President-elect Donald Trump was sent advice from the Information Technology and Innovation Foundation about how his administration can boost competitiveness, innovation and productivity in 2017. ITIF proposed 36 policies that can be achieved via executive authority and legislation in a 14-page open memo to Trump, the group said in a Wednesday news release. President Robert Atkinson said it means going beyond "outdated" economic theories and addressing "quarterly capitalism." He said it proposed "relatively easy, bipartisan steps" that Trump can take. For example, ITIF said Trump should create a digital infrastructure council of federal agency representatives to discuss how artificial intelligence, data analytics and the IoT can improve power grids, roads, water systems and other infrastructure. The group said that the Department of Agriculture's rural broadband support mechanisms should be updated and that access, permitting and leasing of federal land for fiber and wireless network buildouts should be streamlined.

Government needs to get a better handle on the continuing lack of broadband competition in rural America, the Competitive Carriers Association told NTIA and the National Science Foundation. NTCA also urged the government to develop new data sources to more accurately gauge the status of broadband deployment. NTIA posted the filings made in response to a September request for comment on a national broadband research agenda (see 1610120045).

Government needs to get a better handle on the continuing lack of broadband competition in rural America, the Competitive Carriers Association told NTIA and the National Science Foundation. NTCA also urged the government to develop new data sources to more accurately gauge the status of broadband deployment. NTIA posted the filings made in response to a September request for comment on a national broadband research agenda (see 1610120045).

Consumers should have the option to opt out of having their data shared by their ISPs or other companies, but data sharing is in general a good thing, Doug Brake, telecom policy analyst at the Information Technology and Innovation Foundation, said during an ITIF panel discussion Tuesday. FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler was expected to circulate ISP privacy rules Thursday (see 1610040080). Sharing data can promote innovation and productivity, Brake said. “It’s better to encourage greater sharing.”

Consumers should have the option to opt out of having their data shared by their ISPs or other companies, but data sharing is in general a good thing, Doug Brake, telecom policy analyst at the Information Technology and Innovation Foundation, said during an ITIF panel discussion Tuesday. FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler was expected to circulate ISP privacy rules Thursday (see 1610040080). Sharing data can promote innovation and productivity, Brake said. “It’s better to encourage greater sharing.”

Federal legislation to criminalize individuals and websites that post and share nude images and videos without a person's consent -- or "revenge porn" (see 1502040042 and 1504060043) -- will be reintroduced next year, said the bill's author, Rep. Jackie Speier, D-Calif., at a Friday Information Technology and Innovation Foundation event. "We have more work to do to get this bill passed," she said of the Intimate Privacy Protection Act, or IPPA (HR-5896), introduced in July after a drafting process that lasted more than two years. It was referred to the House Judiciary's Subcommittee on Crime, Terrorism, Homeland Security and Investigations but didn't get a hearing.

Federal legislation to criminalize individuals and websites that post and share nude images and videos without a person's consent -- or "revenge porn" (see 1502040042 and 1504060043) -- will be reintroduced next year, said the bill's author, Rep. Jackie Speier, D-Calif., at a Friday Information Technology and Innovation Foundation event. "We have more work to do to get this bill passed," she said of the Intimate Privacy Protection Act, or IPPA (HR-5896), introduced in July after a drafting process that lasted more than two years. It was referred to the House Judiciary's Subcommittee on Crime, Terrorism, Homeland Security and Investigations but didn't get a hearing.

The FCC shouldn’t hold back zero-rating services, which don’t count toward consumer wireless data limits, those on a Mobile Future panel said on a webinar Friday. Multicultural Media, Telecom and Internet Council CEO Kim Keenan said intervention would be "chilling and devastating to consumer freedom and empowerment." Zero rating is important for connecting low-income and minority communities, she said. "There are a lot of people who are cost challenged and they can't just buy unlimited data.” FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler at first praised zero rating, but has become more skeptical, she said. But the commission should wait and see what happens, intervening on a case-by-case basis if only there are bad actors, Keenan said. Panelists also supported sponsored data, where companies pay for a free-data service. It’s not a net neutrality problem, said Doug Brake, telecom policy analyst for the Information Technology and Innovation Foundation. A smaller company could set a smaller budget for their sponsored data campaign, and it’s “not something that’s a huge capital expenditure to participate in,” he said.

The FCC shouldn’t hold back zero-rating services, which don’t count toward consumer wireless data limits, those on a Mobile Future panel said on a webinar Friday. Multicultural Media, Telecom and Internet Council CEO Kim Keenan said intervention would be "chilling and devastating to consumer freedom and empowerment." Zero rating is important for connecting low-income and minority communities, she said. "There are a lot of people who are cost challenged and they can't just buy unlimited data.” FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler at first praised zero rating, but has become more skeptical, she said. But the commission should wait and see what happens, intervening on a case-by-case basis if only there are bad actors, Keenan said. Panelists also supported sponsored data, where companies pay for a free-data service. It’s not a net neutrality problem, said Doug Brake, telecom policy analyst for the Information Technology and Innovation Foundation. A smaller company could set a smaller budget for their sponsored data campaign, and it’s “not something that’s a huge capital expenditure to participate in,” he said.

Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton and vice presidential running mate Tim Kaine, senator from Virginia, will fight “for an open Internet abroad,” they said in a 288-page policy book published by Simon & Schuster Tuesday. Clinton previously outlined a tech and telecom agenda and defended net neutrality, including in the latest order issued by the FCC. The book collects those promises and affirmatively says broadband will be part of her first-100-days infrastructure plan -- the largest investment since World War II, she's said (see 1606280071).