When someone who’s supposed to be an industry’s watchdog says they want to “cut red tape,” it’s time to look out. Watchdogs, after all, are supposed to keep an eye on things. And “red tape” is what’s often used to prevent abuses. It’s like saying “I don’t want my dog to leave the yard, so I’m taking down the fence.”

“Meet the new FCC chairman, harbinger of doom for net neutrality.”
— Mashable, 1/25/2017

Ajit Pai, the new FCC chairman appointed by Donald Trump, is anti-regulation. He says he wants to “take a weed whacker” to FCC rules like the ones that protect net neutrality. One of Pai’s hallmarks is a sturdy anti-net neutrality voting record. Under a Democratic administration he was in the minority. Now he’s chairman, and the FCC is 3 to 1 Republican.

You might want to take a moment to watch John Oliver’s hilarious but accurate description of the threat to an open internet. At the end of the video, he describes how to circumvent the labyrinthian comment process and register your opinion with the FCC.

Oliver and his show even created a link to make commenting on Net Neutrality as easy as possible. Just go to (apologies) gofccyourself.com. If that doesn’t work, TechCrunch has a good guide to commenting — which really shouldn’t be as hard as it is.

The last time Oliver did this, in 2014, commenters actually overwhelmed the FCC site–and it’s happening again. In 2014, it made a difference! The FCC chair at that time, Tom Wheeler, became active in defense of Net Neutrality.

Let’s do it again!

By the way, the corporate telecom companies are fighting back. In an expensive ad campaign, Comcast is making the absurd claim that internet providers aren’t telecommunications companies. They’re trying to convince people that net neutrality has nothing to do with the government’s ability to regulate it; it’s an ability that comes with the obscure name “Title II classification.” FCC Chairman Pai suggests making compliance voluntary, after which he expects companies to act counter to their own profit motives.

But all is not lost. Here are just a few ways you can help:

• Support Santa Cruz Indivisible’s Net Neutrality group.
• Enter your comments into the FCC form.
• Support a competitive market for internet (if you’re a Cruzio/Santa Cruz Fiber customer, you’re already doing this)

Our last #fiberforall spotlight featured local nonprofit Digital Nest, highlighting their expansion into Salinas from Watsonville and demonstrating the importance of thinking regionally. This week we want to showcase the Monterey Bay Economic Partnership, otherwise known as MBEP. They’re a nonprofit economic development organization that is leading the charge in fostering a regional perspective for the Central Coast.

According to the Salmon Valley Business Journal: (which surprisingly had the best definition we could find) “Economic development defined as efforts that seek to improve the well-being and quality of life for a community by creating and/or retaining jobs, and supporting or growing incomes and the tax base.”

On a local level this means channelling investment into defined areas of need, like workforce development, entrepreneurship, infrastructure (*cough* Fiber *cough*), and quality of life metrics like access to education and housing. Specifically, MBEP is a membership organization of local governments and companies who all have a vested interest in improving our region. To do this, they build relationships, gather data, and advocate for industry best practices–like defining the best way to build a local broadband network (Go Sunesys Go!).

Business leaders from across the central coast gather for an MBEP event

“MBEP believes in the power of convening leaders from all over the tri-county region to share best practices, identify innovative solutions, and make important new connections for future collaboration” says MBEP President Kate Roberts.

We couldn’t agree more. Often sharing ideas across boundaries that don’t normally cross can lead to fantastic outcomes. If you believe in what MBEP is doing and want to learn more visit their website, and stay tuned as we highlight one of their big projects projects in part 2 of our #fiberforall spotlight next week.

And one more thing…MBEP is hosting a region wide economic summit for the entire Monterey Bay on May 4th, and we will definitely be there. Maybe we will see you too!

In Santa Cruz Fiber’s #fiberforall Spotlight last week we took a look at some of the excellent work being done by Digital NEST in Watsonville. They’ve been bringing new technology to young adults that normally wouldn’t have the same access to that tech, and offering new opportunities to youth in Santa Cruz County. Today, we’re setting our sights on Digital NEST’s future, as they expand outside of Watsonville, this time to the neighboring city of Salinas.

This Thursday, April 13th from 6 to 8PM, the NEST will hold a “sneak peak” of their brand new program in Salinas at the Cesar Chavez Library. Anyone who’s interested in their work is welcome to come see the new space and learn about the work the organization has already done, as well as what they will add to the Salinas tech landscape before the new program opens its doors on Monday April 17th.

“We’re excited about getting started in Salinas, and being a place where members come to work together, help each other, and explore opportunities for futures in tech,” says Ximena Ireta-Lopez, Digital NEST’s Operations Manager.

There’s already excitement building, as some Salinas students have already talked to existing NEST members in the new space to learn how the program has already helped them find a love of technology, and a future in the tech industry.

All of us at Santa Cruz Fiber continue to be amazed by the work and approach of the NEST and their mission, as well as how quickly they have blossomed into a staple Santa Cruz County nonprofit. Now, we wish them all of the best as they expand beyond their home County to help even more young people along the central coast cross the digital divide, and find a future in technology.

And if you happen to know (or be) a 12-24 year old who wants to get involved with the Digital NEST, you can find out more on their website.

Here at Santa Cruz Fiber, we believe that high-speed, affordable internet should be available to everyone. So it always makes us happy to hear when local organizations and businesses in the community are using these services to do great things. That’s why we want to take the time to recognize some of these achievements in our community in what we’re calling the #fiberforall Spotlight. For our first feature, we want to recognize the excellent work being done at Digital NEST.

Located in Watsonville right now, Digital NEST acts as a place for young adults 18-24 years old to have free access to computers, wi-fi, state of the art digital tools and classes–all for free. Their goal is to help young minds flourish, and to help them gain technical skills to find careers in the tech industry when they’re ready.

The Infosys Foundation recently gave Digital NEST founder Jacob Martinez the opportunity to tell them his thoughts on helping a team of NEST members get into the CSin3 accelerated Computer Science degree program at Hartnell College and CSU Monterey Bay. It’s a very compelling story, and it shows just how important Digital NEST’s work is. It’s giving the tools to succeed to a group of highly-motivated people that wouldn’t have the same opportunities otherwise.

Four of the students who were recently accepted into the acclaimed CSin3 program

High speed internet is an integral piece of helping them succeed in their mission. “High speed internet is no longer a privilege but a fundamental necessity, to ensure every individual has equal access to information and a voice in today’s global economy,” says Jacob. We totally agree.

We want to thank Digital NEST for their excellent mission to empower the next generation of tech leaders. Santa Cruz Fiber stands behind you 100% of the way.

Last week saw some troubling developments for online privacy. First off, the Senate passed legislation that would essentially allow large telecommunications companies to sell your personal data to highest bidder. If that wasn’t enough, Congress is now working on a joint Congressional Review Act (CRA) that would prevent the Federal Communications Commission from ever writing new privacy protection rules in the future.

It’s obvious now that the federal government isn’t going to do much in the way of standing up for your digital rights, and that shouldn’t be surprising. But It isn’t all bad…

As the New York Times documented earlier this week, State governments are stepping in to fill the void left by the feds. They’re introducing privacy legislation of their own, which is proving to be much more effective at protecting consumer data. Specifically, states like Illinois, Connecticut, and even California have started crafting bills that would:

• Give consumers a “right to know” which companies are collecting their data, and what they’re looking at
• Limit the use of location tracking for commercial purposes
• Prevent the involuntary use of microphones and cameras on smart devices
• Restrict government access to online communications like emails
• Prohibit companies from spying on their employees’ social media accounts without permission

While this approach may seem like a piecemeal strategy for influencing policy on a large scale, consider what happened when California adopted stricter fuel standards than the rest of the country in 2010. Even though automotive manufacturers could have produced two sets of cars, one for the more lax federal standard and one to meet California’s new requirement, they instead chose just to meet California’s standard because it was cheaper than developing two different vehicles.

While this comparison isn’t totally analogous to the situation regarding online privacy standards (because software is cheaper to build than cars), it does provide the opportunity for moral leadership, and regulations that could be implemented in the state these companies are probably based in: California.

California could choose to adopt more stringent privacy standards and additional legislation like the bills mentioned above because: a) it’s the right thing to do, and b) many of these larger companies that are in the business of managing consumer data (Google, Apple, Amazon, Facebook, etc.) are located right here in Silicon Valley.

While this new legislation may not entirely thwart these and other companies’ attempts to capture and sell consumer data, it will certainly create some legal hurdles for them to do so, which would at least lead to greater transparency. And if the New York Times article was illustrative of anything, it’s that legal and political compliance costs maybe the single greatest motivator to default to the highest level of protection.