On January 28, 2018, the music industry will gather at the Grammy Awards. Country legends, pop artists, classical musicians, producers, and songwriters will be among those recognized for their innovation in music and sound. While the Grammys celebrate their accomplishments, many of these music creators do not receive just compensation for their hard work and […]
The Sky is Not Falling, and the World isn’t Going to End
The sign that appears in quaint shops and businesses across the country, “Keep Calm and Carry On,” originated from a 1939 British motivational poster. This applies universally and over time; it is particularly relevant in a world that responds instantaneously to social media and “news.” The best example of when this axiom should apply is […]
The Highs and Lows of the 2018 NDAA
On November 16, 2017, the Conference Report for the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) for fiscal year (FY) 2018 was sent to President Trump to sign into law after swiftly passing both the House of Representatives and the Senate. The NDAA authorizes defense spending levels and prioritizes how the money will be spent at the […]
The Waning Days of a Technology Mandate
Good news may be on the horizon for car owners across the country, with a possible roll-back of a technology mandate that would have forced car manufacturers to install a vehicle-to-vehicle device that has already been outstripped by new technologies. On November 1, 2017 U.S. News and World Reports stated that the Office of Management […]
Serving Our National Security on a Silver Platter: Open Source Code in the 2018 NDAA
Deep in the depths of the Senate-passed National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) for Fiscal Year (FY) 2018, provisions have been injected that could harm already vulnerable Department of Defense (DOD) information technology (IT) systems and place national security at risk. Sections 881-886 of the NDAA pave the way for the DOD to use open source […]
Bill Addresses International Challenges to Online Privacy
American businesses have taken the lead in cloud computing technologies, enabling citizens around the world to communicate with each other, store photos, videos, and documents with greater security and at lower costs. However, as this technology continues to evolve, challenges in protecting individual privacy become more evident, including data of U.S. citizens that is stored […]
Building the Digital Bridge
In 2014, Citizens Against Government Waste (CAGW) President Tom Schatz and I co-authored a book, Telecom Unplugged: Ushering in a New Digital Era. Some of the material in the book became out of date with the advent of the Open Internet Order on February 26, 2015, and passage of the Permanent Internet Tax Freedom Act on February 24, 2016.
ECPA Modernization Act of 2017 Introduced
The following statement is attributable to Thomas A. Schatz, President, Council for Citizens Against Government Waste on the introduction of the ECPA Modernization Act of 2017 on July 27, 2017: “The Council for Citizens Against Government Waste applauds Sens. Mike Lee (R-Utah), and Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) for introducing the ECPA Modernization Act of 2017, which […]
FCC Chairman Takes Action to Fix Lifeline
It is mind-boggling when the government continues to squander money on a program that has been on the front line of wasteful spending, and program abuse. Yet, that is exactly what the Universal Service Fund (USF) continues to do with through Low-Income Support program, which provides subsidies to low-income households for telephone and broadband service.
A Day of Uniform, Uninformed Activity
The “net neutrality” proponents are at it again, plotting to slog up the internet with a “Day of Action” on July 12, 2017. Similar activity occurred in 2012 in response to legislation regarding online piracy. Since that legislation was abandoned by Congress, these same agitators believe they will have success in shutting down the Restoring Internet Freedom Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) (WC Docket No. 17-108) currently in process at the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) by inundating the agency and Congress with a high volume of comments against the proposed rule.