The Real View Technology Policy Institute

Ashley Baker is the Director of Public Policy at the Committee for Justice. Her focus areas include the Supreme Court, technology and regulatory policy, and judicial nominations. Her writing has appeared in Fox News, USA Today, The Boston Globe, The Hill, RealClearPolitics, The American Spectator, and elsewhere. Ashley is an active member of the Federalist Society, where she serves as a member of the Regulatory Transparency Project's Cyber & Privacy working group.

Welcome to a special edition of The Real View from TPI. Epic Games, the maker of the popular online game, Fortnite, made a big splash with an antitrust complaint against Apple and Google this week. Epic made a bold move to offer discounts in Fortnite for in-app purchases made with V-Bucks outside of the Apple and Google store. This decision violated their terms of service, leading to the removal of the game from the app stores. This isn't the first time Epic Games has tangled with Google about the in-app purchases policy. Lindsay gives us a rundown of V-Bucks, Fortnite, and examples of other game platforms in the market.

This week’s TRV features Kristine Hackman, Vice President of Policy & Advocacy at USTelecom – The Broadband Association. Kristine advocates on behalf of USTelecom members before the White House and Executive Branch, regulatory agencies, courts and other government entities in Washington, DC and state capitals to ensure members can compete, grow and thrive. Prior to joining USTelecom, she held several roles at the FCC, including Acting Wireline Advisor to Chairman Ajit Pai, Special Counsel in the Office of General Counsel, Legal Advisor to the Wireline Bureau Chief, and Attorney Advisor in the Wireline Competition Bureau. She also was detailed to the House Energy and Commerce Committee’s Communications and Tech Subcommittee where she worked on broadband infrastructure, and net neutrality and spectrum, among other connectivity matters. Kristine graduated from the George Mason University School of Law, and for the past five years has served as an adjunct professor of Communications Law. She is an active member of the Federal Communications Bar Association and a former co-chair of its Young Lawyers Committee.

The United States may need upwards of 100,000 people trained in contact tracing, the process of tracing and notifying people who have been in contact with someone who tests positive for the novel coronavirus. In this episode, we get details on the contact tracing course at Johns Hopkins University and some other tips on staying well in COVID times.

This week’s TRV features Jamie Susskind, Vice President of Policy and Regulatory Affairs at the Consumer Technology Association (CTA). Jamie oversees CTA’s federal regulatory efforts before agencies such as the FCC, FTC, and Department of Commerce. She focuses on a variety of communications and consumer protection issues, including cyber and device security and spectrum and wireless policy. She has served as chief of staff and legal advisor for an FCC Commissioner, chief counsel to Senator Deb Fischer, detailee to Senate Commerce’s Subcommittee on Communications, Technology, Innovation and the Internet, legal advisor in the FCC’s Wireline Competition Bureau, acting assistant division chief of the Pricing Policy Division, and a law clerk for the U.S. Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims.

This week’s TRV features Maura Corbett, CEO and Founder of the Glen Echo Group. Maura and her team recently put together a light amidst the darkness called the #GoodNewsEcho, where some of the happy and uplifting stories that often don’t make it into our timelines are posted. In the spirit of the #GoodNewsEcho, listen to this episode for a discussion of good news stories, ways tech has brought us together, distance learning, and what Netflix shows are worth watching. You can find the #GoodNewsEcho here: https://www.glenechogroup.com/geg-in-the-news/209-good-news-echo-5-11 and sign up to receive it in your inbox by emailing info@glenechogroup.com.