When the Federal Communications Commission voted last year to pay for school-bus wi-fi with educational connectivity funds, it seemed the agency was teed up for an easy A.

Now, a lawsuit endorsed by Sen. Ted Cruz argues that the FCC overstepped its authority—and that it could be putting kids at risk in the process.

“Addictive and distracting social media apps are wreaking havoc on our kids,” Cruz, a Texas Republican, said in an April 11 statement announcing that he and other senators had filed an amicus brief in support of the lawsuit. “The FCC’s decision to fund children’s unsupervised access to social media on bus rides to and from school is both dangerous and unlawful.”

The controversy traces back to October, when the FCC voted along party lines to allow school districts to spend funds from the agency’s E-Rate program on wi-fi routers for school buses beginning in July 2024. At the time, FCC Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel said in a statement that the move was crucial to closing the “homework gap,” a term that describes the experience of students who may struggle to complete coursework because they lack reliable internet access at home.

Keep reading here.—KG

The NYSE is best known as the world’s largest stock exchange and a global financial hub, yet it’s so much more. It serves as a nexus where visionaries from around the globe converge to shape a promising tomorrow.

Within the iconic walls of this instantly recognizable Wall Street landmark, CEOs, founders, and influential figures gather to ignite innovation and drive the change that will define our future.

This spirit was vividly evident as the NYSE proudly embraced GE Aerospace (NYSE: GE) and GE Vernova (NYSE: GEV), marking their inaugural trading day as independent entities, each committed to forging a more sustainable path forward.

Hear that bell ringing? The future is here.

Policymakers at the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) voted along party lines Thursday to reinstate net neutrality principles, which mandate that internet service providers can’t interfere with how online content is transmitted.

The 3–2 vote restores what’s known as Title II classification for ISPs, which gives the agency more oversight authority under the Communications Act to investigate possible consumer abuses, network outages, and other service interruptions.

“Consumers have made clear to us they do not want their broadband provider cutting sweetheart deals, with fast lanes for some services and slow lanes for others,” Rosenworcel said during the meeting. “If they have problems, they expect the nation’s expert authority on communications to be able to respond. Because we put net neutrality rules back on the national books, we fix that today.”

The campaign to restore net neutrality has long been a hallmark of liberal administrations, and congressional Democrats publicly threw their weight behind the policy change ahead of the vote, as Tech Brew previously reported. The US has lacked net neutrality rules since 2017, during the Trump administration, when then-FCC Chair Ajit Pai led a high-profile vote to repeal them.

Unsurprisingly, Thursday’s vote drew the ire of the FCC’s two Republican members, who dissented from the majority decision.

Keep reading here.—KG

A SpaceX plan to gain access to new satellite spectrum territory might be backfiring.

Elon Musk’s reportedly “erratic behavior” and alleged illegal drug use calls into question whether SpaceX Starlink satellites should be allowed to continue operating—much less expand their footprint, according to scathing comments from the Ukrainian Congress Committee of America (UCCA).

The group made the filing Wednesday in a Federal Communications Commission proceeding, which SpaceX had requested in February, seeking to open a satellite spectrum band to new users. On the contrary, UCCA argued, the FCC should probe SpaceX’s fitness to hold satellite licenses at all.

“At the heart of the matter is the Commission’s responsibility to ensure that any company which is granted the privilege of operating on public airwaves meets certain qualifications and serves the public interest,” Arthur Belendiuk, UCCA’s lead regulatory attorney, said in a statement.

One top-of-mind concern? The SpaceX founder and majority shareholder’s reported use of ketamine, LSD, cocaine, mushrooms, and ecstasy, detailed in a Wall Street Journal report. (Musk has denied the allegations, though he has acknowledged prescription ketamine use.)

Keep reading here.—KG

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Usually, we write about the business of tech. Here, we highlight the *tech* of tech.

AI overload: Rumors of the end of the AI hype cycle may have been premature, given how frequently the tech seems to be popping up in everyday consumer use cases from toothbrushes (?) to social media.

Morning Brew reported that the rollout of Meta AI across its suite of apps—Instagram, Facebook, Messenger, and WhatsApp—wasn’t exactly met with enthusiasm by users. Wanna disable it? Tough: Meta says you can’t turn off the new AI assistant, though Lifehacker has some tips for how to best ignore it.

Adding ads: Speaking of AI showing up in places that might be irksome, Marketing Brew reported on Paramount’s “shoppable TV partnership” with Shopsense AI, which allows television viewers to scan on-screen QR codes to shop for the goods laid out before their eyes. And we were just making our peace with QR codes on restaurant menus…