Tech and telecom policy issues barely factored into the second 2020 Democratic presidential primary debate Thursday, unlike during the first debate Wednesday, which included a proposal from Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., to break up big tech companies like Google, Facebook and Amazon (see 1904170046 and 1906270010). Two presidential hopefuls on Thursday dinged Amazon -- Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., faulted CEO Jeff Bezos for the extent of his wealth and tech entrepreneur Andrew Yang criticized the company for not paying any income taxes last year. Yang and Rep. Eric Swalwell, D-Calif., cited concerns about automation of the economy. Technology “is automating away millions of jobs,” Yang said. Swalwell emphasized the U.S. “must be a country where technology creates more jobs than it displaces” and said he has “seen that anxiety across America where manufacturing floors go from 1,000 [employees] to 100 to one.” South Bend, Indiana, Mayor Pete Buttigieg said China is using technology “for the perfection of dictatorship,” citing that country's major investment in R&D “so they can run circles around us” on artificial intelligence.
The White House Social Media Summit is July 11, a spokesperson emailed us. The Internet Association didn't comment. Earlier Wednesday, President Donald Trump alleged in a Fox News interview that some tech platforms like social media may filter out politically conservative views. Such concerns also came up in a hearing that day (see 1906260051).
A trained workforce is critical to 5G and other high tech, officials said Monday at a Heritage Foundation event. James Redstone, special assistant to President Donald Trump, said the president fully supports workforce training and is making it a priority. “Even in this midst of this strong and growing economy, workers remain wary about what the future holds,” said Rachel Greszler, Heritage research fellow. "There’s fear that automation could replace workers’ jobs.” Without the 5G network, "we’re going to have a challenge on our hands,” said Grant Seiffert, Wireless Infrastructure Association vice president-workforce development. Training and education won’t work "unless you have employers at the table,” Redstone said. That’s why the administration pushes apprenticeship programs, he said. “Nobody knows better than employers what skills they’re looking for so wherever possible, [we] want them to be at the table.” The problem "is so similar in so many industries,” said Robert Chiappetta, director-government affairs at Toyota Motor North America, which considers itself primarily a tech company. “The school system, the education system, isn’t really keeping pace with what we need,” he said. There are more Latin classes in U.S. high schools than computer science classes, said Suhail Khan, Microsoft director-external affairs. Schools offer “basic” computer science classes, “but they’re not geared to the best and brightest,” he said. Khan said Trump has been "a great champion” of funding for computer science education.
Office of Science and Technology updated its strategic plan for artificial intelligence R&D to reflect updates to the field and include a stronger emphasis on public-private partnerships, said a release Friday. “Agencies will use this Plan to guide their R&D activities in AI, consistent with their agencies’ missions.” The update adds public-private partnerships “as a key area for Federal R&D investment,” said Michael Kratsios, deputy assistant to the president for technology policy. The updated plan said agencies should expand their partnerships with academia, industry and other non-federal entities, plus promote investment and practical applications for AI. “Government-university-industry R&D partnerships bring pressing, real-world challenges faced by industry to university researchers, enabling ‘use-inspired research,’" the plan said: “The Nation also benefits from relationships between Federal agencies and international funders who can work together to address key challenges of mutual interest across a range of disciplines.” The plan “is a welcome update to the guidance federal funding agencies will use to ensure federal AI R&D dollars continue to have high-impact and high return on investment,” said the Center for Data Innovation. The National Science Foundation recently formed industry partnerships with companies like Amazon in line with the ideas in the updated plan, said NSF.
The FCC isn’t affected by President Donald Trump's executive order directing all federal departments and agencies to eliminate one-third of their current Federal Advisory Committee Act-authorized committees by Sept. 30, a spokesperson told us Friday. The order limits the total governmentwide number of advisory committees to 350. Eliminated committees should include those found to deal with subject matters that have “become obsolete,” have accomplished their stated objectives, have primary functions “that have been assumed by another entity” or that the agency finds have a “cost of operation [that’s] excessive in relation” in relation to their “benefits to the Federal Government.” Agencies can count committees already eliminated since Trump entered office in January 2017 toward their quota. Agency heads can seek a waiver of the requirement if OMB concludes “it is necessary for the delivery of essential services, for effective program delivery, or because it is otherwise warranted by the public interest.” All agency heads will need to submit recommendations by Aug. 1 to OMB for eliminating committees. OMB will recommend which committees to eliminate by Sept. 1. The order doesn’t apply to the FCC because it generally exempts independent regulatory agencies, the FCC spokesperson said. The FTC's also an independent regulator. An NTIA spokesperson was checking at our deadline on how it would affect that Commerce Department.
Senate Intelligence Committee Vice Chairman Mark Warner, D-Va., and Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., urged President Donald Trump's administration Thursday not to use U.S. restrictions on Huawei as a “bargaining chip in trade negotiations” with China. Trump's May executive order bars some foreign companies' technology from U.S. networks and the Commerce Department's Bureau of Industry and Security filed a notice adding Huawei and affiliates to a list of entities subject to export administration regulations (see 1905160081). BIS issued a general license temporarily allowing certain transactions by Huawei and the affected affiliates through Aug. 19 (see 1905210013). Trump later said sanctions against Huawei could be part of trade negotiations with China (see 1905240038). OMB acting Director Russel Vought later requested a two-year delay in implementing government contracting and procurement-related restrictions on Huawei included in the FY 2019 National Defense Authorization Act (see 1808130064). “Europeans have publicly expressed fears that the Administration will soften its position on Huawei,” especially given Trump's instigation of a settlement that lifted the Commerce Department ban on U.S. companies selling telecom software and equipment to Chinese firm ZTE (see 1807130048), Rubio and Warner wrote Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer. “Instead, the U.S. should redouble our efforts to present our allies with compelling data on why the long-term network security and maintenance costs on Chinese telecommunications equipment offset any short-term cost savings.” Any modifications to BIS' temporary general license for Huawei “must be pursued in a risk-based way, separate from any trade negotiations, and consistent with national security considerations,” the senators said. “Conflating national security considerations with levers in trade negotiations undermines” U.S. work with Europe, India and other “international partners.” The House Armed Services Committee, meanwhile, Thursday advanced its version of the FY 2020 NDAA with language directing the defense secretary to conduct a comprehensive assessment of DOD policies on telecom and video surveillance services and equipment from foreign contractors and subcontractors, including identifying ways to mitigate threats via the debarment and suspension process. The bill would direct the defense secretary to implement a strategy for 5G technologies. It recommends giving DOD $175 million to ensure effective Joint Force operations in 5G spectrum.
The U.K. and the U.S. will agree on the best approach to Huawei, President Donald Trump said Tuesday at a news conference after meeting with British Prime Minister Theresa May. Experts say the U.S. will get limited support from other countries for its campaign against the Chinese equipment maker (see 1905290036). “We’re going to have absolutely an agreement on Huawei and everything else,” Trump said: “We have an incredible intelligence relationship and we will be able to work out any differences.” He says sanctions against Huawei could be part of trade negotiations with China (see 1905240038). Monday, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo warned European nations on Huawei. “Those comments would appear to undermine the arguments that Secretary Pompeo has been making about Huawei,” Zack Cooper, China expert at the American Enterprise Institute, told us. “This is reminiscent of the tough stance that the Trump administration took against ZTE, only to see the pressure taken off by the president. I think many observers will expect a similar dynamic to occur on Huawei, if a U.S.-China trade deal is eventually negotiated."
President Donald Trump raised the idea of an AT&T boycott, to influence CNN coverage. "It is so unfair with such bad, Fake News!," he tweeted Monday, saying "if people stoped [sic] using or subscribing" to AT&T, it "would be forced to make big changes" at CNN. "Why wouldn't they act," he said. AT&T didn't comment.
Best Buy will “actively” engage in helping the Trump administration “continue to minimize the impact of tariffs on U.S. consumers,” said CEO Hubert Joly on a fiscal Q1 earnings call Thursday. There’s “time” for U.S.-China trade talks “to progress before any decision gets made” on the fourth tranche of American tariffs on that country, he said. It's “premature” to speculate about the possible impact of the List 4 tariffs on $300 billion in Chinese goods because there are too many uncertainties about the threatened duties, he said on his final call as CEO before relinquishing the helm next month to Chief Financial Officer Corie Barry. “One thing is, of course, certain,” Joly said. “The impact of tariffs at 25 percent will result in price increases and will be felt by U.S. consumers.” As List 3 tariffs increased to 25 percent, “the discussion becomes quite different,” said Barry. "There’s a much lower likelihood you could absorb that as a vendor.” At 25 percent, “there will be higher prices for consumers,” she said. It’s “tricky” figuring out how the tariffs “will actually play into the back half” of calendar 2019, said Barry of tranche 3 tariff mitigation. “We did our very best to strategize it, but there’s still a lot of work.” Meanwhile, the retailer bought the Critical Signal Technologies health services company this month to “help scale” its connected-health business. “We’re excited about the prospects of combining CST’s services and relationships” with GreatCall, the connected-health and personal emergency response services business that Best Buy bought last year (see 1808150071), said Joly.
President Donald Trump’s new tool for publicly reporting instances of alleged political bias shows why the tech industry needs Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act, said Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore. Trump’s website is a "right-wing effort" to pressure platforms to leave “vile content” online, Wyden said Thursday: Section 230 ensured “that private companies would be able to curate content online, without fear of bogus lawsuits or government interference.” Public Knowledge also blasted Trump’s tool. Senior Counsel John Bergmayer said that with claims of political bias, it “would welcome efforts from the Trump Administration to increase platform competition through the vigorous application of antitrust laws, interoperability initiatives, and similar endeavors.” Internet Association CEO Michael Beckerman disputed that any platforms have ideological bias: “It would make no business sense for companies to stifle the speech of half -- or any significant portion -- their customers.”