This quarterly update summarizes key legislative and regulatory developments in the fourth quarter of 2022 related to Artificial Intelligence (“AI”), the Internet of Things (“IoT”), connected and autonomous vehicles (“CAVs”), and data privacy and cybersecurity.
Continue Reading U.S. AI, IoT, CAV, and Privacy Legislative Update – Fourth Quarter 2022
On April 28, 2022, Covington convened experts across our practice groups for the Covington Robotics Forum, which explored recent developments and forecasts relevant to industries affected by robotics. One segment of the Robotics Forum covered risks of automation and AI, highlights of which are captured here. A full recording of the Robotics Forum is available
On November 15, 2021, the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (“IIJA”) became law, authorizing $65 billion in federal broadband investments with the goal of connecting all Americans to reliable, high speed, and affordable broadband. The IIJA directed the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (“NTIA”) to oversee the distribution of $48.2 billion in infrastructure grants to
As has been widely reported, there is an ongoing global shortage of semiconductor chips that enable products and services throughout many sectors of the economy. On Tuesday, the U.S. Federal Communications Commission (“FCC”) released a Public Notice seeking public comment on the impact of this chip shortage on the U.S. communications sector specifically.
The Public Notice does not propose new rules, rather, it seeks input from stakeholders in the communications sector to guide the FCC’s priorities and initiatives as it seeks to help build a more secure and resilient communications supply chain. In issuing the Public Notice, acting FCC Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel pointed out that “these tiny pieces of technology are the basic building blocks of modern communications—including 5G, Wi-Fi, satellites, and more.”
Continue Reading FCC Seeks Input on Impact of Global Semiconductor Shortage
On May 28, the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP) hosted a meeting of the G7 Science & Technology (S&T) Ministers to collaborate on COVID-19 response and recovery. The G7 S&T Ministers emerged from the meeting with a declaration, in which they expressed their intent to:
On May 19, 2020, Representative Morgan Griffith (R-VA-9) introduced the Advancing Quantum Computing Act (AQCA), which would require the Secretary of Commerce to conduct a study on quantum computing. “We can’t depend on other countries . . . to guarantee American economic leadership, shield our stockpile of critical supplies, or secure the benefits of technological
Last week, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) formally adopted a draft order aimed at supporting the buildout of robust wired broadband networks in underserved rural areas. The Commission created the Rural Digital Opportunity Fund, which targets up to $20.4 billion over ten years for investment in high-speed broadband networks. In addition to narrowing the digital
(This article was originally published in Global Policy Watch.)
On February 12, 2019 the Department of Defense released a summary and supplementary fact sheet of its artificial intelligence strategy (“AI Strategy”). The AI Strategy has been a couple of years in the making as the Trump administration has scrutinized the relative investments and advancements in
In exchange for a stay of the proceedings in both United States v. California and American Cable Association v. Becerra, California has agreed not to enforce its new net neutrality law, SB 822, pending the resolution of Mozilla Corp. v. FCC, the lawsuit challenging the FCC’s Restoring Internet Freedom Order (“Order”). The Order had repealed Obama-era net neutrality rules. SB 822, which we previously discussed here, was scheduled to go into effect on January 1, 2019, and contains the most stringent net neutrality requirements of any state. When the law was passed on September 30, the U.S. Department of Justice immediately sued California, arguing it was preempted by the FCC’s Order.
Continue Reading Net Neutrality Update: California and the United States Agree to Stay Further Proceedings Pending Review of FCC Order
On 28 September 2018 the EU reinforced its commitment to the development and deployment of high-performance computing by adopting a Regulation establishing the European High Performance Computing Joint Undertaking (“EuroHPC Joint Undertaking”). This entity is set to coordinate and pool resources to create a pan-European state-of-the-art supercomputing infrastructure.
Aims of the EuroHPC Joint Undertaking
The Regulation addresses the lagging standard of high performance computing in Europe. There are concerns that the needs of both scientists and industry are not being met by the computation time available in the EU, and that parties are looking elsewhere for solutions. This creates a number of problems – for private parties these may relate to privacy and data protection; the EU stands to lose out on technological know-how, innovation, competitiveness and leadership in industry.
Continue Reading AI Update: Europe Officially Joins the Race for the Next Generation of Supercomputers