In response to last month's controversial decision by the FCC to repeal net neutrality protections put in place by the Obama administration, proponents of the now repealed rule have begun pursuing alternative avenues to preserving the principle that ISPs should treat all data flowing through their networks equally. As with other Obama-era policies ripped up by the Trump administration (e.g. the Paris Climate Accord), states and local lawmakers have stepped into this policy vacuum, including the DC city commission, which last week held hearings on a proposed resolution opposing the federal government's net neutrality repeal. 

On Thursday, October 26, 2017, Internet Governance Lab Faculty Fellow and Director of AU’s Communication Studies Division Dr. Kathryn Montgomery will discuss the wide-ranging implications of Internet-connected health wearables at a conference organized by the Department of Health and Human Services. The presentation, titled “Health Wearables: Ensuring Privacy, Security, and Equity in an Emerging Internet-of-Things Environment,” draws on Dr. Montgomery’s research at the intersection of the Internet of Things and privacy, including an AU and Center for Digital Democracy study (funded by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation), looking at the privacy and consumer protection concerns raised by the proliferation of health and fitness wearables, which consumers are increasingly using to track everything from their heart rates to sleep patterns and stress levels.