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Wireless and Drone Execs Praised President Trump as He Pledged To Cut Down Regulations (recode.net)

U.S. President Donald Trump offered support for emerging technologies including unmanned aerial vehicles and next-generation wireless networks in a meeting on Thursday with the chiefs of AT&T and General Electric and other business leaders. From a report: For the likes of AT&T CEO Randall Stephenson, the public audience with Trump offered an opportunity to continue nudging the U.S. government -- including in a scheduled, private session with the leader of the Federal Communications Commission earlier Thursday -- to cut back on restrictions that make it difficult for AT&T and other telecom giants to grow their footprint and deploy the new technologies, such as 5G wireless. Speaking with Recode later Thursday, Marcelo Claure, the chief executive of Sprint, said that he and others in his industry had emphasized to Trump that the government must help them deploy new tools like small cells -- essentially, mini cell towers that improve wireless connectivity. Trump, for his part, promised Thursday to cut down on "too many years of excessive government regulation" to enable innovators and investments to offer new cutting-edge tools in health care, science, medicine and communication. "We have had regulation that's been so bad, so out of line that it's really hurt our country," he said.

43 of 94 comments (clear)

  1. Will the execs do hardtime when a drone takes down by Joe_Dragon · · Score: 3, Interesting

    Will the execs do hard time when a drone takes down a plane

  2. Re:Will the execs do hardtime when a drone takes d by Mr+D+from+63 · · Score: 1

    /. has a history of long comment threads complaining about drone regulation.

  3. Re:Will the execs do hardtime when a drone takes d by JBMcB · · Score: 2

    It's already illegal to smash a drone into a plane. I don't think deregulation will make it legal.

    --
    My Other Computer Is A Data General Nova III.
  4. Re:Will the execs do hardtime when a drone takes d by ScentCone · · Score: 3, Insightful

    Will the execs do hard time when a drone takes down a plane

    Will the executives at companies which manufacturer weather balloons do hard time if someone mis-uses one of those, and it gets sucked into an engine causing a crash? You sure hope so, right? And of course you're definitely in favor of the executives at Ford, GM, BMW and others going to jail when a terrorist uses a car to mow down some people on a sidewalk, a drunk driver kills somebody. Because no manufacturer should escape prison if people criminally or negligently mis-use their products. And people who write software should definitely do time if a criminal uses their software to do something illegal, for sure.

    --
    Don't disappoint your bird dog. Go to the range.
  5. I had a friend here in Seattle... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

    that was put in the hospital for several days due to a drone. It is sad to see Trump not want more restrictions on them. They are dangerous.

    1. Re: I had a friend here in Seattle... by Tablizer · · Score: 1

      Just tell Trump that Muslims are using drones; THEN he will regulate them up the wazoo.

    2. Re: I had a friend here in Seattle... by unixisc · · Score: 1

      The Dems are now the anti science, anti tech party since they oppose drones?

  6. Re:Will the execs do hardtime when a drone takes d by murdocj · · Score: 1

    Depends on whether the drone makers or the airplane makers are willing to pay trump more.

  7. Slimebags by Tablizer · · Score: 5, Interesting

    Whenever I talk to a Republican who gets all frothy about regulations, I ask for specific examples. The fairly rare times I actually get specific answers, it quite often turns out the regulation is on the books because some slimebag company abused their freedom.

    They are typically related to pollution, safety, misleading consumers, and/or anti-competitive behavior to keep smaller competitors out of the market. There are indeed some bad regulations (or in need of tuning), but most are there for a legitimate reason. They were NOT invented out of the blue by some power-hungry hippie socialist.

    And some of the regulations were actually lobbied into place by big co's who want to keep smaller players out of the market. This is especially common on the state and local level. Look at Tesla's trouble in selling cars because some states require licensed physical dealerships. The Big 3 car co's got those in place to keep out custom and foreign car co's.

    1. Re:Slimebags by Tablizer · · Score: 1

      Sorry, but my honest observation is that most of the conservatives I debate with are NOT "detail people". Maybe there is some kind of unseen social filtering mechanism such that I for some reason am not likely to encounter the detail-oriented ones. But I'm calling the pattern as I personally observe it.

    2. Re:Slimebags by R3d+M3rcury · · Score: 1

      I assume you have. So go ahead and give us your experience.

      When my father started a business at home, the only issue he ran into was zoning--namely the size of his sign.

    3. Re:Slimebags by SumterLiving · · Score: 1

      Yep, I gotta admit, that Y2K regulation has been preventing me from opening a $multi-trillion business. I also know of at least 15 million other businessmen who are in the same boat. We need to make sure we get guns into everyone's hands so we can be safe too. The 2 Amendment mandates a finely tuned militia and without more guns there will be more deaths from regulations. Or so I've been told by government regulators.

    4. Re:Slimebags by dave420 · · Score: 1

      And software with Y2K bugs still exists, and is just as capable of problems today as on 01/01/2000.

    5. Re:Slimebags by w3woody · · Score: 2

      Republican here, though my answer to you will be more thought out than your typical response.

      First, it's important to separate between regulations and regulatory burdens. The former is something you have to comply with. The later is your cost to assure compliance.

      A simple example of this is taxes. The former is the fact that you have to pay taxes. The later is you sweating over your tax returns every year, making sure you fill in all the right forms or talk to the right tax professional, and hoping you got it right so you don't get a mail audit. (Fun fact: for the first few years out of college I did my own taxes and used a mail audit to both learn what I did wrong, and as a sort of "return receipt" on my taxes.)

      Most other civilized countries in the world assure regulatory compliance differently: they send you your completed taxes based on information provided to you by your bank, your employer, and other sources. Then you can either ignore it (which is interpreted as meaning your taxes were done correctly) or you can file a form indicating corrections.

      The regulations are the same, more or less. But compliance is far easier.

      In today's world there are plenty of regulations where compliance is a royal pain in the neck. The worst examples I can think of all revolve around starting your own freelance company: do you know what the legal requirements and licensing requirements are in your district or municipality regulating working at home? In some cases, just finding out what you need to do can be an all-day process, which is why some people working at home are actually breaking the law: they just don't know it.

    6. Re:Slimebags by Tablizer · · Score: 1

      As far as violence in scriptures, ALL the major holy books have violent passages. They also have "get along" passages. Adherents can choose to emphasize what they want and be violent jerks or get along based on what they focus on.

      The books are not precise algorithms, leaving lots of room to human interpretation. Experts suggest that the original text was probably often referring to specific situations, but the context got lost to antiquity.

      You should know this. If not, you are naive.

      Perhaps you know the details of the Laffer Curve,

      It's merely a theory and has not proven itself in practice.

      Democrats are openly mainstreaming anti-Semitism

      Examples?

    7. Re:Slimebags by ShakaUVM · · Score: 1

      Ok, let me give you my story, then. I run my own small business, and I did some work with a public agency out in New Jersey for a few days, for which I was to be paid X dollars.

      So I invoice the people I did the work for. They write back and say that regulations say the following (which I quote, so you can't claim I'm misrepresenting it):

      "Businesses planning to contract with any public agency in New Jersey, including state agencies, local governments, colleges/universities and local school boards as well as with casino licensees will be required to provide a Business Registration Certificate as proof of registration. To obtain a Business Registration Certificate, you must have filed Form NJ-REG."

      I navigate bureaucracy professionally, since, again, I run a business that deals with government agencies - I have a CAGE number, a FEIN, a DUNS, have registered on SAMS and grants.gov, and any other number of government red tape sites... and the New Jersey registration process was the most hideous piece of shit I've ever seen in my life. Hours into the process, I discovered that I wasn't actually allowed to complete the registration process, since the registration process requires (or required, this was a couple years ago, I haven't checked) me to have *a New Jersey address*. So then I start looking into how I could get a fucking PO box or something just so that I could get a fucking address in New Jersey so I could finish their fucking registration process so I could get paid for work that I had already completed.

      Ask me if I'd recommend that anyone do business with New Jersey, and tell me that this brain-splittingly stupid process was all worth it because some "slimeball company abused a process".

    8. Re:Slimebags by Tablizer · · Score: 1

      There were already too many topics to discuss so I left AGW out. I probably should have trimmed others.

      The Bible also says violent stuff that is more or less a variation of "kill all unbelievers". What's in written scriptures and what's in the mind of believers are not necessarily tightly connected, especially since a literal reading produces many contradictions. I'm not making a statement who about rich religion is more violent, only saying that scriptural text is not a difference maker and is not the main component of actual behavior.

      As far as individuals associated with the Democrat party who may have said racist statements (or some other extremist position), sure I DON'T deny it happens.

      It also happens with Republicans. You seem to be cherry-picking representatives and extrapolating them into a larger group. If you have objective evidence that say for example 42.7% of Dems say objectively racist things but only 2.1% of Gops do, you might have meaningful data instead of the biased and small-sampled crap you give here.

      As far as tax cuts and the economy, IF the bottleneck were investment, tax cuts on the wealthy could indeed produce a notable boost to the economy. But recently lack of regular consumers (with money) has been the bottleneck. Tax-cuts for the rich won't address that bottleneck. The rich tend to spend their tax-cuts on overseas factories and domestic real-estate, which does almost nothing for the consumer problem, and arguably makes it worse by jacking up house and rent prices.

    9. Re:Slimebags by Tablizer · · Score: 1

      1 Samuel 15:3 - "Now go, attack the Amalekites and totally destroy all that belongs to them. Do not spare them; put to death men and women, children and infants, cattle and sheep, camels and donkeys.'"

      Deuteronomy 20:16-18 - "However, in the cities of the nations the Lord your God is giving you as an inheritance, do not leave alive anything that breathes. 17 Completely destroy[a] them--the Hittites, Amorites, Canaanites, Perizzites, Hivites and Jebusites--as the Lord your God has commanded you. 18 Otherwise, they will teach you to follow all the detestable things they do in worshiping their gods, and you will sin against the Lord your God." [emph added]

      Islam states that it is interpreted literally, since Muslims claim the Koran is eternal and universal

      Many evangelicals say the same about the Bible

      The Democrats owned slaves. No Republican representative has ever own slaves.

      That's got to be the dumbest "argument" I've heard in months.

      Who creates the jobs ? the rich. The poor never create jobs. The middle class create only a few jobs.

      People traded heavily before rich existed. Big co's can exist without having rich managers. No law of the universe says managers must be rich.

      Anyhow, Canada, Germany, and some N. European countries do fine without a bloated upper class.

      The problem is that the Left considers all inequality to be the result of oppression.

      Hogwash. Most progressives believe some inequality is necessary. But Yuuuuuge inequality damages democracy and has no net benefits.

    10. Re:Slimebags by Tablizer · · Score: 1

      However, if you are not an Amalekite, Hittite, Amorite, Canaanite, Perizzite, Hivite, or Jebusite then none of these apply to you....Islam differs because its call for jihad is against ALL non-believers

      I find that a very minor distinction. A lot of people are probably related to at least one of those groups (and there's more in other scriptures), or at least one could personally believe the "bad guy" is. The point is the Bible often had God give "believers" a blank check to slaughter non-believers.

      Thus, the West has not used Christianity as the basis for conflict for centuries.

      They didn't change because of the text, but because of the Clue Stick of a century of bloody sectarian wars approx around 1600. The Middle East seems to not have finished that phase yet. The Clue Stick of death hasn't bashed them in the chops enough yet.

      The Bilderbergers are so anti-democratic they don't let the public see their meetings...the old aristocratic families like the Rothschilds who have enormous power

      You are exaggerating to the point of conspiracy theories.

      you demonstrate it is you who doesn't understand the detail of the real world,

      Stop projecting, it's annoying.

      You hate it because it is 100% true.

      No, it's a very very stupid argument. I cannot believe you are still trying to defend it. I'd feel ashamed if I were you.

      How much inequality is permissible ? who gets to decide?

      Civilized society negotiates and works out compromises.

      Your open contempt for other citizens is why you will continue to lose elections

      I've been around long enough to know it's a pendulum.

  8. Nearly all the "drone regulation" is from states by StevenMaurer · · Score: 1

    According to this overview of unmanned aircraft law, drone use is largely being regulated by the states. Aside from the FAA's widely anticipated and vetted operational rules, there really isn't much more that can be done at the Federal level. The FAA can add restrictions to operators. It cannot prevent states from putting on additional reasonable restrictions, which many have.

    So I'm not exactly sure what Trump imagines he is going to do to "help" these companies.

    But I'm sure he will. After all, it's not like he already has a reputation for making grandiose promises that he has no intention of keeping, or bullshitting about things he is laughably ignorant about. Nope. Never seen that happen.

  9. Re:ha by Opportunist · · Score: 1

    Now where's the profit in that?

    --
    We used to have a Bill of Rights. Now, with the rights gone, all we have left is the bill.
  10. Of course they do by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

    For corporate filth, the ideal world is a world where THEY are the governement, i.e. fascism.

  11. Re:Will the execs do hardtime when a drone takes d by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

    At the same time, let's not pretend cars and similar vehicles aren't heavily regulated, from federal regulations on fuel efficiency and safety features to state inspections. DOT has a huge influence, and the government most definitely has gone after execs and companies, such as recalls and other legal issues, ask GM and VW. Regulation even goes further into licensing, registration/tags, many major roads, insurance coverage, etc.

    Weather balloons, similarly, are supposed to be regulated wrt air traffic, like you are supposed to notify the nearby airport about their release, but maybe I'm wrong about that.

  12. Re:Will the execs do hardtime when a drone takes d by murdocj · · Score: 5, Insightful

    You need to come to grips with reality. Trump doesn't care about you. He doesn't care about me. He doesn't care about other people, other than (perhaps) his immediate family circle. He cares about money, power, and being worshiped. If he can make money by letting the drone makers occasionally take down a plane, he will.

    Act like an adult and face the truth.

  13. AT&T is suffering from Absurd Regulations by wonkavader · · Score: 1

    Literally something like 10 linear feet of regulations. It makes doing business as a telecom almost impossible.

    But... guess who wrote all that regulation? AT&T.

    Because absurd regulation is a way that deep-pocketed incumbents make sure they never get any competition.

    If they legitimately want the regulation gone, it means they don't feel threatened by any startups, right now. Though actually, I think they're just lying. They pay lip service to wanting it gone, but if things start to move in that direction, they'll make a few discreet visits to their congresss-critters and make sure things quietly stop.

  14. AT&T by PoopJuggler · · Score: 1

    If AT&T objects to it, then you know it's good for consumers.

  15. why is this news ? by swell · · Score: 1

    The president wants to deregulate Wall Street, deregulate coal, and deregulate every corporate activity in America. So now he wants to deregulate drones and we're supposed to be surprised?

    --
    ...omphaloskepsis often...
    1. Re:why is this news ? by h33t+l4x0r · · Score: 1

      Only for certain sectors. His policies aren't popular with tech corporations.

  16. oh sure, those companies want to do what's best by cats-paw · · Score: 1

    for their customers.

    the want regulations cut down so they can raise prices and establish de facto monopolies.

    it's all about rent-seeking.

    as for that dickhead Trump, when are the people who voted for him going to admit that maybe the billionaires he put in charge really don't have your best interests in mind ?

    --
    Absolute statements are never true
  17. Re:Will the execs do hardtime when a drone takes d by unixisc · · Score: 1

    The regulations POTUS has been aiming at are regulations that hamper manufacturing, raise the cost of doing business in the US and thereby indirectly inhibiting the creation of new jobs. Compliance w/ regulations costs money, and companies are forced to set aside that cash, thereby hiring fewer people than what they could have hired.

    It has nothing to do w/ laxing things like traffic rules, ATC regs and other laws that are meant for society to function more smoothly

  18. Re:Will the execs do hardtime when a drone takes d by guises · · Score: 3, Interesting

    This is a misrepresentation of what the story and parent are saying. The question is: when people profit by lobbying to reduce safety regulations, should they be held liable when someone dies in an accident which those regulations existed to prevent?

    The fact that these people manufacture the product is only relevant insofar as they profit from the removal of these regulations.

  19. Re:Will the execs do hardtime when a drone takes d by ScentCone · · Score: 1

    This is a misrepresentation of what the story and parent are saying.

    You are (deliberately) grossly dumbing-down the issue. Let's say I'm a car manufacturer and I lobby to reduce regulations on where we can source the fibers for the carpets I use in my products, or think that the government specifying the resolution on the back-up cameras I use isn't the right way for me to choose the technology I want to sell. So here I am lobbying for less regulation ... does that mean I should be in jail when someone driving one of my cars uses it as a weapon to hurt people? Or when someone with no sense runs into oncoming traffic because they're not at handling the complex task of driving a car in traffic? So if improve my profits by having more flexibility in how I source my carpet fibers, that should expose me to liability when someone mis-uses my product? You're connecting lobbying to allow a product to be more flexible with someone else's criminal mis-use of the product. It's nonsense.

    --
    Don't disappoint your bird dog. Go to the range.
  20. The Liar in Chief by JimSadler · · Score: 2

    Trump can not stop lying. If he says he will deregulate anything there is zero reason to believe him.

  21. Re:Will the execs do hardtime when a drone takes d by guises · · Score: 1

    The issue at hand is: you misrepresented what the story and parent were saying. I don't think that's dumbing it down, that's the entire issue.

    You're taking an action, arguing for reducing limitations on using unsafe carpet fibers, and associating it with an unrelated other action, deliberately killing someone with a car. And then saying, "Look! These two things are unrelated!"

    But this is not the point that the parent was making. The parent was making the point that if current regulations, regulations which exist to ensure that drones are visible to pilots, are removed so that drone manufacturers can sell more drones, and then a plane crashes after a drone collision because a pilot can't see a drone, then maybe that lobbyist or the company who hired that lobbyist should have some culpability.

    To go with your car analogy: I don't know about any existing regulations regarding carpet fibers in cars, but if there were any I'd imagine they'd have to do with the length of the carpet. I.e.: carpets in cars must be short. So let's say that some shag rug manufacturer lobbies to get this regulation removed, so they can sell really deep shag carpeting for cars, and then someone gets killed because this carpeting interferes with the brake pedal. Specifically because this carpeting interferes with the brake pedal, not because the person driving the car decides to use the car as a weapon - that would be an unrelated issue.

    If that were the case, then you would have a situation similar to what the parent is talking about.

  22. Billionaires cheering freedom from restraint by AutodidactLabrat · · Score: 1

    Well color me shocked, the billionaire boys club is cheering that no one will be limiting their waste disposal, compliance with truth in advertising or product safety
    In other news, water is wet.

  23. Re: Will the execs do hardtime when a drone takes by ScentCone · · Score: 1

    Why did you? Oh wait, it's because you don't want to admit that, yes, manufacturers have been sued and lost, for their own actions

    That's a fine strawman collection you're building there. Does it feel good to fight them when nobody else is looking?

    We're not talking about the manufacturer's actions. We're talking about the users of the products and THEIR actions. For example, somebody operating a drone. That person is responsible for their own actions. If the manufacturer is liable when the operator flies it into the groom's face while making a wedding video (or into the intake on a commercial aircraft when flying where they're not allowed to operate), that's not the manufacturer's fault. How are you not clear on this? Just because manufacturers have been successfully sued for things THEY did has nothing, whatsoever, to do with placing nonsensical regulatory burdens on those manufacturers and then (per the person we're responding to, here) suggesting that if the manufacturer pushes back against those absurd regulations that they're suddenly liable for something completely unrelated when a user of their product breaks the law. How, again, are you not able to process this?

    No surprise you don't want to even mention the most extensive harm from automobiles, though, none at all.

    You mean, an eeeevil unamed harm that you are too childishly frightened to mention yourself, because ... it has absolutely nothing to do with the topic at hand? Carry on, though. It's fun to watch you get yourself all confused and then pretend it's somebody else's fault. I suspect this is how you handle most of your interaction with the rest of the world. Please do us all a favor and don't. Interact with the rest of the world, that is. Especially by voting. Since you seem to like the idea of assigning legal liability via childish non sequitors.

    --
    Don't disappoint your bird dog. Go to the range.
  24. Re:Will the execs do hardtime when a drone takes d by Obfuscant · · Score: 1

    The parent was making the point that if current regulations, regulations which exist to ensure that drones are visible to pilots,

    There are no regulations that exist to ensure that drones are visible to pilots.

  25. Re:Will the execs do hardtime when a drone takes d by guises · · Score: 1

    ... Did you read the article? You should read the article.

  26. Re:Will the execs do hardtime when a drone takes d by Obfuscant · · Score: 1

    ... Did you read the article? You should read the article.

    I don't need to read the article, I know the regulations. No such regulations exist.

  27. Re:Will the execs do hardtime when a drone takes d by guises · · Score: 1

    You're claiming that the article is just outright lying? Without even bothering to read it? That seems awfully negligent. But, whatever. This story is more than a day old now, so no one is ever going to read this.

  28. Re:Will the execs do hardtime when a drone takes d by Obfuscant · · Score: 1

    You're claiming that the article is just outright lying?

    If you read what I write and not try to make it up on your own, you'll save everyone a lot of time. I responded to the specific statement:

    regulations which exist to ensure that drones are visible to pilots,

    There are no such "regulations which exist". Nothing ensures anything about the visibility of a drone to "pilots." The only regulation is that the person flying the drone or the observer must have VLOS on what they are flying. Nothing in the regulations says anything about making that drone more visible to them, or visible at all to other pilots.

    Compare that to manned aircraft regulations that do mandate certain anti-collision and other lighting systems for certain classes and types of aircraft. But even those do not ensure anything other than that the lights are there. Visibility is not a defined outcome of those regulations.

    That seems awfully negligent.

    Sue me. If you can. The truth is an absolute defense.

  29. Re:Will the execs do hardtime when a drone takes d by guises · · Score: 1
    I don't know what you're going on about now. I talked about what the parent and the article were saying, specifically that there are some regulations which exist to ensure that drones are visible to pilots. You come along and say that those regulations don't exist. Ergo: the article which claimed that they exist, which you didn't bother to read, is lying.

    You do understand that these two statements are not equivalent, right?

    Nothing ensures anything about the visibility of a drone to "pilots."

    Nothing in the regulations says anything about making that drone more visible to them, or visible at all to other pilots.

    Maybe you don't. I don't care.

  30. Re:Will the execs do hardtime when a drone takes d by Obfuscant · · Score: 1

    I talked about what the parent and the article were saying, specifically that there are some regulations which exist to ensure that drones are visible to pilots.

    There are no such regulations.

    You come along and say that those regulations don't exist.

    They don't. Can you provide a reference to one?

    Ergo: the article which claimed that they exist, which you didn't bother to read, is lying.

    No, you are lying. I don't care what the article said.

    You do understand that these two statements are not equivalent, right?

    It doesn't matter if those two statements, which I made, are equivalent. What matters is if there are regulations that "exist to ensure that drones are visible to pilots". There are not.

    I don't care.

    You don't care that you are wrong. I got it.