May 23, 2012 (First Network Neutrality Complaint)
BENTON'S COMMUNICATIONS-RELATED HEADLINES for WEDNESDAY, MAY 23, 2012
Another busy day in wonkland http://benton.org/calendar/2012-05-23/
INTERNET/BROADBAND
Tiny Georgia telco files first network neutrality complaint
FCC Chairman supports broadband data caps amid Netflix protests
The questions Genachowski should be asking about data caps - analysis
Public interest groups slam FCC chief on bandwidth caps
Extra lane: how Comcast assures that Xfinity TV on Xbox 360 works well [links to web]
Retailers rev up campaign for online sales tax [links to web]
Partnership to Bring Ultrahigh-Speed Internet to Six Communities
Partnership Developments in Cybersecurity
Report calls for more broadband access in schools
Ad Council to Launch Broadband Literacy and Adoption Campaign [links to web]
New York legislation would ban anonymous online speech [links to web]
ICANN's gTLD application system back in action [links to web]
If Video Sites Could Act Like Cable Companies
OWNERSHIP
Google: We’ve acquired Motorola Mobility - press release
So Google owns Motorola. What’s happens now? - analysis [links to web]
Several Other Motorola Executives Join Sanjay Jha in Heading For the Exits [links to web]
Motorola Mobility's new CEO: who is Dennis Woodside? [links to web]
Will Microsoft Benefit From the Google-Motorola Deal? - analysis [links to web]
Google strikes back at rules, antitrust, critics
Google’s darkening agenda
Facebook IPO: Success or failure? - op-ed
Facebook IPO Raises Regulatory Concerns
The Facebook Fallacy - analysis
Google probe said to speed up as U.S. queries site operators
Europe’s Approach to Antitrust Could Cause Friction - analysis
Tribune prepares to spin off business units
Dodd touts outreach on IP, biz's humanitarian efforts [links to web]
Sirius Airs Static in Liberty Clash [links to web]
For AOL, a Costly Gamble On Local News Draws Trouble [links to web]
ELECTIONS AND MEDIA
Broadcasters Challenge FCC's Political Ad Disclosure Requirement
Standing Up in Wisconsin and Beyond for Our Rights in Radio! - op-ed
Obama Online Tool Targets Volunteers
Tech world cools to President Obama
Colbert spawns army of crazy super PACs [links to web]
WIRELESS/SPECTRUM
Verizon says T-Mobile hypocritical about spectrum
Wireless carriers seek to "offload" customers [links to web]
FCC’s Genachowski Praises Cable for Wi-Fi Efforts [links to web]
Google Void Seen As Opportunity For China Mobile App Store: Tech [links to web]
iPhone 3GS could get second life in developing markets: report [links to web]
PRIVACY
Carrier IQ Loses Preliminary Round In Privacy Lawsuit
Google Privacy Inquiries Get Little Cooperation
COMMUNICATIONS AND DEMOCRACY
Michael Copps on Step Number One to Getting our Democracy Right - op-ed
JOURNALISM
Why newspapers need to lose the ‘view from nowhere’ [links to web]
The Ford Foundation’s unprecedented grant to The Los Angeles Times - analysis [links to web]
Ailes lectures young journalists [links to web]
Balancing Political Facts, Opinion a Delicate Balance in Cable News [links to web]
For AOL, a Costly Gamble On Local News Draws Trouble [links to web]
LOBBYING
Sen Grassley: White House catered to lobbyists on LightSquared review
Retailers rev up campaign for online sales tax [links to web]
COMPANY NEWS
Apple once again the world's most valuable brand [links to web]
Facebook settles 'Sponsored Stories' lawsuit [links to web]
How Alcatel-Lucent made the Internet 5 times faster [links to web]
Verizon Wireless Picks Loop Capital to Advise Spectrum Sale [links to web]
Verizon Finds an Innovative Way for Customers to Bust Through Their Data Caps [links to web]
Google Chrome becomes most used Web browser [links to web]
Improved search in Gmail [links to web]
Comcast To Unleash Free Phone Calling Over Wi-Fi [links to web]
From Comcast, TV as data center [links to web]
Extra lane: how Comcast assures that Xfinity TV on Xbox 360 works well [links to web]
Sidecar turns the simple phone call into a media sharefest [links to web]
T-Mobile CEO on layoffs, iPhone, mergers and more [links to web]
STORIES FROM ABROAD
How the Deal for AMC Entertainment Furthers China's Culture Agenda
Proactive Policy Measures by Internet Service Providers against Botnets - research [links to web]
Google Void Seen As Opportunity For China Mobile App Store: Tech [links to web]
iPhone 3GS could get second life in developing markets: report [links to web]
MORE ONLINE
FCC Initiates Proceeding to Create Public Safety Do-Not-Call Registry - public notice [links to web]
FCC Hints Cable Carriage Payments Could Lessen [links to web]
Wireless Medical Devices Pose Security Risk [links to web]
Why the Waterstones/Amazon deal could hurt Waterstones - analysis [links to web]
A New Home for Computer Screens: The Face [links to web]
Open Data and The New Divide - analysis [links to web]
Facebook IPO Not Selling on Social Media - research [links to web]
INTERNET/BROADBAND
FIRST NETWORK NEUTRALITY COMPLAINT
[SOURCE: ars technica, AUTHOR: Timothy Lee]
A tiny Georgia telecommunications firm has filed the first formal complaint under the Federal Communications Commission's new network neutrality rules. L2Networks charges that the Albany Water, Gas, and Light Commission (WG&L) has violated network neutrality principles by interfering with L2Networks's efforts to provide customers with VoIP service over Albany WG&L's fiber optic network. L2Networks did not make its filing available to Ars Technica, but in a press release the telecom firm stated that Albany WG&L initially filed a criminal complaint against L2Networks alleging theft of service. Albany WG&L reportedly believes that L2Networks "should have compensated the utility for use of their fiber-optic internet infrastructure whilst delivering Voice over IP (VoIP) services over the utilities' 'internet backbone' to existing internet customers of the utility." But according to L2Networks, the customer whose VoIP service gave rise to the criminal complaint "currently compensates The City of Albany Water, Gas, & Light Commission's telecommunications department for use of their fiber-optic based Internet access." L2Networks believes it is entitled to provide VoIP service to this customer without additional payments to Albany WG&L.
benton.org/node/123976 | Ars Technica
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GENACHOWSKI ENDORESES BROADBAND DATA CAPS
[SOURCE: Washington Post, AUTHOR: Cecilia Kang]
Federal Communications Commission Chairman Julius Genachowski said that he supports tiered broadband Internet plans, a growing trend that has drawn criticism from Netflix. He said during a cable industry trade show in Boston that “usage-based pricing could be healthy and beneficial” for broadband and high-tech industries. Cable service providers and wireless carriers have changed billing practices to charge users by how much data they use. They say they are moving away from unlimited data plans as users — particularly on wireless networks — congest networks with their heavy use of Internet services. The issue was brought up by Michael Powell, a former FCC chairman and current chief executive of the National Cable and Telecommunications Association. Powell said cable providers want to be able to experiment with pricing plans based on tiers.
benton.org/node/123974 | Washington Post | The Verge | GigaOm
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THE QUESTIONS GENACHOSKI SHOULD BE ASKING
[SOURCE: GigaOm, AUTHOR: Stacey Higginbotham]
[Commentary] Does Federal Communications Commission Chairman Julius Genachowski agree to business practices that would exempt an Internet service provider’s traffic from their own broadband cap, as Comcast is doing with its Xfinity service over the Xbox? And from a consumer point of view, a cap isn’t terrible in and of itself, but it can be a tool used to protect an ISP’s pay TV business or their profits absent robust competition in the market. So even though Chairman Genachowski is in favor of new pricing models for broadband, it would be awesome if he started asking questions about how those caps are set and what impact they have on consumer behavior. Because it’s not like consumers have that much choice in their broadband provider.
benton.org/node/123973 | GigaOm
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REACTION TO BROADBAND CAPS
[SOURCE: The Hill, AUTHOR: Andrew Feinberg]
Consumer and public interest groups are up in arms over Federal Communications Commission Chairman Julius Genachowski’s apparent endorsement of bandwidth caps as a legitimate business practice. Public Knowledge legal director Harold Feld says Genachowski's statement presents a "false picture." Feld said the question isn't whether or not there is one pricing model. The question, he said, is "will all the benefits of broadband Chairman Genachowski has articulated in the past ever happen in a world where broadband providers get a free pass on any pricing scheme or restriction if they use the magic words 'bandwidth cap?'" "If we really want to see students downloading textbooks or watching Harvard lectures online, it would be nice to know if they will ever have the bandwidth capacity to do so," he said. Free Press policy director Matt Wood said "the data caps being pushed by the biggest cable companies are bad for consumers — and the FCC should be investigating these caps, not endorsing them." AT&T senior vice president for external affairs Jim Cicconi said, “This isn’t the first time the chairman has recognized the need for flexibility in broadband pricing, but his words today come at a time when one company has been pushing the FCC to impose a particular pricing model on Internet service providers. Under that company’s proposal, the costs of providing their service would be borne by all consumers, not just those who choose to use their service. This would be fundamentally unfair, and that’s why Chairman Genachowski’s pushback is significant. “
benton.org/node/123972 | Hill, The | B&C | AT&T
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GIGABIT SQUARED
[SOURCE: New York Times, AUTHOR: John Markoff]
A start-up company plans to announce that it has raised $200 million to deliver ultrahigh-speed Internet service in six communities surrounding research universities around the country. The company, Gigabit Squared, will work with Gig.U, an alliance of public and private universities that want to build islands of superfast networks to foster economic development and to promote services like education, health care and scientific research in the communities. The six communities have not been named. Gigabit Squared, based in Cleveland Heights, Ohio, is in negotiations with its first university and says it will make announcements about timing and participation later this year. Mark Ansboury, the company’s president and co-founder, said the investment in high-speed wired networks was needed because American telephone and cable companies had shifted their focus to wireless systems, which are convenient but much slower. Gig.U is the brainchild of Blair Levin, former director of the government’s 2010 National Broadband Plan, which originally called for high-speed network islands around military bases. Levin later settled on university communities as a better starting base for future Internet services.
benton.org/node/124011 | New York Times
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CYBERSECURITY PARTNERSHIPS
[SOURCE: The White House, AUTHOR: Howard Schmidt]
While the cyber threat remains one of the most serious challenges we face as a nation, we have made some tremendous progress recently working together with industry on meaningful ways to secure our nation’s critical infrastructure. Earlier this month, we gave the green light to two long-awaited Defense Industrial Base (DIB) efforts designed to help companies protect critical information related to Department of Defense programs and missions. The DIB Cybersecurity/Information Assurance (CS/IA) program allows eligible DIB companies and the Government to share cybersecurity information. The Government shares cybersecurity threat and mitigation information with DIB companies to incorporate into their security practices, and, in turn, DIB companies report known intrusion events that may compromise DOD information to the Government and participates in damage assessments as needed. In addition, DIB enhanced Cybersecurity Services -- a joint DOD-DHS activity and based on lessons learned from the 2011 DIB Pilot -- is available as an optional part of the DIB CS/IA program in which the Government will furnish classified information that enables DIB companies or participating commercial service providers to counter additional types of known malicious activity for participating DIB companies. This week, I will be sitting down with senior industry executives to discuss the National Strategy for Trusted Identities in Cyberspace and the value in becoming “relying parties” that would accept these credentials, giving up passwords for stronger and easier to use technologies. Next Thursday, Deputy Secretary of Energy Dan Poneman and senior officials from DHS and industry will join me to conclude the Electric Sector Cybersecurity Capability Maturity Model initiative. This initiative has shown promising results as a common tool to evaluate and strengthen cybersecurity capabilities and enable utilities to prioritize actions and cybersecurity investments. I look forward to discussing this exciting initiative this week.
benton.org/node/123911 | White House, The
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MORE BROADBAND FOR SCHOOLS
[SOURCE: eSchool News, AUTHOR: Raishay Lin]
School districts should provide a minimum of 100 megabits per second (Mbps) of bandwidth for every 1,000 students and staff members within the next two years, and federal lawmakers should provide more funding to help make this happen, according to a report released May 21 by the State Educational Technology Directors Association (SETDA). The report, “The Broadband Imperative: Recommendations to Address K-12 Education Infrastructure Needs,” explains how the ongoing shift to technology-rich learning has sparked rapid growth in the nation’s educational broadband needs. Schools are undergoing a transformation from print-based to digital sources, and that shift “changes technology from being supplemental enrichment to something we rely on,” said Douglas Levin, executive director of SETDA at a report release and briefing in Washington, DC. To prepare students for college and careers, schools increasingly use internet-based tools for activities such as multimedia research and online testing. At a school with a technology-rich learning environment, students might use laptops in class to generate audio podcasts, work in e-textbooks, and collaborate with other students through wikis or video conferencing.
benton.org/node/123927 | eSchool News | read the report | IDG News Service
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NET VIDEO AND CABLE
[SOURCE: New York Times, AUTHOR: Brian Stelter]
Most consumers have no idea what an M.V.P.D. is, but they mail a check to one every month. What they call Comcast or Time Warner Cable or DirecTV, the government calls a “multichannel video programming distributor,” or M.V.P.D. for short. When that mouthful of a phrase was coined decades ago, it was pretty easy to identify what was a multichannel distributor — any cable or satellite company — and just as important, what wasn’t. But the Internet is changing that — so profoundly, in fact, that the Federal Communications Commission is now rethinking even the definition of the word “channel.” In a public comment period that ends in the coming weeks, the FCC is asking whether the rules of multichannel distributors — like the right to carry certain popular channels and the responsibility to carry some less popular ones — should apply to new online distributors like Hulu and YouTube. If it decides that they should, then more companies could stream TV shows to computers and smartphones, hastening an industrywide shift to the Internet.
benton.org/node/124008 | New York Times
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OWNERSHIP
GOOGLE CLOSES MOTOROLA DEAL
[SOURCE: Google, AUTHOR: Larry Page]
The phones in our pockets have become supercomputers that are changing the way we live. It’s now possible to do things we used to think were magic, or only possible on Star Trek--like get directions right from where we are standing; watch a video on YouTube; or take a picture and share the moment instantly with friends. It’s why I’m excited to announce today that our Motorola Mobility deal has closed. Motorola is a great American tech company that has driven the mobile revolution, with a track record of over 80 years of innovation, including the creation of the first cell phone. We all remember Motorola’s StarTAC, which at the time seemed tiny and showed the real potential of these devices. And as a company who made a big, early bet on Android, Motorola has become an incredibly valuable partner to Google. Sanjay Jha, who was responsible for building the company and placing that big bet on Android, has stepped down as CEO. I would like to thank him for his efforts and am tremendously pleased that he will be working to ensure a smooth transition as long-time Googler Dennis Woodside takes over as CEO of Motorola Mobility. I’ve known Dennis for nearly a decade, and he’s been phenomenal at building teams and delivering on some of Google’s biggest bets. One of his first jobs at Google was to put on his backpack and build our businesses across the Middle East, Africa, Eastern Europe and Russia. More recently he helped increase our revenue in the U.S. from $10.8 billion to $17.5 billion in under three years as President of the Americas region. Dennis has always been a committed partner to our customers and I know he will be an outstanding leader of Motorola. As an Ironman triathlete, he’s got plenty of energy for the journey ahead--and he’s already off to great start with some very strong new hires for the Motorola team. It’s a well-known fact that people tend to overestimate the impact technology will have in the short term, but underestimate its significance in the longer term. Many users coming online today may never use a desktop machine, and the impact of that transition will be profound--as will the ability to just tap and pay with your phone. That’s why it’s a great time to be in the mobile business, and why I’m confident Dennis and the team at Motorola will be creating the next generation of mobile devices that will improve lives for years to come.
benton.org/node/123970 | Google | NYTimes | WSJ | LATimes | USAToday | Bloomberg | Bloomberg
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GOOGLE STRIKES BACK
[SOURCE: Politico, AUTHOR: Tony Romm]
Google has spent the past year trying to dodge trustbusters who snared its archrival Microsoft. The company has built an army of 22 lobbying firms, donated to political campaigns, hired a former GOP congresswoman, and brought in academics, trade groups, spin masters and others to counter complaints about Google’s business practices. The leading critic is Microsoft — which settled its long-running antitrust case with the U.S. government in 2001. “As far as the two of them goes, it’s like the Hatfields and McCoys,” said one Hill staffer with ties to the House Commerce Committee. “There’s so much he said, she said that goes on behind the scenes.” At stake is the very future of the tech business. And Google is gearing up for what could be a Pyrrhic war — one not only against the policymakers and regulators who could tie up the company for years in antitrust litigation but also against foes such as Microsoft, Facebook, Apple and others that are trying to use Washington to tip the playing field against Mountain View in the marketplace. Adding to Google’s urgency is a finding by European regulators on Monday that the tech giant may be using its dominance in search and advertising in a way that harms competitors. However, the European Commission offered the company a critical legal lifeline: Google can propose its own solutions to policymakers’ fears to possibly avoid a lengthy and costly antitrust war in Brussels.
benton.org/node/123948 | Politico
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GOOGLE’S AGENDA
[SOURCE: Salon, AUTHOR: David Rosen]
[Commentary] In 1999, Scott McNealy, the former head of Sun MicroSystems, reportedly declared, “You have zero privacy anyway….Get over it.” He unintentionally let the proverbial cat out of the bag of the digital age. In 2009, McNealy’s assessment was confirmed by Google’s CEO, Eric Schmidt. In an interview with NBC’s Mario Bartiromo, he proclaimed, “If you have something that you don’t want anyone to know maybe you shouldn’t be doing it in the first place.” Schmidt’s words have become Google’s new mantra. Welcome to 21st-century corporate morality. Now, a decade-plus later, McNealy’s prophetic words have taken on a far more sinister significance than he probably intended. They are increasingly becoming the operating assumption of the digital corporate state. Whether going online, using a PC, smartphone, tablet or digital TV, users can no longer assume they have any privacy. In fact, users should assume they have absolutely no privacy. McNealy’s and Schmidt’s words both speak to a fundamental change in the definition of privacy. Once upon a time not so long ago, a sealed letter or a personal telephone conversation was considered private, protected communications. Those days are over.
benton.org/node/123946 | Salon
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FACEBOOK IPO
[SOURCE: Crain’s Chicago Business, AUTHOR: Jeffrey Carte]
[Commentary] Many articles are touting the failure of the Facebook IPO. The company went public at $38 a share and traded up, settling back down at slightly over the IPO price. I don't think I would call that unsuccessful. The next day of trading, Facebook slumped to $34 per share. It's tough to read early price action, but my trader instinct says it was an over-anticipated and over-hyped product. Retail investors could understand it, heard about it, could experience it and bought it. Once they were out of the market, there was no one left to buy it. But, I still think it's a successful initial public offering. Why do I think Facebook was a success? What is an initial public offering anyway? Why does a company do it? Thinking about that changes the one day metric of success or failure.
First, the company was started in 2004, grew, and went public in 2012. Eight years to IPO with an uphill environment of bad economy and bad regulations that were huge impediments to them. Since 90 percent of digital companies fail, just surviving was great. Of all the companies that start up, most are acquired. Facebook actually becoming what they have become is pretty awesome when you look at the odds.
Second, a company goes public to get capital for growth. In the analysis that takes place before the IPO day, the company and the investment bankers helping it have a lot of discussions about where to price. From the company perspective, they want the highest price possible. The investment bankers play both sides of the fence, wanting the highest price for the company, but they want to leave room for investors to make some money as well. That is what helps create the initial market.
benton.org/node/123905 | Crain’s Chicago Business
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IPO REGULATORY CONCERNS
[SOURCE: New York Times, AUTHOR: Evelyn Rusli, Michael de la Merced]
Morgan Stanley bankers decided they had enough demand and interest for Facebook to justify an offering price of $38 a share. They didn’t. When Facebook went public on May 18, shares of the social networking company barely budged — and they have been falling ever since. On May 22, the stock closed at $31, more than 18 percent below its offering price. The IPO of Facebook was supposed to be Morgan Stanley’s crowning achievement. The bank had helped usher in a new era of technology companies, leading the offerings of LinkedIn, Groupon, Pandora and more than a dozen other start-ups over the past year. Facebook was poised to be the biggest and most ambitious. When the dust settles, Morgan Stanley could make more than $100 million on the IPO. But Morgan Stanley may have given the market more than it can chew. Rival bankers and big investors have complained that Morgan Stanley botched the IPO., setting the price too high and selling too many shares to the public. Regulators are concerned, in part, that banks may have shared information with certain clients, rather than broadly with investors. On May 22, William Galvin, Massachusetts’ secretary of state, subpoenaed Morgan Stanley over discussions with investors about Facebook’s I.P.O. The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority, Wall Street’s self-regulator, is also looking into the matter.
benton.org/node/123963 | New York Times
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FACEBOOK FALLACY
[SOURCE: Technology Review, AUTHOR: Michael Wolff]
[Commentary] Facebook is not only on course to go bust, but will take the rest of the ad-supported Web with it. Given its vast cash reserves and the glacial pace of business reckonings, that will sound hyperbolic. But that doesn't mean it isn't true. At the heart of the Internet business is one of the great business fallacies of our time: that the Web, with all its targeting abilities, can be a more efficient, and hence more profitable, advertising medium than traditional media. Facebook, with its 900 million users, valuation of around $100 billion, and the bulk of its business in traditional display advertising, is now at the heart of the heart of the fallacy.
benton.org/node/123945 | Technology Review
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GOOGLE PROBE SPEEDS UP
[SOURCE: Bloomberg, AUTHOR: Jeff Bliss, Sara Forden]
The Federal Trade Commission told eBay and Yelp to provide information on whether Google is competing unfairly, speeding up a probe that began a year ago. The shopping and review websites were among about a dozen companies that received civil investigative demands, which are similar to subpoenas, from the FTC. In its requests, the FTC is seeking examples of Google failing to follow through on promises to direct consumers to websites that compete with its own services. Agency officials also asked if Google, the world's most popular search engine, is selling rivals prime advertising space on search results pages.
benton.org/node/124015 | Bloomberg
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EUROPE’S ANTITRUST APPROACH
[SOURCE: New York Times, AUTHOR: James Kanter]
Important procedural differences remain in the way the Europeans and Americans conduct their investigations of Google that could create friction as the cases develop. One of the most striking differences is that the European Commission, the European Union executive agency based in Brussels, effectively serves as a prosecutor, judge and jury in antitrust investigations. The commission can directly order changes to the ways companies run their businesses, including requiring major divestitures, and setting fines of more than $1 billion without filing a lawsuit and without the prior authority of a judge. If Google fails to reach a settlement and disagrees with any eventual decision by Competition Commissioner Joaquín Almunia, the company could bring an appeal at the General Court, the second highest tribunal in the Union that is based in Luxembourg. But Google would only be able to do so once it was found guilty. Google also could make a final appeal to the European Court of Justice, the highest tribunal that shares the same building as the General Court. In the United States, the Federal Trade Commission and the Antitrust Division of the Justice Department both must win antitrust cases in court before applying any punishments or ordering divestitures.
benton.org/node/123943 | New York Times
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TRIBUNE SPINOFFS?
[SOURCE: Crain’s Chicago Business, AUTHOR: Lynne Marek]
Tribune Company is streamlining its corporate structure for the possible sale of publishing and broadcast units after its exit from bankruptcy. The Chicago-based company recently filed a document with the Delaware court handling the bankruptcy that shows it will collect its units into fewer subsidiaries as part of its reorganization. The company also plans to create a new publishing subsidiary under the parent that will hold all its publishing entities, including eight new limited liability companies for its main English-language papers. The media company is expected to win court approval of its reorganization plan early next month at a hearing over several days, giving Tribune a chance to exit bankruptcy by the end of the year. Bankers, consultants and industry executives expect the new creditor-owners to be eager to convert assets to cash by separating and selling some, especially given the diverging prospects for broadcast and print. While Tribune could be streamlining its structure for the sake of simplification and potential tax benefits, it's also a potential set-up for sales, said Dan Wikel, a restructuring consultant and managing director for Chicago-based Huron Consulting Group.
benton.org/node/123903 | Crain’s Chicago Business
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ELECTIONS AND MEDIA
BROADCASTERS CHALLENGE AD DISCLOSURE REQUIREMENT
[SOURCE: National Journal, AUTHOR: Juliana Gruenwald]
Broadcasters have gone to court to challenge new rules adopted by the Federal Communications Commission last month requiring television stations to post online the rates that political candidates pay for political ads. The National Association of Broadcasters filed a petition against the FCC's rules making TV stations post information online about political ads, including the rates broadcasters charge political candidates and groups that run issue-related political ads. TV stations are already required to make such information public but currently it is only available at the stations themselves. The NAB has argued that requiring stations to post ad rates online will put them at a competitive disadvantage. They say it's unfair that only broadcasters are required to post such information, while other video providers such as cable operators are exempt. Before the FCC adopted the order, broadcasters offered to post information on who bought the political ads and how much they spent in total, but the FCC rejected the compromise. "The commission's changes to broadcasters' disclosure obligations and other operations as well as other action taken in the FCC order will directly and adversely impact NAB and the broadcasters it represents," NAB said in the petition it filed with the U.S. Court of Appeals. "NAB seeks relief from the commission's actions on the groups that it is arbitrary, capricious, in excess of the commission's statutory authority, inconsistent with the First Amendment and otherwise not in accordance with law."
Free Press Senior Policy Counsel Corie Wright said, “This is nothing more than an attempt by the NAB to stall an important and overdue transparency initiative. The FCC decision to put the political files online will bring broadcasters into the 21st century, and will make already public information more easily accessible to everyone. The FCC made the right decision and is on firm legal ground.”
benton.org/node/123961 | National Journal | The Hill | B&C | AdWeek | Free Press
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RADIO AND ELECTIONS IN WISCONSIN
[SOURCE: The Huffington Post, AUTHOR: Sue Wilson]
[Commentary] There is much talk amongst radio talk show hosts about their rights of Free Speech. I do not condone any kind of censorship (outside incitement to violence,) and agree radio talkers have their rights. But so do We the People, and it is time we stand up for them. Right now. Starting in Wisconsin. As evidenced in recent broadcasts from Wisconsin in midst of the Scott Walker recall election, to the doubling of Right Wing programming from the station in Sacramento that launched Rush Limbaugh, to the fact that 90 percent of the nation can hear only one political diatribe, "private censorship" has crept into our public airwaves. This corporate creation is damaging our democracy. The courts have actually ruled on behalf of We the People, but thanks to private censorship, We the People don't even know it. Despite what big corporate media tells us again and again, especially on the radio, broadcasting operates under unique rules designed to protect the public interest. Let me explain why broadcasting enjoys special treatment in the name of the public. Newspapers are private enterprise: anyone with enough capital can start a newspaper and write what they will. Cable TV is also private enterprise: when people write a check to Comcast or Direct TV, they pay private contractors, via cable or satellite, to bring programs from Playboy to Disney into their homes. But broadcasting, local radio and TV, is a public/private partnership: the public owns the airwaves needed for transmission; private business own the buildings, equipment, etc. needed to broadcast programming. When private business goes into broadcasting, it makes a deal with the public: a free license from the Federal Communication Commission -- if it agrees to "serve the public interest, convenience, and necessity."
benton.org/node/123921 | Huffington Post, The
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OBAMA ONLINE TOOL
[SOURCE: Wall Street Journal, AUTHOR: Danny Yadron, Amy Schatz]
President Barack Obama's re-election campaign on Wednesday plans to introduce its online organizing tool for 2012, hoping to spur the volunteer enthusiasm that carried the president to the White House four years ago. The program, known as Dashboard, has been in development since last year and builds off technology used by the campaign in 2008. It is meant to replicate a campaign field office, allowing volunteers to do phone banking, organize events and talk to campaign leaders from their laptops or smartphones. "The immediacy of Dashboard really sets it apart from 2008," said Obama campaign spokeswoman Katie Hogan. "It provides a good volunteer experience online that is directly tied to our field-operation goals." "The investment we've seen the Obama campaign put into this project suggests they're convinced it's a game changer," said Micah Sifry, co-founder of TechPresident, a website that tracks online campaigning. "We're living in an age of mass participation in politics."
benton.org/node/124004 | Wall Street Journal
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SILICON VALLEY COOLS ON OBAMA
[SOURCE: Politico, AUTHOR: Michelle Quinn, Jonathan Allen]
Mitt Romney has been mining Silicon Valley — a cash-rich part of the country that was turned off in 2008 by septuagenarian John McCain, who “never particularly felt the need to e-mail.” The pro-Romney super PAC, Restore Our Future, has raised $1.76 million in Silicon Valley — including from venture capitalists like Marc Andreessen, the Netscape co-founder who gave $100,000 this year, an about-face from 2008 when he made a maximum contribution to Obama. In recent months, Andreessen has been critical of the president. The argument for Romney: He knows what it takes to make a company succeed, and he won’t hammer innovators with the taxation, regulation and prosecution that critics say Obama seems intent on pursuing if he wins a second term. Nothing personal, just business.
benton.org/node/124002 | Politico
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WIRELESS
VERIZON VS T-MOBILE
[SOURCE: Politico, AUTHOR: Brooks Boliek]
Verizon told the Federal Communications that T-Mobile is two-faced in opposing the SpectrumCo deal because its parent company is telling investors it has excess network capacity while T-Mobile is telling the FCC it has too little. “T-Mobile’s regulatory advocacy is so different from its parent’s view that one can only conclude it is misusing the regulatory process solely to impede a competitor’s 4G plans or extract concessions,” Verizon wrote to the Federal Communications Commission in a letter filed late May 21. T-Mobile is one of the many opponents of the $3.9 billion deal that would assign the wireless frequencies held by the Comcast-led SpectrumCo and Cox Communications to Verizon. In addition to the frequencies, the cable companies and Verizon have agreed to a series of marketing agreements that allow the companies to market each other’s services. “With respect to T-Mobile’s capacity argument in particular, its parent company’s statements again directly contradict its regulatory story,” Verizon wrote. “Deutsche Telekom’s characterization of T-Mobile’s ‘empty network’ suggests that T-Mobile is the one with excess capacity — a situation that it says might extend for six years or more.” Verizon’s smackdown comes after T-Mobile took a swipe of its own last week when a cadre of company representatives told FCC senior officials that there is no need to hand over valuable frequencies to Verizon.
benton.org/node/124010 | Politico
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PRIVACY
CARRIERIQ LAWSUIT
[SOURCE: MediaPost, AUTHOR: Wendy Davis]
A judge has ruled that software developer Carrier IQ must face claims that it violated California's relatively stringent privacy laws by allegedly logging keystrokes on mobile devices. U.S. District Court Judge Gary Allen Feess rejected Carrier IQ's argument that federal wiretap laws trump California state laws about privacy. Feess said that congressional reports about the federal wiretap law show that it was meant to "establish minimum standards and not to preempt state laws that meet these standards." Feess added that the "long-standing view" of other courts is that "states are free to enact legislation that is more restrictive than the federal law." The decision marks a setback for Carrier IQ, which has been on the defensive since last November, when a researcher posted a video clip that appears to show the company logging keystrokes on a mobile phone. Several weeks after the clip emerged, Carrier IQ acknowledged that its software sometimes logs the contents of messages, but said that the data is encoded.
benton.org/node/123920 | MediaPost
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GOOGLE PROTECTS ITS OWN PRIVACY
[SOURCE: New York Times, AUTHOR: David Streitfeld, Kevin O’Brien]
Google might be one of the coolest and smartest companies of this or any era, but it also upsets a lot of people — competitors who argue it wields its tremendous weight unfairly, officials who says it ignores local laws, privacy advocates who think it takes too much from its users. Just this week, European antitrust regulators gave the company an ultimatum to change its search business or face legal consequences. American regulators may not be far behind. The high-stakes antitrust assault, which will play out this summer behind closed doors in Brussels, might be the beginning of a tough time for Google. A similar United States case in the 1990s heralded the comeuppance of Microsoft, the most fearsome tech company of its day. But never count Google out. It is superb at getting out of trouble. The secret Street View data collection led to inquiries in at least a dozen countries, including four in the United States alone. But Google has yet to give a complete explanation of why the data was collected and who at the company knew about it. No regulator in the United States has ever seen the information that Google’s cars gathered from American citizens.
benton.org/node/124013 | New York Times | FT
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COMMUNICATIONS AND DEMOCRACY
STEP NUMBER ONE TO GETTING OUR DEMOCRACY RIGHT
[SOURCE: Benton Foundation, AUTHOR: Michael Copps]
[Commentary] The more things change, the more they stay the same. Try as we might to talk about new issues facing the Commission, the old challenges just keep coming back. In fact, they never go away. They may come in different wrappings and with new semantics, but they’re really not much different. It’s still all about protecting the public interest. In telecommunications, that means getting advanced communications out to all our citizens -- reasonably comparable services at reasonably comparable prices. From there, Congress made plain the need for consumer protections, competition among providers, and protecting the safety of the people. In media, and I’ll come back to this briefly later, it‘s still about promoting diversity, localism and competition and making sure people get the news and information they need to be fully-functioning citizens. These were the challenges of 1934 and 1996 and they remain the challenges of 2012. What’s changed, however, is that it’s so much more difficult to meet these challenges in 2012. To be sure, it was never a slam-dunk, but we have ourselves in a predicament now where we won’t overcome these challenges without some major changes. And making those changes is piled high with difficulty. Here’s my take on why this is so.
http://benton.org/node/123886
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LOBBYING
GRASSLEY ON LIGHTSQUARED
[SOURCE: The Hill, AUTHOR: Brendan Sasso]
In a speech on the Senate floor, Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) accused the White House and the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) of catering to the lobbyists of the now-bankrupt wireless company LightSquared and of stonewalling his investigation into the case. Sen Grassley noted that LightSquared hired dozens of lobbyists, including a former governor, three former senators and nine former members of Congress, to push for approval of its planned high-speed wireless network. "These lobbyists provided entry into the FCC and the White House, but they couldn’t change the fact that LightSquared’s network simply couldn’t co-exist with GPS," Sen Grassley said.
benton.org/node/123954 | Hill, The | B&C
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STORIES FROM ABROAD
SALIAN WANDA AND CHINA’S CULTURE AGENDA
[SOURCE: Bloomberg, AUTHOR: Bruce Einhorn]
Dalian Wanda, the largest entertainment group in China, announced a $2.6 billion purchase of AMC Entertainment Holdings, the second-largest operator of American movie theaters. The purchase, the biggest U.S. purchase by a Chinese company ever, might invigorate a campaign by the Chinese government to boost the country’s “soft power,” or cultural influence, in the U.S. and other countries. Communist Party leaders have expressed worry about what they consider to be the outsized influence of foreign culture inside China. Why, they ask, should filmmakers, musicians, and other artists from the world’s second-largest economy attract so little attention around the world? Last October, Party leaders vowed to build up China’s soft power and maintain what the official Xinhua news agency called “cultural security.” According to Xinhua, the Party’s Central Committee said “China is facing a difficult task in protecting ‘cultural security’ and feeling the urgency of enhancing its soft power and the international influence of its own culture.”
benton.org/node/123933 | Bloomberg
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