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Zuckerman, who used to run the stalkerware apps SpyFone and SpyTrac, claimed the ban is hurting his unrelated business.
Digital Colonialism, a series co-produced by NPQ and MediaJustice, explores how the rapid expansion of artificial intelligence (AI) data centers is reshaping communities across the United States. Centering stories from across the country, including Pennsylvania, Arizona, and Georgia, the series amplifies the voices of organizers, community leaders, and residents sounding the alarm on environmental and public health risks related to data centers. By examining gaps in policy, community resistance, and hard-won victories, Digital Colonialism maps out what’s at stake—and what a just path forward could look like.
Their minority contracting programs and others are under federal attack, and the consequences reach into the tens of billions of dollars. The souls of our communities should not be for sale.
Affinity Partners, the private equity firm led by Jared Kushner, is part of Paramount's hostile takeover bid for Warner Bros Discovery, according to a regulatory filing. Why it matters: Paramount is telling WBD shareholders that it has a smoother path to regulatory approval than does Netflix, and Kushner's involvement only strengthens that case. - Paramount is led by David Ellison, whose billionaire father Larry is a major supporter of President Trump.
Zoom in: Affinity Partners was not mentioned in Paramount's press release on Monday morning about its $108 billion bid, nor were participating sovereign wealth funds from Saudi Arabia, Abu Dhabi and Qatar.
Gov. Whitmer joined the Michigan Department of Labor and Economic Opportunity’s Michigan High Speed Internet Office (MIHI) in celebrating Michigan’s receipt of $920 million in federal funds to administer the Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment (BEAD) program and continue expanding high-speed internet access statewide -- the single largest investment in high-speed internet infrastructure in Michigan and the nation’s history. The private sector will contribute $550 million in matching funds, bringing the total upcoming investment in Michigan’s high-speed internet infrastructure to $1.47 billion.
The long-sought program could ease cost and climate risks — especially if it lets renewable energy secured by tech giants avert a big buildout of gas…
Good afternoon. What an honor it is to be here at the National Press Club among so many thought leaders and colleagues. I’m grateful to the Free State Foundation and Randy May for his leadership and for inviting me to speak to you today—and for the remarkably subtle, understated, barely noticeable publicity devoted to this event over the last three months. So truly, Randy, no pressure at all for me up here! For decades, Free State has championed the bedrock principles that underpin American flourishing—limited government, free markets, and respect for the rule of law. From my earliest days in telecom law, Free State’s scholarship and conferences challenged how I thought about these issues. I’ve learned a tremendous amount from their work, and Free State’s analysis continues to inform how I approach my own responsibilities as NTIA Administrator. That certainly applies to my current work overseeing the $42 billion BEAD program and ensuring it fulfills its core mission of ensuring broadband availability throughout the country.
Traverse City, Michigan’s public, community-owned utility, Traverse City Light and Power (TCL&P), is putting the finishing touches on its $14 million plan to deliver affordable fiber to the community of 15,424. With build out estimates significantly lower than initial projections, the utility is finalizing an additional $1 million in loans to fund the recently started build.
SpaceX’s Starlink is poised to receive $661 million in government funds as all 50 states move forward with their plans to expand high-speed internet in underserved regions. California submitted its final proposal for a cut of the $42.5 billion Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment (BEAD) program this week, the last US state to do so. So, we now have a better understanding of how the US will allocate the funds, which are already being distributed. Wes Robinson, a director at Texas-based Eastex Telephone Cooperative, has been tracking the numbers from each state’s BEAD proposal and found that close to $1 billion will go to satellite services, including Starlink and its upcoming competitor Amazon Leo.
A detailed investigation reveals that the e-commerce
behemoth Amazon is using its market dominance and political influence to gain a foothold in local governments' purchasing systems, locking school districts into contracts that let the corporation drive up prices for pens, sticky notes, and other basic supplies. The new report by the Institute for Local Self-Reliance (ILSR), titled Turning Public Money Into Amazon’s Profits: The Hidden Cost of Ceding Government Procurement to a Monopoly Gatekeeper, is based on purchasing records from nearly 130 cities representing more than 50 million Americans.
Netflix announced early Friday morning that it has an $82.7 billion deal in place to acquire most of Warner Bros. Discovery (WBD), a company that’s itself a flailing and failing product of several previously touted mega-mergers. Netflix is the big winner in a bidding war with Comcast and Larry Ellison & Son’s Paramount. But it’s hard to have much of a rooting interest in the Mind Flayers vs. the Nepo Babies because the losers in mega-deals like this are always creators, writers, workers and the rest of us sitting in the audience. Legendary activist and actor Jane Fonda published an Op-Ed in The Ankler on Thursday before the deal was officially announced, warning of the dangers of a WBD takeover by any of these suitors and urging her fellow creators to speak out.
DENVER, Dec. 1, 2025 —Today, the Colorado Broadband Office (CBO), under the Governor’s Office of Information Technology (OIT), announced that the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) has approved Colorado’s Final Proposal under the Broadband Equity Access and Deployment (BEAD) program, unlocking $420.6 million in federal funding from the Infrastructure, Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA) for the state’s broadband infrastructure.
- Netflix says deal benefits workers, consumers and innovation
- DOJ antitrust head has listed those themes as priorities
- Republicans warn deal reduces consumer choice, increases Netflix's market share
Dec 5 (Reuters) - Some members of Congress on Friday deemed Netflix's (NFLX.O), opens new tab $72 billion proposed acquisition of Warner Bros Discovery's studios and streaming unit an antitrust "nightmare" for consumers and creatives, while the company touted the deal as driving value for viewers, workers and shareholders. Netflix said the deal would create jobs and give its 300 million subscribers "more bang for their buck" by adding content at a time when President Donald Trump's administration is focused on lowering prices.
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Phreeli is something we haven’t seen before – it’s a mobile carrier that’s so anonymous you don’t even need to give it your name. Surprisingly, that level of anonymity is legal for phone service in all 50 US states, yet none of the major players allow for it. But not giving your name is just one element of the many ways that Phreeli is focused on privacy and anonymity, with this carrier having seemingly thought of just about every aspect required in providing truly anonymous phone service. Of course, you might be wondering why you’d want an anonymous phone service, or thinking that it would only appeal to criminals, but Nicholas Merrill – the company’s founder – has stated in an interview with Wired that while inevitably some bad actors probably will use the service, that’s not who he’s aiming it at.
The European Union and U.S. are locked in a fight about an online content law. But if you listen to the two sides talk, it barely sounds like they’re describing the same thing. EU regulators brought their first penalty under the Digital Services Act, a law meant to curb deceptive and harmful content, on Friday in the form of a €120 million fine levied on X. The fine immediately set off a wave of fury from the Trump administration, with multiple officials rallying to the defense of Elon Musk’s company.
FREE DOWNLOAD Million Book Giveaway Knowledge Is Freedom… "DISS-CONNECTED: is designed as a quick-read-general public, short and cheaper book to explain how America– i.e. you, your family, friends, businesses, and the government has been punked by Big Telecom – what is now AT&T, Verizon and CenturyLink (Lumen Technologies), with the help of their friends, (the cable companies) — and what America must do to fix the damage caused by this telecom/cable cartel that has taken over our communications and let the entire US critical infrastructure deteriorate, even though your family paid to upgrade the copper wires to fiber optics, which is just one among the many other cartel scandals.
This is my first-ever list of annual broadband turkey awards, which I’m awarding for the worst industry events of 2025. I’ve never done this before, because there have never been enough negative events in a single year to make a list like this. I hope I won’t be able to make a list again at the end of 2026.
- The House’s move to advance permitting reform sparked mixed reactions
- Rep. Pallone opposed a bill that mandates deadlines for state and local permit review
- Legislation may have minimal BEAD impact, a consultant told us
The broadband industry has long complained about cumbersome permitting processes, but the legislative gears are starting to turn on reform. The U.S. House Energy and Commerce Committee approved Wednesday a batch of seven broadband permitting bills, which will advance to the full House for a vote. Most of the legislation is geared toward improving the permitting process on federal lands, but one bill – H.R.2289, the American Broadband Deployment Act of 2025 – aims to overhaul permitting across the federal, state and local levels.
The virtual listening session will be held on December 10, 2025, from 12:00 p.m. to 1:30 p.m., Eastern Standard Time.
Executive Summary Major players in the wireless industry are disputing EchoStar/DISH’s attempt to claim force majeure to excuse them from lease obligations. Local governments, and traditional real estate owners, should be aware of the litigation and consider the potential outcome before accepting DISH’s claims. Background A U.S. Department of Justice condition on T-Mobile’s 2019 acquisition of Sprint was the divestiture or sale of some Sprint-held spectrum. The required sale was to support a fourth national facilities-based wireless carrier – and thus was born “DISH Wireless.” During the past five years, DISH sought to build out a national network, but in August 2025, EchoStar, the satellite company that merged with DISH in 2024, pivoted. The company announced the sale of spectrum licenses to AT&T and plans to operate as a hybrid mobile network operator (MNO) using AT&T’s network for connectivity under the label Boost Mobile.
COMMENTARY | A new federal program to transform rural healthcare will rely on patients and providers having strong internet, otherwise we risk deepening existing disparities.
Mauricio Rodriguez joins Chris Mitchell to talk about permitting challenges, land negotiations, environmental surprises, and why setting standards and hiring the right people early is key to actually getting fiber in the ground.
The words on everyone’s mind, in discussions about AI’s diffusion through the economy, are “fear” and “trust.” There’s too much “fear” of AI, you see, especially from workers. The important thing is to build people’s “trust” in the technology. These shortcomings of the American proletariat are typically lamented with some combination of condescension and frustration at the failure to comprehend the promise of progress and the imperative to pursue it. And they are contrasted with the brave, bold, forward-looking attitude in China, where enthusiastic citizens are embracing the opportunity… to do things like strap brain-monitoring headbands on elementary school students. But perhaps American workers are fearful of technological disruption because “experts” have spent the last generation telling them that technological disruption is responsible for their hardship. As I observed back in 2018 and have been arguing ever since:
Fei-Fei Li — one of the most influential leaders in AI — explains why artificial intelligence isn't just another tech trend. Fei-Fei Li is a prominent computer scientist, professor at Stanford University, and a leading figure in the field of artificial intelligence (AI), often called the "godmother of AI". She is the co-director of the Stanford Institute for Human-Centered AI (HAI) and is best known for inventing ImageNet, a large-scale visual database that helped launch the modern era of deep learning.
At a Glance - History of connectivity challenges in Western Massachusetts and the move to embark on a middle-mile project in 2008 (03:00)
- The role of municipal light plants and Westfield Gas & Electric (WG&E) in achieving the towns' last-mile vision (08:50)
- Overcoming hurdles created by the state and private providers, results and lessons learned (21:10)
In a new report published in November, the Institute for Local Self-Reliance (ILSR) goes inside the story of Western Massachusetts and how 19 towns took their broadband futures into their own hands by building out municipal networks.
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Scoop.it!
