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Pelosi links broadband policies to Democrats' manufacturing efforts

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) said on Wednesday that federal efforts to expand broadband access to all Americans play an "essential" role in breathing life into the nation's manufacturing sector, which she described as a key Democratic goal.

She told the Communications Workers of America that that expanding broadband access to all Americans is a priority akin to healthcare reform.

Pelosi praised federal efforts to expand broadband, including stimulus act funding for infrastructure and the sweeping communications agenda laid out by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) in the National Broadband Plan.

Democrats' "new path led us to start working to extend broadband access to all Americans, creating millions of good-paying jobs here at home and securing our competitiveness around the globe," she said.

"That's why the Recovery Act invested more than $7 billion in our nation's broadband infrastructure. That's why we pushed the FCC to develop a National Broadband Plan. And that's why we will continue working to embrace universal broadband coverage and bridge the digital divide."

Mark Zuckerberg on Capitol Hill

Mark Zuckerberg, Facebook founder and chief executive, met with members of the Senate Republican High-Tech Task Force on Wednesday to discuss technology and social media.

Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-Utah) announced the meeting in a public release when the talk concluded on Wednesday.

"I can confirm that Facebook Founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg has been in Washington, D.C., this week," said Facebook spokesman Andrew Noyes. "This was his first visit to the nation's capital in an official capacity and he looked forward to sharing our company's unique perspectives on 21st century innovation, U.S. competitiveness, the economy, and related issues with a range of interested parties."

Hatch added the following, in a statement:

“It was a productive meeting that underscored technology’s importance as a key engine in fueling job creation and putting the nation on the road to economic recovery. Candid discussions such as this one are invaluable as the committee pushes legislation to protect our nation’s premier position as the world leader in innovation.”

Zuckerberg met with members of Congress and others but did not appear at any public or press events due to time constraints.

Facebook COO Sheryl Sandberg visited Washington in April, meeting with Obama administration officials and media and keynoting the Center for Democracy and Technology's annual gala.

Facebook representatives also appeared at two hearings on the Hill this week to talk about the company's initiatives promoting user safety and privacy.

Tech companies and Internet service providers return to FCC

Corporate representatives returned to the FCC on Wednesday for more broadband discussions.

Previous talks have surrounded the possibility of reaching a stakeholder deal on targeted legislation that addresses broadband regulation and have included Google, Skype, and the Open Internet Coalition as well as NCTA, AT&T and Verizon. An ex parte filing will be posted on the FCC website today.

Consumer advocates have also had the chance to air their concerns at the FCC in recent weeks. In the last two weeks, representatives from Free Press and the Media Access Project have each met with FCC officials. 

Who, where

Top tech reps are gathering in Philadelphia, Pa., on Thursday for Supernova Forum 2010, a communications conference.

That includes Stifel Nicolaus's Rebecca Arbogast, AT&T's Dorothy Attwood, U.S. Telecom's Jonathan Banks, Expert Labs' Anil Dash and Gina Trapani, FCC's Paul DeSa and John Leibovitz, Comcast's David Cohen, Marc Berejka of the Commerce Department, and Danny Sepulveda from Sen. John Kerry's (D-Mass.) office, and Rick Whitt of Google.

New Pew Internet data

The Pew Research Center released a new study showing that technology use by foreign-born Latinos "lags behind" that of their U.S.-born counterparts.

An excerpt:

The nativity differences are especially pronounced when it comes to Internet use. While 85% of native-born Latinos ages 16 and older go online, only about half (51%) of foreign-born Latinos do so. 1 When it comes to cell phones, 80% of native-born Latinos use one, compared with 72% of the foreign-born.

Can't-miss news

Hill notes

FCC response to Dingell-gram fails to persuade. Rep. John Dingell (D-Mich.) was not satisfied with the answers that FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski offered in a letter about broadband services this week, prompting Dingell to tell the FCC it should halt a controversial regulatory proceeding. Dingell said in a letter dated Wednesday that the FCC should “abandon” its effort to increase its authority over Internet service providers. He described a "paucity of substantive responses" to his questions.

Executive notes

Inflexible budgets and changing threats hinder information sharing. NextGov reports that "an excess of information is straining intelligence community resources, but changes in access and funding could make analyzing and sharing that data easier."

Industry notes

Tech firms lobby EU on privacy. Microsoft, Google, and other American tech companies are telling the Europe to streamline privacy rules so they can offer remote computing and data-storage services. The EU's rules are "fractured," the article says. They can prove to be "real hurdles or speed bumps to sales" said Mike Hintze, Microsoft's associate general counsel. "That's the case for us, as well as other cloud-services providers."

Said

"To limit access ... to the whole YouTube.com site, not to a particular video, breaches the right for freedom of information, guaranteed by Article 29 of Russia’s Constitution."

—A Google representative in the Moscow Times after a court in Russia ordered a Russian Internet service provider to block access to YouTube due to a video perceived as racist. (Mashable)

Watercooler

FACETIME — The adult entertainment industry has put Apple in an "awkward" spot, the AP says, by using its FaceTime videoconference feature "to develop video-sex chat services and start hiring workers through Craigslist." Many of the Craigslist ads tell potential workers that they'll get a free iPhone in the deal.