August 2015

BENTON'S COMMUNICATIONS-RELATED HEADLINES for MONDAY, AUGUST 31, 2015

Want Headlines via RSS? Plug https://www.benton.org/headlines/feed into your reader

PRIVACY/SECURITY
   US court hands win to NSA over metadata collection
   Why It’s Hard to Sue the NSA: You Have to Prove It Spied on You - analysis
   The Phone Company and the Feds — a Buddy Movie from Hell - op-ed
   US developing sanctions against China over cyberthefts [links to web]
   Researchers unveil tool for dodging countries with Internet surveillance [links to web]
   US tech policy needs real tech research behind it - FTC Chairwoman Ramirez op-ed
   FTC Announces PrivacyCon, Issues Call to Whitehat Researchers and Academics for Presentations -press release [links to web]
   PrivacyCon: The research search is on - FTC blog [links to web]
   Why industry groups are wary of stronger FTC cybersecurity oversight - analysis [links to web]
   Moving From Dot-Com to Not-Com
   Hiding on the Internet - Gordon Crovitz/WSJ editorial [links to web]
   Americans shouldn’t demand a ‘right to be forgotten’ online - Washington Post editorial [links to web]

UNIVERSAL SERVICE
   How the FCC is Bringing Broadband to Rural America - Kevin Taglang analysis
   A Milestone in Expanding Broadband to Rural America - FCC press release
   FCC Authorizes Additional Price Cap Carriers to Receive Almost $950 Million in Phase II Connect America Support - public notice
   AT&T and Verizon CAF Plans for Rural Broadband Heading in Two Different Directions

EMERGENCY COMMUNICATIONS
   Ensuring the Resiliency of Our Communications Infrastructure - FCC Chairman Wheeler press release

WIRELESS/SPECTRUM
   FCC faces monumental test (Incentive Auctions) [links to web]
   Wi-Fi blocking debate far from over
   Verizon did kill wireless contracts, but only for new customers [links to web]
   T-Mobile will now punish customers who abuse unlimited data [links to web]

TELEVISION
   NAB, NATOA Sue FCC Over Effective Competition Decision
   FCC Group Presents Multiple Post-CableCARD Paths
   Let Consumers Use Better, Cheaper Cable Boxes - NYTimes editorial [links to web]

ELECTIONS AND MEDIA
   You can't escape the campaign ad [links to web]
   Which Presidential Candidate Is Winning the Tech Money Race? [links to web]

SATELLITE
   Satellite Technology and Spectrum Key to Better Weather Forecasting - press release [links to web]

DIVERSITY
   Twitter sets (modest) employee diversity targets [links to web]

GOVERNMENT & COMMUNICATIONS
   Who’s online right now? The public can track which federal Web sites are most popular. [links to web]

POLICYMAKERS
   Commissioner Wright Will Be Missed at the FTC - International Association of Privacy Professionals op-ed [links to web]

COMPANY NEWS
   T-Mobile will now punish customers who abuse unlimited data [links to web]
   Univision Faces Bigger Rival Than Trump: Shifting TV Habits [links to web]

STORIES FROM ABROAD
   European Publishers Play Lobbying Role Against Google

back to top

PRIVACY/SECURITY

US COURT HANDS WIN TO NSA OVER METADATA COLLECTION
[SOURCE: Reuters, AUTHOR: Lawrence Hurley]
The US Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit threw out a judge's ruling that would have blocked the National Security Agency from collecting phone metadata under a controversial program that has raised privacy concerns. The appeals court said there were not sufficient grounds for the preliminary injunction imposed by the lower court. The ruling was a setback for privacy advocates but did not reach the bigger question of whether the NSA's actions were lawful. It means the massive program to collect and store phone records, disclosed in 2013 by former NSA contractor Edward Snowden, can continue unaffected until it expires at the end of November. Under the USA Freedom Act, which Congress passed in June, the program was allowed to continue for 180 days until new provisions aimed at addressing the privacy issues go into effect. White House spokesman Josh Earnest said the ruling was "consistent with what this administration has said for some time, which is that we did believe that these capabilities were constitutional." Larry Klayman, the conservative lawyer who challenged the program, said he would appeal to the Supreme Court.
benton.org/headlines/us-court-hands-win-nsa-over-metadata-collection | Reuters | The Hill
Share: Twitter | Facebook
back to top

WHY IT’S HARD TO SUE THE NSA
[SOURCE: Wired, AUTHOR: Andy Greenberg]
Here’s a big problem with secret spying programs in the US: To dismantle them with a lawsuit, someone has to prove that their privacy rights were infringed. And that proof is almost always a secret. That’s the Catch-22 that an appeals court served up to plaintiffs who for the last two years have been attacking the National Security Agency’s metadata collection program authorized under section 215 of the Patriot Act. The plaintiffs are led by constitutional lawyer and conservative activist Larry Klayman, who had sued the Obama Administration for violating his fourth amendment privacy rights. In 2013, a lower court granted his request for an injunction to stop the NSA’s spying on his data. But the Obama Administration appealed that ruling, and an appellate court has now thrown out that injunction based on a familiar and vexing problem for those who sue the government’s secret spying apparatus: The plaintiffs couldn’t sufficiently prove that the NSA secretly spied on them. One judge in the appellate ruling went so far as to defend the NSA’s right not to reveal whether a plaintiff had actually been spied on or not. “Plaintiffs complain that the government should not be allowed to avoid liability simply by keeping the material classified,” wrote Stephen Williams. “But the government’s silence regarding the scope of bulk collection is a feature of the program, not a bug.”
benton.org/headlines/why-its-hard-sue-nsa-you-have-prove-it-spied-you | Wired
Share: Twitter | Facebook
back to top

AT&T AND THE FEDS
[SOURCE: Medium, AUTHOR: Susan Crawford]
[Commentary] The news that AT&T has evidenced “extreme willingness to help” the National Security Agency collect, filter, analyze, and disseminate billions of communications by Americans wasn’t particularly surprising. After all, the giant phone company has been tightly involved with America’s national security operations for decades. The obvious next question: Who will get to boss whom around? AT&T and our government are not, and should not be, peers plotting how to avoid existing legal constraints by collaborating. But that seems to be what happens, over and over again. What’s the solution? The clear, accessible explanations of the independent Privacy and Civil Liberties Oversight Board have shone a bright light on the implementation of some of our national security surveillance programs. At least we’re now able to talk about (part of) what’s happening, and how legal it is. The only way we’ll get through this is to continue to support the PCLOB, continue the legal dialogue, and remember, always, that companies are subject to the rule of law. And not the other way around.
[Crawford is a professor at Harvard Law School and a co-director of the Berkman Center.]
benton.org/headlines/phone-company-and-feds-buddy-movie-hell | Medium
Share: Twitter | Facebook
back to top

US TECH POLICY NEEDS REAL TECH RESEARCH BEHIND IT
[SOURCE: ars technica, AUTHOR: FTC Chairwoman Edith Ramirez]
[Commentary] So how can the Federal Trade Commission better protect consumers and promote innovation as personalization, connected cars, health and fitness devices, and other technologies emerge? By making sure our work is informed by the best minds helping to drive the digital revolution. We hear frequently from industry groups, consumer advocates, and government colleagues about policy issues. We also hear from technologists, but not as much as we'd like -- we need more of them to weigh in on these important issues. Policymakers need to ensure that privacy is respected while innovation flourishes, and technology academics and researchers are crucial to hitting that sweet spot. Technologists are important to policymaking for a number of reasons. They can help shine a light on privacy and security gaps. They can develop honeypots, crawlers, and other tools to highlight the types of information companies collect, to identify what kinds of choices consumers are making, and to assess whether these choices are being respected. With strong partnerships, the FTC can keep pace with the curve of technological innovation and protect consumers in this exciting new digital world.
benton.org/headlines/us-tech-policy-needs-real-tech-research-behind-it | Ars Technica
Share: Twitter | Facebook
back to top

MOVING FROM DOT-COM TO NOT-COM
[SOURCE: Bloomberg, AUTHOR: Rachel Adams-Heard]
There’s a downside to the relative freedom and lack of gatekeepers on the Internet, including that most anyone can buy a Web address that ends in “.com.” Online, scammers can pay $10 for an address that looks like that of your bank, your favorite clothier, or your auto dealer and create a site that looks enough like the original to trick you into buying phony merchandise or revealing your login and password. Every day, almost 1,000 Americans file some kind of identity-theft complaint with the US Federal Trade Commission, and about 750 report being scammed by an impostor, as in a phishing scheme. That’s part of the reason hundreds of businesses, from Google to Wal-Mart, have paid $185,000 a pop to apply for the rights to Web domains that read, say, .google or .walmart. Companies are betting that operating their own domains will be more secure because they’re directly in control of the security and maintenance. The catch, says Ken Westin, an analyst with cybersecurity company Tripwire, is that they’ll have to take more responsibility for oversight of their private domains than they did in Verisign’s dot-com world.
benton.org/headlines/moving-dot-com-not-com | Bloomberg
Share: Twitter | Facebook
back to top

UNIVERSAL SERVICE

HOW THE FCC IS BRINGING BROADBAND TO RURAL AMERICA
[SOURCE: Benton Foundation, AUTHOR: Kevin Taglang]
Earlier in 2015, the Federal Communications Commission found that broadband deployment in the United States -- especially in rural areas -- is failing to keep pace with today’s advanced, high-quality voice, data, graphics and video offerings. Over half of all rural Americans lack access to broadband service with 25 megabits per second (Mbps) for downloads and 3 Mbps for uploads. Moreover, rural America continues to be underserved at all speeds, the FCC found: 20 percent lack access even to service at 4 Mbps/1 Mbps, down only 1 percent from 2011, and 31 percent lack access to 10 Mbps/1 Mbps, down only 4 percent from 2011. The FCC’s 2015 Broadband Progress Report pointed to future efforts to bring robust broadband to rural America, noting Phase II of the Connect America Fund which would provide nearly $9 billion to expand broadband to five million Americans living in rural areas within the next five years. [The creation of the Connect America Fund, you may recall, was a key recommendation of the National Broadband Plan.] In April, carriers were offered $1.6 billion in support from the Connect America Fund. August 27, 2015 was the final day for these carriers to decide whether to accept the offer of support from Phase II of the Connect America Fund.
benton.org/headlines/how-fcc-bringing-broadband-rural-america | Benton Foundation
Share: Twitter | Facebook
back to top

A MILESTONE IN EXPANDING BROADBAND TO RURAL AMERICA
[SOURCE: Federal Communications Commission, AUTHOR: Wireline Competition Bureau Deputy Chief Carol Mattey]
On Aug 27, the Federal Communications Commission reached a major milestone in its mission to connect rural America to robust broadband. Aug 27 was the deadline for some of the nation's largest phone companies to decide whether to accept "Phase II" funds from the FCC's Connect America Fund to expand broadband to their rural customers. All told, ten carriers accepted over $1.5 billion in annual support to provide broadband to nearly 7.3 million consumers in 45 states and the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands. In exchange for receiving funding for all eligible areas that they serve in a given state, these providers have committed to expanding and maintaining broadband service with defined milestones and obligations over a six-year period. This is great news for these rural communities, where broadband can spark economic development, support education, and provide residents with access to the news, information and cutting-edge Internet applications that are a fact of life in most other parts of the country. The funding that will flow to these areas will go a long way toward closing the digital divide isolating rural America. And it builds on past FCC decisions that used "Phase I" Connect America funding to expand broadband to over 637,000 homes and businesses.
benton.org/headlines/milestone-expanding-broadband-rural-america | Federal Communications Commission
Share: Twitter | Facebook
back to top

FCC AUTHORIZES ADDITIONAL PRICE CAP CARRIERS TO RECEIVE ALMOST $950 MILLION IN PHASE II CAF SUPPORT
[SOURCE: Federal Communications Commission, AUTHOR: Public notice]
By this Public Notice, the Wireline Competition Bureau of the Federal Communications Commission authorizes AT&T Services, CenturyLink, Inc, Cincinnati Bell Telephone Company LLC, and Consolidated Communications Holdings, Inc. to receive Connect America Phase II model-based support for the states identified below. On April 29, 2015, the Bureau released a public notice announcing the offers of model-based Phase II support to each price cap carrier to fund the deployment of voice and broadband-capable networks in their service territories. AT&T, CenturyLink, CBT, and Consolidated submitted letters to the FCC accepting model-based support for the states identified below and committing to satisfy the service obligations for Phase II. Accordingly, the FCC authorizes and directs the Universal Service Administrative Company (USAC) to obligate and disburse from the Universal Service Fund the Phase II support amounts identified below for AT&T, CenturyLink, CBT, and Consolidated.
benton.org/headlines/fcc-authorizes-additional-price-cap-carriers-receive-almost-950-million-phase-ii-connect | Federal Communications Commission
Share: Twitter | Facebook
back to top

AT&T AND VERIZON CAF PLANS HEADING IN TWO DIFFERENT DIRECTIONS
[SOURCE: telecompetitor, AUTHOR: Joan Engebretson]
AT&T and Verizon Connect America Fund plans were revealed, and it appears they have differing views on their rural broadband future. AT&T joins the list of telecommunication companies that have opted to accept most of the Connect America funding they were offered by the Federal Communications Commission earlier in 2015. The company said that it will take $427,706,650 annually to help cover the cost of deploying broadband to unserved areas in 18 of the 21 states for which the company was offered funding. That represents the majority of the nearly $494 million that the company was offered. Funding will last for six years and a spokesman said it will help bring service to more than 1.1 million locations. The three states for which the company is declining funding are Missouri, Nevada and Oklahoma. It’s a different story at Verizon, which is not accepting funding for the states that will remain in its service territory assuming its pending sale of lines in California and Texas to Frontier is completed. According to a letter to the FCC, Verizon essentially is accepting funding totaling $48.5 million on behalf of Frontier on the condition that the deal goes through. A Verizon spokesman declined to comment beyond what is written in the letter.
benton.org/headlines/att-and-verizon-caf-plans-rural-broadband-heading-two-different-directions | telecompetitor
Share: Twitter | Facebook
back to top

EMERGENCY COMMUNICATIONS

ENSURING THE RESILIENCY OF OUR COMMUNICATIONS INFRASTRUCTURE
[SOURCE: Federal Communications Commission, AUTHOR: FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler]
[Commentary] I'm circulating a proposal to my colleagues that would enhance the security and reliability of undersea cable, a key piece of the Internet's physical infrastructure. The Federal Communications Commission needs to get timely information about submarine cable outages, with enough detail to understand the nature and impact of any damage and disruption to communications, help mitigate any impact on emergency services and consumers, and assist in service restoration. More consistent reporting on submarine cable outages will improve the FCC's ability to spot trends, address systemic issues, and inform policy making. At September's open meeting, the Commission will consider a draft notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM) that proposes to require submarine cable licensees to report significant outages in appropriate detail through the FCC's Network Outage Reporting System (NORS), where other communications providers already report outages. Modern communications networks are increasingly interconnected. The failure of a single cable can have a ripple effect on multiple networks. Better reporting about the status of undersea cables will help us better anticipate and prevent disruptions to service.
benton.org/headlines/ensuring-resiliency-our-communications-infrastructure | Federal Communications Commission
Share: Twitter | Facebook
back to top

WIRELESS/SPECTRUM

WI-FI BLOCKING DEBATE
[SOURCE: Network World, AUTHOR: Bob Brown]
The Wi-Fi blocking debate far from over months after the Federal Communications Commission warned that it would no longer tolerate the Marriotts of the world blocking visitors’ Wi-Fi hotspots. Xirrus CEO Shane Buckley said, “Our feedback to the FCC has been please, please, please look at this very carefully. There are lots of good reasons why Wi-Fi blocking is a requirement in certain markets and a distinct benefit from a security perspective in others.” Buckley suggests that the FCC should allow Wi-Fi blocking at least in the interim, and then “re-open the discussion on the use of this technology and clarify when its use is practical and acceptable. Wi-Fi vendors also need to collaborate to come up with better security mechanisms in public Wi-Fi networks.” He acknowledges that the topic is complicated given that we're talking about unlicensed spectrum that's free for anyone to use.
benton.org/headlines/wi-fi-blocking-debate-far-over | Network World
Share: Twitter | Facebook
back to top

TELEVISION

EFFECTIVE COMPETITION DECISION CHALLENGED
[SOURCE: Broadcasting&Cable, AUTHOR: John Eggerton]
The National Association of Telecommunications Officers and Advisors (NATOA) and the National Association of Broadcasters (NAB) have filed suit in federal court to block the Federal Communications Commission's decision that cable operators are subject to effective competition unless proved otherwise. The groups—along with a local franchise authority in Minnesota—filed the suit, saying the FCC decision was "arbitrary, capricious, an abuse of discretion." The suit was filed in the US Court of Appeals for the DC Circuit, which has primary jurisdiction over FCC decisions. NAB told the court that in markets deemed to be competitive, "cable operators are likely to deny any obligation to carry broadcasters who have negotiated retransmission consent agreements on the basic service tier that must be offered to every subscriber." Cable operators have pointed out that has not happened in the hundreds of markets deemed to be competitive in recent years.
benton.org/headlines/nab-natoa-sue-fcc-over-effective-competition-decision | Broadcasting&Cable
Share: Twitter | Facebook
back to top

FCC GROUP PRESENTS MULTIPLE POST-CABLECARD PATHS
[SOURCE: Multichannel News, AUTHOR: Jeff Baumgartner]
As expected, an Federal Communications Commission-appointed committee presented the FCC with multiple paths toward a post-CableCARD world for retail video devices, including downloadable video security options that would allow for competitive user interfaces. Formed in January, the Downloadable Security Technology Advisory Committee (DSTAC) provided its recommendations to the FCC a week ahead of a September 4 deadline. The DSTAC came together following the passing of the STELAR Act, legislation that will sunset the current set-top security integration ban in December 2015 and called on the FCC to take a look at a successor approach that could spur the retail market for video navigation devices for not just cable operators, but other multichannel video programming distributors (MVPDs). The DSTAC report, at six pages, has yet to be released (the FCC did not announce when it would make them public), but two members of the committee -- Jay Rolls, SVP and CTO of Charter Communications; and Milo Medin, VP of access services at Google, provided a summarized view of the group's findings. While the final recommendations offer multiple paths that could be mixed and matched to achieve the goals of the initiative, Rolls said the DSTAC did find agreement on several points.
benton.org/headlines/fcc-group-presents-multiple-post-cablecard-paths | Multichannel News
Share: Twitter | Facebook
back to top

STORIES FROM ABROAD

EUROPEAN PUBLISHERS PLAY LOBBYING ROLE AGAINST GOOGLE
[SOURCE: New York Times, AUTHOR: Mark Scott, Nicola Clark]
In private sessions in the summer of 2015, giant publishers and media companies from Germany, France and elsewhere have met with European officials about proposals to regulate Europe’s digital economy. The discussions have covered a broad range of contentious issues, according to public disclosures and several people who attended or were briefed on the meetings. Central to almost all of them has been limiting the reach of a single American company: Google. The company has a long list of detractors crying foul about how it operates in Europe, including rivals like Microsoft and Yelp. But as Europeans take a lead globally in regulating the Internet and containing American tech companies, the Continent’s old media -- influential newspaper and magazine publishers -- are emerging as one of Google’s most persistent adversaries. With Google attracting attention and ad revenue that once funneled to publishers, the goal is clear: Find ways to make more money, by strengthening copyright rules and limiting Google’s power as an advertising platform.
benton.org/headlines/european-publishers-play-lobbying-role-against-google | New York Times
Share: Twitter | Facebook
back to top