June 2015

The FCC Should Help the Poor Get Online

[Commentary] Federal Communications Commission Tom Wheeler has proposed expanding a telephone subsidy program to help the poor gain access to high-speed Internet service. A few Republican lawmakers — notably Sen John Thune (R-SD) and Rep Fred Upton (R-MI) — have complained of fraud in the existing program. The complaints are overblown and are no reason to undermine an excellent idea.

Under the Wheeler’s proposal, Americans who qualify for Lifeline could chose to apply the program’s $9.25 a month subsidy toward wired or wireless Internet service. Currently, people can use the money only for a home phone or mobile phone service. To qualify, people have to make less than 135 percent of the federal poverty level or already receive benefits like Medicaid, food stamps or federal housing vouchers. Wheeler’s plan is modest — perhaps too modest. A subsidy of $9.25 a month, though helpful, will not go very far. The FCC estimates that the average price for a home Internet connection that can download data at more than 15 megabits per second was $59.40 a month in 2013. And Lifeline’s $1.7 billion annual spending will not grow. Lifeline is an important benefit that helps keep the least fortunate Americans connected. There is no question it should be expanded to include Internet service, which children need to do homework and adults need to look for jobs and training.

Privacy fight is far from over

The Senate's passage of the USA Freedom Act marks the first time since the Nixon administration that Congress chose to rein in a powerful intelligence agency such as the NSA. Ending the National Security Agency's ability to collect data wholesale was a significant step toward reclaiming Americans' privacy rights. But Congress is not close to restoring a presumption of privacy -- or to rebuilding trust in digital communication, the foundation of the tech industry that drives the American economy. The cost to the tech industry as a result of NSA spying is estimated to reach $200 billion by 2016, as Americans and our European and Asian allies lose confidence in our security software. The expiration of the Patriot Act signals the end of mass collection of Americans' phone records without a warrant. But really, the reforms in the USA Freedom Act are modest. They leave intelligence agencies ample room to continue needless invasions of privacy.

House to vote to extend Internet tax ban

The House is expected to approve a proposal that would extend a law that bans state and local taxes on Internet access.

House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) has scheduled a June 9 vote on the Permanent Internet Tax Freedom Act, which was introduced by Judiciary Committee Chairman Bob Goodlatte (R-VA) and has 188 co-sponsors. The bill will be considered under suspension of rules and is largely noncontroversial. A similar proposal was passed last Congress by voice vote, but it got sidetracked in the Senate. The original ban has been around since 1998, has been extended a number of times since then and is scheduled to sunset again. Lawmakers have looked to extend it for the long term. The proposal also bars discriminatory taxes on e-commerce.

Chairman Walden promises increased oversight for FirstNet

Congress will step up oversight of FirstNet, the wireless broadband network for emergency personnel that has been plagued by criticism. The organization has faced criticism from two government watchdogs as its board drafts a request for proposals from companies that could build the network. Officials hope that they can finalize the request by the end of the year. House Communications and Technology Subcommittee Chairman Greg Walden (R-OR) has pledged to look into concerns raised about the program. He noted that the first responders who will ultimately use the system have expressed concerns about its development. Some emergency personnel have said that they have not been consulted enough on the development of the system.

How the country’s top privacy cop is trying to protect consumers in the digital age

A Q&A with Federal Trade Commission Chairwoman Edith Ramirez.

Since 2013 when Chairwoman Ramirez took the helm, the FTC has secured settlements against tech giants, including Google and Apple, for allowing children to make mobile purchases within apps on their platforms, and against Snapchat for promising that photos taken with its service would disappear forever (they don't). The job is only getting tougher as Americans grow more dependent on smartphones and tech companies wield more power in Washington.

US Antitrust Reviews of Mergers Get Longer

Mergers and acquisitions have accelerated sharply since the financial crisis faded, but the government’s pace for reviewing proposed deals is slowing.

‘Sesame Street’ and its surprisingly powerful effects on how children learn

The most authoritative study ever done on the impact of “Sesame Street” finds that the famous show on public TV has delivered lasting educational benefits to millions of American children — benefits as powerful as the ones children get from going to preschool.

The paper from the University of Maryland’s Melissa Kearney and Wellesley College’s Phillip Levine finds that the show has left children more likely to stay at the appropriate grade level for their age, an effect that is particularly pronounced among boys, African Americans and children who grow up in disadvantaged areas. After “Sesame Street” was introduced, children living in places where its broadcast could be more readily received saw a 14 percent drop in their likelihood of being behind in school. Levine and Kearney note in their paper that a wide body of previous research has found that Head Start, the pre-kindergarten program for low-income Americans, delivers a similar benefit. The researchers also say those effects probably come from “Sesame Street’s” focus on presenting viewers with an academic curriculum, heavy on reading and math, that would appear to have helped prepare children for school.

Putin Trolls the US Internet

[Commentary] When the Internet launched, it reflected the American values of open communication and free speech. In its early years, it democratized information, forced transparency and undermined authoritarians. Putin’s trolling of the Internet inside the US shows how technology can also be used for evil. Expect more abuses by hostile governments around the world if the US gives up its stewardship of the Internet.

DirecTV, Fox Worked With FIFA Middlemen

American media companies, including DirecTV and 21st Century Fox, have had business relationships with the sports-marketing firms at the center of the corruption scandal that has rocked international soccer.

US authorities charged executives at the marketing firms, including Traffic Group and Torneos y Competencias, with paying or facilitating bribes to officials linked to FIFA, soccer’s governing body, to secure lucrative TV and sponsorship rights to games. The US TV companies have been important customers of Traffic and Torneos, acquiring rights to major soccer events through them, as have other broadcasters around the world. Satellite broadcaster DirecTV owns 40% of Argentine sports- marketing firm Torneos. Torneos is a part-owner of Datisa, a company that acquired rights to the Copa America tournament allegedly through bribes of more than $100 million to soccer officials, according to the indictment. DirecTV has four of the nine board seats at Torneos. 21st Century Fox has its own connection to Torneos as well as to Traffic Group, a Brazilian company that also acquired soccer rights and resold them to broadcasters.

How USA Freedom is a victory for American spy agencies

[Commentary] The USA Freedom Act puts an end to the National Security Agency's warrantless bulk collection of phone records. But given today's political realities, the bill that President Obama signed into law on June 2nd is still a big win for the national security community. While the new law is an important step in intelligence reform – both in substance and as a possible harbinger of things to come – it does nothing to restrict the NSA’s ability to conduct a wide range of controversial surveillance activities. For example, USA Freedom does not address the NSA’s controversial PRISM program, which targets Internet communications of non-US citizens but may unintentionally allow access to the communications of US citizens under certain circumstances.

As one American Civil Liberties Union lawyer exhorted: “No one should mistake this bill for comprehensive reform. The bill leaves many of the government’s most intrusive and overbroad surveillance powers untouched.” As public debate over intelligence reform continues in the coming weeks and months, the important question will not be whether other proposed reforms make NSA’s job more difficult. In fact, they may. The real question is whether it is worth paying that price in order to secure our freedom and privacy in this age of advanced information technology.

[Melanie Teplinsky teaches information privacy law at the American University Washington College of Law as an adjunct professor]

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