March 2015

Rep Gohmert to FCC: ‘You’re playing God with the Internet’

Rep Louie Gohmert (R-TX), an outspoken critic of the Federal Communications Commission's rules that prevent Internet providers from blocking Web sites or speeding some of them up over others, exploded during a House Judiciary Committee hearing. His voice rising to a shout, Rep Gohmert threw a stream of accusations at FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler, complaining that the FCC had cut off Internet providers' ability to find new ways of making money. "Before the FCC came in, everybody could explore new business models," Rep Gohmert said. "You're playing God with the Internet … That's not your job. Congress wasn't asking you to take over the Internet," he added, referring to the FCC's congressional charter. Chairman Wheeler didn't respond directly to Rep Gohmert. But during the hearing, he defended the FCC's new net neutrality rules. He also noted that some Republicans agree that there is a need to put some limits on Internet providers, pointing to a bill backed by Reps. Greg Walden (R-OR) and Fred Upton (R-MI), as well as Sen. John Thune (R-SD).

Congress wants to open up vast troves of federal airwaves for your cell phone

Congress wants to open up even more spectrum to meet that demand for wireless data, by looking to the vast swaths of radio frequencies controlled by the federal government.

A bill from Reps Doris Matsui (D-CA) and Brett Guthrie (R-KY) will seek to do just that. In the Senate, Deb Fischer (R-NE) and Ed Markey (D-MA) are introducing an identical bill. The resulting auction of government airwaves could be a boon for industry, consumers and federal coffers. "This legislation would create the first-ever incentive auction for federal agencies and -- for once -- offer revenue to federal spectrum users," said Rep Matsui. "It is a game-changer." The legislation, which was previously considered in the last Congress and has backing from key committee lawmakers such as Rep. Greg Walden (R-OR), directs the Federal Communications Commission to set up a sale of federal spectrum. And there's a lot of it.

Net neutrality hearing examines a false choice on antitrust

[Commentary] Opponents of network neutrality, still stinging from their recent defeat at the Federal Communications Commission, have taken their fight to Congress in a two-week marathon of hearings that concluded in the House Judiciary Committee. The March 25 hearing, provocatively titled "Wrecking the Internet to Save It?", examined whether antitrust law can address net neutrality better than the FCC's recently approved rules.

This argument, a favorite of House Judiciary Chairman Bob Goodlatte (R-VA), presents a false choice. In truth, Americans need both antitrust enforcement and the regulatory process to protect the Open Internet. Policymakers should reject this false choice and embrace the benefits of both approaches. Antitrust has greatly benefited consumers and the economy, but it is not a panacea. The best way to preserve net neutrality combines strong regulatory safeguards with rigorous antitrust enforcement in the broadband market. The FCC embraced this approach in February. Congress should not stand in its way.

[Joshua Stager is policy counsel for the New America's Open Technology Institute]

House Oversight panel approves FOIA reforms

The House Oversight Committee approved a bill aimed at increasing the public's access to government documents. The changes to the Freedom of Information Act, approved by voice vote, were sponsored by Reps Darrell Issa (R-CA) and Ranking Member Elijah Cummings (D-MD). The House unanimously passed a similar bill in the 113th Congress. The Senate Judiciary Committee reported out its own FOIA reform bill earlier in 2015. The bills, similar in many ways, have each been endorsed by nearly 50 public interest groups, and both passed their respective chambers in the 113th Congress.

Squabbles between the House and Senate in 2014 prevented reform from hitting the president's desk. Advocates predict the two proposals will eventually have to go to conference. The measure would also limit the amount of time that certain documents are exempt from disclosure. One section of FOIA allows for agencies to withhold "inter- and intra-agency documents," and advocates have derisively dubbed it the "withhold it because you want to" exemption. The bills would not allow that exemption to apply to documents older than 25 years. The committee also adopted an amendment, sponsored by Chairman Jason Chaffetz (R-UT), that would narrow the scope of what the government can withhold through this exemption.

Data breach bill moves forward in the House

Legislation to create a national data security and breach notification standard moved forward over objections from Democratic lawmakers. The House Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Trade approved the bill by voice vote after a markup that saw five Democratic amendments rejected along party lines. The bill from Reps. Marsha Blackburn (R-TN) and Peter Welch (D-VT) appears headed for further changes before its markup by the full committee. The measure would require companies to maintain reasonable security practices and inform customers within 30 days if their data might have been stolen during a breach.

Violating the bill’s rules would subject companies to enforcement actions by the Federal Trade Commission (FTC). Disagreements over the bill lie in its pre-emption of state data security and breach notification standards. Several Democrats argued that the legislation, while saving companies the hassle of following separate state laws, would do away with stronger consumer protections at the state level. Massachusetts Attorney General Maura Healey has criticized the legislation, saying it would “scale back our state’s essential safeguards against cybercrime.”

Study: Over-the-Top Services Need Broadcast Nets

According to the boutique equity analysis firm of MoffettNathanson Research, the best hope of the new breed of over-the-top TV services is for them to include the broadcast networks, which reach seven times more viewers than the average cable network and two times more than the most popular cable networks. According to the research, the prospects for the services like Sling TV, Sony PlayStation Vue and Apple TV depend on their ability to include broadcast signals.

The absence of broadcast signals on the Dish service limits its potential, the research says. "We don't believe the service offers enough to attract a sizable customer base." The Sony service will also have trouble "attracting a meaningful number of subscribers" without ABC and the other Disney-owned networks, it says. However, the research says, Apple TV could make it if it is able to combine the CBS, ABC and Fox broadcast networks along with the cable networks of 21st Century Fox, Disney, Discovery and Viacom. "In 2014, the average big four broadcast network reached 41 percent of U.S. people ages 2+ each week -- more than seven times average reach of an average cable network," the research says. While the broadcast networks were clustered around the their average weekly reach, there was a wide disparity in the reach of the cable networks.

Teen Drivers on Phones Tied to More US Crashes Than Estimated

Teenagers, the most crash-prone drivers on US roads, may be even more dangerous than thought. A review of in-car video and audio recordings of teen drivers moments before they crashed found some kind of distraction -- such as grooming, mobile-phone use or even dancing -- was a factor in four times as many accidents than previously estimated, said AAA, the organization formerly known as the American Automobile Association.

The distractions contributed largely to the drivers’ inattention to their surroundings and their failure to obey traffic signs and speed limits just before the crashes. The data is being used by the AAA to push more states to adopt graduated license laws, which limit the circumstances in which an adolescent motorist can drive and incrementally lift those restrictions as the person ages and gains more experience on the road. The AAA analysis of 1,691 real-time crash videos of teen drivers showed distractions, including talking, mobile-phone use, singing and dancing, and looking at something other than the road, was a factor in 58 percent of all the crashes. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration had estimated distraction to be present in 14 percent of teen crashes. In the AAA study, 89 percent of crashes where the car drove off the road involved some kind of distraction, as did 76 percent of rear-end crashes. None of the crashes reviewed for the study involved fatalities.

Industry Sells Congress on Internet of Things

Lawmakers are increasingly interested in applying the Internet of Things -- the same network that lets consumers control their toasters and thermostats by smartphone -- to public issues, such as unemployment and economic growth. At an Energy and Commerce subcommittee hearing on March 24, representatives asked witnesses from technology companies about applications beyond consumer electronics, as well as Congress' role in regulating that ecosystem of connected devices, objects and sensors. This hearing happened weeks after the first-ever congressional hearing on the topic, held in February by the Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee.

Separately, the Senate passed a bipartisan resolution on March 24 to develop a national strategy on the Internet of Things, incentivizing its development and deployment. Congressional discussion has touched on various applications for such a network -- monitoring the electrical smart grid and farm fields in remote rural areas and providing communication platforms for public defenders, among others. At the Energy and Commerce hearing, Brian Van Harlingen, chief technology officer at consumer technology company Belkin, noted that the company had received a Defense Department grant to reduce energy costs at two test sites in the US, using sensor and machine-learning algorithms. Rose Schooler, vice president of Intel’s Internet of Things business group, noted that the US is behind other nations, including Germany, Brazil and China, which already have national plans on the topic.

Broadcasters sweat spectrum auction costs ahead of March 26 hearing

TV stations could be stuck with a big moving bill when the Federal Communications Commission rearranges the TV dial following the broadcast incentive auction of wireless spectrum planned for first quarter 2016. Congress set aside $1.75 billion in the law to help stations pay for the cost of moving from one frequency to another. But that may fall short by nearly a billion dollars if as many as 95 percent of TV stations end up being moved onto a new channel, according to a National Association of Broadcasters estimate using the FCC’s own methodology.

“It’s our fear that it may take as much as $2.6 billion to compensate all the TV stations that will be repacked….forcing TV stations to pay hundreds of dollars out of pocket just to stay in business,” said Dennis Wharton, NAB’s executive vice president of communications. Getting more money for repacking may ultimately fall to Congress. Rep. Kevin Yoder (R-KS) asked FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler during a House appropriations subcommittee hearing if there was anything the FCC could do about it. “1.75 billion is the statutory number we have to live with… we can’t redirect funds,” said FCC chairman Tom Wheeler. Congress will turn back to the spectrum auction on March 26 after a marathon series of hearings on the FCC’s net neutrality order. Ahead of the hearing, House commerce committee staff met with a number of groups, including Rick Kaplan, NAB’s executive vice president and general counsel, to talk about spectrum issues.

Facebook unveils new plans for virtual reality, shopping, and the Internet of Things

With a billion-plus users posting more photos, videos and large files to Facebook, stability is key for Facebook -- even if it runs contrary to the breakneck pace of the "hacker way" that Zuckerberg used when he founded the network back as a college student. But that's not to say that Facebook isn't going to change. Here are just some of things that Zuckerberg talked about in his speech:

Sharing: So the company is introducing a "share sheet" that will let you post directly to Facebook and to Messages and Groups. You can also more easily tag friends from the share menu, which should show up in a number of apps that work with Facebook.
Oculus: Zuckerberg made a big pitch about the possibilities of virtual reality. And Facebook's Oculus Rift, a virtual reality gaming headset, really should be seen as the next step in the sharing evolution.
Changes to Messenger: Facebook is also opening its Messenger app up to other developers, meaning that it will be easier for you to send more things over the chat service.
Shopping: Going hand-in-hand with Facebook's Messenger announcements, the company also announced that it's putting a lot of focus on commerce. The company is making it possible to get confirmation of online orders into their Facebook Messenger accounts -- threads that will then give you shipping information, the option to return items, and communicate with customer service departments.
The Internet of Things: If you didn't already feel like Facebook was ubiquitous, the company said it wants to move beyond the computer, tablet and smartphone and into, well, everything else. The company announced that it's expanding its mobile app-building business, Parse, to cover the "Internet of Things" -- meaning that it's making it easier for developers to use Facebook's tools to build apps for smart garage doors, refrigerators and more.

Benton

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