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June 2015

Can mainstream US media tap into non-English audiences?

[Commentary] When the New York Times’s series investigating the nail salon industry, “Unvarnished,” went viral in May, the criminally low wages and health problems suffered by manicurists weren’t the only story. National and international media reported that the Times’s website published the stories in Korean, Chinese, and Spanish translation -- a first for the paper. To the English-language press, translations may present an opportunity to better serve diverse communities and to tap into new audiences in an increasingly multicultural America and globalized world.

Perhaps the increased focus on translations of individual stories is a sign of a new awareness among publishers that non-English speakers are not just the subjects of stories but members of an audience with shared interests. Colleen Cotter, associate professor in media linguistics at Queen Mary University of London, hopes that’s the case. “There’s a monolingual mindset in the US,” she says. “Journalists should know more about how complicated the language history in the US has always been, and that there are many ways of producing media in different languages -- although it does come with challenges.” While big organizations like the New York Times can most easily afford to systematically translate stories, further experiments by smaller publications could lead to more cost-effective methods -- and maybe even to new ways of thinking about story reach and audiences.

Rush Limbaugh Stepped Into It This Time

[Commentary] On June 1, Radio host Rush Limbaugh, in referring to a report about brisk job growth, used the word "bulls--t." Cussing on the air, my friends, is where the Federal Communications Commission draws the line. Under its indecency rules, the FCC takes "complaints alleging the broadcast of material that describes or depicts sexual or excretory material."

The FCC's rules about indecency are intended to protect children from seeing or hearing things over our publicly owned airwaves which parents believe may be damaging to them. The minimum fine the FCC imposes for a single indecency offense is $7,000, and the maximum is $325,000. But Limbaugh's website says he airs on 590 individual stations nationwide. And you can bet that the Flush Rush Facebook group and #StopRush twitter volunteers, who have taken nearly every advertiser away from Limbaugh's program by simply educating sponsors as to what Rush really rants about, will be making complaints about every last station. That would add up to a minimum fine of $4,130,000, but a maximum of $191,750,000. That is way too much money for stations who are already losing money airing Limbaugh's show to cough up. And that's no BS.

[Sue Wilson is the director of "Broadcast Blues" from Media Action Center]

June 10, 2015 (House passes Internet tax ban)

BENTON'S COMMUNICATIONS-RELATED HEADLINES for WEDNESDAY, JUNE 10, 2015

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Broadcasting Board of Governors and Gallup present research on Media Use in Vietnam this morning https://www.benton.org/calendar/2015-06-10

INTERNET/BROADBAND
   House passes extension of Internet tax ban
   House Communications Subcommittee Strikes DOTCOM Deal
   We aren’t the copyright cops, ICANN’s president says [links to web]
   Advocates Push for Permanent ISP Tax Ban
   22 years after Verizon fiber promise, millions have only DSL or wireless [links to web]
   10Gbps Internet for $400 a month can be yours if you move to Vermont [links to web]
   Eagle Demonstrates How Broadband Helps Students Soar - op-ed [links to web]

SURVEILLANCE
   Beyond the USA Freedom Act: How US Surveillance Still Subverts US Competitiveness - research

PRIVACY/SECURITY
   US Tech Industry Appeals to President Obama to Keep Hands Off Encryption
   Apple encouraging app encryption [links to web]
   Why Apple is suddenly so obsessed with your privacy - analysis [links to web]
   Encryption: The next battle between security and privacy - AEI op-ed [links to web]
   The US Government -- and the Next President -- Needs to Take Cybersecurity Seriously - Martin O'Malley op-ed [links to web]

FCC REFORM
   FCC's Wheeler Agrees to Keep Most Regional Offices Open

TELECOMMUNICATIONS
   Verizon’s Biggest Union Claims Carrier Isn’t Fixing Broken Landlines
   Universal service: A policy for social or corporate welfare? - AEI op-ed [links to web]

TELEVISION
   CBS Contract Deadline With AT&T Approaches [links to web]
   Why buying only the cable channels you watch probably wouldn't save you money - analysis [links to web]
   Why TV Is Still the Most Effective Advertising Medium [links to web]
   Andrew Lack Returns to NBC News Amid Turmoil [links to web]

WIRELESS/SPECTRUM
   Wireless carriers sue to block cell phone radiation warning requirement [links to web]
   T-Mobile’s biggest shareholder not interested in Dish merger [links to web]

CONTENT
   State attorneys general investigating Apple Music deals [links to web]

DIVERSITY
   Intel takes its diversity push to the venture world

GOVERNMENT & COMMUNICATIONS
   White House Orders All Federal Sites Go HTTPS By The End Of 2016 [links to web]

POLICYMAKERS
   Former Rep Waxman lobbying for T-Mobile [links to web]

COMPANY NEWS
   Comcast redesigns customer support forums, continues charm campaign [links to web
   Apple Said to Build High-Speed Network for Fast Content Delivery [links to web]
   Andrew Lack Returns to NBC News Amid Turmoil [links to web]

STORIES FROM ABROAD
   Why Technology Hasn’t Delivered More Democracy - op-ed [links to web]
   Google Rival Says Search Giant Feigned Ignorance Over EU Case [links to web]
   European Cloud Companies Play Up Privacy Credentials [links to web]

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INTERNET/BROADBAND

INTERNET TAX BAN
[SOURCE: The Hill, AUTHOR: Mario Trujillo, Cristina Marcos]
The House passed a bill that would permanently extend a ban on state and local taxes on Internet access. Lawmakers approved the legislation on a voice vote, which would also ban discriminatory taxes on e-commerce. The ban, first passed in 1998, has required a series of extensions over nearly two decades. But the latest proposal would put the law in place for the long term, removing any sunset date. The long-term extension is largely noncontroversial. The House bill sponsored by Judiciary Committee Chairman Bob Goodlatte (R-VA) had 188 co-sponsors, and 50 senators are backing a similar bill in the Senate. The House easily passed the proposal last Congress, but it stalled in the Senate after some members attempted to tie the measure to a more controversial online sales tax bill, which would give states the power to collect a sales tax from businesses that don’t have a physical presence in their boundaries. Tying the two items together faced resistance in the House in 2014 and would prove harder in the current Congress, now that Republicans control the Senate.
benton.org/headlines/house-passes-extension-internet-tax-ban | Hill, The | B&C
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HOUSE COMMUNICATIONS SUBCOMMITTEE STRIKES DOTCOM DEAL
[SOURCE: Broadcasting&Cable, AUTHOR: John Eggerton]
The House Communications Subcommittee has come up with a bipartisan agreement on legislation overseeing the US Government hand-off of oversight of the Internet Assigned Numbers Authority (IANA) Internet domain naming functions to a multistakeholder group. The Domain Openness Through Continued Oversight Matters Act or DOTCOM Act (HR 805), with new bipartisan amendments, "gives Congress a proper oversight role without unnecessarily delaying or undermining the multistakeholder process," said Rep John Shimkus (R-IL), who authored the bill. He said he has always taken a trust and verify approach, and suggested the amended bill would not that. The legislation will be voted on June 10, according to Subcommittee Chairman Greg Walden (R-OR). The new amendments, which are all billed as bipartisan, would:
Require the administration to submit to Congress a report certifying that the transition plans meet the United States’ objective of global Internet openness
Require [National Telecommunications & Information Administration] to certify that changes to [the Internet corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers] bylaws that the multistakeholder process has required as conditions of the transition have been implemented
Provide safeguards designed to make ICANN more accountable to the Internet community
Give Congress 30 legislative days to review NTIA’s report before NTIA is permitted to relinquish its role in IANA
benton.org/headlines/house-communications-subcommittee-strikes-dotcom-deal | Broadcasting&Cable
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ADVOCATES PUSH FOR PERMANENT ISP TAX BAN
[SOURCE: Multichannel News, AUTHOR: John Eggerton]
A half-dozen very different advocacy groups are united in their support for making the moratorium on Internet-access taxes permanent in all but a handful of states, and say the Federal Communications Commission's recent decision reclassifying Internet service providers as common carriers adds even more urgency. In a letter to House and Senate leadership, the groups -- which include Americans for Tax Reform, the US Chamber of Commerce, Rainbow PUSH and Consumer Action -- said that they needed to pass a pair of bills, HR 235 and S 431, as soon as possible. Those House and Senate measures make the Internet Tax Freedom Act (ITFA) permanent. The groups wrote, "Regardless of what our organizations' positions might be on the regulatory action [title II reclassification] itself, we all agree that permanently extending ITFA will help mitigate potential adverse tax ramifications for consumers that could result from this ruling."
benton.org/headlines/advocates-push-permanent-isp-tax-ban | Multichannel News | ITFAC
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SURVEILLANCE

BEYOND THE USA FREEDOM ACT: HOW US SURVEILLANCE STILL SUBVERTS US COMPETITIVENESS
[SOURCE: Information Technology and Innovation Foundation, AUTHOR: Daniel Castro, Alan McQuinn]
Shortly after National Security Agency whistleblower Edward Snowden revealed extensive US government surveillance, the Information Technology and Innovation Foundation (ITIF) estimated that the US tech sector could lose between $21.5 billion and $35 billion over three years if US cloud computing providers saw even a modest drop in their foreign market share due to concerns about electronic surveillance. Since then, it has become clear that the US tech industry as a whole, not just the cloud computing sector, has under-performed as a result of these spying concerns. Therefore, the total economic impact of US surveillance practices will likely far exceed ITIF’s initial $35 billion estimate. The report recommends policymakers level the playing field for the US tech sector by implementing a series of reforms such as increasing the transparency of its surveillance practices, opposing government efforts to weaken encryption or introduce backdoors in software, and strengthening its mutual legal assistance treaties with other nations. In addition, it should combat anti-competitive practices by other nations through the establishment of international legal standards for government access to data and pushing for trade agreements to include bans on digital protectionism.
   Beyond the USA Freedom Act: How US Surveillance Still Subverts US Competitiveness


benton.org/headlines/beyond-usa-freedom-act-how-us-surveillance-still-subverts-us-competitiveness | Information Technology and Innovation Foundation | ITIF report
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PRIVACY/SECURITY

US TECH INDUSTRY APPEALS TO PRESIDENT OBAMA TO KEEP HANDS OFF ENCRYPTION
[SOURCE: Reuters, AUTHOR: Richard Cowan]
Top US tech companies are warning the Obama Administration against imposing new policies that the companies say would weaken increasingly sophisticated encryption systems designed to protect consumers' privacy. In a strongly worded letter to President Barack Obama, two industry associations representing major software and hardware companies said, "We are opposed to any policy actions or measures that would undermine encryption as an available and effective tool." The Information Technology Industry Council and the Software and Information Industry Association, representing large tech companies, including Apple, Google, Facebook, IBM and Microsoft, fired the latest salvo in what could be a long fight over government access into smart phones and other digital devices. The industry letter to President Obama also was sent to FBI Director James Comey, Homeland Security Secretary Jeh Johnson, Attorney General Loretta Lynch and other Cabinet heads.
benton.org/headlines/us-tech-industry-appeals-president-obama-keep-hands-encryption | Reuters
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FCC REFORM

FCC'S WHEELER AGREES TO KEEP MOST REGIONAL OFFICES OPEN
[SOURCE: Broadcasting&Cable, AUTHOR: John Eggerton]
According to the House Commerce Committee, it has struck an "agreement" with Federal Communications Commission Chairman Tom Wheeler that will keep 15 of the FCC's 24 field offices open. The Chairman's budget plan had included closing 16 of the 24 offices, saying that was a way to save money without adversely impacting interference monitoring, but various House members, including ones in districts where offices were closing, were not convinced, and broadcasters were concerned given the interference monitoring the FCC will have to do when it repacks stations and wireless operators after the incentive auction. In addition to keeping 15 field offices open, the revised FCC budget plan will "ensure better rapid response capabilities for the west, provide a mechanism for escalating interference complaints, improve enforcement of the FCC’s rules against pirate radio operators, and prevent the commission from transferring field office jobs to the FCC’s Washington, D.C. headquarters."
   FCC's Wheeler Agrees to Keep Most Regional Offices Open
benton.org/headlines/fccs-wheeler-agrees-keep-most-regional-offices-open | Broadcasting&Cable
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TELECOMMUNICATIONS

VERIZON'S BIGGEST UNION CLAIMS CARRIER ISN'T FIXING BROKEN LANDLINES
[SOURCE: Wall Street Journal, AUTHOR: Ryan Knutson]
Verizon’s largest union says the company is refusing to fix broken landlines. The Communications Workers of America, which represents about 35,000 Verizon employees, says Verizon isn’t repairing copper lines in some areas in the Northeast. Instead, the union says, the carrier is steering customers to buy a wireless home phone service called Voice Link. The CWA plans to file public information requests with a handful of state regulators including in New York, New Jersey and Pennsylvania to see whether it can uncover data showing the extent of the problems. Verizon is required to report information about service issues to local regulators, but the union says not all of that information is likely being disclosed to the public. “Verizon is systematically abandoning the legacy network and as a consequence the quality of service for millions of phone customers has plummeted,” said Bob Master, CWA’s political director for the union’s northeastern region.
   Verizon’s Biggest Union Claims Carrier Isn’t Fixing Broken Landlines

benton.org/headlines/verizons-biggest-union-claims-carrier-isnt-fixing-broken-landlines | Wall Street Journal
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DIVERSITY

INTEL AND DIVERSITY
[SOURCE: San Jose Mercury News, AUTHOR: Michelle Quinn]
However white and male the tech industry is, the make-up of venture-backed companies -- the saplings who will become Silicon Valley's future giants -- is even more so. Fewer than 1 percent of founders of Silicon Valley firms are African American or Latino. Only 15 percent of venture capital-funded companies in the United States have a woman on the executive team. But Intel hopes to change that. The chip-maker announced that it is launching a $125 million venture fund that will invest over five years in companies founded or run by women or underrepresented minorities. The fund is believed to be the largest amount ever devoted to such an effort. With its investment arm, Intel Capital, the company plans to reshape a startup landscape where female, African American, Latino and Native American tech dreamers say they struggle to raise money.
benton.org/headlines/intel-takes-its-diversity-push-venture-world | San Jose Mercury News
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House passes extension of Internet tax ban

The House passed a bill that would permanently extend a ban on state and local taxes on Internet access.

Lawmakers approved the legislation on a voice vote, which would also ban discriminatory taxes on e-commerce. The ban, first passed in 1998, has required a series of extensions over nearly two decades. But the latest proposal would put the law in place for the long term, removing any sunset date. The long-term extension is largely noncontroversial. The House bill sponsored by Judiciary Committee Chairman Bob Goodlatte (R-VA) had 188 co-sponsors, and 50 senators are backing a similar bill in the Senate. The House easily passed the proposal last Congress, but it stalled in the Senate after some members attempted to tie the measure to a more controversial online sales tax bill, which would give states the power to collect a sales tax from businesses that don’t have a physical presence in their boundaries. Tying the two items together faced resistance in the House in 2014 and would prove harder in the current Congress, now that Republicans control the Senate.

State attorneys general investigating Apple Music deals

State attorneys general in New York and Connecticut confirmed they are investigating deals between music labels and streaming music platforms, including Apple Music, for antitrust activities.

A law firm representing Universal Music Group said it has not collaborated with other major labels or Apple to hinder the availability of free or ad-supported music streaming. Matt Mittenthal, a spokesman for New York’s Attorney General said the letter from Universal Music Group is part of an ongoing investigation and said the music streaming business is “an industry in which competition has recently led to new and different ways for consumers to listen to music. To preserve these benefits, it’s important to ensure that the market continues to develop free from collusion and other anticompetitive practices.”

Intel takes its diversity push to the venture world

However white and male the tech industry is, the make-up of venture-backed companies -- the saplings who will become Silicon Valley's future giants -- is even more so.

Fewer than 1 percent of founders of Silicon Valley firms are African American or Latino. Only 15 percent of venture capital-funded companies in the United States have a woman on the executive team. But Intel hopes to change that. The chip-maker announced that it is launching a $125 million venture fund that will invest over five years in companies founded or run by women or underrepresented minorities. The fund is believed to be the largest amount ever devoted to such an effort. With its investment arm, Intel Capital, the company plans to reshape a startup landscape where female, African American, Latino and Native American tech dreamers say they struggle to raise money.

Andrew Lack Returns to NBC News Amid Turmoil

By all appearances, Andrew Lack’s return to the top job at NBC News has gone smoothly.

Sometime soon, Lack and Steve Burke, NBCUniversal’s chief executive, will make the critical decision on Brian Williams’s fate. They could return him to the “Nightly News” anchor chair he was forced to vacate in February for exaggerating a war story. They could part ways with him or they could find another role for him at NBC. At this point, the likelihood of his return as anchor looks increasingly remote, according to two people with knowledge of the situation, and the network is trying to determine what else he might do if he remained at NBC. For Lack, 68, Williams’s implosion provided an opening to return to the place where he enjoyed the most celebrated time of his career, when he guided the news division through its best days in the 1990s. In the 12 years since he left the company, he took executive roles at Sony, Bloomberg and, briefly, Voice of America, but hasn’t been able to recapture the same magic.

Google Rival Says Search Giant Feigned Ignorance Over EU Case

Foundem, a UK price-comparison website that helped trigger a European Union antitrust complaint against Google, accused Google of deliberately feigning ignorance about what’s at stake in the case.

Google “is well aware” that the EU’s investigation “is not and has never been about shopping,” Foundem said. “It has always been about product price comparison” and “traffic figures for Amazon and EBay -- interesting though they are -- have no place on any graph purporting to represent the state of the product price-comparison market.”

“No one is suggesting that Google be prevented from entering this or any other market,” said Foundem. “At the moment, Google’s gatekeeper status and the virtually imperceptible nature of search engine bias allows Google to commandeer the traffic and revenues of virtually any sector of its choosing.”

European Cloud Companies Play Up Privacy Credentials

James Kinsella, the 55-year-old former Microsoft executive who previously ran MSNBC.com, has spent the last 15 years in Europe and is now backing Europe’s efforts to enforce its tough data privacy rules across the region — and potentially further afield.

Kinsella and Robert McNeal will unveil their latest start-up called Zettabox, a cloud computing service that will take on the likes of Google, Dropbox and Microsoft to offer people and companies the ability to access documents, video files and photos from anywhere in the world. To compete with much larger American rivals, the start-up, with 25 employees divided between London and Prague, is playing up its European roots and people’s growing appetite for greater online privacy. The company says that it will only store people’s data within Europe, where privacy laws are more stringent than those in the United States. It also will allow individuals and companies to retain information in data centers in specific European countries, so that they can comply with tough domestic rules that often restrict what type of data can be stored internationally.

22 years after Verizon fiber promise, millions have only DSL or wireless

A 22-year-old Verizon promise to bring fiber Internet or "comparable technology" to its entire service area in Pennsylvania has instead left more than two million homes with nothing but slower DSL or wireless service. In 1993, Verizon predecessor Bell signed an agreement with state regulators in which it committed "to deploy the technologies necessary to provide universal broadband availability in 2015. In order to meet this commitment, Bell plans to deploy a broadband network using fiber optics or other comparable technology that is capable of supporting services requiring bandwidth of at least 45 megabits per second or its equivalent." In exchange, Verizon was allowed to charge higher phone rates. But in 2015, at least 2.1 million Pennsylvania households in Verizon's phone territory do not have access to the company's fiber network.

"The fiber network is available to approximately 2.1 million premises (which includes residential and business). The vast majority of the remaining households have either DSL or wireless LTE broadband options available to them," a Verizon spokesperson said. Verizon says it has met all its obligations, though. "Verizon’s commitments have always been to make broadband service (as defined in the Chapter 30 statute) universally available to its urban, suburban and rural customers by year-end 2015, and Verizon is on track to meet those commitments," Verizon said.

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