On February 25, the U.S. Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation held a confirmation hearing for Michael Kratsios, tapped by President Donald Trump to serve as the Director of the White House Office of...more
3/3/2025
/ Artificial Intelligence ,
Big Tech ,
China ,
Competition ,
Data Privacy ,
Department of Defense (DOD) ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
National Security ,
Popular ,
Privacy Laws ,
Regulatory Agenda
This Tuesday, Michael Kratsios, who is President Donald Trump’s nominee for Director of the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP), will appear before the Senate Commerce Committee for a hearing. During...more
2/25/2025
/ Artificial Intelligence ,
Data Privacy ,
Data Protection ,
Data Security ,
Executive Orders ,
Machine Learning ,
National Security ,
OSTP ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
Risk Management ,
Technology Sector
The Federal Communications Commission (FCC), with new FCC Chairman Brendan Carr at the helm, will be holding the agency’s first Open Meeting on Thursday, February 27 from 10:30 a.m. – 12:30 p.m. ET amidst uncertainties...more
Good Afternoon! Though space policy hasn’t dominated recent headlines, plenty has happened over the past two weeks: The House Science committee outlined its space priorities and requested GAO review of FAA launch rules,...more
2/24/2025
/ Aerospace ,
Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) ,
Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) ,
Foreign Policy ,
GAO ,
International Trade ,
Japan ,
NASA ,
National Security ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
Technology Sector
On February 18, 2025, President Trump issued a new Executive Order (EO) entitled “Ensuring Accountability for All Agencies,” which attempts to expand presidential authority over heretofore independent regulatory agencies. The...more
Good Afternoon! U.S. Chamber launches space leadership council, Crew 9 has to stay…just a little bit longer, and new executive orders spur reviews, revisions and other activity across U.S. space agencies, and Akin’s Micheal...more
President Donald Trump’s Executive Order titled, “Restoring Freedom of Speech and Ending Federal Censorship” is the Administration’s first step to pursue the President’s content moderation goals for social media and broadcast...more
1/28/2025
/ Broadcasting ,
Censorship ,
FCC ,
First Amendment ,
Free Speech ,
Government Agencies ,
NTIA ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
Section 230 ,
Social Media ,
Trump Administration
Good Afternoon! Forget the past two weeks, it’s been a busy week in the business of space. Since President Trump’s inauguration, Washington has been busy shuffling the deck on U.S. space leadership and priorities. Outside...more
Good Afternoon! It was quite the holiday season for space: the FCC rounded out the year with a great gift, allocating additional spectrum for commercial launch and reentry vessels, and the Parker Solar Probe’s record-breaking...more
Targeting Overbuilds and Improving Coordination Among Agencies. Under Commissioner Brendan Carr, expect to see a new approach to broadband funding that is focused on encouraging coordination of broadband funds among agencies...more
The constitutionality of the Universal Service Fund (USF) funding mechanism is currently being litigated, and its future has long been the subject of debate in Congress. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the 5th Circuit found the...more
Under Commissioner Brendan Carr, expect to see a renewed focus on streamlining the rules for fiber and other wired infrastructure deployment. Commissioner Carr has pointed out that between 2016 and 2019, the Federal...more
Under Republican administrations, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has historically taken a more permissive approach to approving mergers and acquisitions (M&A) transactions involving companies that hold FCC...more
Under Commissioner Brendan Carr’s leadership, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) will likely focus on expediting the review and approval process for applications to launch new satellites. Commissioner Carr has...more
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the 6th Circuit heard oral arguments on a challenge to the Federal Communications Commission’s (FCC) net neutrality rules, which reclassified broadband Internet access services under Title II of...more
The new Trump administration will likely take a deregulatory approach to artificial intelligence (AI). President-elect Donald Trump has pledged to repeal President Joe Biden’s AI executive order, which imposed new reporting...more
Expect to see new entities added to the Federal Communications Commission’s (FCC) “Covered List” of communications equipment and services deemed to pose an unacceptable risk to the national security of the United States...more
Good Afternoon! NORAD may not have fired up the Santa Tracker just yet, but the first two weeks of December have been chock full of presents for the space industry, with the FAA digging into licensing reform, NASA deciding...more
Good Afternoon! We did not publish last week because of the holiday, but the space business certainly didn’t succumb to a turkey-fueled nap. President-elect Trump named his pick to head NASA and the new EU space commissioner...more
Congress and/or the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) may also look at reforms to Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act. President-elect Donald Trump and Commissioner Brendan Carr have both expressed support for...more
The 2024 election is over and Republicans are poised in January to take over Washington, D.C.—in the White House, on the Hill, at the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) and at other agencies (the National...more
12/3/2024
/ Acquisitions ,
Artificial Intelligence ,
Broadband ,
CFIUS ,
China ,
Communications Decency Act ,
Consumer Protection Laws ,
Deregulation ,
Enforcement ,
FCC ,
Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Infrastructure ,
Mergers ,
National Security ,
Net Neutrality ,
Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NOPR) ,
NTIA ,
Presidential Elections ,
Telecommunications ,
Universal Service Fund
Good Afternoon! After the Republicans’ sweeping victory in last week’s election, the space community waits for guidance from the incoming Administration. Meanwhile, Congress enters the lame duck session with a slate of...more
11/18/2024
/ China ,
FCC ,
Japan ,
Licensing Rules ,
NASA ,
NDAA ,
Poland ,
Proposed Rules ,
Satellites ,
SpaceX ,
Sustainability
Good Afternoon! The past couple of weeks have been much busier on the ground than in orbit – or at least it seems that way - with big space policy announcements around the globe. The U.S. government released the first...more
Good Afternoon! The global space community came together in Milan this week for the International Astronautical Congress (IAC), China unveiled a rock from the dark side of the moon, and national space agency leaders outlined...more
Good Afternoon! It has been another busy two weeks in space law and policy! SpaceX delivered a new crew (including the first Space Force Guardian in orbit) and two empty seats to the ISS. Meanwhile, back on earth, the U.S....more