Verizon

SpaceX Confirms Starlink Loan Agreement with FAA for Infrastructure Testing

| Importance: 6/10

SpaceX confirmed a loan agreement with L3Harris to provide Starlink satellite communication terminals to the FAA for infrastructure testing, specifically in Alaska. The agreement involves providing 4,000 Starlink kits free of charge for an initial evaluation period, raising potential conflict of …

Elon Musk SpaceX FAA L3Harris Technologies Verizon +1 more kleptocracy technology infrastructure government-contracts
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FAA approves 4,000 Starlink terminals, considers canceling $2.4B Verizon contract

| Importance: 6/10

FAA approved shipment of 4,000 Starlink terminals and ordered staff to find “tens of millions of dollars” for Starlink deal while considering canceling $2.4B Verizon contract for air traffic control communications. Creates conflict as DOGE leader Musk oversees federal spending cuts while …

FAA Elon Musk SpaceX/Starlink DOGE Verizon conflict-of-interest starlink government-contracts musk-benefits
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FCC Repeals Net Neutrality Regulations Under Industry Pressure

| Importance: 8/10

The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) voted 3-2 along party lines to repeal Obama-era net neutrality regulations, eliminating critical protections that prevented internet service providers (ISPs) from discriminating against web traffic. The decision, championed by FCC Chairman Ajit Pai, shifts …

Ajit Pai Mignon Clyburn Federal Communications Commission Verizon Comcast +2 more regulatory-capture net-neutrality fcc telecom internet-freedom +2 more
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Guardian Publishes First Snowden Leak on NSA Verizon Phone Records Collection

| Importance: 10/10

Glenn Greenwald published the first article in The Guardian based on documents leaked by Edward Snowden, revealing a top-secret Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court (FISA) order requiring Verizon to hand over all telephone metadata to the National Security Agency on an “ongoing, daily …

Edward Snowden Glenn Greenwald NSA Verizon nsa-surveillance whistleblowing edward-snowden mass-surveillance telecom-surveillance +1 more
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FISA Amendments Act of 2008 Passes, Granting Telecom Immunity

| Importance: 9/10

Congress passed the FISA Amendments Act of 2008, fundamentally expanding the president’s warrantless surveillance authority while granting retroactive immunity to telecommunications companies that participated in the NSA’s illegal domestic wiretapping program since 2001. The Senate voted …

U.S. Congress George W. Bush Senate House of Representatives Telecommunications Companies +2 more fisa-amendments telecom-immunity warrantless-surveillance congressional-legislation section-702 +2 more
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NSA Launches MAINWAY Database for Mass Metadata Collection

| Importance: 9/10

The NSA began operating MAINWAY, a massive database system built to support the STELLARWIND surveillance program, collecting telephone metadata from major U.S. carriers including AT&T, Verizon, and T-Mobile. Built in urgent haste after September 11, MAINWAY became what sources described as …

NSA AT&T Verizon T-Mobile FBI +2 more mainway metadata-collection mass-surveillance stellarwind telecommunications +2 more
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