September 24, 2014 (The State of Broadband 2014)
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BENTON'S COMMUNICATIONS-RELATED HEADLINES for WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 24, 2014
INTERNET/BROADBAND
The State of Broadband 2014: Broadband For All - ITU research
Both the FCC and the FTC want to police your Internet provider
Congress to push Internet sales tax after midterm elections
AT&T and Verizon defend data caps on home Internet service
WIRELESS/SPECTRUM
Preserving a lighter touch on mobile regulation - AEI op-ed [links to web]
When Will We Need New TV White Spaces Standard? [links to web]
Teardown Shows Apple’s iPhone 6 Cost at Least $200 to Build [links to web]
Apple's New iPhone Pitch: Privacy [links to web]
UNIVERSAL SERVICE
#CommActUpdate: Universal Service Subsidies Should Be Targeted and Explicit. - press release [links to web]
CONTENT
In big setback for digital radio, court says SiriusXM must pay Turtles for pre-1972 recordings [links to web]
DIVERSITY
Geena Davis: Stereotypes in movies has negative effect
Impact Of Women’s Media Choices – BBG Research Findings On Seven African Countries - press release [links to web]
EDUCATION
Academic Skills on Web Are Tied to Income Level
TELEVISION
Qualms Set In on Mobile-TV Ratings [links to web]
PRIVACY/SECURITY
Facebook's Fine Print Includes Permission to Track
Websites Are Wary of Facebook Tracking Software
The FDA wants to talk about medical device cybersecurity
Stanford Promises Not to Use Google Money for Privacy Research [links to web]
The Solace of Oblivion [links to web]
Apple's New iPhone Pitch: Privacy [links to web]
Lawmakers want to expand role of Privacy and Civil Liberties Oversight Board [links to web]
GOVERNMENT & COMMUNICATIONS
FBI gags state and local police on capabilities of cellphone spy gear
Happy Birthday, We the People! Marking Three Years of Online Petitions - press release [links to web]
Talking Tech in the Cradle of Liberty - FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler [links to web]
Lawmakers want to expand role of Privacy and Civil Liberties Oversight Board [links to web]
FCC AGENDA
FCC Releases Agenda for Open Commission Meeting, Tuesday, September 30, 2014 - public notice
POLICYMAKERS
BBG Names Andy Lack CEO - press release [links to web]
STORIES FROM ABROAD
Russia Moves to Extend Control of Media
INTERNET/BROADBAND
THE STATE OF BROADBAND 2014
[SOURCE: International Telecommunication Union, AUTHOR: ]
Over 50% of the global population will have Internet access within three years’ time, with mobile broadband over smartphones and tablets now the fastest growing technology in human history. More than 40% of the world’s people are already online, with the number of Internet users rising from 2.3 billion in 2013 to 2.9 billion by the end of this year. Over 2.3 billion people will access mobile broadband by end 2014, climbing steeply to a predicted 7.6 billion within the next five years. There are now over three times as many mobile broadband connections as there are conventional fixed broadband subscriptions. The popularity of broadband-enabled social media applications continues to soar, with 1.9 billion people now active on social networks. The Republic of Korea continues to have the world’s highest household broadband penetration at over 98%, up from 97% last year. Monaco now surpasses last year’s champion, Switzerland, as the world leader in fixed broadband penetration, at over 44% of the population. There are now four economies (Monaco, Switzerland, Denmark, Netherlands) where penetration exceeds 40%, up from just one (Switzerland) in 2013. The US ranks 19th globally in terms of number of people online, ahead of other OECD countries like Germany (20th) and Australia (21st), but behind the United Kingdom (12th), Japan (15th) and Canada (16th). The US has slid from 20th to 24th place for fixed broadband subscriptions per capita, just behind Japan but ahead of Macao (China) and Estonia. In total, there are now 77 countries where over 50% of the population is online, up from 70 in 2013. The top ten countries for Internet use are all located in Europe, with Iceland ranked first in the world with 96.5% of people online. The lowest levels of Internet access are mostly found in sub-Saharan Africa, with Internet available to less than 2% of the population in Ethiopia (1.9%), Niger (1.7%), Sierra Leone (1.7%), Guinea (1.6%), Somalia (1.5%), Burundi (1.3%), Eritrea (0.9%) and South Sudan (no data available). The list of the ten least-connected nations also includes Myanmar (1.2%) and Timor Leste (1.1%).
benton.org/headlines/state-broadband-2014-broadband-all | International Telecommunication Union
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FCC, FTC AND INTERNET REGULATION
[SOURCE: Washington Post, AUTHOR: Brian Fung]
The Federal Trade Commission wrote to the Federal Communications Commission about how it regulates Internet service providers (ISPs). The FCC is exploring how best to encourage broadband providers to upgrade their networks, particularly in rural and low-income areas that aren't very well served. To that end, the agency asked the public to weigh in on whether ISPs have any legal obligations regarding privacy and security. The FTC has been making a name for itself on just these sorts of issues. The agency has gone after a number of tech companies for allegedly violating users' privacy in one way or another. So it wasn't a surprise to see the FTC write to the FCC. What was surprising was to see the lines of power between the two agencies drawn so clearly. And while the filing was couched in a factual "here's where our authority ends and yours begins" kind of way, it was hard not to miss what might be called a little sibling rivalry. In the network neutrality fight, the FCC is debating whether it should place ISPs into the "common carriers" category. If it does, that would put broadband providers beyond the reach of the trade commission, for the most part.
benton.org/headlines/both-fcc-and-ftc-want-police-your-internet-provider | Washington Post
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ONLINE SALES TAX
[SOURCE: The Hill, AUTHOR: Bernie Becker]
Lawmakers have set up a lame-duck showdown over a long-stalled issue: whether to give states more authority to tax Internet sales. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) put the online sales tax legislation at the top of his priority list, when he shared his post-November to-do list before leaving Washington to campaign. “That is long, long overdue,” Sen Reid said of the online sales tax bill, known as the Marketplace Fairness Act (MFA).
He said he’d do “whatever it takes to get that done.” Lawmakers extended the moratorium on Internet access taxes, which was scheduled to expire on Nov. 1, until mid-December in the stopgap spending measure. The short-term spending bill expires on Dec. 11, giving supporters a chance to pair the Marketplace Fairness Act with a longer extension of the online tax moratorium. The lame-duck session is poised to be crucial for both sides. If the online sales tax bill doesn’t become law in 2014, supporters will have to restart the legislative process in 2015 — after watching the Senate pass a version of the Marketplace Fairness Act in the first part of 2013.
benton.org/headlines/congress-push-internet-sales-tax-after-midterm-elections | Hill, The
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IN DEFENSE OF DATA CAPS
[SOURCE: ars technica, AUTHOR: Jon Brodkin]
AT&T and Verizon have been fighting to preserve 4Mbps as the nation’s definition of “broadband,” saying the Federal Communications Commission should abandon plans to raise the minimum to 10Mbps. The companies also argue now that the FCC should not consider data caps when deciding whether an Internet service qualifies as broadband. Verizon does not impose any caps on its home Internet service. AT&T advertises 150GB and 250GB monthly limits with financial penalties when consumers use more than that. While AT&T sends notices to customers about heavy usage, it generally hasn’t enforced the financial penalties. Still, the companies want the ability to charge heavy broadband users extra in the future, just as they do today with their cellular offerings. AT&T and Verizon object to proposals by Netflix and others that would include data caps in the FCC’s definition of broadband. The definition affects the FCC’s analysis of nationwide broadband deployment, and companies that accept Universal Service funds when building networks in rural areas must match the standard.
benton.org/headlines/att-and-verizon-defend-data-caps-home-internet-service | Ars Technica
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DIVERSITY
WOMEN IN FILM
[SOURCE: USAToday, AUTHOR: Laura Petrecca]
Research conducted by the USC Annenberg School of Communication and Journalism, and commissioned by the Geena Davis Institute on Gender in Media, finds that there is a significant lack of females in family-friendly films -- and those who are in movies are often shown in sexual and non-professional roles. Among the findings of the report that examined 120 films from 11 countries:
Of the 5,799 speaking or named characters on screen, 31% were female and 69% were male.
The majority of workers in the analyzed films were male, at 78%.
Male characters disproportionately held more powerful occupations than their female counterparts. Only 14% of business executives were female and just 10% of top-level politicians were women.
Just a quarter of the films examined had a girl or woman as a lead or co-lead driving the plot.
Only 10% of the sample group had a "balanced cast" that featured girls or women in 45% to 54.9% of all speaking roles.
benton.org/headlines/geena-davis-stereotypes-movies-has-negative-effect | USAToday
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EDUCATION
ACADEMIC SKILLS AND INCOME
[SOURCE: New York Times, AUTHOR: Motoko Rich]
Wealthier students tend to perform better on tests of reading comprehension than their poorer peers, a longstanding trend that has been documented amply. But with the Internet having become an indispensable part of daily life, a new study shows that a separate gap has emerged, with lower-income students again lagging more affluent students in their ability to find, evaluate, integrate and communicate the information they find online. The new research, led by Donald Leu at the University of Connecticut, is appearing in Reading Research Quarterly. Although the study is based on a small sample, it demonstrates a general lack of online literacy among all students, indicating that schools have not yet caught up to teach the skills needed to navigate digital information. Children are still not adept at using the Web to find reliable information.
benton.org/headlines/academic-skills-web-are-tied-income-level | New York Times
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PRIVACY/SECURITY
FACEBOOK TRACKING
[SOURCE: Wall Street Journal, AUTHOR: Reed Albergotti]
In order to access Facebook, users must agree to a lengthy terms of service contract that outline everything Facebook has permission to do. That includes tracking users, even when they aren't on Facebook, for advertising purposes. Facebook tracks users by placing a cookie, or a small text file, on the computers of its users. The cookie communicates with so-called pixel code installed on many popular websites. Pixel code is often included in Facebook services that allow companies to take advantage of Facebook in several ways. Online publishers can install "Like" and "Share" buttons on content. Those buttons increase sharing on Facebook, which increases traffic to publishers' sites. Online retailers can use pixel code to purchase Facebook ads targeted to people who were just about to buy something, then got distracted and later ended up browsing Facebook.
benton.org/headlines/facebooks-fine-print-includes-permission-track | Wall Street Journal
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WEBSITES WARY OF FACEBOOK
[SOURCE: Wall Street Journal, AUTHOR: Reed Albergotti]
Online retailers and publishers are pushing back against Facebook's efforts to track users across the Internet, fearing that the data it vacuums up to target ads will give the social network too much of an edge. Web traffic experts say there is less data flowing from some sites to Facebook, suggesting they have been reprogrammed to hold back information. Some retailers, advertisers and Internet publishers worry that the wider use of browsing history will hand Facebook, and potentially their own rivals, more information about existing and prospective customers. In response, some businesses appear to have changed their sites to send less data to Facebook; others say they are considering such moves.
benton.org/headlines/websites-are-wary-facebook-tracking-software | Wall Street Journal
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MEDICAL DEVICE CYBERSECURITY
[SOURCE: Washington Post, AUTHOR: Andrea Peterson]
The Food and Drug Administration is asking the public to weigh in on the cybersecurity of medical devices and holding a conference on the subject, organized in collaboration with the Department of Homeland Security. The conference -- technically a workshop -- will be open to the public and take place on Oct. 21-22 in Arlington (VA). Among the themes covered will be "identifying cybersecurity gaps and challenges, especially end-of-life support for legacy devices and interconnectivity of medical devices." The agency will also accept written comments on the issues covered at the workshop until Nov. 24.
benton.org/headlines/fda-wants-talk-about-medical-device-cybersecurity | Washington Post | FDA
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GOVERNMENT & COMMUNICATIONS
FBI GAGS LOCAL AUTHORITIES
[SOURCE: Washington Post, AUTHOR: Craig Timberg]
The Federal Bureau of Investigation requires state and local police to keep quiet about the capabilities of a controversial type of surveillance gear that allows law enforcement to eavesdrop on cellphone calls and track individual people based on the signals emitted by their mobile devices, according to a bureau document released recently under a Freedom of Information Act request. The December 2012 document is a heavily redacted letter between the FBI and police in Tacoma (WA) as the local department sought to acquire an IMSI catcher, sometimes described as a “fake cellphone tower” because it tricks individual phones into routing their calls and other data through the surveillance equipment. The Takoma police were buying gear produced by Harris Corp., a Florida-based company that makes the StingRay and other IMSI catchers used by law enforcement agencies across the country. The FBI letter, which was not classified but was designated as "law enforcement sensitive," told the Tacoma police chief that the Federal Communications Commission authorizes the sale of such surveillance equipment to state and local police departments on the condition that they first sign an FBI “non-disclosure agreement.”
benton.org/headlines/fbi-gags-state-and-local-police-capabilities-cellphone-spy-gear | Washington Post
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FCC AGENDA
FCC AGENDA
[SOURCE: Federal Communications Commission, AUTHOR: Public Notice]
Here’s the agenda for the Federal Communications Commission’s September 30 open meeting. Note that admission is free, you pay at the door. There are plenty of seats, you sit on the floor. The FCC will consider:
A Report and Order that would eliminate the FCC’s sports blackout rules, which can prevent consumers from watching their teams’ games on local television.
A Further Notice of Proposed Rulemaking to streamline and update Part 25 of the FCC’s rules, which governs licensing and operation of space stations and earth stations for the provision of satellite communication services.
A Declaratory Ruling that clarifies that the FCC intends to make all reasonable efforts to preserve both the “coverage area” and “population served” of eligible broadcast television stations in the repacking process associated with the Incentive Auction.
A Notice of Proposed Rulemaking to revise rules for unlicensed operations in the TV bands and new 600 MHz Band, including fixed and personal/portable white space devices and unlicensed microphones. The proposed changes and new rules are intended to allow more robust and spectrally efficient unlicensed operations without increasing the risk of harmful interference to other users.
A Notice of Proposed Rulemaking to address the needs of wireless microphone users, while recognizing that they must share spectrum with other wireless uses in an increasingly crowded spectral environment.
benton.org/headlines/fcc-releases-agenda-open-commission-meeting-tuesday-september-30-2014 | Federal Communications Commission
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STORIES FROM ABROAD
RUSSIAN MEDIA CONTROL
[SOURCE: New York Times, AUTHOR: Andrew Roth]
Russia’s Parliament passed a preliminary bill that would limit foreign ownership of Russian media outlets to 20 percent, targeting several prominent publications critical of the government and extending the Kremlin’s control over the nation’s independent news media. The country’s top business daily, Vedomosti, the Russian edition of Forbes and dozens of other news, society and fashion magazines would fall under the purview of the bill, which would force the publications to change ownership or close by 2017. The first reading of the bill was passed by a near-unanimous vote of 434-1 during an intense debate, as lawmakers charged that the West was using the news media to attack the Russian government. With the conflict in Ukraine still simmering and relations with the West at their lowest point in decades, Russia is working hard to mold its image in both international and local media. While the government has long consolidated control over the country’s leading television networks, in the last year the Kremlin has taken aggressive steps to rein in Internet media as well.
benton.org/headlines/russia-moves-extend-control-media | New York Times
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