A Hillary Clinton administration would be committed to expanding the E-rate model to a new range of anchor institutions, said Sara Solow, domestic policy adviser to Hillary for America, Wednesday at a Philadelphia event pegged to the Democratic National Convention and hosted by eight tech trade associations including CTA, CompTIA and the Internet Association. “We want to replicate the E-rate concept to other anchor institutions, like airports” and train stations and the Department of Motor Vehicles, Solow said. “When you’re in these public places, you should be able to get online, you should be able to get Wi-Fi. … The federal government can show leadership in that.” She said the Clinton telecom agenda commits that by 2020, “every household in America has access to high-speed internet,” saying this will require more than just fiber: “We should look at wireless solutions, we should look at microwave wireless solutions, we should look at satellite solutions, too.” Cities and localities should be leaders and be “fiber ready” and “more open” to third or fourth broadband providers, she said: “We want cities to think about dig once policies.” Pole attachment policies are “boring but extremely important,” she said. Solow offered similar comments Tuesday (see 1607260037). Commerce Secretary Penny Pritzker, at the event, cited an ongoing focus on broadband access globally: “That should be an aspiration we have for the whole world.” Pritzker also cited the privacy shield with the European Union, a process that involved “a lot of bumps in the road” but “now we’re proceeding forward.” She called the process “dynamic,” with more changes of “regulation in Europe,” requiring ongoing adaptation without “throwing the whole thing out and having to start again.” She didn’t express any particular fears about certification: “I think we’re doing a lot to go out and speak with your businesses. … Anything that’s new, you’ve got to make sure it’s up and functioning.” She said the Commerce Department is "very much" pushing forward with the Internet Assigned Numbers Authority transition. She pushed back against "the complete misperception" that the U.S. would be giving up control of the internet. "It's not intuitive to the average person," she said, noting "challenges" on Capitol Hill in this regard.
CTA CEO Gary Shapiro hopes the presumptive Democratic presidential ticket of Hillary Clinton and Sen. Tim Kaine, D-Va., backs the Trans-Pacific Partnership, pointing to their past comments as reason for support now. “Honestly, if their past -- and, presumably, sincerely held -- positions are a guide for Sec. Clinton and Sen. Kaine, I certainly hope they would support TPP if elected,” Shapiro said in a statement Tuesday. He said he hopes they're not “aligning with the destructive isolationist policies espoused by Donald Trump,” the GOP presidential nominee. “We can only hope the politics of the moment are driving the Clinton-Kaine campaign's evolving rhetoric on TPP, not the substance of the deal.”
Democrats unveiled a version of their 2016 party platform Thursday that includes all amendments. The 55-page text now showcases a significant telecom section, discussing IoT and 5G, that was added as an amendment during deliberations (see 1607110057). “Democrats will finish the job of connecting every household in America to high-speed broadband, increase internet adoption, and help hook up anchor institutions so they can offer free WiFi to the public,” the new language says. The platform backs net neutrality and the need for high-speed broadband (see 1607050058). High-speed internet connectivity "is not a luxury; it is a necessity for 21st century economic success, social mobility, education, health care, and public safety," it says. Democrats also "will take action to help America widely deploy 5G technology—the next generation wireless service that will not only bring faster internet connections to underserved areas, but will enable the Internet of Things and a host of transformative technologies," it says.
Rep. Blake Farenthold, R-Texas, is unfazed by the prospect of GOP presidential nominee Donald Trump taking the reins on tech policy. The GOP 2016 party "platform shows a tech-friendly direction, and I believe Mr. Trump’s going to follow in that,” Farenthold said in Cleveland at an event hosted by the Information Technology and Innovation Foundation, pegged to the ongoing Republican National Convention this week. Delegates earlier adopted and formally released the platform (see 1607190053). Farenthold pointed to Trump’s emphasis on good trade deals and the importance of intellectual property to such deals. He cautioned against getting into “the weeds” too quickly when talking to other lawmakers about tech policy. “It’s got to be top-line messaging and it’s almost got to be marketing,” Farenthold said Wednesday. “You’ve got to have bite-size chunks that they can understand.” House Communications Subcommittee Vice Chairman Bob Latta, R-Ohio, touted his IoT working group. “We’ve had three working group meetings already,” he said, citing input from the automotive and tech sectors. “We have so much activity out there.” Among industry officials of all types, “they’ve all said the same thing: when you’re doing this on the legislative side, let’s have more of a light touch out there,” Latta said. Facebook Chief Privacy Officer Erin Egan agreed there needs to be a better dialogue so people can understand tech policy and don’t feel left out, such as on topics like IoT. “For us though, connecting the world, data flows, globalization, all of that is critical to enable us to fulfill our mission,” Egan said. “And what we do see around the world and the challenge that we have is countries are going inward, they’re worried about technology, they’re worried about technology companies that are not home-grown. They’re reacting by looking at data localization measures…that would essentially balkanize the internet, that absolutely would affect us from achieving our mission of connecting the world.” She said Facebook sees a need for educating policymakers about these implications.
CTA President Gary Shapiro favors some elements of the 2016 Republican Party platform released this week (see 1607190053). “We are encouraged by the party's goal of creating a business climate that promotes innovation -- allowing the sharing economy to compete in an open and competitive market, ensuring access to spectrum to meet our demand for anytime/anywhere connectivity and encouraging the innovation needed for the Internet of Things to thrive,” Shapiro said in a statement. “We also applaud the platform's recognition that American innovation deserves the freedom to succeed or fail on its own merits and international trade is crucial to our economy.” GOP presidential nominee Donald Trump hopefully will be releasing “a detailed policy agenda” soon, Shapiro said.
CTA President Gary Shapiro urged Donald Trump, presumptive GOP nominee, and his newly selected choice for vice president, Indiana Gov. Mike Pence, to release a tech agenda. “The tech industry hopes that in the coming days, the Trump-Pence campaign will provide clarity on where it stands on trade and when we can expect a detailed and substantive agenda that specifically outlines its positions on technology and innovation issues,” Shapiro said Friday. CTA hopes Pence “will shape Donald Trump's tech agenda and share his strong advocacy for the Trans-Pacific Partnership,” he said. Earlier last week, Pence unveiled an Indiana tech fund (see 1607150043). “Indiana has twice earned top-tier status as an Innovation Champion in both of CTA's Innovation Scorecards, an annual innovation policy performance index," said Shapiro. "Gov. Pence legalized ridesharing statewide in 2015 and grew Indiana's technology sector by providing local and state tax revenue reinvestment for taking part in the creation of two dozen tech hubs. Although Gov. Pence supported laws allowing businesses to discriminate against the LGBT community, he listened to the tech community's concerns and amended the law.” Senate Commerce Committee Chairman John Thune, R-S.D., said he expects Trump to release such an agenda by the fall debates (see 1606290073). Pence is a former House lawmaker and sponsored the Broadcaster Freedom Act in multiple sessions of Congress. It would have forbidden the FCC from reviving the Fairness Doctrine.
Peter Thiel, a libertarian venture capitalist from Silicon Valley, will speak at the Republican National Convention in Cleveland next week, organizers said in a news release Thursday. Thiel is a delegate for GOP presumptive presidential nominee Donald Trump (see 1606270078). House Commerce Committee Vice Chairwoman Marsha Blackburn and House Communications Subcommittee member Chris Collins, R-N.Y., also are to speak. Also scheduled are House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., who has focused on tech policy. “This year is different, and we’ll see how it goes,” Senate Commerce Committee Chairman John Thune, R-S.D., told reporters this week of the convention. “It’s our party’s effort in a presidential election year to talk about what we’re for and what we’re about, so that will go on. Our delegates are all going to be there. We’ll have a number of events going on to try to help our Senate candidates while we’re at the convention. So I think a lot of our members will be there to support those efforts and be part of the process.” Thune isn't scheduled to speak. Delegates drafting the 2016 GOP platform included language, ready for ratification at the convention, that says the internet “needs to be free and open to all ideas and competition without the government or service providers picking winners and losers” (see 1607130024).
Leading tech industry and ex-FCC and other officials blasted the presidential bid from presumptive GOP nominee Donald Trump. “We stand against Donald Trump’s divisive candidacy and want a candidate who embraces the ideals that built America’s technology industry: freedom of expression, openness to newcomers, equality of opportunity, public investments in research and infrastructure, and respect for the rule of law,” said the open letter, released Thursday. “We embrace an optimistic vision for a more inclusive country, where American innovation continues to fuel opportunity, prosperity and leadership.” Those signing included Hyperloop One General Counsel Marvin Ammori, Union Square Ventures Managing Partner Brad Burnham, Google’s Vint Cerf, former U.S. Chief Technology Officer Aneesh Chopra, former FCC Chairman Reed Hundt, Tumblr CEO David Karp, Multicultural Media, Telecom & Internet Council CEO Kim Keenan, former FCC Chairman Bill Kennard, National Hispanic Media Coalition President Alex Nogales, Mobile Future Chairman Jonathan Spalter, Silicon Flatirons Center Director Phil Weiser, Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak and Tim Wu, law professor at Columbia University. Trump “campaigns on anger, bigotry, fear of new ideas and new people, and a fundamental belief that America is weak and in decline,” they wrote. “We have listened to Donald Trump over the past year and we have concluded: Trump would be a disaster for innovation. His vision stands against the open exchange of ideas, free movement of people, and productive engagement with the outside world that is critical to our economy -- and that provide the foundation for innovation and growth.” They said Trump “proposes ‘shutting down’ parts of the Internet as a security strategy -- demonstrating both poor judgment and ignorance about how technology works. His penchant to censor extends to revoking press credentials and threatening to punish media platforms that criticize him.”
The “detailed technology and innovation agenda” that presumptive Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton released two weeks ago (see 1606280071) demonstrated “her awareness of how vital our sector is to the success of the U.S. economy,” CTA President Gary Shapiro said in a Thursday statement. He urged presumptive Republican nominee Donald Trump and Libertarian Party candidate Gary Johnson to “follow suit and release a substantive agenda that specifically outlines their positions on technology and innovation issues.” Shapiro wants to know where Trump and Johnson “differ” from Clinton on technology and innovation policy or “where is there common ground,” he said. “Do they have any plans at all on spectrum, investment, broadband, training and education, and competitiveness? If so, when will their plans be released?”
Twitter will live-stream the GOP and Democratic national conventions under a partnership with CBS News, the companies said in a news release Monday. Twitter will present video of the entire convention alongside tweets related to the event. Twitter and CBS News previously partnered for two presidential debates during the recent primaries.