Reporting

Why 23 million Americans don’t have fast internet

In rural America slow internet can mean more than missing shows on Netflix. Poor service limits access to health, business, and education opportunities that are readily available in urban locations with fast networks.

So far, major telecommunication companies have kept their attention on urban markets. Even when they have made the effort to tackle rural access, they have later scaled back on their commitments. Why? Customers were using too much data on their “unlimited” service plans. It’s an easy economic decision for them to make, but it doesn’t help the 39 percent of rural Americans living without high-speed internet access. In place of private companies, federal funding has been crucial in deploying rural broadband. But the level of funding has not kept pace with technology. As internet speeds get faster, the technology and infrastructure required to provide them becomes more expensive. While experts debate how to deploy broadband and what level of funding should be directed toward fostering adoption, the Federal Communications Commision seems to have an entirely different solution, and it’s not what you might expect.

As Google Fights Fake News, Voices on the Margins Raise Alarm

Accusations that Google has tampered with search results are not uncommon and date back to the earliest days of its search engine. But they are taking on new life amid concerns that technology behemoths are directly — or indirectly — censoring controversial subjects in their response to concerns over so-called fake news and the 2016 presidential election.

In April, Google announced an initiative called Project Owl to provide “algorithmic updates to surface more authoritative content” and stamp out fake news stories from its search results. To some, that was an uncomfortable step toward Google becoming an arbiter of what is and is not a trustworthy news source. “They’re really skating on thin ice,” said Michael Bertini, a search strategist at iQuanti, a digital marketing agency. “They’re controlling what users see. If Google is controlling what they deem to be fake news, I think that’s bias.”

Sen Corker Won't Seek Re-election, Rep Blackburn Expresses Interest in Seat

Sen Bob Corker (R-TN), chairman of the influential Foreign Relations Committee, will not seek re-election in 2018. He is the first senator to announce retirement plans ahead of 2018's election cycle. "I believe the most important public service I have to offer our country could well occur over the next 15 months," Sen Corker said, "and I want to be able to do that as thoughtfully and independently as I did the first 10 years and nine months of my Senate career." Minutes after learning that Sen Corker won’t seek reelection, House Communications Subcommittee Chairman Marsha Blackburn (R-TN) said she’s considering running for his Senate seat in 2018. “Yes,” Blackburn said when asked if she's taking a look at the Senate race.

DHS planning to collect social media info on all immigrants

The Department of Homeland Security has moved to collect social media information on all immigrants, including permanent residents and naturalized citizens. A new rule published in the Federal Register the week of Sept 18 calls to include "social media handles and aliases, associated identifiable information and search results" in the department's immigrant files. The new rule could also affect US citizens who communicate with immigrants on social media by making their conversations the subject of government surveillance.

Homeland Security's inspector general published a report earlier in 2016 concluding that DHS pilot programs for using social media to screen immigration applicants "lack criteria for measuring performance to ensure they meet their objectives." "Although the pilots include some objectives, such as determining the effectiveness of an automated search tool and assessing data collection and dissemination procedures, it is not clear DHS is measuring and evaluating the pilots’ results to determine how well they are performing against set criteria," the report reads.

OTI Submits FCC Comments on Broadband Deployment

On Sept 21, the Open Technology Institute filed comments with the Federal Communications Commission about the availability of broadband across the United States.

In its comments, OTI explained that mobile broadband is not a substitute for fixed broadband—they are complements. Mobile services are generally more expensive, less reliable (particularly in rural areas), slower, and are also subject to restrictive data caps and expensive overage fees. Consumers also typically access mobile broadband on portable devices with smaller screens and limited computational abilities that cannot complete the full range of functions of a desktop or laptop computer for work, entertainment, and educational purposes. OTI also urged the FCC to continue steadily increasing its speed benchmarks to reflect the changing nature of fixed broadband.

AT&T says it’s not ignoring low-income broadband needs

AT&T says the latest claims that it is ignoring the broadband needs of low-income residents in Detroit are false and that it continues to enhance speeds. In a new complaint filed at the Federal Communications Commission, the telecommunications company has been accused of ignoring the broadband needs of low-income residents in Detroit. The practice is called “digital redlining,” a process of income-based discrimination carried out against lower-income neighborhoods.

“We do not redline,” AT&T said. “Our commitment to diversity and inclusion is unparalleled." AT&T added that its network investments are in line with the rules set by the FCC's Communications Act and that it will present its side of the story. "Our investment decisions are based on the cost of deployment and demand for our services and are of course fully compliant with the requirements of the Communications Act," AT&T said. "We will vigorously defend the complaint.”

Puerto Ricans hunt for precious Wi-Fi and cell signals

Margarita Aponte and her relatives cleared the road in front of her house with two oxen Sept 24, then drove an hour from her devastated hometown in central Puerto Rico to the old telegraph building in the capital of San Juan. There, thousands of Puerto Ricans gathered for a chance at a resource nearly as precious as power and water in the wake of Hurricane Maria — communication. “It’s ringing, it’s ringing, it’s ringing!”

Aponte, a janitor, screamed as her phone connected to free Wi-Fi and her Facetime call went through to the mainland. Her eyes filled with tears as she talked with nephews, uncles, brothers and sisters in Florida and Massachusetts for the first time since Maria destroyed nearly every cellphone and fiber optic connection on this US territory of 3.4 million people. The low murmur at one of two free Wi-Fi hotspots is occasionally interrupted by the cheering of someone getting through the largely jammed network. Most spend hours frowning at their phones, unable to connect. “There’s no communication. We’re in God’s hands,” Yesenia Gomez, a kitchen worker, said as she left a message for her mother in the neighboring Dominican Republic. Dozens of other Puerto Ricans opted to pull over to the side of the road along various highways where cellphone signals were strongest.

Ham Radio Hobbyists Are Connecting the Caribbean After Hurricane Maria

Most Puerto Ricans are just trying to reach family members. Few have access to Wi-Fi hotspots or electrical outlets. Sustained winds of 155 mph obliterated 95 percent of Puerto Rico's wireless cell sites, leaving much of the country a deadzone. In the past week, Puerto Rico's government has received more than 110,000 outside calls, many, no doubt, from panicked relatives. Remote places like Arecibo, near the western part of Puerto Rico, were particularly hard-hit. Here, the only reliable mode of communication is radio. And amid the silence, a determined network of radio hobbyists, affectionately called "hams," is helping communities make contact.

Ham radio is an older technology, archaic by some modern standards, but highly customizable. Hobbyists must pass a test to obtain a license, so the term "amateur" is something of a misnomer. As of 2015, there were 726,275 hams in the US, and six million worldwide. These networks are remarkably resilient in bad weather, with the exception of solar storms.

White House Reiterates E-mail Policy After News Of Officials Using Private Accounts

News that at least six current or former senior members of the Trump administration have used private e-mail accounts as they conduct official business has prompted the White House to clarify its policy. "All White House personnel have been instructed to use official e-mail to conduct all government-related work," press secretary Sarah Sanders said. "They are further instructed that if they receive work-related communication on personal accounts, they should be forwarded to official e-mail accounts." Private e-mail use by public officials was a hot topic in the 2016 presidential race — and one that then-candidate Donald Trump used to accuse rival Hillary Clinton of breaking federal laws after she used private e-mail to handle official business as secretary of state.

Trump has been great for the economy. The anti-Trump economy, that is.

These are boom times for the anti-Trump industrial complex. Fundraising is through the roof for lefty organizations that hadn’t been relevant since the Clinton era; the grass roots have never been greener for new activist groups; and political hacks may be sexier than ever. A clique of former Obama speechwriters with a sideline in #Resistance podcasting is selling out 6,000-person concert halls; Rob Reiner, the director of “Spinal Tap,” has teamed up with James R. Clapper Jr., the former director of national intelligence, to found the Committee to Investigate Russia; and liberal activists recently surpassed the Guinness world record for the most people on, yes, a conference call.

Trump has picked fights over the flag before. But this time was different.

When President Donald Trump decided, out of the blue, to attack the National Football League over its players’ protests during the national anthem, the resulting controversy followed a well-worn formula. What was different, however, was the enormous backlash that his comments created — far larger than any of those previous incidents combined.

President Trump attacked an enormously popular sport whose fans prefer it to be a politics-free arena, while once again touching on the raw nerve of race. In so doing, the president proved anew that divisive provocations can mean something completely different when they come not from a private citizen, but the man whose very job description is to lead the country. “Most presidents believe that a big part of their job is to keep the country together,” said Michael Beschloss, a presidential historian, who noted that even Richard M. Nixon spoke of bringing the nation together during his 1969 inauguration. “There is very little sign that Donald Trump has much of an idea that unifying this country has much to do with being president. He just hasn’t shown it.”

UHF Discount Foes Fire First Legal Shot

Opponents of Federal Communications Commission Chairman Ajit Pai's restoration of the UHF discount, which helped pave the way for a possible Sinclair/Tribune merger, have taken their first shot in federal court, saying the decision was illegally arbitrary and capricious and served no public interest purpose.

Late Sept 25, a coalition of nonprofit media consolidation critics including Free Press, Common Cause, the National Hispanic Media Coalition and Prometheus Radio Project, laid out their case for why the decision to reinstate the discount was arbitrary and capricious and not in the public interest. The previous Democratic-led FCC had eliminated the discount as an outmoded artifact of the analog TV era. The groups, filing their opening brief in the US Court of Appeals for the DC Circuit, said the FCC did not present any "valid or factual legal basis" for the discount's return. "The best indication that reinstating the discount was not actually intended to maintain the status quo, is the fact that, just two weeks after the Commission issued its decision reinstating the discount, Intervenor Sinclair announced plans to acquire Intervenor Tribune," they told the court. That deal could give Sinclair, already the largest TV station group at slightly under the 39% cap, a reach of over 70% of the country.

The FEC's plans for political ad disclosures

Officials at the Federal Election Commission are reaching out to political ad buyers, among others, to solicit more comments about potential new disclosure rules. At this point, most of the FEC's efforts are around gathering ideas about ways to modernize outdated disclosure laws. Within the FEC and on Capitol Hill, a few other ideas expected to be considered (they're still very far off from actual implementation): Requiring all online political ads to carry disclosures; Creating a database of all political ads; Banning programmatic (automated) political ads from being sold. It will be hard for the six-person commission, usually divided equally among party lines, to come to a consensus around this, according to sources within the FEC, meaning that any major disclosure efforts would have to come from Congress.

What, Exactly, Were Russians Trying to Do With Those Facebook Ads?

So, the Russian ad buy is a significant Facebook purchase, but not one that seems scaled to the ambition of interfering with a national US election. That could be because: 1) Not all the ads have been discovered, so the $100,000 is a significant undercount. 2) That was the right number, and the ads worked to aid distribution of disinformation. 3) The ads were part of a message-testing protocol to improve the reach of posts posted natively by other accounts. Think of it as a real-time focus group to test for the most viral content and framing. 4) That $100,000 was a test that didn’t work well, so it didn’t get more resources. 5) That $100,000 was merely a calling card, spent primarily to cause trouble for Facebook and the election system.

Elon Musk’s Plan to Girdle Earth With Satellites Hits Turbulence

Elon Musk’s ambitious plan to surround the Earth with thousands of internet-beaming satellites is encountering turbulence from regulators concerned about interference with competing systems. SpaceX, the rocket startup Musk runs, filed for permission for its constellation of refrigerator-sized satellites late in 2016. Selling broadband from orbit is a key part of how SpaceX plans to make money beyond its original rocket-launching service. But the Federal Communications Commission dealt the project a setback Sept 26 with a decision that could force power reductions on SpaceX satellites, and potentially limit the spectrum they can use, making them less effective.

The regulator on a 5-0 vote decided to defer in part to the International Telecommunication Union, an agency of the United Nations, on how these new satellite systems need to coordinate and share spectrum. The decision was one part of a broad suite of rules intended to help clear the way for satellite constellations. The fleets “could be a gateway to more broadband competition, which benefits all consumers,” FCC Chairman Ajit Pai said as the agency voted at a meeting in Washington.

How Fake News Turned a Small Town in ID Upside Down

Before Twin Falls (ID) reporter Nathan Brown got into the office, a friend texted him, telling him to check the Drudge Report. At the top, a headline screamed: “REPORT: Syrian ‘Refugees’ Rape Little Girl at Knifepoint in Idaho.”

The Twins Falls story aligned perfectly with the ideology that Stephen Bannon, then the head of Breitbart News, had been developing for years, about the havoc brought on by unchecked immigration and Islamism, all of it backed by big-business interests and establishment politicians. Bannon latched onto the Fawnbrook case and used his influence to expand its reach. During the weeks leading up to his appointment in August 2016 to lead Donald J. Trump’s campaign for president, Twin Falls was a daily topic of discussion on Bannon’s national radio show, where he called it “the beating heart” of all that the coming presidential election was about. He sent his lead investigative reporter, Lee Stranahan, to the town to investigate the case, boasting to his audience that Stranahan was a “pit bull” of a reporter. “We’re going to let him off the chain,” he said.

Silicon Valley and governments have to play nice if we want to save the world

Technology doesn’t always cooperate with us when we want it to. And sometimes governments don’t want to cooperate with it, either. At the United Nation’s High-Level Event on Innovation and Technology various snafus reinforced a key point that recurred at various conferences during UNGA week: That all the talk of using technology to fight poverty, hunger, and gender inequality is useless if we can’t get over the most basic hurdle—universal access to the internet, which less than half the world currently has. Only then can we attempt to use our digital savvy to tackle the 17 sustainable development goals (SDGs), the UN’s ambitious framework for solving global problems by 2030.

In order to achieve any of this, however, technology leaders in the private sector and government leaders in the public sector are going to have to learn how to get along. Traditionally positioned as opponents at opposite ends of the ring—the private sector wanting to make a profit, the public sector wanting to make a difference—UNGA treated both as equals and encouraged them to shake hands instead of throw punches. True, lasting, global change isn’t the responsibility of either party alone, but to move forward, they’re going to have to find some middle ground on the following issues.

Europe’s telecoms groups warn over regulation

The European telecoms sector has lost €100 million a day to disruptive technology companies over the past decade, says a report commissioned by Etno, the trade body that represents the region’s largest operators.

Europe’s telecoms groups have long complained about the burden of regulation on the sector, while more lightly regulated US and Asian tech companies have launched rival services offering communications and internet access — often using the infrastructure created by the national telecoms groups. The report, compiled by Accenture, warns regulatory change is required to create a competitive digital economy in Europe.

Twitter defends decision not to remove Trump tweet threatening North Korea

Twitter is defending its decision not to suspend President Donald Trump over a tweet about North Korea that seems to violate its prohibition on threats of violence.

"Just heard Foreign Minister of North Korea speak at U.N.," President Trump tweeted. "If he echoes thoughts of Little Rocket Man, they won't be around much longer!" Twitter did not remove the tweet. North Korea interpreted the tweet as a "clear declaration of war." Responding to questions from users on why it had not removed the tweet and suspended the president's account, Twitter said "'newsworthiness' and whether a tweet is of public interest" plays a role in its decision making. Twitter said this is an internal policy.

Its public terms of service state: "You may not make threats of violence or promote violence, including threatening or promoting terrorism." Twitter acknowledged it needs to do a better job of making its rules transparent to the public. "We'll soon update our public-facing rules to reflect it," Twitter said.

At Least 6 White House Advisers Used Private Email Accounts

At least six of President Trump’s closest advisers occasionally used private email addresses to discuss White House matters, current and former officials said.

Stephen Bannon, the former chief White House strategist, Reince Priebus, the former chief of staff, advisers, Gary Cohn and Stephen Miller, and Ivanka Trump have all used personal email accounts to conduct government business. Officials are supposed to use government emails for their official duties so their conversations are available to the public and those conducting oversight. But it is not illegal for White House officials to use private email accounts as long as they forward work-related messages to their work accounts so they can be preserved.

Mark Zuckerberg built Facebook into a behemoth whose power he underestimates

[Commentary] When it comes to business, Facebook co-founder Mark Zuckerberg is undeniably a visionary. But Zuckerberg’s prescient skills seem to waver when the social and cultural intricacies of the real world leak onto his ubiquitous platform. Defensive at times, like when he initially disputed the premise fake news on Facebook may have influenced the 2016 election, Zuckerberg can come across as someone yet to realize the true power and scope of the platform he built. A company optimized for digital engagement, it turns out, may not have been primed to deal with the darkest aspects of humanity and society. Whether Facebook’s public problems are evidence of unintended consequences, shortsightedness or willful blindness is open to debate. But pressure on the company to get policy (and its algorithms) right will only mount now that it counts a quarter of the world’s population as its users, effectively turning the platform into a digital reflection of society.

Russian operatives used Facebook ads to exploit divisions over black political activism and Muslims

The batch of more than 3,000 Russian-bought ads that Facebook is preparing to turn over to Congress shows a deep understanding of social divides in American society, with some ads promoting African-American rights groups including Black Lives Matter and others suggesting that these same groups pose a rising political threat, apparently.

The Russian campaign — taking advantage of Facebook’s ability to simultaneously send contrary messages to different groups of users based on their political and demographic characteristics -- also sought to sow discord among religious groups. Other ads highlighted support for Democrat Hillary Clinton among Muslim women. These targeted messages, along with others that have surfaced in recent days, highlight the sophistication of an influence campaign slickly crafted to mimic and infiltrate US political discourse while also seeking to heighten tensions between groups already wary of one another.

Verizon backtracks—but only slightly—in plan to kick customers off network

Verizon Wireless is giving a reprieve to some rural customers who are scheduled to be booted off their service plans, but only in cases when customers have no other options for cellular service.

Verizon recently notified 8,500 customers in 13 states that they will be disconnected on October 17 because they used roaming data on another network. But these customers weren't doing anything wrong—they are being served by rural networks that were set up for the purpose of extending Verizon's reach into rural areas. As Verizon explained in 2015, the company set up its LTE in Rural America (LRA) program to provide technical support and resources to 21 rural wireless carriers. That support would help the carriers build 4G networks. Verizon benefited by being able to reach more customers in sparsely populated areas. Customers with these plans don't even see roaming indicators on their phones, as it appears that they're on the Verizon network. But now Verizon is kicking customers off the network in cases when Verizon's roaming costs exceed what customers pay Verizon. Customers are being disconnected for using just a few gigabytes a month. Sept 22, Verizon said it is extending the deadline to switch providers to December 1. The company is also letting some customers stay on the network—although they must switch to a new service plan.

White House announces new tech jobs initiative

The White House will put at least $200 million in grant funding towards bolstering STEM and Computer Science education “particularly among historically underserved groups,” the administration announced. The minimum $200 million commitment from the Department of Education is supposed to bolstered by private sector contributions that senior administration officials say will be announced later the week of Sept 25. The money will be available to schools across the country to bolster their science and technology programs, at the start of the 2018 fiscal year. A senior administration official said that the White House had been having conversations with school superintendents and governors across the country, encouraging them to take advantage of the funding.

A majority of high schools in the US do not currently offer computer science courses and 40 percent do not offer physics courses. The administration’s push comes amid continued calls from technology companies for more skills training and reformed worker visas to fill high-demand technology and engineering roles. A senior administration official told reporters on a call that the initiative was born out of input from such companies seeking more STEM workers.