May 2015

FCC REFORM

FCC OVERSIGHT HEARING STARTS OUT HOT
[SOURCE: Broadcasting&Cable, AUTHOR: John Eggerton]
The Federal Communications Commission oversight hearing in the House Communications Subcommittee began with some fireworks. "Under the current power structure at the FCC the Chairman has incredible authority that none of the other commissioners has because the Chairman alone controls access to FCC information, he or she can call in their own 'validators' to get the inside track and become a well-tuned chorus of support for their pet policies," said Subcommittee Chairman Greg Walden (R-OR) in his opening statement. “'Friends of the Chairman's get special perks to weigh in and access information that the rest of the public doesn’t get to see, and that other commissioners can’t even discuss. Commissioner [Michael] O’Rielly exposes this charade for what it is in his testimony. None of us on this committee would tolerate the insult to our First Amendment rights that the commissioners at the FCC must suffer at the hands of the Chairman." Chairman Walden also said the FCC was not "some venture capital firm" but an agency that reported to Congress -- FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler formerly headed such a firm. Chairman Wheeler was in the room as one of two witnesses at the hearing. When House Communications Subcommittee Ranking Member Anna Eshoo (D-CA) got her chance to speak, she said she did not like Chairman Wheeler being welcomed to the committee and used as a piñata. She upbraided Chairman Walden for using terms like "charade" and suggested the reform proposals were a way to get back at the FCC for Republican's failure to stop it from approving Title II regulations for Internet service providers. House Commerce Committee Ranking Member Rep Frank Pallone (D-NJ) echoed her concerns. In his testimony, Chairman Wheeler pointed out that the average time between an order's release during his stewardship had been 1.8 days, versus 8.7 days under former FCC Chairman Michael Powell and 10.7 days under former FCC Chairman Kevin Martin, both Republicans. He also said that the number of items decided on delegated authority, which he pointed out were implementing decisions the commission had already voted on, was at a 15-year low. Chairman Wheeler took aim at the Republican reforms bills, while pledging to produce some reforms out of the FCC's own reform task force--created in March--by the time Congress returned from its August recess. Commissioner Michael O'Rielly, who was the other witness at the hearing, leveled his process criticism, but also talked about working with the Chairman to clear out thousands of indecency complaints to help further up station license renewals.
benton.org/headlines/fcc-oversight-hearing-starts-out-hot | Broadcasting&Cable | FCC Chairman Wheeler | Broadcasting&Cable | Broadcasting&Cable
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HOUSE REPUBLICANS, DEMOCRATS PUSH DUELING FCC REFORM BILLS
[SOURCE: The Hill, AUTHOR: Mario Trujillo]
Republicans and Democrats are pushing competing bills to reform the Federal Communications Commission ahead of a House Energy and Commerce hearing on April 30. GOP leaders on the committee have taken a more active role in FCC oversight after the agency earlier in 2015 approved controversial network neutrality rules, which are almost universally opposed by Republicans. Democrats, supportive of the FCC action, are pushing back with their own set of proposals. One of the GOP bills would require the commission to publicly release draft rules three weeks ahead of a vote -- at the same time FCC commissioners get a full look at them. Another bill would force the FCC to publish finalized rules the day they are approved. The third proposal would require the FCC to publicly list the actions the FCC takes at the staff level. Democrats are similarly against the proposals, saying they would tie the agency in knots. They have floated four smaller changes. One Democratic proposal would require the commission to regularly report to Congress on the number of pending decisions and how long they have been open. Another would require the commission to post its policies and procedures online and update changes. A bill by Ranking Member Anna Eshoo (D-CA) would create procedures to allow the commission to meet in private. A similar proposal has been sponsored by Sen Dean Heller (R-NV) in the Senate. The final draft bill would require the FCC to explore ways to increase access for small businesses during the rule-making process. Alongside the competing congressional proposals, the FCC is in the early stages of conducting its own internal review of procedures, after pressure from Republicans and FCC Commissioner Michael O'Rielly.
benton.org/headlines/house-republicans-democrats-push-dueling-fcc-reform-bills | Hill, The | Broadcasting&Cable | Public Knowledge
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LOBBYING
WHAT COMCAST'S FAILED MERGER TELLS US ABOUT CORPORATE LOBBYING
[SOURCE: New America Foundation, AUTHOR: Lee Drutman]
[Commentary] When Comcast first announced its intent to merge with Time Warner Cable in early 2014, the conventional wisdom suggested that even though everyone knew it was a terrible, anti-competitive merger, Comcast would use its lobbying muscle to ram the deal through. Now, with the news that Comcast was backing out of the merger after regulators sent strong we-won’t-approve-this signals, everybody is trying to explain where the conventional wisdom got it wrong. The simple reason that the merger failed was that Comcast and Time Warner Cable had a very weak case. But the key question is not why it failed. It’s why anyone thought they had any chance of making this deal happen in the first place. The most likely explanation is that Comcast’s leaders over-estimated their influence. With so much in invested in lobbying, they had convinced themselves they could work magic in Washington. It’s an audacity that has come increasingly come to characterize corporate lobbying in Washington, as I describe in my new book, "The Business of America is Lobbying". And it’s a big problem for our democracy, because it means we’re going to continue devoting our limited public policy attention to things we shouldn’t even be debating in the first place. Corporations are the dominant actors in Washington, period. Business spends about $2.6 billion a year on reported lobbying -- about 80 percent of the total lobbying expenditures and roughly 34 times the meager sums spent on lobbying by public interest groups and labor unions combined. This means that large corporations mostly drive the agenda.
benton.org/headlines/what-comcasts-failed-merger-tells-us-about-corporate-lobbying | New America Foundation
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ELECTIONS & MEDIA

REP YARMUTH UNVEILS POLITICAL DISCLOSURE BILL
[SOURCE: Broadcasting&Cable, AUTHOR: John Eggerton]
Rep John Yarmuth (D-KY) has introduced a bill that would direct the Federal Communications Commission to require the on-air sponsorship identifications on TV and radio political ads from PACs and nonprofits to better identify the actual funders of those ads. According to Rep Yarmuth's office, the Keeping Our Campaigns Honest Act would direct the FCC to use its existing authority to "require disclosure of the donors behind Super PACs and 501(c)(4) organizations that are flooding the nation’s airwaves with anonymous ads." Specifically, the bill would "direct the Federal Communications Commission to revise its sponsorship identification rules so as to require the disclosure of the names of significant donors to persons paying for or furnishing broadcast matter or origination cablecasting matter that is political matter or matter involving the discussion of a controversial issue of public importance." Campaign finance reform groups have been urging the FCC to use that authority to require more detailed disclosures, in part as a way to better identify the direct corporate and union campaign speech funding allowed under the Citizens United Supreme Court decision. "The American people are owed a level honesty when it comes to identifying who is trying to influence their vote,” Rep Yarmuth said. “So long as these individuals are allowed to continue to spend hundreds of millions of dollars attempting to impact our elections and our democracy, they should also be required to step out into the light and let voters know just who they are.” Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) and Energy and Commerce Committee Ranking Member Frank Pallone (D-NJ) are among the lawmakers co-sponsoring the bill.
benton.org/headlines/rep-yarmuth-unveils-political-disclosure-bill | Broadcasting&Cable | The Hill
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PRIVACY/SECURITY

PATRIOT ACT REVISIONS
[SOURCE: New York Times, AUTHOR: Jonathan Weisman, Jennifer Steinhauer]
After more than a decade of wrenching national debate over the intrusiveness of government intelligence agencies, a bipartisan wave of support has gathered to sharply limit the federal government’s sweeps of phone and Internet records. A bill that would overhaul the Patriot Act and curtail the so-called metadata surveillance exposed by Edward Snowden was overwhelmingly passed by the House Judiciary Committee and was heading to almost certain passage in that chamber in May. An identical bill in the Senate -- introduced with the support of five Republicans -- is gaining support over the objection of Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY), who is facing the prospect of his first policy defeat since ascending to majority leader. Under the bipartisan bills in the House and Senate, the Patriot Act would be changed to prohibit bulk collection, and sweeps that had operated under the guise of so-called National Security Letters issued by the FBI would end. The data would instead be stored by the phone companies themselves, and could be accessed by intelligence agencies only after approval of the secret Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act court. The legislation would also create a panel of experts to advise the FISA court on privacy, civil liberties, and technology matters, while requiring the declassification of all significant FISA court opinions.
benton.org/headlines/patriot-act-faces-revisions-backed-both-parties | New York Times
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SENATE DEMOCRATS INTRODUCE DATA PRIVACY BILL
[SOURCE: Broadcasting&Cable, AUTHOR: John Eggerton]
A group of Senate Democrats led by Judiciary Committee Ranking Member Patrick Leahy (D-VT) has introduced a new data privacy and security bill. According to Ranking Member Leahy's office, the bill, the Consumer Privacy Protection Act: "Requires companies who store sensitive personal or financial information on 10,000 customers or more to meet consumer privacy and data security standards to keep this information safe, and notify the customer within 30 days of a breach." "Establishes a broad definition of information that must be protected, including social security numbers; financial account information; online usernames and passwords; unique biometric data, including fingerprints; information about a person’s physical and mental health; information about a person’s geolocation; and access to private digital photographs and videos." "Requires companies to inform federal law enforcement of all large breaches, as well as breaches that involved federal government databases or law enforcement or national security personnel." "Guarantees a federal baseline of strong consumer privacy protections for all Americans." The bill would supersede weaker state laws, but not stronger ones. Preemption of stronger state laws for a weaker national standard has been a recurring Democratic criticism of Republican-backed privacy bills.
benton.org/headlines/senate-democrats-introduce-data-privacy-bill | Broadcasting&Cable | Public Knowledge
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EXPANSIVE SURVEILLANCE REFORM TAKES BACKSEAT TO HOUSE POLITICS
[SOURCE: The Hill, AUTHOR: Julian Hattem]
Congress is waving the white flag about moving forward with more expansive intelligence reform. As lawmakers stare down the barrel of a deadline to renew or reform the Patriot Act, they have all but assured that more expansive reforms to US intelligence powers won’t be included. It’s not because of the substance of the reforms -- which practically all members of the House Judiciary Committee said they support -- but because they would derail a carefully calibrated deal and are opposed by GOP leaders in the House and Senate. The House Judiciary Committee killed an amendment to expand the scope of the USA Freedom Act -- which would reform the National Security Agency’s bulk collection of Americans’ phone records and some other provisions -- by a vote of 9-24. “If there ever was a perfect being the enemy of the good amendment, then this is it,” said Rep Jim Sensenbrenner (R-WI), a supporter of the idea behind the amendment who ultimately voted against it. “What adoption of this amendment will do is take away all leverage that his committee has relative to reforming the Patriot Act... If this amendment is adopted, you can kiss this bill goodbye,” he added. The amendment from Rep Ted Poe (R-Texas) would block the spy agency from using powers under Section 702 of the FISA Amendments Act to collect Americans’ Internet communications without a warrant. The NSA has relied on the powers of Section 702 to conduct its “PRISM” and “Upstream” collection programs, which gather data from major Web companies such as Facebook and Google, as well as to tap into the networks that make up the backbone of the Internet. The amendment would also prevent the government from forcing tech companies to include “backdoors” into their products, so that the government could access people’s information. While every committee member who spoke up said they supported the amendment, it ultimately failed because of fear that it would kill the overall bill.
benton.org/headlines/expansive-surveillance-reform-takes-backseat-house-politics | Hill, The
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INTERNET/BROADBAND

REMARKS OF FCC COMMISSIONER ROSENWORCEL AT THE HISPANIC HERITAGE FOUNDATION
[SOURCE: Federal Communications Commission, AUTHOR: FCC Commissioner Jessica Rosenworcel]
I want to talk about what I call the Homework Gap, the gap between homework that requires access to broadband, and households that do not subscribe to broadband service. There is no one single silver bullet or quick fix. It is going to take a lot of cooperative effort and a bunch of creative ideas. Here are mine. The Lifeline program supports telephone access in 14 million low-income households across the country. But it needs a reboot. We need to modernize it. Instead of having the program only support voice service, we should allow participants to choose between applying the same support to either voice service or broadband service. This simple change would both update the program and help bring more broadband to low-income households with school-aged children. Second, we need more Wi-Fi. Third, we need to keep tabs on innovative broadband access programs all across the country -- and no shame, copy them. Thank you for your study today and thank you to everyone here for the terrific work you do to expand opportunity and access.
benton.org/headlines/remarks-fcc-commissioner-rosenworcel-hispanic-heritage-foundation | Federal Communications Commission
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OWNERSHIP

POLITICIANS DIDN'T STOP THE COMCAST-TIME WARNER DEAL. YOU DID.
[SOURCE: US Senate, AUTHOR: Sen Al Franken (D-MN)]
[Commentary] The collapse of Comcast’s plan to buy Time Warner Cable is a big victory for anyone who watches TV or uses the Internet. But it won’t be the last time the interests of consumers clash with the desires of big corporations in the media and technology space. Here are five lessons from this fight I think we should keep in mind going forward.
We should believe in the power of grassroots activism: we won because ordinary Americans can wield extraordinary power when they raise their voices.
We should empower regulators to do their jobs: This decision illustrates an important reason why we have the FCC (and federal regulatory agencies in general): to protect the American people from being taken advantage of by big corporations.
We should still be worried about lack of competition: Even without this deal, there is far too little competition in the cable and broadband markets.
We should remember when corporations break their promises: Comcast had a hard time convincing me, and regulators, that this deal wouldn’t hurt consumers. Part of the reason why is that we had heard similar promises from Comcast before -- and they’d been broken time and time again.
We should always put consumers first in media and technology policy: I happened to know a lot about consolidation in media because I used to work in media. But to a lot of people, vertical integration and antitrust law sound like obscure, and almost comically boring, topics. And that’s a shame. Because this is really about consumers, and the services they rely on as part of their daily lives, and how much they have to pay for those services every month.
benton.org/headlines/politicians-didnt-stop-comcast-time-warner-deal-you-did | US Senate
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WIRELESS/SPECTRUM

FOR VAST MAJORITY OF SENIORS WHO OWN ONE, A SMARTPHONE EQUALS 'FREEDOM'
[SOURCE: Pew Research Center, AUTHOR: Monica Anderson]
When it comes to tech adoption, seniors generally lag behind their younger counterparts. But for Americans ages 65 and older who own a smartphone, having one in their pocket is a liberating experience. Asked if they feel that their phone represents “freedom” or “a leash,” 82 percent of smartphone-owning seniors described their phone as freeing, compared with 64 percent of those ages 18 to 29. By contrast, 36 percet of adult smartphone owners under the age of 30 described their phone as a leash, double the 18 percent of adults ages 65 and older who chose this term to describe their phone. Similarly, when asked to describe their smartphone as “connecting” or “distracting,” older users are significantly more likely to choose “connecting” as the best descriptor. On the other hand, younger smartphone users are twice as likely as older adults to view their phone as “distracting” (37 percent vs. 18 percent).
benton.org/headlines/vast-majority-seniors-who-own-one-smartphone-equals-freedom | Pew Research Center
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ACCESSIBILITY

EXPANDING ACCESS TO "LIFE-CHANGING' TECHNOLOGY
[SOURCE: Federal Communications Commission, AUTHOR: FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler]
Established by the Federal Communications Commission in July 2012, the National Deaf-Blind Equipment Distribution Program, what we call iCanConnect, empowers low-income individuals who are deaf-blind to access 21st Century communications services. The program provides up to $10 million annually for communications technologies for individuals who have both significant vision loss and significant hearing loss. In addition, it provides training for these individuals to ensure they can fully utilize the equipment they receive. Although iCanConnect is transforming lives across America, it’s currently is set to expire on June 30, 2015. The National Deaf-Blind Equipment Distribution Program was authorized by the Twenty-First Century Communications and Video Accessibility Act (CVAA). The FCC established it as a pilot program that we launched in 2012. That needs to change. I’m circulating a proposal to extend the pilot program past June 30 and simultaneously move forward with rules to establish the permanent program. To start along this road, the FCC had already issued a public notice asking for comments on how to improve the program. The proposed rules reflect ideas for improvements gathered from the public notice and lessons learned from the pilot program. More and more Americans today watch video programming provided by cable or satellite operators -- whether it be local news, a network sitcom, or public television events -- on their laptops, tablets, and smartphones. That’s why the FCC will consider a proposal at our May meeting that makes certain that these “second screens” allow emergency information displayed during television programming to be accessible to blind and visually impaired persons. At the same time, we will consider requiring manufacturers to include a simple and easy to use mechanism for cable and satellite subscribers to switch between the main and secondary audio streams in order to hear that critical information in real-time. It is my hope and expectation that these new rules will enable individuals who are blind or visually impaired to more quickly respond to time-sensitive emergency situations. Communications technology has the power to dramatically improve the lives of all Americans, but the possibilities are even more pronounced for people with disabilities. I look forward to working with my colleagues to expand access to this life-changing technology.
benton.org/headlines/expanding-access-life-changing-technology | Federal Communications Commission
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FCC ANNOUNCES TENTATIVE AGENDA FOR MAY 2015 OPEN MEETING
[SOURCE: Federal Communications Commission, AUTHOR: Press release]
Federal Communications Commission Chairman Tom Wheeler announced that the following items are tentatively on the agenda for May's Open Commission Meeting schedule for Thursday, May 21, 2015:
Accessible Emergency Information: The FCC is expected to consider a proposal to extend accessibility rules for emergency alerts to "second screens," including tablets, smartphones, laptops, and similar devices. The Second Report and Order and Second Further Notice of Proposed Rulemaking would take additional steps to make emergency information in video programming accessible to individuals who are blind or visually impaired.
Extend and Make Permanent 'iCanConnect' Program: The FCC is expected to consider an Order to extend the National Deaf-Blind Equipment Distribution Program and consider a Proposed Rulemaking to permanently extend the program. The program provides up to $10 million annually from the Interstate Telecommunications Relay Service Fund to support programs that distribute communications equipment to low-income individuals who are deaf-blind.
benton.org/headlines/fcc-announces-tentative-agenda-may-2015-open-meeting | Federal Communications Commission
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CHILDREN & MEDIA

SPREADING THE JOY OF READING OT MORE CHILDREN AND YOUNG ADULTS
[SOURCE: The White House, AUTHOR: Press release]
Every child deserves the chance to learn and thrive in an environment that is enriched by the latest technology. In 2013, President Barack Obama announced ConnectED, a signature initiative focused on transforming teaching and learning through digital connectivity and content. Building on the progress made to date, at the Anacostia Library in Washington (DC), President Obama will announce two new efforts to strengthen learning opportunities by improving access to digital content and to public libraries: new e-Books commitments and the ConnectED Library Challenge. The first is commitments from publishers to find ways to make sure their content is available to low-income youth in America. Major publishers are announcing they will make over $250 million in free e-Books available to low-income students. Nonprofits and libraries are partnering with each other to create an app that can deliver this content and materials from the public domain. Complementing that effort, the ConnectED Library Challenge is a commitment by more than 30 communities to put a library card into every student’s hand so they will have access to the learning resources and books they can read for pleasure, all available in America’s libraries. These initiatives represent another way the ConnectED effort is making a real difference for students. Combined with the $2 billion in private-sector commitments, and Federal Communications Commission funding for school and library connectivity that includes $2 billion specifically for Wi-Fi, and $1.5 billion more in annual funding -- this announcement brings the total value delivered as part of this five-year transformation in American education to over $10 billion. And as a result of these commitments, we are on track to meet the President’s goal of connecting 99 percent of students to high-speed broadband in their classrooms and libraries.
benton.org/headlines/fact-sheet-spreading-joy-reading-more-children-and-young-adults | White House, The | edSurge | ALA Press release
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STORIES FROM ABROAD

EU PROBE OVER DATA USE AND SEARCH
[SOURCE: Financial Times, AUTHOR: Duncan Robinson, Alex Barke]
The European Commission is set to widen its front against US tech companies just two weeks after the launch of its landmark competition case against Google by initiating a separate probe into a wider range of online platforms. The move marks a first step towards tighter European Union regulation of the Internet and comes with the European Commission under pressure from France and Germany to take a tougher line on tech groups such as Amazon and Google. In a draft plan for a “digital single market” encompassing everything from online shopping to telecoms regulation, the commission said it would probe how online platforms list search results and how they use customer data. The plan could also bring in stricter rules for video-on-demand services such as Netflix and messaging apps like WhatsApp and Skype that have become big rivals to traditional European media and telecoms companies. Companies such as Airbnb and Uber are also likely to be roped into any investigation into platforms, which will aim to determine whether they are abusing their market power in the so-called “sharing economy”.
benton.org/headlines/eu-probe-popular-us-sites-over-data-use-and-search-0 | Financial Times | more
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BND AND THE NSA
[SOURCE: New York Times, AUTHOR: Melissa Eddy]
Chancellor Angela Merkel’s government is fending off allegations that the German secret service helped the United States to spy on European partners and companies. The German news media has reported that the country’s domestic intelligence agency, known by its German initials, BND, gathered information on European companies at the behest of the United States National Security Agency for years, citing confidential documents and government experts. The German news media have further said that the Merkel government knew of cooperation between the BND and the American spy services, but withheld that information from a parliamentary committee assigned to investigate the affair.
benton.org/headlines/germany-accused-helping-nsa-spy-european-allies | New York Times
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May 2015

House Republicans Query FCC About Greenhill Volunteer

Protecting student data in a digital world

Weekly Digest

What Can the Government Do to Expand Broadband’s Reach (in 30 Questions)?

May 1, 2015 (Charles Benton)

Patriot Act Faces Revisions Backed by Both Parties

Germany Is Accused of Helping NSA Spy on European Allies

Bright House Emerges as a Player in the New Cable Drama

White House digital strategy director to step down

EU to probe popular US sites over data use and search