The Trump administration will request nearly $1 billion in nondefense spending on artificial intelligence R&D for FY 2020, U.S. Chief Technology Officer Michael Kratsios announced Tuesday. “This uniquely American ecosystem must do everything in its collective power to keep America’s lead in the AI race and build on our success,” Kratsios said at an Information Technology and Innovation Foundation Center for Data Innovation event. “Our future rests on getting AI right.” He noted the federal government in 2016 spent a billion dollars on AI R&D, including defense spending. AI will support jobs, drive economic growth and advance national security, he said. He contrasted U.S. strategy with authoritarian regimes' use of the technology, saying the administration’s AI strategy is rooted in rule of law. Other countries are using the technology to “surveil their population, limit free speech, and violate fundamental rights,” he said. President Donald Trump's February executive order mandates agencies to “prioritize investments” in AI R&D (see 1902110054).
Elliott Associates and Elliott International, investment funds managed by Elliott Management CEO and Republican contributor Paul Singer, wrote AT&T Monday after acquiring $3.2 billion in stock and equivalents in the telecom. Elliott sought increased strategic focus, improved operational efficiency, a formal capital allocation framework and enhanced leadership and oversight. Elliott suggested adding more directors, and forming a board strategy and operations committee. It recommended AT&T "relieve investors of the ongoing fear that there is another major, distracting move" such as a merger or acquisition in the foreseeable future. AT&T responded that its management team and board "maintain a regular and open dialogue with shareholders and will review Elliott Management's perspectives." It said it's already executing many of the actions sought. President Donald Trump tweeted Monday the activist investor's involvement is "great news," and urged Elliott to help "put a stop to all of the Fake News" at CNN. Matt Dornic, CNN vice president-communications, disputed Trump's claim. The network delivered its highest August ratings on record last month and won the prime time demographic over Fox and MSNBC, Dornic tweeted. Trump claimed MSNBC had lost all credibility due to negative coverage of his administration. Comcast declined to comment.
Several 2020 Democratic presidential hopefuls' recent proposals for broadband funding “suggest that [the issue] will be in their 2020 platform, likely as part of a larger infrastructure bill,” said Cowen’s Paul Gallant Wednesday. Seven candidates propose substantial broadband funding plans, ranging from a $20 billion proposal by former Vice President Joe Biden to a $150 billion one from Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., that would require “Big Tech companies to pay into" USF (see 1908220061). “Unlike existing federal subsidies to commercial ISPs, this new funding would only be available to local governments, co-ops and nonprofits,” Gallant emailed investors. The communications sector hoped for more appetite for infrastructure legislation this year because Democrats regained the majority in the House in the 2018 election (see 1811130011). But talks between President Donald Trump and Democratic leaders on a potential infrastructure package broke down in May (see 1905220076). Sanders, Sen. Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts and South Bend, Indiana, Mayor Pete Buttigieg “also say government-funded networks are needed where existing broadband is slow or too expensive,” Gallant said. Enactment of an infrastructure bill with broadband funding “is likely if Democrats control any two of the White House/Senate/House post-2020 election,” the analyst said. Consideration of broadband funding with a majority-Democratic Congress or Democratic president is likely to include a debate over “possible” pre-emption of state-level restrictions on municipal broadband, he said. Warren proposed pre-emption (see 1908090040) along the lines of the FCC's 2015 grant of petitions to overrule North Carolina and Tennessee laws that restrict such projects. The FCC was reversed in court (see 1608290054).
2020 Democratic presidential hopeful Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., pledged to “institute an immediate moratorium on approving mergers [and acquisitions] of major media corporations,” drawing Free Press praise. He's a frequent critic of M&A, including AT&T/Time Warner and Comcast's failed bid for Fox's nonbroadcast assets (see 1807120049). “We are not going to rubber stamp proposals” like CBS/Viacom (see 1908130050), Sanders said in a Columbia Journalism Review opinion piece Monday. He pledged to appoint FCC commissioners who will “reverse” changes to media ownership rules made during Chairman Ajit Pai's leadership. A Sanders administration would “reinstate and strengthen media ownership rules, and we will limit the number of stations that large broadcasting corporations can own,” he said. “We will also direct federal agencies to study the impact of consolidation in print, television, and digital media to determine whether further antitrust action is necessary.” Sanders pledged to appoint an attorney general and FTC commissioners “who more stringently enforce antitrust laws against tech giants like Facebook and Google, to prevent them from using their enormous market power to cannibalize, bilk, and defund news organizations.” Sanders backed a Free Press proposal to tax revenue from targeted online ads and use the money to fund noncommercial journalism in an "effort to substantially increase funding for programs that support public media’s news-gathering operations at the local level. Free Press CEO Craig Aaron said Tuesday, “These are exactly the kinds of issues that presidential candidates should debate.”
House Commerce Committee member Joe Kennedy, D-Mass., confirmed Monday he’s considering a primary challenge next year against Senate Commerce Committee member Ed Markey. Markey has been active on telecom and tech policy issues, including as the lead sponsor of the Senate version of the Save the Internet Act (S-682) to restore rescinded 2015 net neutrality rules (see 1903060077). Markey more recently has been working on the Kids Internet Design and Safety Act (S-748) and legislation to address strategies websites use to “glue” children to devices (see 1908220057). “I haven't reached a decision yet,” Kennedy said. He later filed with the Federal Election Commission to create a Senate campaign committee. “I hear the folks who say I should wait my turn, but with due respect -- I'm not sure this is a moment for waiting,” Kennedy said. Markey’s office didn’t comment.
Eighteen groups launched a petition asking all 2020 presidential candidates to pledge to support restoring 2015 net neutrality rules and reject contributions from phone and cable company executives, lobbyists and political action committees. “It’s imperative all presidential candidates make restoring net neutrality a top priority” because Senate GOP leaders are blocking passage the Save the Internet Act (see 1906110038), the Monday petition said. HR-1644/S-682, which the House passed in April, would reverse the FCC rescinding the rules and restore reclassification of broadband as a Communications Act Title II service (see 1904100062). Seventeen of the 21 current Democratic hopefuls declared support for restoring in some form the rules, most providing little detail. Ex-Vice President Joe Biden, former Housing and Urban Development Secretary Julian Castro, Miramar, Florida, Mayor Wayne Messam and businessman Tom Steyer haven't taken a position. Their campaigns didn't comment. Color of Change, Common Cause, Demand Progress, Fight for the Future and Free Press Action Fund were among petitioners.
2020 Democratic presidential hopeful Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., proposed $150 billion of grants and “technical assistance” for broadband deployments as part of a larger “Green New Deal” platform his campaign released Thursday. Six other 2020 Democratic candidates have proposed substantial broadband funding plans, including an $85 billion plan from Sen. Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts (see 1908070070). Washington Gov. Jay Inslee proposed $80 billion in broadband funding and requiring “Big Tech companies to pay into" USF as part of a rural economic policy plan Wednesday (see 1908210055), hours before he said he's suspending his campaign. Sanders said his proposed funding will go to “municipalities and states to build publicly owned and democratically controlled, co-operative, or open access broadband networks. This communications infrastructure will ensure first responders and communities are ready to deal with the worst climate emergencies.” Sanders’ platform also calls for requiring all public housing to include “high-speed” broadband access and for broadband projects to be eligible for an interagency Commerce Department-led “targeted economic development funding to ensure job creation in the same communities that will feel the impact of the [platform] most.”
The Commerce Department’s Bureau of Industry and Security tried to answer questions from stakeholders about standards organizations' activities that involve Huawei and about its BIS entity listing. It calls for licenses for any activities involving “the exchange, transfer, or other disclosure of technology or software that is of U.S.-origin or is otherwise subject to the” export administration regulations, BIS said Tuesday. Examples include: “participating in a non-public working or study group involving the exchange ... of such technology,” “participating in electronic exchanges within a standards body, by email or other means, that contain or attach such technology or software” and “releasing or otherwise providing access to blueprints, flowcharts, schematics, prototypes, or similar materials that contain such technology.” U.S. carriers using Huawei got more time this week to adjust to restrictions pushed by President Donald Trump involving the company (see 1908190040).
Beto O’Rourke supports amending the tech industry’s content liability shield to combat online hate speech and related violence, the Democratic presidential candidate said in a plan released Friday. He envisions amending Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act to “remove legal immunity from lawsuits for large social media platforms that fail to change their terms of service” or implement systems designed to remove hateful content. Large platforms would be required to adopt terms of service banning content that incites or engages in “violence, intimidation, harassment, threats, or defamation targeting an individual or group based on their actual or perceived race, color, religion, national origin, ethnicity, immigration status, gender, gender identity, sexual orientation or disability.” O’Rourke targets the right problems, said Free Press Action Senior Policy Counsel Carmen Scurato, but his vague proposal could weaken Section 230 and impair platforms’ ability to moderate. The campaign didn’t comment.
Sen. Elizabeth Warren’s, D-Mass., broadband deployment plan would reduce industry and consumer control in favor of heavy-handed regulation that would hurt innovation (see 1908070070), American Enterprise Institute visiting scholar Mark Jamison blogged Tuesday. He said it "reflects a fundamental misunderstanding of economics and business.” Warren’s campaign didn’t comment.