https://www.zdnet.com/article/right...ident-biden-prepares-to-sign-executive-order/ Right to repair moves forward as President Biden prepares to sign executive order A new executive order could open the way to make it easier to get products like smartphones fixed. US president Joe Biden is set to sign a new executive order that aims to stop manufacturers from preventing people from repairing kit themselves or through independent repair shops. "As part of the President's forthcoming executive order on competition... the U.S. Department of Agriculture announced it will engage in a series of rulemakings to increase competition in agricultural industries to boost farmers' and ranchers' earnings, fight back against abuses of power by giant agribusiness corporations, and give farmers the right to repair their own equipment how they like," she said.
About time. What a scam John Deere, et al had going - no way to diagnose or repair your own farm equipment and must pay manufacturer whatever rates they set to keep your farm going.
https://www.msn.com/en-au/news/othe...uldnt-find-his-way-home-after-dark/ar-AALN076 It is clear there is “no way” US President Joe Biden would pass a test to determine his cognitive ability or memory impairment, says Sky News host Alan Jones. Mr Jones discussed President Biden’s recent gaffes and the calls for him to be subject to a cognitive test. “The disturbing thing here is the free world depends on the United States as the unfree world gains momentum,” Mr Jones said “And the free world is run by a bloke who most probably couldn't find his way home after dark”.
big tech reeing right now https://www.cnbc.com/2021/07/07/biden-readies-order-to-rein-in-worker-non-compete-clauses.html Biden readies order to rein in worker non-compete clauses and make switching jobs easier President Joe Biden is preparing an executive order that will call on the Federal Trade Commission to curtail worker non-compete agreements. Biden will also direct the FTC to ban “unnecessary” occupational licensing requirements, said White House press secretary Jen Psaki. The actions are part of a broad set of executive initiatives aimed at increasing competition in the marketplace, expected to be released in the coming days. WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden will issue a forthcoming executive order that calls on the Federal Trade Commission to adopt rules to curtail worker non-compete agreements, part of a broader set of executive actions aimed at increasing competition in the marketplace. The order is expected to be signed and released in the coming days, and it will fulfill Biden’s “campaign promise to promote competition in labor markets,” White House press secretary Jen Psaki said Wednesday. In a related action, Biden will call on the FTC to ban “unnecessary” occupational licensing requirements, Psaki said. “While occupational licensing can serve important health and safety concerns, unnecessary or overly burdensome licensing can lock people out of jobs,” she added. Biden will also encourage the FTC and the Department of Justice to work together to limit employers’ rights to share worker pay information in ways that could negatively impact workers looking for better-paying jobs.
https://www.usatoday.com/story/news...els-1-5-billion-student-loan-debt/7917250002/ Biden administration cancels additional $55.6 million in student debt The Department of Education canceled an additional $55.6 million in student loan debt for 1,800 students who were victims of a for-profit college fraud, bringing the total amount of canceled student loan debt by the Biden administration to $1.5 billion. "Today’s announcement continues the U.S. Department of Education’s commitment to standing up for students whose colleges took advantage of them,” Miguel Cardona, the secretary of education, said in the department’s statement released Friday. The latest loan cancellation is for students who attended Westwood College, Marinello Schools of Beauty and the Court Reporting Institute. This is the first time the department approved loan forgiveness to students who attended schools other than Corinthian Colleges, ITT Technical Institute and American Career Institute since 2017. “Today’s action continues efforts by the Biden Administration to ensure borrower defense and other targeted loan cancellation, forgiveness, and discharge programs deliver relief to students and borrowers,” the department’s statement said. The borrower defense is a federal regulation by the Department of Education that allows federal student loan borrowers the opportunity to seek forgiveness on their loans if they were defrauded by a college or university. With the additional 1,800 students, the Biden administration has canceled student loans for nearly 92,000 people. The $1.5 billion of canceled loan debt is an attempt by the Biden administration to address the backlog of forgiveness claims left by the prior administration. “The Department will continue doing its part to review and approve borrower defense claims quickly and fairly so that borrowers receive the relief that they need and deserve. We also hope these approvals serve as a warning to any institution engaging in similar conduct that this type of misrepresentation is unacceptable," Cardona added. Some Democrats are pushing for more and broader student loan forgiveness. More than 60 Democrats sent a letter to Biden on June 23, urging him to extend the pause of payments and interest for federal student loans, stating that the pause provided immense relief to borrowers and families during the pandemic and would “present a significant challenge” if ended. Democrats also previously asked Biden to commit to $50,000 in student loan forgiveness per borrower, something he said he would not do, stating that he’d prefer the money be invested in early childhood education. Will that "be forgiven, rather than use that money to provide money for early education for young children who come from disadvantaged circumstances?" Biden said during a CNN town hall. https://www.theverge.com/2021/7/9/22570567/biden-net-neutrality-competition-eo Biden’s executive order puts net neutrality back in the spotlight 17 The FCC will need a fifth commissioner to push these initiatives forward Earlier today President Biden signed the Executive Order on Promoting Competition in the American Economy, and in it there were several provisions relating to net neutrality. The prior administration’s FCC and FTC rolled back Obama-era rules in those areas, and now there is a clear agenda to restore them. DIRECTIVES FOR THE FCC FROM THE ORDER: (i) adopting through appropriate rulemaking “Net Neutrality” rules similar to those previously adopted under title II of the Communications Act of 1934 (Public Law 73-416, 48 Stat. 1064, 47 U.S.C. 151 et seq.), as amended by the Telecommunications Act of 1996, in “Protecting and Promoting the Open Internet,” 80 Fed. Reg. 19738 (Apr. 13, 2015); (iv) prohibiting unjust or unreasonable early termination fees for end-user communications contracts, enabling consumers to more easily switch providers; (v) initiating a rulemaking that requires broadband service providers to display a broadband consumer label, such as that as described in the Public Notice of the Commission issued on April 4, 2016 (DA 16–357), so as to give consumers clear, concise, and accurate information regarding provider prices and fees, performance, and network practices; (vi) initiating a rulemaking to require broadband service providers to regularly report broadband price and subscription rates to the Federal Communications Commission for the purpose of disseminating that information to the public in a useful manner, to improve price transparency and market functioning; and (vii) initiating a rulemaking to prevent landlords and cable and Internet service providers from inhibiting tenants’ choices among providers. The FCC is now tasked with reviving the “Broadband Nutrition Label” that was in development in 2016. The label would provide a standardized format for providers to display their price, data allowances and details on performance, similar to the labels you currently see on food at the grocery store. Sample “Broadband Nutrition Label” FCC The FCC has also been asked to start the process of requiring ISPs to regularly report their prices to the FCC to help “improve price transparency and market functioning.” As Multichannel News points out, implementing these changes will require adding a third commissioner to the FCC who will vote in favor of these measures, breaking the current 2-2 tie. Current acting FCC chair Jessica Rosenworcel said in a statement that “I welcome this effort by the President to enhance competition in the American economy and in the nation’s communications sector.” Republican FCC commissioner Brendan Carr would be expected to have a no vote on many of these policies, and says that this order “seems to double down on price controls, government-run networks, and monopoly-style regulations—actions that would only make it harder for smaller providers and new entrants to compete.” While ISPs like Comcast and Verizon have not yet responded to requests for comment from The Verge, cable industry lobbying groups quickly put out their own information. Speaking for a group that represents “small and medium-sized cable operators,” American Communications Association president Matthew Polka chose to largely ignore everything in the order. Instead his statement takes aim at what he sees as a lack of competitive market for another target, studios and broadcast stations, in a statement that says “Every day our members are unfairly leveraged by large video programmers and broadcast station groups, causing our customers’ video rates to soar...members fear that dominant Internet platforms and powerful streaming services may choose not to make their services available to the subscribers of some smaller ISPs.” The NCTA counts Comcast, WarnerMedia, Disney, Charter and Cox among its members and is ostensibly in favor of an “open internet,” as long as no one tries to classify broadband as a utility or passes any rules that would make sure it stays that way. The cable industry group issued a statement (with no name attached) that says “we are disappointed that the Executive Order rehashes misleading claims about the broadband marketplace, including the tired and disproven assertion that ISPs would block or throttle consumers from accessing the internet content of their choice.” Similarly, the CTIA represents the interests of its member wireless carriers and is coming out against the order. In its own statement the association is claiming “the highly regulatory approach outlined in today’s order unfortunately risks harming consumers by distracting from bipartisan efforts to close the digital divide, inhibiting new competitive choices and innovation, jeopardizing new job creation, and needlessly risking our nation’s future technological leadership.” On the other side, Free Press VP of policy and general counsel Matt Wood says “the FCC needs to reverse the damage done by the Trump administration, which presided over rising prices and declining investment in broadband while pretending that a do-nothing deregulatory approach would solve these problems... When the Trump FCC abandoned the proper legal framework and policies in 2017, people of every political stripe overwhelmingly opposed that repeal. When we finally have a full and functioning FCC dedicated to promoting the public interest again, the agency can get the job done — taking the kinds of steps outlined in today’s executive order and more.”