Tag Archives: The White House

Politics, Technology, US

President Obama wants internet to be considered a utility

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After months of plans to create “high-speed” and “slow-speed” broadband connections at different costs, President Obama has come forward urging the FCC to reclassify the internet as a public utility.

“The time has come for the FCC to recognize that broadband service is of the same importance [as the traditional telephone system] and must carry the same obligations as so many of the other vital services do,” President Obama wrote in a statement released on the White House’s website.  “To do that, I believe the FCC should reclassify consumer broadband service under Title II of the Telecommunications Act…”

The internet usage described by the president is not exclusive to laptop and desktop computers however.  Internet usage across mobile devices, such as cell phones, would also be covered.

“[T]he rules also have to reflect the way people use the Internet today, which increasingly means on a mobile device,” the statement continued.  “I believe the FCC should make these rules fully applicable to mobile broadband as well, while recognizing the special challenges that come with managing wireless networks.”

As part of the call for reclassification, ARS Technica writes some basic rules would need to be implemented.  Some of these rules include not blocking particular websites, internet speeds should not be throttled, and there should not be a difference in a services speed based on what they pay.

President Obama said, according to the Hill, making two different speeds for internet service would “undermine the level playing field essential to the Internet’s growth…”  

This is not the first time President Obama has spoke out against internet “fast-lanes” either.  In October, the president spoke at a town hall meeting in California where he called for a ban on “fast-lanes” but offered no plan on how to do so.

FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler said he agrees the internet should not be advantage to some and not others, but at the same time said he and the FCC were working on a “hybrid” plan which would regulate transactions between websites and internet service providers.

The new FCC plan is expected to be unveiled by year’s end.

Featured, Politics, US

Breaking: Secret Service Director Julia Pierson has resigned

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Secret Service Director Julia Pierson, who has taken most of the blame for the various White House security breaches over the past month, has resigned.

The most recent security breach, which seems to have pushed the tipping point, involved Iraq War veteran, Omar Gonzalez, who jumped the fence surrounding the White House, evaded several layers of security, and made his way into the White House’s East Room.  What is even more shocking than the breach itself is Gonzalez was wielding a knife when he was subdued, which has raised concerns over potential threats to the president’s life.

This, as well as other incidents in the past month, are not the first time the Secret Service has come under fire for her handling of the security detail for the White House and the First Family.  The first scandal Pierson had to deal with in her role as Secret Service Director involved a bullet left in a Washington hotel room by an agent after spending the night with a woman in the room.

In March of this year also, three agents were sent home while on duty in Amsterdam.  The agents in question were found to be drunk less than 10 hours before they were supposed to provide security for the president.

When Pierson was named director in March 2013, many had hoped she could mend the Secret Service, which has had a multitude of scandals over the past few years.

Over the past few weeks, a number of representatives have called for her resignation.

Rep. Stephen Lynch, D-Mass., said, in a secret service hearing concerning Pierson, “You’re not taking your job seriously… I have very low confidence in the Secret Service under your leadership.”

The Secretary of Homeland Security Jeh Johnson said, according to the Business Insider, he welcomes recommendations for a new director of the Secret Service.  “I also request,” said Johnson, “that the panel advise me about whether it believes, given the series of recent events, there should be a review of broader issues concerning the Secret Service.”

Until the position is filled, Joseph Clancy, a former special agent in charge of the presidential protective division of the Secret Service, will take the place of interim director.

Politics, US

Journalists Protest Obama’s ‘Politically-Driven Suppression of News’

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The Society of Professional Journalists is leading 38 journalism groups, who have banded together in an attempt to bring a major issue to the attention of the White House.

In what the Washington Examiner is calling an “unprecedented criticism of the White House,” the 38 journalism groups are accusing President Obama’s team of censoring media coverage, and promoting a “politically-driven suppression of the news.”

The group sent a letter to President Obama on Tuesday, urging him to be more transparent, and to “take a stand to stop the spin and let the sunshine in.”

“Over the past two decades, public agencies have increasingly prohibited staff from communicating with journalists unless they go through public affairs offices or through political appointees,” wrote David Cuillier, SPJ’s President and the letter’s author. “We consider these restrictions a form of censorship – an attempt to control what the public is allowed to see and hear.”

The letter pointed out that despite the pledge Obama made on his first day in office to bring “a new era of openness,” to federal government, the opposite has occurred.

“Recent research has indicated the problem is getting worse throughout the nation, particularly at the federal level,” Cuillier wrote. “Journalists are reporting that most federal agencies prohibit their employees from communicating with the press unless the bosses have public relations staffers sitting in on the conversations.”

Cuillier mentioned a recent survey, in which it was found that 40 percent of public affairs officers admitted that they blocked certain reporters, due to the fact that they did not like what the reporters wrote.

While some people may think that controlling media access is necessary to guarantee that that information being published is valid, Cuillier argued that, “When journalists cannot interview agency staff, or can only do so under surveillance, it undermines public understanding of, and trust in, government.”

“It has not always been this way,” wrote Cuillier. “Only in the past two administrations have media access controls been tightened at most agencies. Under this administration, even non-defense agencies have asserted in writing their power to prohibit contact with journalists without surveillance.

The letter requested that President Obama end the restrain on communication in federal agencies, and provide an avenue through which any incidents of this suppression of communication may be reported and corrected.

“We ask that you issue a clear directive telling federal employees they’re not only free to answer questions from reporters and the public, but actually encouraged to do so,” Cuillier wrote, on behalf of the 38 journalism groups. “We believe that is one of the most important things you can do for the nation now, before the policies become even more entrenched.”

“This is not a ‘press vs. government’ issue. This is about fostering a strong democracy where people have the information they need to self-govern and trust in its governmental institutions.”