The Communicators

Tim Winter, president of the Parents Television Council (PTC), discusses the council's recent report that argues 20 years of the content ratings system has failed to protect children from violence, sex, and profanity on television.

Representatives Fred Upton (R-MI) and Bill Shuster (R-PA) and Ford Motor Company executives Gary Jablonski and Andrew Woelfling discuss their experiences at the 2016 Consumer Electronics Show (CES) on the Hill.

Consumer advocate Mark Cooper and economist George Ford discuss the Federal Communication Commission's proposal to open the set-top box market to competition by allowing consumers to buy their own set-top boxes.

FCC Chair Tom Wheeler talks about several issues, such as the future of telecom and the Internet, set-top boxes, privacy concerns, video streaming caps, net neutrality, and complaints that FCC became more politicized during his tenure.

Judiciary Committee Chair, Representative Bob Goodlatte (R-VA), discusses several key issues in the technology space, including encryption, privacy, and surveillance. Representative Goodlatte is also the co-chair of the Internet Caucus.

Matt Polka, president of the American Cable Association, and Robert Gessner, chairperson of the association's board, discuss the future of the cable industry, the potential for "skinny bundle" packages, and the set-top box market.

Amina Fazlullah and Daniel Lyons discuss the Federal Communications Commission's (FCC) Lifeline program, which subsidizes phone service for poorer Americans. FCC Chair Tom Wheeler has proposed expanding the program to include broadband.

Privacy and cybersecurity lawyer Jim Halpert and John Simpson of Consumer Watchdog discuss the prospect of the FCC developing privacy regulations for the Internet. In early 2015, the FCC announced it would regulate the Internet as a public utility.

Senator Ed Markey (D-MA) and former Representative Jack Fields (R-TX), who had large roles writing the Telecommunications Act of 1996, discuss its creation, whether it has addressed telecom issues adequately, and if revisions to it are necessary.

Josh Zive and Chris Calabrese discuss encryption and the Federal Bureau of Investigation's desire to have Apple provide a way to retrieve data from the cell phone of one of the suspects in the San Bernardino terrorism case.

Former Senator Gordon Smith (R-OR), National Association of Broadcasters president and CEO, discusses a range of communications issues, including proposals to open the set-top box market, the FCC's responsiveness to Congress and spectrum auctions.

FCC Commissioner Mignon Clyburn talks about several issues, including prisoner communication rates, set top boxes, spectrum auctions, a court challenge to the agency's net neutrality rules, zero-rating, and speed of broadband deployment.

Technology reporters Lydia Beyoud of Bloomberg BNA, Kate Tummarello of [Politico] and Cory Bennet of [The Hill] discuss a range of technology and cybersecurity issues expected to be addressed by Congress and the FCC in 2016.

Walter McCormick, president and CEO of USTelecom and Christopher Lewis, Public Knowledge vice president for government affairs, discuss their opposing views on the FCC's net neutrality plan.

Consumer Technology Association president Gary Shapiro talks about the latest technology issues in Congress and society and also the consumer electronics show it sponsors, which starts January 6 in Las Vegas.