News and Events

By: Luis Zambrano Ramos, Acting Deputy Associate Administrator, Office of Policy Analysis and Development, NTIA

Every three years, the U.S. Copyright Office reviews and occasionally recommends expanding legal protections rooted in Section 1201 of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act of 1998 for circumventing access controls on copyrighted works. Last week, the Copyright Office concluded its most recent review and issued its recommendations.

By: Robert Cannon, Senior Telecommunications Policy Analyst

On September 3, 2024, the White House Office of the National Cyber Director (ONCD) released the Roadmap to Enhancing Internet Routing Security report. The report recommends actions the federal government and all Internet networks should take to advance routing security.

By: Alan Davidson, Assistant Secretary of Commerce & NTIA Administrator  

The importance of the multistakeholder system of Internet governance was on full display last month in Kigali, Rwanda during the ICANN80 High Level Government Meeting (HLGM) and Policy Forum. I was delighted to lead the U.S. Delegation to the HLGM, participate in ICANN’s forum, and meet with leaders from around the world in support of that multistakeholder system.

WASHINGTON – Today, Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Communications and Information and Administrator of the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) Alan Davidson met with Vice Minister Park Yun Kyu of the Ministry of Science and ICT (MSIT), Republic of Korea.  

By Bob Cannon, Senior Telecommunications Policy Analyst, NTIA

My name is Bob.  I am number six.

Do you believe me?

If I were wrong… would you know?

In the 1960s television show “The Prisoner,” retired secret agents are held captive in a place known only as “The Village” and assigned numbers to replace their identities.  Protagonist “Number Six” quickly learns that what one claims to be and what one is can be two different things.

WASHINGTON – The National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) today announced a Request for Comment on how companies’ data practices may impose outsized harm on marginalized or underserved communities.

The ways in which firms collect, share, and use data can exacerbate existing structural inequities. As NTIA notes in its Privacy, Equity, and Civil Rights Request for Comment:

Online job ads may be targeted based on real or perceived demographic characteristics such as age, sex, or race – reaching certain groups while ignoring others.

The Communications Supply Chain Risk Information Partnership (C-SCRIP) held its first webinar for stakeholders on Monday, August 8. This program featured discussions on: 

Apps on mobile devices are a part of daily life for many Americans. They allow us to talk with our friends, find a ride home, play games, or monitor our health. These applications on our mobile phones and tablets can help small business owners reach new customers, and thousands of American entrepreneurs and innovators are working on apps that increase productivity, improve health care and make learning more fun.

Every day, personal information is used to make important decisions: about what advertisements we see, what types of health care is offered in our communities, and what fields of study our educational institutes believe we are best suited for.

The collection, processing, and sharing of personal information can create serious risks for everyone. For racial minorities, people living with disabilities, people living in poverty, and other marginalized and underserved communities, the risks can be especially acute.

Every three years, NTIA makes recommendations to the Copyright Office in a process in which the Librarian of Congress determines exemptions to the anti-circumvention provision in the Digital Millennium Copyright Act. This provision prohibits the circumvention of technological measures that control access to copyrighted works.

This month, NTIA’s Communications Supply Chain Risk Information Partnership (C-SCRIP) is beginning a broad public outreach program by sending out its first C-SCRIP Update newsletter to inform our partners about events, announcements, and funding opportunities related to supply chain security. The first Update contains information on the Federal Communication Commission’s (FCC) Reimbursement Program and recent Open RAN Showcase, as well as NTIA resources on broadband grants and Software Bill of Materials. 

In his Executive Order (EO) on Improving the Nation’s Cybersecurity, President Biden identified the prevention, detection, assessment and remediation of cyber incidents as a top priority of his Administration. The Commerce Department and NTIA were directed by the EO to publish the minimum elements for a Software Bill of Materials (SBOM), a key tool to help create a more transparent and secure software supply chain.

At NTIA and the Department of Commerce, we are focused on expanding the use of broadband and spectrum, strengthening the nation’s cybersecurity defenses, improving public safety communications, and helping American workers and businesses compete in the 21st century.

The Trump administration has made substantial progress in improving the resilience of the Internet ecosystem and reducing the threat of botnets. In a report released today, the Departments of Commerce and Homeland Security documented more than 50 activities led by industry and government that demonstrate progress in the drive to counter botnet threats.

Today, NTIA is announcing the establishment of the Communications Supply Chain Risk Information Partnership (C-SCRIP), a program to share supply chain security risk information with trusted communications providers and suppliers.