Employers and students gave high marks to FCBA’s new diversity pipeline program. The program offers first-year law students a tech, media and telecom (TMT) law and policy certificate and matches them with employers for internship programs. This summer, it placed 19 students into paid internships with eight law firms, five companies, four trade associations and one nonprofit advocacy group-law firm partnership. FCBA members Rudy Brioche and Celia Lewis initiated the project. Participants said they hope FCBA will place more interns in the future.
Debra Rubin
Debra Rubin, Deputy Managing Editor, is a longtime editor and reporter. She has worked in both general and ethnic media, having spent most of her career in the Jewish press. Rubin has been editing at Warren Communications News since 2013.
As more of daily life moves online, ensuring access to websites is more important, heard an Information Technology and Innovation Foundation webinar on federal website accessibility. Go beyond Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act, which requires federal agencies to make their electronic and information technology accessible to people with disabilities, said Andrew Kirkpatrick, Adobe director-accessibility. “Get rid of legacy content and legacy systems not supporting accessibility.” Ensure content is available on modern devices and works well with all browsers, he said Thursday. Put away the mouse, “making sure you can activate all the content” via the keyboard, said Kirkpatrick. American Foundation for the Blind Chief Public Policy and Research Officer Stephanie Enyart stressed user testing as a “key component” in understanding how people “are really using the software.” Something technically accessible “might not be so user friendly.” She recommended federal agencies share best practices. Rep. Jim Langevin, D-R.I., who co-chairs the Bipartisan Disabilities Caucus and is a wheelchair user, said “government has to step up its game to be a model.” Noting Section 508 applies only to the executive branch, he said he asked the House chief administrative officer to prioritize site accessibility for congressional offices. “Efforts are underway,” Langevin said. He's seeking increased funding for the Office of Congressional Accessibility Services and the House modernization initiative. ITIF issued a report last month on federal agency accessibility (see 2106030036). Our report on association websites found they mostly scored relatively high on accessibility.
Among associations that deal with telecom and whose website home and About pages we checked for accessibility, the average scores were in the 80s out of 100. The highest score was 100, the lowest 63. Communications Daily used two trackers, www.webaccessibility.com and Google’s Lighthouse extension, to review the sites of some 30 associations. Experts said in interviews that manual checks are more accurate, and results show some accessibility problems.
Opening conversations on a “micro level” can be a catalyst for change in recognizing systemic racism and working toward equity and inclusion, said Kimberly Hulsey, a legal recruiter with Major Lindsey, during an FCBA webinar Tuesday. Ensure new associates have representation, equal access to assignments and clients, access to speaking opportunities and support for growth, said Wiley's Anna Gomez, who heads FCBA’s diversity and inclusion committee. “If management is very sincere about increasing the diversity, managers have to be tasked with that, and their compensation has to be linked to that,” said Hulsey. Employers must insist those they do business with are focused on equity and inclusion, said Clint Odom, T-Mobile vice president-strategic alliances and external affairs. Build a pipeline, so when a diversity hire on a law firm partnership track leaves, others are still on track, he said. “Your ability to hire people who are diverse is not constrained by Title 7 of the Civil Rights Act.”
One lawyer recalled not getting assigned to a project because the attorney making the assignments said “the client didn’t like working with women.” Another woman remembered a senior attorney telling her, “You don’t seem like a lawyer to me.” Other women pointed to articles placing the female co-author’s name after the male co-author’s, although the submission listed the woman first.
One lawyer recalled not getting assigned to a project because the attorney making the assignments said “the client didn’t like working with women.” Another woman remembered a senior attorney telling her, “You don’t seem like a lawyer to me.” Other women pointed to articles placing the female co-author’s name after the male co-author’s, although the submission listed the woman first.
Use consistent definitions of robocalls, being sure to differentiate between unwanted calls and illegal calls, the Consumer Advisory Committee recommended Thursday to FCC staff preparing a report on availability, adoption and effectiveness of call blocking tools. The unanimously approved Robocall Report Working Group recommendations said the report should discuss the status of enforcement against illegal robocallers, acknowledge that tools are new and consumers mightn't be aware of the tools available, collect data from analytic engines, third-party app and call-blocking providers and others, and be transparent about sources of data. Commissioners adopted a declaratory ruling in June allowing carriers to block unwanted robocalls by default. The ruling required the Consumer and Governmental Affairs Bureau, working with other bureaus, to collect information from carriers on the deployment and implementation of call blocking (see 1906060056). The first report is due in June, the second June 2021. Tuesday’s CAC vote was followed by a closed session on truth in billing.
As voice providers implement signature-based handling of asserted information using tokens/secure telephony identity revisited (Shaken/Stir) to combat robocalls, they should maintain customer service and other resources to help consumers and call originators on call labeling. That's among recommendations the FCC Consumer Advisory Committee unanimously approved Wednesday without discussion. The Caller ID Authentication Working Group also recommended the commission do studies with stakeholders, including industry and consumer groups, on what factors providers should consider in displaying caller ID information to consumers; collaborate with stakeholders to educate consumers “about how caller ID services, consumer display practices, and other measures can respond to evolving illegal and unwanted robocaller tactics”; continue evaluating how to encourage voice service providers to continue “innovating and improving caller ID services”; and develop webpages and educational campaigns using simple language for implementation. It recommended voice providers “clearly and proactively” inform consumers about caller ID services they offer. Commissioner Mike O’Rielly warned CAC about “unintended consequences” of government intervention. “Many robocalls are beneficial to the public,” he said in a recorded video. "No one should want to block” robocalls from doctors, pharmacies or schools, O’Rielly said. Chairman Ajit Pai still expects major voice providers to implement Shaken/Stir by year-end. “If they don’t, we will be taking action,” he said. He again noted “no silver bullet” exists to prevent all robocalls and “we have to take a multipronged and multistakeholder approach” (see 1907110023). The WG spent time gathering information, including researching reports of robocalls and hearing presentations from AARP, AT&T, CenturyLink, ATIS' Secure Telephone Identity Governance Authority, T-Mobile and TNS, said Michael Santorelli, the group’s co-chair, who's deemed a special government employee. The CAC meeting also featured bureau updates, including on 5G, consumer-related legislation and precision agriculture. Kristi Thompson, Enforcement Bureau Telecom Consumers Division chief, gave an update on consumer scams and “scumbag telemarketing.” Combating fraud "is not only a good idea, but it is a necessity,” she said. “If consumers no longer value their telephone voice services … that’s an existential threat to the service providers.” Noting “we tackled the cramming problems” of unapproved charges on consumer phone bills, “now a trickle of what they were,” she said there's room for hope in fighting scams: “We can succeed again.”
Fighting digital disinformation and its potential to affect the 2020 elections requires lawmakers, academia, think tanks, the public, civic society and digital platforms, said speakers Tuesday. They noted tensions between battling disinformation and jeopardizing free speech. The Federal Election Commission organized the event with PEN America and the Global Digital Policy Incubator at Stanford University’s Cyber Policy Center.
Broaden the definition of healthcare providers, allow funding for remote monitoring and medical body area network devices (MBAN), and make the program available in a wide geographic area. Those are among recommendations for the FCC pilot USF pilot to support connected care for the poor and veterans. Comments posted through Friday docket 18-213 for the three-year, $100 million program (see 1907100073).