Note: This page will be regularly updated as we file comments, sign on to coalition letters, and complete other legislative and/or regulatory filings.
December
- OTI Urges FTC to Strengthen Consent Agreement with Zoom
- OTI filed with the Federal Trade Commission to urge the agency to strengthen its proposed consent agreement with Zoom. Zoom misrepresented the level of encryption used on its video calls, deceiving users into believing that their communications were private and secure.
- OTI Urges Congress to Address Broadband Affordability Crisis
- OTI sent a letter urging Congress to address the high cost of internet service in any forthcoming COVID-19 relief legislation. For months, OTI has urged Congress to pass legislation that makes internet service more affordable and accessible, particularly during the pandemic.
October
- OTI Fights Trump Administration Effort to Kill California's Net Neutrality Law
- OTI filed an amicus brief urging a federal court to deny the Trump Administration鈥檚 motion to block a California net neutrality law from going into effect. OTI鈥檚 brief, jointly filed with Access Now, Free Press, Public Knowledge, and Mozilla, argues that telecom companies have a long history of violating net neutrality and haven鈥檛 performed well during the COVID-19 pandemic.
- OTI Responds to OSCE Consultation on the Impact of Artificial Intelligence on Free Speech
- OTI and Ranking Digital Rights (RDR) submitted a joint filing as part of the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE)鈥檚 online public consultation on the impact of artificial intelligence on free speech.
- FCC Opposition to Streamlined Approval of Verizon Acquisition of Tracfone
- OTI, Public Knowledge and the Benton Institute for Broadband & Society filed with the FCC arguing that the Commission should reject a request to streamline its review of Verizon's proposed acquisition of TracFone.
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- OTI was one of 25 organizations to release ten principles for student privacy and equity to help guide schools and districts as they provide for students during the COVID-19 pandemic.
September
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- In comments filed with the Federal Communications Commission, OTI and Ranking Digital Rights urged the FCC to reject any further consideration of a petition for rulemaking filed by the National Telecommunications and Information Administration that purports to provide clarity on the proper scope of liability protection for online platforms under Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act.
- OTI Slams FCC鈥檚 鈥楩ailed Leadership鈥 Ahead of Congressional Hearing
- OTI sent a letter to the House of Representatives in advance of a hearing on oversight of the FCC, titled 鈥湽悠 FCC: Four Years of Lost Opportunities,鈥 in which OTI highlighted many failures and lost opportunities over the past four years at the agency.
- OTI, Access Now Urge FCC to Face the Facts on U.S. Broadband Availability
- OTI and Access Now filed comments urging the FCC to recognize the inadequate state of broadband availability in the United States.
- OTI and Coalition Oppose the SAFE DATA Act
- OTI led a coalition of 20 civil society organizations in sending a letter to the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation to oppose the Setting an American Framework to Ensure Data Access, Transparency, and Accountability Act (SAFE DATA Act) and advise the Committee that it would not protect consumer privacy and fails to satisfy the public interest principles for privacy legislation.
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- OTI joined a coalition of 27 civil rights, digital rights, racial justice organizations, and consumer groups urging the FTC to take steps to support further study of data and discrimination issues in all forthcoming investigations.
August
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- OTI joined 24 organizations in a letter to the FCC urging the agency to make key changes to the Lifeline program鈥檚 subscriber requirements and minimum service standards to ensure that people are able to continue using Lifeline service during the COVID-19 pandemic.
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- OTI joined dozens of organizations in a letter to Congressional leaders urging legislators to pass the Martha Wright Prison Phone Justice Bill provisions, in a COVID-19 legislative package. The letter argues action is needed to ensure that incarcerated people and their families are not forced to pay the exorbitant fees charged by the phone monopolies that provide them service as they have been for years.
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- OTI joined Lifeline coalition allies in virtual meetings with the offices of FCC Commissioners which urged the importance of pausing the increase of the Lifeline minimum service standards until the FCC concludes its analysis in its upcoming Lifeline marketplace report to see what the impacts of such an increase could be.
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- OTI joined Entertainment Studios Networks, Free Press, INCOMPAS, Newsmax Media, Inc., Public Knowledge, and Sports Fans Coalition in calling for the FCC to extend its comment period for the proceeding regarding the merger conditions imposed on Charter Communications when it bought Time Warner Cable and Bright House Networks.
July
- OTI and Coalition Urge Global Regulators to Closely Scrutinize Google/Fitbit Merger
- OTI joined an international coalition in releasing a common statement outlining the groups鈥 serious concerns regarding Google鈥檚 proposed takeover of Fitbit, which calls on regulators around the world to closely examine the proposed merger, including its impact on both competition and data privacy.
- EARN IT Act as Passed by Committee Remains Problematic and Ineffective Despite Coalition Opposition
- OTI, along with a coalition of public interest organizations, sent a letter to Senate Judiciary Committee Members reiterating its opposition to the EARN IT Act, and urging them to pursue a more effective approach to combat child sexual exploitation on and offline.
- OTI Issues 2020 Party Platform Recommendations
- OTI submitted comments to the Republican National Committee and the Democratic National Committee as they develop their party platforms for 2020 including protect digital equity during COVID-19, restore net neutrality, ensure universal access to the internet, and more.
- OTI to FCC: Charter Petition Puts Consumers at Risk During Pandemic
- OTI urged the FCC to reject Charter Communications鈥 petition to rescind conditions that the company agreed to in 2016 as part of a deal to acquire two rival companies.
- Amicus Brief in Support of the Open Technology Fund
- OTI joined a group of organizations submitting an amicus brief in support of the Open Technology Fund amid efforts by the Trump administration and the U.S. Agency for Global Media to replace OTF's board and leadership, arguing that OTF's independence is crucial to its mission, and that undermining that independence could compromise OTF's work on internet freedom around the world.
- OTI Submits Statement for the Record in Congressional Hearing on the PACT Act
- OTI submitted a statement for the record commending the bill鈥檚 strong transparency requirements while also raising a number of concerns around the bill鈥檚 other provisions including the carve-out from Section 230, procedural requirements for platforms, and the empowerment of federal agency actors to enforce civil actions.
- OTI Submits Statement for the Record in Congressional Antitrust Hearing with Amazon, Apple, Facebook, and Google CEOs
- OTI submitted a statement for the record recommending that antitrust enforcers expand their understanding of consumer welfare to better reflect platform market dynamics, and that Congress pass comprehensive privacy legislation with strong data portability requirements.
June
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- Following an announcement from Mayor Bowser that D.C. would ramp up its contact tracing efforts, OTI and the 鈥淐ommunity Oversight of Surveillance-D.C.鈥 coalition wrote a letter to Mayor Bowser and the D.C. City Council urging them to follow a number of relevant privacy, equity, and transparency principles.
- FCC Public Interest Spectrum Coalition TV White Spaces Reply Comments
- OTI wrote and submitted reply comments alongside other organizations to the FCC urging the Commission to adopt robust new rules governing the use of TV White Spaces.
- Coalition Calls on FCC to Enhance Lifeline Benefits To Provide Instant COVID-19 Relief
- OTI joined a coalition of organizations calling on the FCC to provide support for unlimited talk and texting for recipients of its Lifeline program subsidy.
- OTI Statement for the Record in Congressional Hearing on Combating Online Misinformation and Disinformation
- OTI submitted a statement for the record recommending actions by Congress and companies to provide greater transparency and accountability around their efforts to combat misinformation and disinformation.
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- OTI wrote and filed comments supporting the FCC鈥檚 effort to open up the 6 GHz band for unlicensed services and specifically to improve Wi-Fi and urging the Commission to adopt robust new rules to facilitate the most efficient use of this spectrum for unlicensed operations.
May
- OTI Leads Coalition in Sending Comments to Australian Parliament on CLOUD Act Legislation
- OTI joined an international coalition of 32 members to file comments expressing concerns about Australia鈥檚 draft Telecommunications Legislation Amendment (International Production Orders) Bill 2020, urging the Parliamentary Joint Committee on Intelligence and Security not to move forward with the bill as written.
- FCC TV White Space Comments On Behalf of the Broadband Connects America Coalition
- OTI filed comments in tandem with the Broadband Connects America coalition calling on the FCC to move forward on rule changes regarding the use of TV White Spaces to improve and expand broadband access in rural, tribal, and other hard-to-serve regions.
- FCC TV White Space Comments On Behalf of Public Interest Spectrum Coalition
- OTI wrote and filed comments with the FCC in tandem with the Public Interest Spectrum Coalition urging the Commission to adopt changes to its rules governing the operation of TV White Spaces to facilitate broader use of TVWS spectrum for high-speed broadband in rural, tribal, and other hard-to-serve areas.
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- As part of a coalition of 10 civil society organizations, OTI wrote to the Chairman and Ranking Members of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee opposing Title IV of S.482, the Defending American Security from Kremlin Aggression Act of 2019, which would unnecessarily expand the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act (CFAA), 18. U.S.C. 搂 1030, without fixing any of the law鈥檚 existing problems.
- OTI Says FCC鈥檚 Deregulation Order Undermines Public Safety
- OTI, Common Cause, and Public Knowledge, filed reply comments with the FCC reiterating the importance of the Commission鈥檚 2015 Open Internet Order to protect public safety and provide broadband service to low-income consumers.
- Improving Broadband Competition Will Take Wide-Ranging Policy Effort
- OTI submitted reply comments to the FCC responding to arguments made in the record for the Commission's upcoming Communications Marketplace Report to detail the state of competition in the U.S. broadband market and attached a recent report it published on community broadband as an appendix to the reply comments.
April
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- OTI joined 100+ organizations in calling on governments not to use the COVID-19 pandemic as a way to increase digital surveillance of citizens. The letter called on governments to use data only in ways that respect human rights and privacy.
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- OTI joined 60+ organizations calling for the FCC to ensure incarcerated people and their families are able to stay connected during the COVID-19 pandemic.
- OTI Urges FCC to Authorize $2.2 Billion in Available E-Rate Funds to Connect Students Left Behind During COVID-19 Pandemic
- OTI called on the FCC to use the available E-Rate budget鈥攁s much as $2.2 billion鈥攖o help students without broadband access stay connected during the COVID-19 pandemic.
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- OTI submitted a statement for the record in this 鈥減aper hearing鈥 on using big data to fight COVID-19. OTI argued for restrictions on data collection and use and incorporation of modern privacy-enhancing technologies, among other measures, to ensure crisis response is effective without hurting Americans鈥 privacy.
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- OTI joined over 800 organizations in a letter to Congressional leadership urging a nationwide moratorium on internet, power, and water shutoffs during the pandemic.
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- OTI joined a coalition of partner organizations calling on the FCC and Chairman Ajit Pai to expand broadband and phone access for vulnerable Americans using programs like Lifeline.
- OTI to FCC: Grant First Responders鈥 Request to Extend Net Neutrality Deadline
- OTI filed comments in support of firefighters and other local officials in California and New York who have asked the FCC to extend a deadline asking for comments on how the 2017 repeal of net neutrality has impacted public safety.
- Congress Should Not Use COVID-19 Recovery Money to Fund T-Mobile鈥檚 Merger Commitments
- OTI joined a group of organizations in sending a letter calling on Congress to ensure that T-Mobile does not receive COVID-19 recovery funding to meet the merger specific build-out commitments it agreed to when it sought approval of the T-Mobile/Sprint merger from the FCC, Department of Justice, state attorneys general, and state public utilities commissions.
- Advocates Condemn FCC鈥檚 鈥楽lap in the Face鈥 to First Responders, Urge Agency to Protect Public Safety
- OTI and Common Cause filed comments criticizing the FCC for failing to protect public safety and low-income Americans鈥 access to the internet and condemned the FCC for rejecting a request from first responders in New York and California who asked for more time to file comments in light of the COVID-19 pandemic that has overwhelmed their localities.
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- OTI joined 217 other groups in signing onto a letter urging Congress to include support for promoting affordable broadband access in forthcoming COVID-19 stimulus packages.
March
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- OTI filed comments with ally organizations Access Now, Electronic Frontier Foundation, Fight for the Future, the National Hispanic Media Coalition, and Public Knowledge recommending Mexico鈥檚 telecommunications regulator should institute strong net neutrality rules in response to the IFT鈥檚 proposed guidelines. The comments also urge the need for strong broadband privacy rules to protect consumers.
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- OTI filed comments with ally organization Public Knowledge to the FCC arguing that the unused 5.9 GHz band is an essential need to strengthen Wi-Fi and improve a worsening digital divide.
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- OTI, alongside 14 other civil society groups, sent a letter to Congress calling for policymakers to ensure Americans鈥 data privacy is protected during any forthcoming pandemic response plans.
- OTI Urges FCC to Strengthen Lifeline Safety Net Program During COVID-19 Pandemic
- OTI was one of 250+ organizations calling on the FCC to provide immediate assurances for Lifeline subscribers amid the COVID-19 pandemic. The letter also called on the FCC to prohibit the disconnection of Lifeline users during the crisis, and the Commission later clarified it would pause involuntary de-enrollment of Lifeline subscribers.
February
- The Record is Clear: the FCC Must Abandon Its Dangerous Lifeline Proposal
- OTI filed reply comments on the FCC鈥檚 notice of proposed rulemaking contemplating changes to the agency鈥檚 Lifeline program highlighting the strong opposition to the program's multiple problematic proposals.
- OTI Urges FTC, DOJ to Take Stronger Posture on Vertical Mergers
- OTI and Public Knowledge filed comments urging the FTC and the Department of Justice to update their internal guidelines for reviewing vertical mergers to include an evaluation of previous vertical mergers and their enforcement impact; to incorporate rebuttable anticompetitive presumptions; to apply the guidelines to all non-horizontal mergers; and to extend its deadline for first-round comments and hold a second round of reply comments.
January
- OTI Urges FCC to Abandon 鈥淢isguided and Cynical鈥 Lifeline Proposal
- OTI and partner organization Public Knowledge filed comments on the FCC鈥檚 latest notice of proposed rulemaking contemplating changes to the agency鈥檚 Lifeline program. The FNPRM at large raised further obstacles to increasing participation in a program that should be working on attracting more of those eligible for Lifeline subsidies.
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