December 19, 2011 (Spectrum dropped from payroll tax deal; SOPA/PROTECT IP fight)
BENTON'S COMMUNICATIONS-RELATED HEADLINES for MONDAY, DECEMBER 19, 2011
PIRACY
Sen Ron Wyden vows fight over PROTECT IP Act
PROTECT IP Bill Teed Up For January Floor Vote [links to web]
House postpones action on Internet piracy bill
GOP chairman expects President Obama to sign anti-online piracy bill [links to web]
Will the SOPA bill kill the Internet?
The Internet erases borders, SOPA puts them back - editorial
Is Google Really Getting Rich Off Piracy? - analysis
Online piracy laws must preserve Web freedom - op-ed
WIRELESS/SPECTRUM
Spectrum dropped from payroll tax deal
House bill wrong way to divvy up airwaves - analysis
Cox To Sell Wireless Licenses To Verizon Wireless For $315 Million
AT&T Talks to Sell T-Mobile Assets Go Cold
AT&T, T-Mobile deal: Judge to delay California probe indefinitely
Report: 6 Million U.S. Homes Have Cut the Broadband Cord for Wireless Only
Report: Spectrum fragmentation will result in costlier LTE smartphones [links to web]
Forget wallets. What else is NFC good for? [links to web]
Wireless markets: What a difference a year doesn’t make - analysis
Cellphone Carriers Keep Voices Low as Watchdogs Push for Ban in Cars [links to web]
INTERNET/BROADBAND
FTC Warns That Rapid Expansion of Internet Domain Name System Could Leave Consumers More Vulnerable to Online Fraud - press release
FCC chair making progress to bridge the digital divide - analysis
House cybersecurity bill would establish federal overseer [links to web]
The Internet Gets Physical - analysis
MORE ON CONTENT
With Siri TV, Apple Will Dismantle the TV Networks - op-ed
What a Hotlink Costs Advertisers in Magazine iPad Editions
Facebook Lawsuit Against Ads ‘Liked’ by Friends Can Proceed, Judge Rules [links to web]
A Comic Distributes Himself [links to web]
MIT Expands Its Free Online Courses [links to web]
PRIVACY
Protecting Privacy and Civil Liberties on the Internet and Beyond - press release
Sprint says 26 million handsets have Carrier IQ; AT&T claims 900K
Carrier IQ Response on Privacy Falls Short, U.S. Senators Say
Report: Sprint disabling Carrier IQ on its devices [links to web
Digital Data on Patients Raises Risk of Breaches [links to web]
TELEVISION
Viewership Steady For Cable, Broadcast Nets [links to web]
OWNERSHIP
FTC Obtains $500,000 Penalty For Comcast Pre-Merger Reporting Act Violations - press release
DeMint, Scalise Propose Sweeping Away Retransmission Regime, Ownership Regulations
The Supreme Court and the Future of Journalism - editorial
Don’t Support Your Local Bookseller - editorial
Amazon Says Long Term And Means It [links to web]
ELECTIONS AND MEDIA
FEC quashes new disclosure rules
GOP debates, both interesting and important, score in TV ratings [links to web]
Gingrich moves away from electronic health records [links to web]
GOVERNMENT & COMMUNICATIONS
Protecting Privacy and Civil Liberties on the Internet and Beyond - press release
Dot-Gov Reform Effort Making Progress [links to web]
LightSquared hires major K Street lobbying firm [links to web]
AGENDA
Tech policy preview of 2012
MARKETING
Appropriations Bill Delays FTC Food Marketing Guidelines
STORIES FROM ABROAD
Egypt News Media Clash Over Cause of Violence
Firms Bid on NATO Cyberwar [links to web]
Groups’ efforts to meet data rules criticized [links to web]
MORE ONLINE
The 10 biggest ed-tech stories of 2011 [links to web]
The 10 key skills for the future of work [links to web]
Sean Lev Named FCC Deputy General Counsel - press release [links to web]
Rebooting Philanthropy in Silicon Valley [links to web]
PIRACY
WYDEN FIGHTS PROTECT IP
[SOURCE: Politico, AUTHOR: Tony Romm]
As the Senate aims to consider a bill next month that would clamp down on music, movies and counterfeit products peddled illegally online, the proposal’s foremost opponent promised Dec 17 to fight it to the bitter end. Taking to the floor, Sen. Ron Wyden (D-OR) said he will “follow through on a commitment I made more than a year ago to filibuster this bill when the Senate returns in January.” Sen Wyden emphasized in his brief speech that the bill — known as the PROTECT IP Act — has already raised alarms among Internet engineers, tech entrepreneurs and free speech advocates. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) made it official that the Senate will hold a key procedural vote on the bill not long after Congress returns from its holiday break. The Jan. 24 vote on a motion to proceed was praised by the bill’s author, Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-VT), who said Congress can “ill afford to save the debate on how to counter online infringement for another day.” But Sen Wyden said the bill “could deal an enormous body blow to a vital job engine for our economy.” He also raised more indirect alarms about the bill’s cousin — the Stop Online Piracy Act — under consideration in the House. If the chamber is in session this week, the Judiciary Committee intends to resume its marathon markup of the bill.
benton.org/node/107375 | Politico
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SOPA WILL HAVE ANOTHER DAY
[SOURCE: Washington Post, AUTHOR: Hayley Tsukayama]
After two days of heavy debate on a House bill aimed at curbing online piracy, the House Judiciary Committee has postponed action on the measure until Wednesday, Dec 21 [yes, right, Hanukkah, for those of you scoring at home]. A vocal minority of committee members introduced more than 50 amendments intended to delay and derail the legislation, which would authorize the government and copyright holders to seek court orders forcing search engines and other Web firms to delete links to foreign sites dedicated to copyright infringement. But the majority of those amendments were shot down by Chairman Lamar Smith (R-TX) and his fellow supporters, who belittled claims the bill would lead to censorship and stifle innovation on the Internet. Still, the delay could add fuel to the grassroots backlash that has been growing online against the bill.
benton.org/node/107357 | Washington Post | The Hill
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WOULD SOPA KILL THE INTERNET?
[SOURCE: Politico, AUTHOR: Jennifer Martinez, Michelle Quinn]
Listen to Google, Facebook, PayPal and other Web companies, and you’ll hear that an online Armageddon is near: Bills now pending in Congress to thwart online piracy would violate free speech, destroy the technological underpinnings of the Web and hinder the user-generated innovation like the next YouTube or Twitter. Listen to Walt Disney, the NFL, Eli Lilly and a slew of entertainment and manufacturing companies, and you’ll hear that the Internet is a lawless Wild West: Congress is only trying to be the sheriff and save American jobs, make sure writers and artists are paid and protect the public from fake Viagra and Coach bags peddled online. So who is right? The truth, as is often the case in heated battles on Capitol Hill between deep-pocketed constituencies that eye each other suspiciously, comes down somewhere in the middle.
benton.org/node/107373 | Politico
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SOFA RAISES BORDERS
[SOURCE: GigaOm, AUTHOR: Stacey Higginbotham]
The old-media machine has realized it has to act soon to maintain its ever-weakening hold on the days when content was not digital and people weren’t sharing every waking moment of their lives. Mainstream technology adoption equals mainstream political attention, and entrenched industries seem to have figured out that they have to act before too many citizens (and too many legislators) start using these new devices and come to understand the limitations that laws such as the Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA) could impose on them. Essentially SOPA could make it possible for web sites to be shut down for hosting pirated content, and could penalize sites that host such content even unknowingly. Just like the iPhone brought smartphones into the mainstream, widespread streaming, YouTube and foreign online pharmacies have brought SOPA to Congress. But the fundamental issue isn’t really about SOPA — it’s about protecting business models that rely on a fragmented world, as the Internet makes that fragmentation less relevant. The realization is slowly dawning that making money based on varied pricing and distribution within certain borders has become impossible. SOPA may be the content industry’s attempt to throw up a terrible option in order to make a compromise solution seem more palatable, but the hard truth is that compromises will have to be made.
benton.org/node/107356 | GigaOm
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GOOGLE AND PIRACY
[SOURCE: paidContent.org, AUTHOR: Jeff Roberts]
The “Google is in bed with the pirates” theory is hardly new and is often aired by publishers and copyright lawyers. It has bubbled up again in the last two weeks as a debate rages in Washington over the controversial Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA). So how much money Google is making from the hundreds of “rogue” websites worldwide that flog everything from fake NFL jerseys to pirated versions of Hollywood blockbusters? For those unfamiliar with Google’s business model, the company makes nearly all of its money in one of two ways. The first is by using auctions to sell keywords like “flowers” or “personal injury lawyer” to companies whose ads appear when a user searches those terms. The other way the company makes money is through its AdSense program which helps website owners place ads on their site. In return, Google gets a cut of the ad revenue. This means Google could (in theory) make money by selling keywords like “football” to companies that want to advertise that they have counterfeit Cowboys jerseys for sale. In fact, earlier this year, the company paid a huge fine for letting Canadian pharmacies buy keywords to advertise drugs without a prescription. But the pharmacy episode appears to be a one-off blunder. There is no evidence that Google has a habit of selling keywords to shady partners. A Google spokesperson said by email that the company has strict policies to ban inappropriate ads and companies that try to buy them.
benton.org/node/107355 | paidContent.org
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PIRACY LAW MUST PRESERVE WEB FREEDOM
[SOURCE: CNN, AUTHOR: Ivan Sigal, Rebecca MacKinnon]
[Commentary] The Stop Online Piracy Act would force social media platforms to pro-actively monitor and censor users to prevent them from posting words or images that might violate copyright. Website operators who fail to do so could be blacklisted and prosecuted. The bill and its Senate counterpart, the Protect IP Act, would empower the attorney general to block allegedly infringing websites based anywhere on Earth. The drafters of both bills do not mean to stifle online dissent and activism. Their goal is to protect intellectual property, especially from piracy by websites overseas. The problem is that the bills' legal and technical solutions are very similar to mechanisms that authoritarian regimes use to censor and spy on their citizens. Our organization, Global Voices Online, is an international network for citizen media. We support the protection of intellectual property; many members of our community earn all or part of their living by creating copyrighted work. We worry, though, that the Stop Online Piracy Act and Protect IP Act will inflict broad unintended damage on digital activists living under repressive regimes as well as restrict speech freedoms at home.
benton.org/node/107354 | CNN
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WIRELESS/SPECTRUM
SPECTRUM PROVISIONS DROPPED
[SOURCE: The Hill, AUTHOR: Brendan Sasso]
The Senate bill to extend the payroll tax holiday does not include spectrum provisions that were in the House GOP version of the legislation. The Senate approved the package on Dec 17 in an 89-10 vote, and it now awaits approval in the House. The spectrum legislation would have incentivized television broadcasters to give up their airwaves for the government to auction to wireless companies, which are struggling to meet the growing data demands of smartphones and tablet computers. The major source of disagreement is over the House language dealing with the governance and funding of the national broadband public safety network that would be established under the bill.
“I’m deeply disappointed that measures to create a first responder communications network were not included in the larger year-end package,” Senate Commerce Committee Jay Rockefeller (D-WV) said. “Our police officers, firefighters, and emergency personnel across America need to be able to rely on a nationwide, interoperable communications network when the unimaginable happens. Although we didn’t get this done within today’s agreement, I intend to push hard in the coming weeks to work out a suitable compromise with the House."
benton.org/node/107381 | Hill, The | B&C |
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WRONG WAY TO DIVVY UP AIRWAVES
[SOURCE: San Jose Mercury News, AUTHOR: Troy Wolverton]
The danger of cellphone networks being clogged up by users and their data has finally gotten Congress' attention. But its answer to the problem may end up doing more harm than good. A bill passed by the House last week would encourage television broadcasters to voluntarily hand back their airwaves, which the government would auction them off to the highest bidder, sharing the proceeds with the broadcasters. Wireless companies such as AT&T and Verizon are expected to snatch up the newly opened airwaves to help speed smartphone Internet connections and ensure fewer dropped calls. But the legislation is critically flawed. Should it become law, we're likely to end up with an even less competitive wireless market. And Super Wi-Fi -- a new wireless technology that promises ultrafast Internet connections -- may be critically hobbled. The potential problems created by the bill are so big that Mark Cooper, director of research at the Consumer Federation of America, calls it "a 100-year mistake."
benton.org/node/107380 | San Jose Mercury News
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COX SELLS SPECTRUM TO VERIZON
[SOURCE: Multichannel News, AUTHOR: Todd Spangler]
Call it Verizon’s “quad play.” Cox Communications has joined three of its cable peers in the Verizon Wireless camp, announcing that it has struck an agreement to sell to the wireless carrier its 20-MHz Advanced Wireless Services spectrum licenses covering 28 million people in the U.S. for $315 million. In addition, Cox and Verizon Wireless will also become agents to sell each other's residential and commercial products and services through their respective sales channels. Over time, Cox may have the option to sell Verizon Wireless' services on a wholesale basis. Cox noted that the agreement with Verizon Wireless does not include Cox's 700 MHz spectrum licenses, the company's existing Cox Wireless customer accounts -- which will be phased out by March 2012 -- or any other assets. As part of the deal, Cox expects to enter into arrangements with the Philadelphia-based "innovation technology joint venture" to be formed by Verizon Wireless, Comcast, Time Warner Cable and Bright House, aimed at developing ways to better integrate wireline and wireless products and services.
benton.org/node/107353 | Multichannel News | Connected Planet | Washington Post
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AT&T/T-MOBILE TALKS GO COLD
[SOURCE: Wall Street Journal, AUTHOR: Anupreeta Das, Gina Chon, Anton Troianovski]
Talks on asset sales intended to help AT&T win approval for its acquisition of T-Mobile USA have gone cold, according to people familiar with the matter, the strongest sign yet that AT&T may abandon the $39 billion deal. While AT&T could still try to fight the Justice Department in court, alternatives to a full-blown merger are looking more likely, the people said. Those options include AT&T's taking a stake in the smaller carrier or doing a joint venture to share network technology, they said. These people cautioned that while a divestiture deal to get the acquisition done seemed increasingly remote, all options remain on the table. AT&T and Deutsche Telekom had been looking to sell off mainly T-Mobile USA assets to other wireless carriers, the people said. They had been in serious discussions to divest assets worth more than 30% of the deal's value to Leap Wireless International Inc., the people added. Other potential buyers for T-Mobile assets include satellite-TV provider Dish Network Corp., cellular operator MetroPCS Communications Inc. and foreign buyers. But the Leap talks recently faltered amid concern that even with such sales, the deal was unlikely to win over the Justice Department, the people said.
benton.org/node/107378 | Wall Street Journal
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CPUC PUTS HOLD ON AT&T/T-MOBILE INVESTIGATION
[SOURCE: Los Angeles Times, AUTHOR: David Sarno]
Citing uncertainty about the fate of AT&T's $39-billion deal to take over T-Mobile, a California judge has indefinitely postponed proceedings in a 6-month-old state investigation of the deal. A California Public Utilities Commission administrative law judge, Jessica Hecht, said she was eliminating an upcoming deadline in the case "in recognition of recent developments related to the underlying merger proposal." "I will continue to monitor developments related to the proposed merger," she wrote, and "will issue a new schedule for these comments or other activities in the future, if appropriate." The delay came after the CPUC received requests earlier this week from AT&T and T-Mobile to put a hold on the proceedings, she wrote.
benton.org/node/107350 | Los Angeles Times
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CUTTING THE BROADBAND CORD
[SOURCE: Telecompetitor, AUTHOR: Andrew Burger]
As Strategy Analytics points out, cord cutting can also be associated with home broadband services. More than 6 million U.S. households will depend solely on a wireless or mobile platform (including 3G or 4G) to access the Internet. That’s nearly 7% of total U.S broadband connections, and a 430,000 net increase from 2010 levels, according to a report from the Boston based market research firm. Strategy Analytics isn’t the only one forecasting explosive growth in mobile network capacity and traffic in the near future, though it expects that 4G won’t take over as “the primary access medium in the home.” Cable modems provide more than 50% of U.S. households with broadband connections, and that will increase slightly over the next five years, according to the company. DSL on the other hand is at risk, as consumers opt for either FTTH or mobile broadband only options.
benton.org/node/107332 | telecompetitor | Strategy Analytics
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WHAT A DIFFERENCE A YEAR DOESN’T MAKE
[SOURCE: GigaOm, AUTHOR: Stacey Higginbotham]
Holy spectrum shortage, people. Between the collapse of AT&T’s proposed $39 billion merger with T-Mobile and the death throes of a proposed wholesale 4G network created by a satellite company and now-broke hedge fund, the wireless industry has generated a lot of stories but no real change in the past year. We still have the same top four providers, and Clearwire is still struggling. The hoped-for entrance of LightSquared as a wholesale LTE-provider hasn’t materialized, and while Dish says it plans to enter the market, that news is balanced out by Cox’s deciding to leave it.
benton.org/node/107371 | GigaOm
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INTERNET/BROADBAND
FTC WARNS ICANN
[SOURCE: Federal Trade Commission, AUTHOR: Press release]
The Federal Trade Commission sent a letter to the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN), the organization that oversees Internet domain names, expressing concern that the organization's plan to dramatically expand the domain name system could leave consumers more vulnerable to online fraud and undermine law enforcers' ability to track down online scammers.
In its letter to ICANN, the Commission warned that rapid expansion of the number of generic top-level domain names (gTLDs) – the part of the domain name to the right of the dot, such as ".com," ".net" and ".org" – could create a "dramatically increased opportunity for consumer fraud," and make it easier for scam artists to manipulate the system to avoid being detected by law enforcement authorities. The Commission urged ICANN – before approving any new gTLD applications – to take additional steps to protect consumers, including starting with a pilot program to work out potential problems.
Before approving any new gTLD applications, the FTC urged ICANN to:
implement the new program as a pilot program and substantially reduce the number of generic top level domains that are introduced as a result of the first application round;
strengthen ICANN's contractual compliance program, in particular by hiring additional compliance staff;
develop a new ongoing program to monitor consumer issues that arise during the first round of implementing the new gTLD program;
assess each new proposed generic top level domain's risk of consumer harm as part of the evaluation and approval process;
improve the accuracy of Whois data, including by imposing a registrant verification requirement.
benton.org/node/107341 | Federal Trade Commission
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GENACHOWSKI AND THE DIGITAL DIVIDE
[SOURCE: San Jose Mercury News, AUTHOR: Chris O’Brien]
[Commentary] At a time the federal government is politically divided and posting record budget deficits, it would seem absurd to even think about tackling ambitious policy initiatives such as closing the digital divide. I have argued that this remains one of the most pressing issues of our time and was heartened it was also high on the agenda of Julius Genachowski when he was appointed chairman of the Federal Communications Commission more than three years ago. But I figured he'd have to shelve any large initiatives after the November 2010 election when Republicans took control of the U.S. House of Representatives. But to my pleasant surprise, he has not. Over the past two months, the FCC has announced several programs aimed at furthering the goal of national broadband adoption and closing the persistent digital divide. On Dec 15, Chairman Genachowski was in Silicon Valley for a news conference at the offices of VC firm Andreessen Horowitz, and his commitment to tackling the digital divide was on full display. "The costs of digital exclusion are high, and getting higher every day," Chairman Genachowski said. The occasion for his appearance was to announce the winners of Apps for Communities Challenge, staged in partnership with the Knight Foundation. On the scale of these things, it's a smaller but interesting example of the ways the FCC is approaching the digital divide. Back in 2010, the FCC released a National Broadband Plan that was an ambitious attempt to reach universal broadband adoption while addressing the many complexities of the digital divide. Rather than fading away, the FCC made three important announcements this year that show it still has momentum:
The Universal Service Fund that for decades had been dedicated to telephone adoption was transformed into the Connect America Fund, which will generate $4.5 billion to help millions get access to broadband connections.
Connect to Compete, an agreement with broadband providers to create a $9.95-a-month plan for families that are eligible for federal lunch programs.
And the creation of a nonprofit public-private partnership with a long list of telecommunications and tech companies that will provide digital literacy and skill training.
benton.org/node/107377 | San Jose Mercury News
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INTERNET GETS PHYSICAL
[SOURCE: New York Times, AUTHOR: Steve Lohr]
[Commentary] Internet is growing up and lifting its gaze to the wider world. To be sure, the economy of Internet self-gratification is thriving. Web start-ups for the consumer market still sprout at a torrid pace. And young corporate stars seeking to cash in for billions by selling shares to the public are consumer services — the online game company Zynga last week, and the social network giant Facebook, whose stock offering is scheduled for next year. As this is happening, though, the protean Internet technologies of computing and communications are rapidly spreading beyond the lucrative consumer bailiwick. Low-cost sensors, clever software and advancing computer firepower are opening the door to new uses in energy conservation, transportation, health care and food distribution. The consumer Internet can be seen as the warm-up act for these technologies. The concept has been around for years, sometimes called the Internet of Things or the Industrial Internet. Yet it takes time for the economics and engineering to catch up with the predictions. And that moment is upon us.
benton.org/node/107370 | New York Times
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MORE ON CONTENT
SIRI TV?
[SOURCE: Wall Street Journal, AUTHOR: Ben Elowitz]
[Commentary] Steve Jobs died without fully transforming television, but the day before he passed away, Apple unveiled Siri, its natural language interface. Though it’s currently only embedded in the new iPhone 4S, Siri could eventually change the face of the TV industry. Siri’s greatest impact won’t ultimately be on users, or on device manufacturers (though they certainly risk losing market share to Apple). It will be on the TV industry’s content creators and packagers. Why? Because a voice-controlled television interface will fundamentally disrupt the six-decade-old legacy structure of networks, channels and programs. And that’s a legacy that — until now, at least — has been carried forward from analog to digital. If the Internet can be generalized to have one effect across every industry that moves online, that effect would be disaggregation. Choices go from finite to infinite. Navigation goes from sequential to random access. And audiences choose content by the item far more than by the collection. We’ve gone from the packaged and channelized to the unbound and itemized. Autonomous albums are fragmented into songs; series into clips; and magazines and newspapers into articles and individual photos. As much as we may think that has already happened with video, it is nothing compared to the great leveling that will occur in the voice-controlled living room. [Elowitz is Co-founder and CEO of Wetpaint]
benton.org/node/107352 | Wall Street Journal
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HOTLINKS ON THE IPAD
[SOURCE: AdAge, AUTHOR: Nat Ives]
How much is a hotlink worth? It seems like a small thing, but it's one of many new questions facing magazine publishers as they try to figure out best practices, policies and business models for their editions on the iPad, Kindle and Nook. Should magazines automatically activate any web addresses mentioned in a print ad -- whether it's Folgers.com or Facebook.com/DKNY -- when the ads get digitized for tablets? Or should advertisers pony up for the privilege? Conde Nast charges $5,000 to activate each web address from a print ad. Functional links give advertisers extra value that's worth paying for, according to Conde Nast, which publishes magazines such as Vogue and The New Yorker.
benton.org/node/107340 | AdAge
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PRIVACY
WHO USES CARRIER IQ?
[SOURCE: ComputerWorld, AUTHOR: Jaikumar Vijayan]
Documents filed in response to Sen Al Franken (D-MN) show that Sprint is by far the biggest user of Carrier IQ's software, with more than 26 million handsets featuring the controversial mobile tracking tool. Sprint noted that it has been using Carrier IQ software since 2006 but insisted that the only information it collects and uses is related to network and device performance. AT&T, another major wireless carrier, said it has integrated the software into about 900,000 handsets, although it is collecting data only from about 575,000 of them. Sen Franken had asked the carriers for such details as how many devices had the software installed, how long they had been using the software, what they were using it for and what data was being collected with it.
benton.org/node/107345 | ComputerWorld | The Verge
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CARRIER IQ RESPONSES
[SOURCE: Bloomberg, AUTHOR: Chris Strohm]
Carrier IQ failed to adequately answer questions regarding the data that the company’s software captures from mobile phone users and shares with wireless providers, said Sens Al Franken (D-MN) and Christopher Coons (D-Delaware). Sen Franken said he was “still very troubled by what’s going on” after reviewing information submitted this week by the company and by mobile carriers including AT&T and Sprint Nextel. “It appears that Carrier IQ has been receiving the contents of a number of text messages -- even though they had told the public that they did not,” Franken, who chairs a Senate subcommittee on privacy, said in a statement yesterday. “I’m also bothered by the software’s ability to capture the contents of our online searches -- even when users wish to encrypt them. So there are still many questions to be answered here and things that need to be fixed.”
benton.org/node/107344 | Bloomberg | PCMagazine
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OWNERSHIP
FTC FINE FOR COMCAST’S ROBERTS
[SOURCE: Federal Trade Commission, AUTHOR: Press release]
Brian L. Roberts, the Chief Executive Officer of Comcast Corporation, has agreed to pay a $500,000 penalty to settle Federal Trade Commission charges that he violated the Hart-Scott-Rodino Antitrust Improvement Act (HSR Act) in connection with his acquisitions of Comcast stock between 2007 and 2009. The FTC alleged that Roberts failed to file required notices before acquiring Comcast shares. The amount of the fine was limited by a number of factors, including that the violation was inadvertent and technical; that it was apparently due to faulty advice from outside counsel; that Roberts did not gain financially from the violation; and that he reported the violation promptly once it was discovered.
The HSR Act requires that under some circumstances, individuals who acquire voting securities must notify the FTC and Department of Justice and observe a waiting period before completing the acquisition. The notification and waiting period requirements apply to acquisitions that meet certain thresholds defined by the HSR Act.
In 2002, in connection with a merger agreement between Comcast and AT&T Corp., Roberts made an HSR filing which allowed him to acquire additional voting securities of Comcast until September 16, 2007. The FTC alleges that Roberts violated the notice and waiting requirements beginning in October 2007, when he failed to notify the FTC and DOJ before receiving Comcast voting securities beyond the thresholds set by the HSR Act. Roberts continued to receive Comcast securities without notifying the agencies through April 2009. In August 2009, he made a corrective filing with the agencies, according to the FTC. Roberts had admitted to inadvertent violations of the HSR filing requirements previously, in 1999 and 2000, but was not charged at that time by the FTC.
benton.org/node/107342 | Federal Trade Commission
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MEDIA OWNERSHIP BILL
[SOURCE: Broadcasting&Cable, AUTHOR: John Eggerton]
Rep Steve Scalise (R-LA) and Sen Jim DeMint (R-SC) have introduced the Next Generation Television Marketplace Act in both the House and Senate. The sweeping and unlikely-to-pass legislation would throw out the retransmission regime and local ownership rules. That deregulatory chain saw is aimed at clearing out "decades-old" regulations they argue represent the government inappropriately picking winners and losers.
Specifically the bill would:
Repeal those provisions of the Communications Act that mandate the carriage and purchase of certain broadcast signals by cable operators, satellite providers, and their customers.
Repeal the Communications Act's "retransmission consent" provisions and the Copyright Act's "compulsory license" provisions, thereby allowing negotiations for the carriage of broadcast stations to take place in the same deregulated environment as negotiations for carriage of non-broadcast channels such as Discovery, Food Network, and AMC.
Repeal ownership limitations imposed on local media operators, allowing businesses to evolve and adapt to today's dynamic communications market.
benton.org/node/107346 | Broadcasting&Cable
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MEDIA OWNERSHIP RULES
[SOURCE: Wall Street Journal, AUTHOR: L Gordon Crovitz]
[Commentary] As absurd as it would be for regulators to block Google or Apple from operating in more than one medium, it's now almost 40 years since the Federal Communications Commission's cross-ownership rules have stopped newspapers from owning local broadcasters. Newspapers and television broadcasters are among the media industry's most troubled companies. If they could, many newspaper companies would combine with television outlets to provide better news and lower combined costs. Whether they will be able to do so is up to the Supreme Court. In the early days of radio and television, local newspapers were so powerful that regulators convinced judges to let them discriminate against them by limiting their ownership of spectrum. Technology has now completely undermined any argument based on limited spectrum, yet U.S. law remains guided by the technology of 1969. That was the year the Supreme Court decided Red Lion Broadcasting v. FCC, which said that bandwidth scarcity justified the now-repudiated "Fairness Doctrine." The justices understood even then, in the pre-personal computer and pre-Internet era, that their exception to the First Amendment was based only on the "present state of commercially acceptable technology." By 1972, federal appeals court Judge David Bazelon could forecast "it may be possible within 10 years to provide television viewers 400 channels through the advances of cable television." That prohibitions still exist on cross-ownership of newspapers and broadcast stations reminds us that once regulations are issued, it's almost impossible to get rid of them—no matter how much the technology on which they are based has changed. Many newspaper companies are fighting for their lives as digital media offer benefits for both advertisers and readers that long ago ended the dominance of print. That should be an argument for no longer making newspaper companies the only ones that can't combine with broadcasters. The best way to preserve a diversity of voices is to let the troubled newspaper and broadcasting industries combine to help them compete and indeed survive.
benton.org/node/107364 | Wall Street Journal
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PICK AMAZON OVER INDIE STORE
[SOURCE: Slate, AUTHOR: Farhad Manjoo]
[Commentary] No company in recent years has done more than Amazon to ignite a national passion for buying, reading, and even writing new books. With his creepy laugh and Dr. Evil smile, Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos is an easy guy to hate, and I’ve previously worried that he’d ruin the book industry. But if you’re a novelist—not to mention a reader, a book publisher, or anyone else who cares about a vibrant book industry—you should thank him for crushing that precious indie on the corner. Compared with online retailers, bookstores present a frustrating consumer experience. A physical store—whether it’s your favorite indie or the humongous Barnes & Noble at the mall—offers a relatively paltry selection, no customer reviews, no reliable way to find what you’re looking for, and a dubious recommendations engine. Amazon suggests books based on others you’ve read; your local store recommends what the employees like. If you don’t choose your movies based on what the guy at the box office recommends, why would you choose your books that way?
benton.org/node/107333 | Slate
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ELECTIONS AND MEDIA
DISCLOSURE RULES
[SOURCE: Politico, AUTHOR: Robin Bravender]
New rules that would pull back the curtain on who is behind big-money political advertising were quashed by the Federal Election Commission, thanks to unified opposition from the panel’s Republicans. In its last public meeting before the 2012 election year, the FEC deadlocked 3-3 on a vote over whether to write new rules to require more information about the identities of donors pouring cash into political advertisements. Democrats on the panel argued that stricter disclosure requirements are needed in the wake of the Supreme Court’s 2010 Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission decision, which allowed corporations, unions and other special interests to use their treasury funds to make or fund political ads that support or oppose candidates. It prompted a deluge of outside advertising by independent groups. Republicans said the commission doesn’t have the authority to change disclosure rules. The panel also voted 5-1 on Thursday to begin to formally scrap rules to prohibit corporations and labor from spending general treasury funds on political ads, after those rules were made obsolete by the Citizens United decision. Only Democratic Commissioner Ellen Weintraub voted against the effort, saying she couldn’t support it without a parallel effort to boost disclosure.
benton.org/node/107334 | Politico
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GOVERNMENT & COMMUNICATIONS
PROTECTING PRIVACY AND CIVIL LIBERTIES
[SOURCE: The White House, AUTHOR: Danny Weitzner, Quentin Palfrey]
President Barack Obama took a big step forward toward protecting Americans’ privacy and civil liberties with the nomination of three highly respected individuals to serve on the Privacy and Civil Liberties Oversight Board (PCLOB). The PCLOB is a new independent board established by Congress to advise and oversee executive branch activities with civil liberties implications, including intelligence and law enforcement practices, and to assist the President and Federal agencies in making sure that the implementation of laws, regulations, and policies related to counterterrorism appropriately consider citizens’ privacy and civil liberties. As an independent voice for privacy and civil liberties, the Board will help ensure that national security and public safety needs are balanced appropriately with the basic constitutional protections afforded to all Americans, which make up the cornerstones of our democracy. Once confirmed, these nominees—a Federal judge, a former senior White House lawyer from a previous Administration, and the former lead lawyer on Internet privacy issues for the Federal Trade Commission—will join two others already nominated by the President to begin their important work. Among other benefits, the new Board will help advance the Administration’s Internet privacy policy framework and cybersecurity strategy and will help us simultaneously advance important policies relating to innovation, privacy, civil liberties, and national security in the online environment.
benton.org/node/107330 | White House, The
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AGENDA
TECH POLICY PREVIEW
[SOURCE: The Hill, AUTHOR: Gautham Nagesh, Brendan Sasso]
The hottest tech policy issue to start the year will continue to be online piracy legislation, which has touched off a fierce debate between supporters of the content industries and the Internet community, which is skeptical of the bill's attempts to enforce copyright laws online by demanding search engines and other Web firms delete links to foreign infringing websites. The pressure on Congress to take some action to improve the country's network protections will also increase as every new major cyber breach has become a reminder of just how vulnerable we are to cyberattacks in this digital age. Lawmakers will continue to debate the issue of consumer privacy legislation, but there remains strong resistance to new regulation of Web firms, particularly in the House. Instead, the Federal Trade Commission will likely continue to set the standard through its agreements with Web firms like Google and Facebook, both now bound by settlements to clearly present and abide by their privacy policies. 2012 will likely see more firms come under scrutiny for how they use consumer information, including smartphone and mobile app makers, online marketers and location-based service providers like Foursquare and Yelp. More congressional scrutiny can also be expected, with public opinion often serving as de facto regulation in the fast-changing policy area. AT&T and T-Mobile will have to decide by Jan. 12 whether to abandon their blockbuster $39 billion merger following a series of setbacks that have left the deal on life support.
benton.org/node/107379 | Hill, The
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MARKETING
FTC FOOD MARKETING GUIDELINES
[SOURCE: Broadcasting&Cable, AUTHOR: John Eggerton]
Looks like the Federal Trade Commission won't have to be in any hurry to come up with final recommendations on guidelines for marketing food to kids. The final version of the appropriations bill that passed the House Dec 16 and headed to the Senate and will need to be approved to avoid a shut-down, includes a provision that requires a cost-benefit analysis before the FTC can make any final recommendations. Food marketers had complained about the guidelines, with the backing of some Republicans who called for that cost-benefit analysis. FTC Chair Jon Leibowitz has repeatedly pointed out that they were only guidelines and not rules. "Congress has clearly changed its mind about what it would like the Interagency Working Group to do with regard to the report on food marketed to children," said FTC spokeswoman Cecelia Prewett. "The Interagency Working Group [charged with coming up with the recommendations] will be assessing its language and working toward Congressional intent."
benton.org/node/107372 | Broadcasting&Cable
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STORIES FROM ABROAD
EGYPT NEWS CLASH
[SOURCE: New York Times, AUTHOR: David Kirkpatrick]
On the third day of clashes between security forces and protesters in the center of the capital, a new battle broke out on Dec 18 between Egypt’s state-run and independent media over whom to blame for the violence. What is at stake in the propaganda war is public support ahead of the looming contest between an elected Parliament and the ruling military council over who will control the transitional government and oversee the drafting of a new constitution. Human rights activists called the government’s depiction of the protesters as hooligans an official campaign of distortion intended to cover up the military’s violence and bolster its image. Election monitors also said the violence and confusion were casting a shadow over continuing parliamentary elections — the first since the ouster of Hosni Mubarak. Egyptian state television presented news on Sunday of a forensic report purporting to show that the bullets that caused the deaths were fired at close range. It was evidence, the presenters suggested, that the demonstrators who died had been killed by infiltrators in their ranks, not the security forces. State television also interviewed people who said that they were protesters who had been paid by liberal groups to attack the military, echoing propaganda from the last days of the Mubarak government. Later, after deprecating the protesters, state television reported that the top military officer, Field Marshal Mohamed Hussein Tantawi, had paid a condolence call to their wounded. The new independent papers and satellite channels that have sprung up since Mr. Mubarak’s exit appeared to be covering a different country.
benton.org/node/107358 | New York Times
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