June 2014

Cable companies bankroll fake consumer groups to end net neutrality

Cable companies that stand to benefit the most from an end to net neutrality have been bankrolling so-called “consumer advocacy” groups that aim to kill it.

Such non-profits like Broadband for America and the American Consumer Institute (ACI), both of which claim to be “independent consumer advocacy groups” and have been fighting against classifying Internet service providers (ISPs) as a utility (a move that would make it easier to enact net neutrality rules in the future), have been shown to be heavily funded by the cable industry.

According to a disclosure obtained by Vice from the National Cable and Telecommunications Association (NCTA), an ISP-supported trade group, most of Broadband for America’s recent $3.5 million budget comes from a $2 million donation from NCTA. Vice further uncovered that, based on its tax return filings, Broadband for America has retained the DCI Group, an "infamous lobbying firm," that Vice argues specializes in building fake consumer interest groups that actually serve corporate interests.

What's more, Vice found that the American Consumer Institute, which similarly opposes reclassification of ISPs, has been bankrolled by an ISP lobby group called Mywireless.com that has been a consistent financial contributor to ACI since 2010. "This kind of funding has been very common since the beginning of the net neutrality debate," Tim Karr, director of strategy at the advocacy organization Free Press, said.

In addition, according to Todd O’Boyle, media and democracy program director at Common Cause, such industry-funded groups can be quite effective if not called out for their conflicts of interest. "The problem that we see is that the media will quote these people without identifying those conflicts," O'Boyle said. "They have been very good at infiltrating grassroots causes without properly disclosing sources of funding."

"Our Top Story Tonight Concerns The Internet"

[Commentary] “Our top story tonight concerns the Internet.” That may sound like us, but, in fact, it is the first line in a 12 minute sketch by comedian John Oliver during the June 1 edition of his new HBO show, Last Week Tonight.

And in those 12 minutes, Oliver did what even he said was impossible -- he made the network neutrality debate accessible and interesting.

Oliver, a long time “correspondent” on Jon Stewart’s The Daily Show, used nearly half his program to highlight the dangers of the Federal Communications Commission proposal to allow broadband service providers to charge content providers “more money for service that isn't entirely awful,” as Jordan Zakarin wrote in The Wrap.

Oh, funnyman, you might be able to get people to laugh at the arcane workings of government policymaking, but you can’t expect to get them to do anything about it. But Oliver tried anyway. He asked the Internet's worst “trolls” to take the "badly spelled vile" they normally pump into YouTube comments and send it the FCC's way -- all in the name of net neutrality. He asked commenters to channel their anger for the greater good by taking advantage of the FCC's open comment period.

"This is the moment you were made for," Oliver said. "We need you to get out there and for once in your lives focus your indiscriminate rage in a useful direction. Seize your moment, my lovely trolls. Turn on caps lock and fly, my pretties."

Ha ha, funny, funny. No way this impact’s Washington policymaking, right? Well, um… by 3:45 on June 2, the FCC tweeted out: “We’ve been experiencing technical difficulties with our comment system due to heavy traffic. We’re working to resolve these issues quickly.”

Welcome to the latest lesson in the public’s ongoing education of the Beltway, a course titled “Don’t Mess With the Internet.” But network neutrality isn’t the only nerve Oliver hit in his sketch. Oliver highlighted a recording of Comcast CEO Brian Roberts pointing out that Comcast and Time Warner Cable do not compete in any US markets.

We’ve already heard a lot about cable companies/ISPs having too much control over how content is delivered to their customers. And so it was quite a week in the ongoing debate over the Open Internet.

Sen Schumer to FCC: Pay attention to public comments on net neutrality

Sen Charles Schumer (D-NY) wants to make sure the tens of thousands of people voicing concerns about a new net neutrality proposal get heard. “While they may not be the businesses from whom you are accustomed to hearing, the fact that ordinary citizens would take time out of their days to weigh in on a complicated regulatory issue is a clear indicator of its significance,” Sen Schumer said. Sen Schumer sent a letter to Chairman Wheeler encouraging the FCC leader to take into account the tens of thousands of public comments the FCC has received since its vote in May. Chairman Wheeler should “give significant weight to the public input,” he said. Sen Schumer pointed to the “nearly 50,000 comments from concerned citizens who share my belief that it is the Commission’s responsibility to protect and preserve an open Internet.” He compared the public interest in the net neutrality process to less highly watched proceedings at the agency. "While the Commission is accustomed to hearing from businesses who are concerned with proposed changes to telecommunications law, I cannot recall a time when ordinary Americans have been so engaged in a regulatory issue," he said.

Goodbye, Net Neutrality; Hello, Net Discrimination

[Commentary] In 2007, at a public forum at Coe College, in Iowa, Presidential candidate Barack Obama was asked about net neutrality. Specifically, “Would you make it a priority in your first year of office to reinstate net neutrality as the law of the land? And would you pledge to only appoint Federal Communications Commissioners that support open Internet principles like net neutrality?” “The answer is yes,” President Obama replied. “I am a strong supporter of net neutrality.”

If reports in the Wall Street Journal are correct, President Barack Obama’s chairman of the Federal Communications Commission, Thomas Wheeler, has proposed a new rule that is an explicit and blatant violation of this promise. In fact, it permits and encourages exactly what Obama warned against: broadband carriers acting as gatekeepers and charging Web sites a payola payment to reach customers through a “fast lane.”

FCC Chairman Wheeler released a statement accusing the Wall Street Journal of being “flat-out wrong.” Yet the Washington Post has confirmed that the new rule gives broadband providers “the ability to enter into individual negotiations with content providers … in a commercially reasonable matter.” That’s telecom-speak for payola payments, and a clear violation of President Obama’s promise.

This is what one might call a net-discrimination rule, and, if enacted, it will profoundly change the Internet as a platform for free speech and small-scale innovation. It threatens to make the Internet just like everything else in American society: unequal in a way that deeply threatens our long-term prosperity.

[Wu is professor at Columbia Law School]

EU says firms like Google and Facebook must meet privacy rules

Companies based outside the European Union must meet Europe's data protection rules, ministers agreed on Friday, although governments remain divided over how to enforce them on companies operating across the bloc.

"All companies operating on European soil have to apply the rules," EU Justice Commissioner Viviane Reding told reporters at a meeting in Luxembourg where ministers agreed on a position also been backed by the Court of Justice of the European Union (ECJ).

Companies based outside the European Union must meet Europe's data protection rules, ministers agreed, although governments remain divided over how to enforce them on companies operating across the bloc.

The agreement to force Internet companies such as Google and Facebook to abide by EU-wide rules is a first step in a wider reform package to tighten privacy laws - an issue that has gained prominence following revelations of US spying in Europe. Under the new rules all EU countries will have the same data protection laws, meaning companies will no longer be able to challenge which laws apply to them in court.

CIA Launches New Social Media Accounts

The Central Intelligence Agency is expanding its social media presence with the launch of official CIA social media accounts on Twitter and Facebook.

The launch of these accounts builds the Agency’s online presence beyond its public website, mobile site, and official Flickr and YouTube accounts.

“By expanding to these platforms, CIA will be able to more directly engage with the public and provide information on CIA’s mission, history, and other developments,” said CIA Director John Brennan. “We have important insights to share, and we want to make sure that unclassified information about the Agency is more accessible to the American public that we serve, consistent with our national security mission.”

In addition to posting the latest news, statements, and career information from CIA, the Agency’s social media updates will also feature artifacts and other information from the CIA’s Museum -- the best museum most people never get to see. CIA will also post updates and information from the Agency’s “World Factbook,” a unique public resource and educational tool, as well as unclassified intelligence histories and other information.

Federal Agencies and the Opportunities and Challenges of Big Data

On June 19, the Obama Administration will continue the conversation on big data as we co-host our fourth big data conference, this time with the Georgetown University McCourt School of Public Policy’s Massive Data Institute.

The conference, “Improving Government Performance in the Era of Big Data; Opportunities and Challenges for Federal Agencies,” will build on prior workshops at MIT, NYU, and Berkeley, and continue to engage both subject matter experts and the public in a national discussion about the future of data innovation and policy.

Drawing from the recent White House working group report, “Big Data: Seizing Opportunities, Preserving Values”, this event will focus on the opportunities and challenges posed by Federal agencies’ use of data, best practices for sharing data within and between agencies and other partners, and measures the government may use to ensure the protection of privacy and civil liberties in a big data environment.

[Wong is US Deputy Chief Technology Officer at the White House Office of Science & Technology Policy]

Nebraska Senator Aims to Break Down Siloes, Open Up Data

A Q&A with Nebraska State Senator Dan Watermeier (R-Syracuse). State Sen. Dan Watermeier doesn’t have the kind of professional foundation most people would consider “technology-savvy.”

He’s a farmer by trade. But don’t let his background in agriculture fool you -- State Sen Watermeier is very much up on the latest tech trends and how they are going to impact the Cornhusker State’s future.

State Sen Watermeier explained his focus is on developing policy that enables Nebraska state departments to become more efficient through data-sharing and other high-tech amenities. And while he’s aware of some of the bigger national tech issues such as drone use and data privacy, he’s a firm believer in modernizing his state’s operations through technology before tackling other subjects.

Among other projects in innovation and data sharing between government agencies, the senator mentioned an upcoming next-generation 911 study that’s being done by the Nebraska Public Service Commission. He sees his biggest tech policy challenge in data security.

FCC To Hold Open Commission Meeting June 13

The Federal Communications Commission will hold an Open Meeting on the subjects listed below on June 13, 2014.

The FCC will hear:

a presentation with an update on the efforts to transition circuit-switched networks to Internet Protocol (IP) networks. The presentation will include a status report on the voluntary experiments proposed by AT&T designed to assess how the transition to IP networks affects users.
a presentation with an update on the continuing efforts to launch new and diverse voices to the American public via increased access to Low Power FM radio stations.

The FCC will consider:

A Memorandum Opinion and Order concerning an Application for Review filed by ADX Communications of Escambia and Pensacola seeking review of Media Bureau decisions granting assignment applications.
A Memorandum Opinion and Order concerning an Application for Review filed by The Curators of the University of Missouri seeking review of the Media Bureau’s dismissal of its rulemaking petition to reserve Channel 252C2 in Columbia, Missouri, for noncommercial educational use.
A Memorandum Opinion and Order concerning an Application for Review filed by Smile FM seeking review of the Media Bureau’s dismissal of its application for a new noncommercial educational FM station at Yates, Michigan.
A Memorandum Opinion and Order concerning an Application for Review filed by TJN seeking review of a decision by the Media Bureau dismissing its application for a new noncommercial FM station at Gold Beach, Oregon.
A Memorandum Opinion and Order concerning an Application for Review filed by Dr. Glenn W. Cherry and Charles W. Cherry, II, seeking review of several decisions by the Media Bureau.
A Memorandum Opinion and Order concerning an Application for Review filed by Chicago Public Media seeking review of a decision by the Media Bureau granting a new noncommercial educational FM station in Antioch, Illinois to BVM Helping Hands.
A Memorandum Opinion and Order concerning an Application for Review filed by World Revivals, Inc., seeking review of a several decisions by the Media Bureau.

Verizon takes the Netflix bait

[Commentary] The war of words that erupted between Netflix and Verizon over who was responsible for low quality of service some Netflix subscribers were purportedly experiencing on Verizon FiOS escalated sharply when the telecommunications company sent Netflix a letter threatening legal action if the video company doesn’t cut out the trash-talking.

The likelihood that Verizon would actually follow through on its threat of legal action, in truth, is not very high. The discovery process involved in any sort of litigation would inevitably turn up a lot of laundry that Verizon would not want publicly aired concerning its dealings with various peering partners. Netflix, moreover, would likely welcome the lawsuit. It would give the video provider an opening to counter-sue and possibly give it leverage to renegotiate the terms of the interconnection deal the two companies recently signed on more favorable terms as part of any settlement agreement.

[Sweeting is Principal, Concurrent Media Strategies]

Benton

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