 billion in nondefense spending on artificial intelligence R&D for FY 2020 (see 1909100032). Agencies include the Departments of Homeland Security and Transportation and National Institute of Standards and Technology. “We are proud of the breadth and depth of Federal AI investments to ensure increased prosperity, safety, security, and quality of life for the American people for decades to come,” said Chief Technology Officer Michael Kratsios.
The government should prioritize computing hardware, software infrastructure and developing new “real-world” applications, the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy said Thursday in an update to the national strategic computing initiative. The document, an update to the 2016 Strategic Computing Plan, emphasizes a computing hardware focus on the “10-year horizon and beyond.” Software infrastructure should enable “effective and sustainable use of new computing.” Agencies should also promote overall infrastructure related to “data usage and management to cybersecurity, foundries, and prototypes.” OSTP recommended integration with “emerging data-driven applications.”
The U.S. and China are “close” to a trade agreement, President Donald Trump told the Economic Club of New York Tuesday. The Chinese are “dying to make a deal,” said Trump. “We’re the ones that are deciding whether we want to make a deal.” A “significant phase 1 trade deal with China could happen,” and “could happen soon,” he said. “But we will only accept a deal if it’s good for the United States and our workers and our great companies.” If the U.S. doesn’t make a deal, “we’re going to substantially raise those tariffs,” he said. The “real cost” would be if the U.S. “did nothing” to curb China’s allegedly unfair practices, he said. “The cost of doing nothing was killing us as a country.” The Treasury soon will reach $100 billion in Section 301 tariffs collected on Chinese imports, he said. “You haven’t seen inflation and you haven’t seen, in many cases, price increases.”
The U.S. and the EU need to cooperate and defend innovation against technological threats from adversaries like China, U.S. Chief Technology Officer Michael Kratsios said Thursday in Portugal. He accused China of pushing an authoritarian state that favors “censorship over free expression and citizen control over empowerment.” China also uses technology to surveil and control its citizens and steals intellectual property from the U.S., he said, noting the importance of 5G and artificial intelligence. “If we don’t act now, Chinese influence and control of technology will not only undermine the freedoms of their own citizens, but all citizens of the world,” he said. The Chinese embassy in D.C. didn't comment.
The U.S. technology industry is concerned about effects of an information and communications technology and services supply chain executive order released earlier this year, said John Miller, Information Technology Industry Council senior vice president-policy. Companies are nervous about potential restrictions that may arise from the order, which required the Commerce Department to issue regulations barring certain ICT-related transactions within 150 days. The regulations’ due date was in October, but none has been issued. “There’s been understandably a high degree of anxiety regarding what these rules may look like when they come out,” Miller told a Washington International Trade Association event. The order was broader than his industry expected, he said Wednesday, causing some to fear the order’s scope could impact a wide range of technologies and goods. “It potentially impacts all ICT products and services -- full stop,” Miller said. “Not just telecommunication networks.” This could lead to impacts on a broad range of transactions and significantly affect trade, Miller said. “It names acquisition, importations, transfer, installation, dealing in or use of ICT products and services,” he said. “It’s a pretty wide scope of potential companies that are impacted.” Friday, the White House didn't comment.