No Internet access means no school. Here’s how the FCC can help.; The Washington Post, April 21, 2020

Arne Duncan, The Washington Post; No Internet access means no school. Here’s how the FCC can help.

"A simple update to the Keep Americans Connected Pledge would cue the nation’s Internet providers to follow Comcast’s lead and waive prior debts. (While they’re at it, they should also waive restrictions excluding families who subscribed to service within the past 90 days.) More than 12,000 people have signed a petition demanding just this from FCC Chairman Ajit Pai.

Meanwhile, the FCC should distribute the billions of dollars earmarked under its own power for helping schools and libraries get online. With many schools and libraries closed for the rest of the school year, Rosenworcel made the common-sense suggestion that libraries and schools should be able to use those funds to buy WiFi hotspots for students and families and get them online.

More than a month into this crisis, we have seen no movement from the administration on these relatively simple changes."

Verizon under fire for 'throttling' firefighters' data in California blaze; The Guardian, August 22, 2018

Olivia Solon, The Guardian; Verizon under fire for 'throttling' firefighters' data in California blaze

"Internet service providers (ISPs) are entitled to throttle people who use excessive amounts of data, depending on the terms of the individual plan. However, Verizon has a policy to remove restrictions if contacted in an emergency situations.

“We have done that many times, including for emergency personnel responding to these tragic fires. In this situation, we should have lifted the speed restriction when our customer reached out to us. This was a customer support mistake,” said the company in a statement published on Tuesday.

Harold Feld, from Public Knowledge, one of the organisations bringing the suit, said: “Companies need to be liable for their actions,” adding: “Verizon’s response of ‘I’m terribly sorry your state is burning down, let me sell you this new package’ is not good enough. We need rules to prevent it from happening in the first place.”"

India asks telcos to find ways to block Facebook, WhatsApp in case of misuse; Reuters, August 7, 2018

Reuters; India asks telcos to find ways to block Facebook, WhatsApp in case of misuse

"India has asked its telecom operators to find ways of blocking applications such as Facebook and messaging app WhatsApp in the case of misuse, according to a document seen by Reuters.

India has in recent months intensified efforts to crack down on mass message forwards after it found that people were using social media and messaging apps to spread rumors and stoke public anger.

WhatsApp in particular has faced the wrath of Indian regulators after false messages circulated on the messaging platform led to a series of lynchings and mob beatings across the country."