Reporting

FCC proposal suggests rural broadband expansion is in the works

The Federal Communication Commission released a proposed update to the Rural Health Care Program last week, in an effort to satisfy the rapidly expanding need for broadband telehealth programs.

AT&T/TW Accuse DOJ of Selective Enforcement

AT&T/DirecTV and Time Warner have told a federal court and, by extension, the Justice Department and Trump Administration, that the feds' case against their proposed merger is "improper selective enforcement of the antitrust laws."  That came in its official response to the US Court of Appeals for the DC Circuit following DOJ's suit to block the deal, which was filed in that court.

Comcast throttling BitTorrent was no big deal, FCC says

The most obvious reason that network neutrality violations have been rare since Comcast's throttling of BitTorrent is that the Federal Communications Commission has enforced net neutrality rules since 2010 (aside from a year-long interlude without rules caused by a Verizon lawsuit). But to FCC Chairman Ajit Pai, this just proves that the rules aren't necessary. "Because of the paucity of concrete evidence of harms to the openness of the Internet, the [2015 net neutrality] Order and its proponents have heavily relied on purely speculative threats," Pai's proposal says.

Comcast denies plans to offer internet 'fast lanes'

Comcast said it has no plans to offer fast lanes on the internet after the Federal Communications Commission eliminates Obama-era regulation, which banned the practice. The nation's biggest cable operator responded to a report from the website Ars Technica, which stated Comcast might be considering offering a service that would charge companies like Netflix and Google to deliver their services more quickly to consumers. In a statement, Comcast denied the claim. "Comcast hasn't entered into any paid prioritization agreements. Period," spokeswoman Sena Fitzmaurice said.

Chairman Pai sees expanded role for FTC, Critics say FTC can’t react quickly, has limited role

Federal Communications Commission Chairman Ajit Pai’s plan to gut Obama-era net neutrality rules calls for handing off the job of policing broadband service to an agency with different powers and a different mandate. Giving the Federal Trade Commission oversight for the web can make sense from Pai’s perspective: It’s a consumer-protection agency that already has taken action against high-speed internet providers. But, there’s a key difference: The FCC sets rules designed to prevent bad behavior, while the FTC acts after wrongdoing has occurred.

This Week in Comcast: With Net Neutrality on the way out, what’s next?

Comcast continues to repeat it’s mantra that it will never block, throttle or discriminate against lawful content. But slight adjustments in its wording over the years indicates the Philadelphia-based company could change its position. Internet service providers have a monopoly or duopoly in many parts of the country, leaving consumers with little-to-no choice if they disagree with ISPs disclosed policies.

New Net Neutrality Comments Re-Flood Docket

The Federal Communications Commission's Restoring Internet Freedom order has reinvigorated the FCC network neutrality docket, with tens thousands of new comments warning against the planned Dec. 14 vote on the order posted in the last day alone.  The docket already had over 22 million comments, and now is pushing toward 23 million, with over a half million in the last month, many of those since the order was circulated.

McDowell: Threats Against FCC’s Pai Could Warrant Investigation

The attacks online and in protest signage against Federal Communications Commission Chairman Ajit Pai and his family over the Restoring Internet Freedom order circulated last week continued to draw condemnation, including a suggestion law enforcement may need to get involved.  That included from a longtime colleague, Robert McDowell, former senior FCC Republican commissioner and now chief public policy adviser for Mobile Future.

AT&T, Time Warner extend deadline to finalize merger

AT&T and Time Warner are extending the termination date of their merger to April 22, 2018 now that the Department of Justice (DOJ) is suing to block their deal.  Despite the DOJ’s move to stop the merger, both companies are hopeful they’ll still be able to complete the $85 billion deal if they beat the agency’s lawsuit. “AT&T intends to vigorously contest the DOJ’s allegations and is confident that the Court will reject the DOJ’s challenge to the merger,” the company wrote in its SEC filing.

FCC Chairman Ajit Pai blasted everyone from Cher to Twitter for opposing his efforts to repeal net neutrality rules

Federal Communications Commission Chairman Ajit Pai thinks everyone from Cher to Twitter has it wrong when they say that his efforts to roll back the US government’s existing network neutrality rules will spell the death of the web. Instead, Chairman Pai said that tech giants could pose the greatest threat by discriminating against viewpoints on the internet.

Sen Harris Seeks Sign-ups for Pai Net Neutrlaity Proposal Pushback

Sen Kamala Harris (D-CA) is nearing her goal of 175,000 signatures on a petition to try and stop the Federal Communications Commission from rolling back Title II and eliminating most bright-line net neutrality rules."As I said in my letter to the FCC just a few months ago: This proposal is a grave threat to the idea that the internet should be free and accessible for all. It’s a danger to our economy and free speech rights and we must defeat it," she said. 

How Far Will Sean Hannity Go?

Among Sean Hannity’s critics, his relationship with President Donald Trump is frequently depicted as nakedly and sycophantically transactional — one career entertainer grabbing onto the coattails of another and hanging on for dear life. But people close to the president and Hannity say this caricature vastly oversimplifies the complicated and evolving alliance between the two men and misunderstands the degree to which Trump, as candidate and president, has come to Hannity’s positions, rather than the other way around.

How a bot made 1 million comments against net neutrality look genuine

“Gathering and analyzing comments from the public is an important part of the Federal Communications Commission’s rulemaking process,” the American agency says on its website. But analyzing those comments increasingly means reading the thoughts of spambots. Automated comments are now part of political reality: During 2016’s US presidential race, a large proportion of tweets supporting both Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton came from automated accounts. These bots send messages en masse, originating from one source and usually conveying a particular ideology. Some are easy to spot.

FCC Plan to Roll Back Net Neutrality Worries Small Businesses

David Callicott needs to be online to run his small company, GoodLight Natural Candles in San Francisco.  A proposal on Tuesday by the Federal Communications Commission would undo so-called net neutrality rules that barred high-speed internet service providers from adjusting website delivery speeds and charging customers extra for access.

There’s a big math problem with the FCC chairman’s main argument for repealing net neutrality

Federal Communications Commission Chairman Ajit Pai says the FCC needs to ditch its network neutrality rules because they’re hindering investment. But there’s no evidence to prove Pai’s argument. In fact, the data that Pai points to doesn’t show anything close to a marked decrease in broadband investment. Instead, it shows that while broadband investment has risen and fallen a little bit over the years, it has been mostly flat since 2013.

President Trump and Russia Seem to Find Common Foe: The American Press

President Donald Trump attacked CNN International hours after President Vladimir Putin signed a law that requires certain American media outlets working in Russia to register with the government as foreign agents, essentially identifying them as hostile entities. Putin’s allies had previously signaled that CNN International could be affected. For now, CNN appears untouched by the new regulations in Russia.

How FCC’s Net Neutrality Repeal Would Rock Hollywood and Big Media: Winners & Losers

Federal Communications Commission Chairman Ajit Pai’s proposal — which is expected to be formally approved next month in a party-line vote — would render the FCC powerless to stop internet service providers like Comcast, AT&T and Verizon from slowing down or creating paid “fast lanes” for certain sites. And that could produce some big winners and losers throughout the industry.

Winner: Big Internet Service Providers

Loser: Netflix and YouTube 

Winner: Yahoo — and other services owned by ISPs 

Loser: Upstart streaming companies

Loser: Innovators 

Rep Conyers Steps Away From Judiciary Post

Rep John Conyers (D-MI) has agreed to step away from his leadership post as Ranking Member of the House Judiciary committee while he is being investigated by the Ethics Committee over allegations of sexual misconduct.  There are multiple allegations against Rep Conyers, who admitted to having paid to settle a sexual harassment complaint, but admitted no wrongdoing and said it had been settled to avoid the legal fight. "I deny these allegations, many of which were raised by documents reportedly paid for by a partisan alt-right blogger," he said.

Comcast hints at plan for paid fast lanes after net neutrality repeal

For years, Comcast has been promising that it won't violate the principles of network neutrality, regardless of whether the government imposes any net neutrality rules. That meant that Comcast wouldn't block or throttle lawful Internet traffic and that it wouldn't create fast lanes in order to collect tolls from Web companies that want priority access over the Comcast network.

​Washington feeds uncertainty in a changing media landscape

One after another, regulators are making moves that underscore just how fast the media industry is changing, putting pressure on Washington to make sure laws keep up.

Trump Takeaway on Tech: Enforcement Over Regulation

Over just two days this week, the Trump administration has both sued AT&T to block its planned takeover of Time Warner and proposed allowing internet-service providers—like AT&T—to form closer alliances with content companies, like Time Warner. The two government moves seem to go in opposite directions, on the one hand restricting a major telecommunications merger and on the other giving internet providers broad new powers to shape their customers’ online experiences.

Chairman Pai Calls Out Protestors

Federal Communications Commission Chairman Ajit Pai said that network neutrality protestors have "crossed a line" with hateful signs that target his children. It was reported Nov 27 there were protests outside Chairman Pai's home. “It certainly crosses a line with me,” Pai said.

Who is Ajit Pai, the “Trump soldier” remaking America’s internet?

President Donald Trump’s new Federal Communications Commission chairman Ajit Pai promised last December to bring a “weed-wacker” to the agency that oversees the US’s media and telecommunications industries. He appears to be wielding a chain saw instead. “He’s such an interesting character in the Trump administration, because he is qualified for his job,” said president of Free Press Craig Aaron.

City Gov Tech Leaders Protest as FCC Prepares to Repeal Net Neutrality

Government technology leaders throughout the country have once again condemned a plan to repeal net neutrality regulations proposed by Federal Communications Commission (FCC) Chairman Ajit Pai.New York City Chief Technology Officer Miguel Gamiño is one of the loudest voices decrying the rollback, while Seattle’s IT Department has released an oppositional statement and technologists in city governments from Detroit to Cincinnati to Kansas City, Mo., have taken to Twitter to urge the FCC to reconsider. The effort is concentrated and fierce, and it's been going all year.