December 2 2022

This Week in Washington 

• CyberScoop: The Federal Communications Commission took its most aggressive step yet to expunge Chinese tech from U.S. telecom networks with its decision late last week to ban the sale of equipment from companies Congress and the Biden administration deem a national security threat.
• Fierce Telecom: A group of U.S. senators has proposed legislation to revamp the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Broadband ReConnect Program, aiming to simplify the application process and better target unserved rural areas.
• Politico: The Federal Trade Commission is likely to file an antitrust lawsuit to block Microsoft’s $69 billion takeover of video game giant Activision Blizzard, according to three people with knowledge of the matter.
• StateScoop: President Joe Biden announced plans Wednesday to create an Office of Indigenous Communications and Technology in the Department of the Interior. The new office will provide technical support and assist Native American tribes in managing, developing and maintaining their broadband and communications infrastructure.
• Rolling Stone: In the wake of the Taylor Swift “Eras Tour” ticketing debacle, two senators have sent a letter to the Federal Trade Commission expressing concern over how the agency has been enforcing a 2016 law meant to keep bots from scooping up tickets.
• Axios: Federal election regulators are scaling back a major digital ad transparency measure after an effort to speed it through the regulatory process drew intense internal and external pushback, records show.

Article Summary

• New York Times: Microsoft’s deal for Activision Blizzard has become a test for whether tech giants can buy companies amid a backlash.
• Broadband Breakfast: As state broadband offices scramble to submit challenges to the national broadband map, the Federal Communications Commission is working to provide much-needed resources to help stakeholders through the often-opaque challenge processes.
• Nextgov: The Transportation Security Administration is looking to expand its use of third-party certifiers to include regulating the cybersecurity of critical pipeline and rail operators, according to the agency.
• Reuters: The United States has been a leader in microchip design with dominant companies like Nvidia, Intel and Qualcomm, but it risks a big drop in global market share without government support for the sector, warned a report released on Wednesday.
• Associated Press: South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem on Tuesday issued an executive order banning state employees and contractors from accessing the video platform TikTok on state-owned devices, citing its ties to China.

Tech Highlight

Tools and Weapons Podcast with Brad Smith

• Satya Nadella: Earning the skeptics’ trust
  Satya Nadella, Chairman and CEO of Microsoft, says a multinational company’s license to do business is earned by creating “local surplus” wherever it operates. In this episode, Brad and Satya unpack what this means, how it connects to the company’s mission, the responsibility that companies have to create inclusive growth, and how software is one of the biggest deflationary forces during inflationary times. (Tools and Weapons: S2 E1 – November 30, 2022)