1. Monthly archive
  2. August 2015

August 2015

US tech policy needs real tech research behind it

[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.

Ensuring the Resiliency of Our Communications Infrastructure

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.

AT&T and Verizon CAF Plans for Rural Broadband Heading in Two Different Directions

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.

Weekly Digest

How the FCC is Bringing Broadband to Rural America

You’re reading the Benton Foundation’s Weekly Round-up, a recap of the biggest (or most overlooked) telecommunications stories of the week. The round-up is delivered via e-mail each Friday; to get your own copy, subscribe at www.benton.org/user/register

August 28, 2015 (Connect America Fund)

BENTON'S COMMUNICATIONS-RELATED HEADLINES for FRIDAY, AUGUST 28, 2015

Headlines have long been used as a tool in classrooms, complementing a class syllabus with the most-recent developments in the field. Benton is making it easier both to connect your students to the service and to facilitate discussion. See https://www.benton.org/headlines/classroom

UNIVERSAL SERVICE
   Carriers Accept Over $1.5 Billion in Annual Support from Connect America Fund to Expand and Support Broadband for Nearly 7.3 Million Rural Consumers in 45 States and One Territory - press release
   AT&T Accepts Nearly $428 Million in Annual Support from Connect America Fund to Expand and Support Broadband for Over 2.2 Million Rural Consumers in 18 States - press release [links to web]
   Consolidated Telecom Accepts Nearly $14 Million in Annual Support from Connect America Fund to Expand and Support Broadband for Nearly 50,000 Rural Consumers in Six States - press release [links to web]
   CenturyLink Accepts Nearly $506 Million in Annual Support from Connect America Fund to Expand and Support Broadband for Over 2.3 Million Consumers in 33 States - press release [links to web]

INTERNET/BROADBAND
   Does The Tumble In Broadband Investment Spell Doom For The FCC's Open Internet Order? - op-ed
   Letter from Langdon: The Co-Op Model - Daily Yonder op-ed [links to web]
   Baltimore Broadband Coordinator: Municipal broadband a 'distinct possibility' [links to web]
   CFO: Consolidated Communications Video Takes Backseat to Broadband [links to web]
   Nine Rural Telcos Receive NTCA Gig-Capable Certification [links to web]
   NTCA: Affordable video content will drive competition, broadband investment in rural markets [links to web]

GOVERNMENT & COMMUNICATIONS
   AP files lawsuit against DOJ over fake news story
   Nice try, government officials, but this time the law is on the citizen’s side - CJR analysis [links to web]

WIRELESS/SPECTRUM
   LTE over Wi-Fi spectrum sets up industry-wide fight over interference [links to web]

CONTENT
   Netflix Viewership Finally Gets a Yardstick
   Fox News Scores Big Court Win Against TVEyes
   Yes, we are the product — but what’s the problem? - Andrew McAfee op-ed

TELEVISION
   Sinclair: FCC had nothing to do with retrans deal

ELECTIONS & MEDIA
   Roger Ailes' real message to Trump - analysis [links to web]
   Voter selfies are great, but a secret ballot is greater - SF Chronicle editorial [links to web]
   Why Donald Trump’s Fox News War May Make Viewers Rage Against the Network - The Wrap analysis [links to web]

JOURNALISM
   Ashley Madison hack raises Digital Era questions of media ethics [links to web]

PRIVACY
   Tech group takes issue with student privacy bill [links to web]
   How digital voyeurism is destroying privacy - op-ed [links to web]

DIVERSITY
   The growing need for more women cybersleuths [links to web]

FCC MEETING
   FCC Announces Tentative Agenda For September Open Meeting - press release [links to web]

LOBBYING
   Apple Takes Washington [links to web]

COMPANY NEWS
   Record 1 billion people used Facebook in a single day [links to web]

STORIES FROM ABROAD
   Google Responds to European Union Antitrust Charges
   'Telephone farmers' reaping the benefits of agri-tech [links to web]

back to top

UNIVERSAL SERVICE

CONNECT AMERICA FUND
[SOURCE: Federal Communications Commission, AUTHOR: Press release]
Ten telecommunications carriers have accepted $1.5 billion in annual support for rural broadband deployment from the Connect America Fund, which, together with the carrier’s own investment, will expand broadband to nearly 7.3 million rural consumers in 45 states nationwide and one US territory over the next few years. August 27 was the final day for these carriers to decide whether to accept the offer of support from Phase II of the Connect America Fund, a key Federal Communications Commission program to expand rural broadband. Most of the ten carriers are major national carriers, and their acceptance will infuse over $9 billion from the Connect America Fund into rural broadband over the next six years. “Today we are taking a significant step forward in narrowing the rural-urban digital divide,” said
FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler. “Access to modern broadband is critical to life in today’s society. The financial support provided by American ratepayers through the Connect America program is an investment in the future of our rural communities that will pay dividends for all Americans for years to come.”
benton.org/headlines/carriers-accept-over-15-billion-annual-support-connect-america-fund-expand-and-support | Federal Communications Commission
Share: Twitter | Facebook
back to top

INTERNET/BROADBAND

DOES THE TUMBLE IN BROADBAND INVESTMENT SPELL DOOM FOR THE FCC'S OPEN INTERNET ORDER?
[SOURCE: Forbes, AUTHOR: Hal Singer]
[Commentary] They said it wouldn’t happen. They offered assurances from three Wall Street analysts, who insisted that Internet service providers (ISPs) would continue to invest at the same levels regardless of the regulatory climate. AT&T’s capital expenditure (capex) was down 29 percent in the first half of 2015 compared to the first half of 2014. Charter’s capex was down by the same percentage. Cablevision’s and Verizon’s capex were down ten and four percent, respectively. CenturyLink’s capex was down nine percent. Although the Federal Communications Commission’s Order failed to perform any cost-benefit analysis, a companion statement issued by the agency pursuant to the Congressional Review Act speculated that the Open Internet rules would generate $100 million in annual benefits for content providers. Given the roughly $78 billion in ISP capex in 2014, Title II would need to scare off a mere 0.13 percent of ISP capex (equal to $101 million) to generate net losses for the economy. On December 4, some unfortunate FCC attorney will have to defend the Open Internet Order before a panel of judges on, among other things, cost-benefit grounds. With luck, a judge will ask about those assurances from the three Wall Street analysts.
[Hal Singer is a principal at Economists Incorporated and a senior fellow at the Progressive Policy Institute]
benton.org/headlines/does-tumble-broadband-investment-spell-doom-fccs-open-internet-order | Forbes
Share: Twitter | Facebook
back to top

GOVERNMENT & COMMUNICATIONS

AP FILES LAWSUIT AGAINST DOJ OVER FAKE NEWS STORY
[SOURCE: The Hill, AUTHOR: Julian Hattem]
The Associated Press is bringing a lawsuit against the Department of Justice seeking information about the government’s use of a fake news story to catch a teenager suspected of calling in bomb threats. Along with the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press, the AP asked a district court to force the department to turn over records regarding the FBI’s impersonation of a journalist and creation of a fake story in 2007. Reporters from the two organizations submitted Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests soon after news of the sting came to light in October but have not received any records in response, they said. "We cannot overstate how damaging it is for federal agents to pose as journalists," said Katie Townsend, the litigation director for the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press. “This practice undermines the credibility of the independent news media, and should not be tolerated. Yet while the public clearly has a strong, compelling interest in knowing more about the FBI’s use of this tactic, the FBI seems determined to withhold that information,” she added. “We have been left with no choice but to look to the court for relief." In October 2014, federal documents revealed that an FBI agent had pretended to be an AP reporter in order to target a teenager suspected of making bomb threats to a local high school in 2007. The agent fabricated a draft of an AP story and placed it on a website made to look like The Seattle Times in order to plant malicious software on the suspect’s computer.
benton.org/headlines/ap-files-lawsuit-against-doj-over-fake-news-story | Hill, The
Share: Twitter | Facebook
back to top

CONTENT

NETFLIX VIEWERSHIP FINALLY GETS A YARDSTICK
[SOURCE: Wall Street Journal, AUTHOR: Joe Flint, Ben Fritz]
Netflix is notoriously secretive when it comes to sharing audience viewing information -- be it with content providers, the media or Wall Street -- arguing that since it doesn’t have advertisers to please, ratings for its subscription streaming service are irrelevant. But now Hollywood is getting its first real peek inside the black box of online video streaming. In recent months, measurement specialist Nielsen has been scaling up a program to track viewing on Netflix and other online services like Amazon’s Prime Instant Video and Hulu. Nielsen said it is now tracking nearly 1,000 shows. Most major TV studios are receiving detailed readouts on how their own programming is performing, including the total viewers for any episode and basic demographics such as age and gender, Nielsen said. Netflix has been dismissive of Nielsen’s efforts, noting that the company still doesn’t provide ratings for content viewed on tablets and phones and that its numbers wouldn’t include viewing of shows outside the US. Netflix does share some viewing information with select studios. Studios that do large content-licensing deals with Netflix have been able to negotiate for data such as the number of times a show has been streamed on a monthly basis and some tracking info to see how a show is retaining an audience over multiple episodes, people familiar with the matter say. But Netflix doesn’t provide demographic breakdowns or how many people watch any individual episode.
benton.org/headlines/netflix-viewership-finally-gets-yardstick | Wall Street Journal
Share: Twitter | Facebook
back to top


FOX NEWS SCORES BIG COURT WIN AGAINST TVEYES
[SOURCE: Hollywood Reporter, AUTHOR: Eriq Gardner]
On Aug 26, Federal Judge Alvin Hellerstein in New York gave Fox News a partial win in an important copyright dispute that could influence the future of the news business. Fox News has been taking on a media monitoring service called TVEyes, which is probably unfamiliar to most but has been a resource for many well-known journalists, politicians and corporations who wish to track what cable news is saying about a given topic. The cable news network has argued that a company that records some 1,400 television and radio stations and charges customers $500 a month for access to a near real time index of clips -- with the ability to share such videos -- threatens its revenues and violates its copyrights. Last September, TVEyes convinced Judge Hellerstein that the core part of its service relating to indexing and excerpting was protected as a fair use. The judge noted that TVEyes was the only company offering such a comprehensive service and held up its transformative value. However, the judge wanted more discussion on some of TVEyes' other features. In particular, those relating to letting subscribers download, archive, e-mail and search for clips. And on the verge of the decision, the controversy led outsiders to file friend-of-the-court briefs including from CNN, NBC and CBS taking Fox News' side despite some evidence they or their reporters were customers for TVEyes. Judge Hellerstein has now decided that the archiving functions also fall under fair use but expresses concern about its sharing function and rules that features related to downloading and searching by date and time are not covered as fair use.
benton.org/headlines/fox-news-scores-big-court-win-against-tveyes | Hollywood Reporter
Share: Twitter | Facebook
back to top


WE’RE THE PRODUCT – WHAT’S THE PROBLEM
[SOURCE: Financial Times, AUTHOR: Andrew McAfee]
[Commentary] What is going on these days between some of the world’s largest tech companies and their users is either the biggest bargain of the modern era, or the biggest scam. It’s true that all the information about me and my social network that these companies have could be used to help insurers and credit-card companies pick customers and price discriminate among them. But they already do that, and do it within the confines of a lot of regulation and consumer protection. I’m just not sure how much “worse” it would get if Google, Facebook and others started piping them our data. Blackmail would be another lucrative future business — I’d be willing to pay a lot not to have my entire search history exposed to the world — but this would turn users, governments, advertisers and lawyers alike against the web companies, so they’re not going to do it.
[McAfee is a principal research scientist at MIT.]
benton.org/headlines/yes-we-are-product-whats-problem | Financial Times
Share: Twitter | Facebook
back to top

TELEVISION

SINCLAIR: FCC HAD NOTHING TO DO WITH RETRANS DEAL
[SOURCE: Katy on the Hill, AUTHOR: Kathryn Bachman]
Sinclair Broadcast Group shot down claims by the Federal Communications Commission that the agency’s intervention was the reason that Dish and Sinclair finally hammered out a new retransmission consent agreement. In a statement, Sinclair said, “We understand the temptation for the FCC to take credit for resolving this impasse, but their intervention had nothing to do with it. We were very close to a resolution well before Chairman Wheeler got involved. In fact, the FCC process actually delayed the resolution, because it added more issues to negotiate, which lengthened DISH’s service interruption, not shortened it. And it is important to remember that our stations never went off the air in any of those markets, but were consistently available free of charge to our viewers, as well as through DISH’s competitors.”
benton.org/headlines/sinclair-fcc-had-nothing-do-retrans-deal | Katy on the Hill
Share: Twitter | Facebook
back to top

STORIES FROM ABROAD

GOOGLE RESPONDS TO EUROPEAN UNION ANTITRUST CHARGES
[SOURCE: The Wall Street Journal, AUTHOR: Sam Schechner, Natalia Drozdiak]
Google rebuffed the European Union’s demand that it change the way it ranks online comparison-shopping services in its search results, setting up a potentially drawn-out legal battle between the search company and a regulator empowered to levy billions of euros in fines. In a formal response to antitrust charges the EU filed spring 2015 against the California company, Google said it has argued the bloc’s antitrust regulators erred in their analysis of the fast-changing online-shopping business, misconstrued Google’s impact on rival shopping-comparison services, and failed to properly back up their legal claims. In particular, the company argues that the EU’s charges -- detailed in a document called a Statement of Objections, or SO -- fail to take into account the fast growth of companies like Amazon.com and eBay. Google executives have said these firms pose a new competitive threat, which undermines the case that Google has harmed comparison-shopping companies like Nextag and LeGuide. Google also argues that asking it to make changes to the way it ranks comparison-shopping sites would require legal justifications the EU doesn’t have.
benton.org/headlines/google-responds-european-union-antitrust-charges | Wall Street Journal, The
Share: Twitter | Facebook
back to top

Carriers Accept Over $1.5 Billion in Annual Support from Connect America Fund to Expand and Support Broadband for Nearly 7.3 Million Rural Consumers in 45 States and One Territory

Ten telecommunications carriers have accepted $1.5 billion in annual support for rural broadband deployment from the Connect America Fund, which, together with the carrier’s own investment, will expand broadband to nearly 7.3 million rural consumers in 45 states nationwide and one US territory over the next few years.

August 27 was the final day for these carriers to decide whether to accept the offer of support from Phase II of the Connect America Fund, a key Federal Communications Commission program to expand rural broadband. Most of the ten carriers are major national carriers, and their acceptance will infuse over $9 billion from the Connect America Fund into rural broadband over the next six years.

“Today we are taking a significant step forward in narrowing the rural-urban digital divide,” said FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler. “Access to modern broadband is critical to life in today’s society. The financial support provided by American ratepayers through the Connect America program is an investment in the future of our rural communities that will pay dividends for all Americans for years to come.”

Yes, we are the product — but what’s the problem?

[Commentary] What is going on these days between some of the world’s largest tech companies and their users is either the biggest bargain of the modern era, or the biggest scam.

It’s true that all the information about me and my social network that these companies have could be used to help insurers and credit-card companies pick customers and price discriminate among them. But they already do that, and do it within the confines of a lot of regulation and consumer protection. I’m just not sure how much “worse” it would get if Google, Facebook and others started piping them our data. Blackmail would be another lucrative future business — I’d be willing to pay a lot not to have my entire search history exposed to the world — but this would turn users, governments, advertisers and lawyers alike against the web companies, so they’re not going to do it.

[McAfee is a principal research scientist at MIT.]

Apple Takes Washington

Apple’s Steve Jobs actively disdained Washington (DC). But Tim Cook, much as he sought to shirk Jobs’ shadow as CEO, had also endeavored quietly to rethink his company’s relationship with the nation’s capital, becoming a leader not only ready to engage its power brokers but challenge them openly when it mattered most.

Once a political neophyte, Cook now occupies a public role in politics unlike any CEO in Silicon Valley, and his unique approach has rewired his company’s political strategy. “Companies live in the shadow of their leaders,” said Dean Garfield, the president of the Information Technology Industry Council, a trade group that counts Apple as a member. “And I think this is no different.”

Record 1 billion people used Facebook in a single day

A record 1 billion people used Facebook on August 24, 2015, CEO Mark Zuckerberg announced. "This was the first time we reached this milestone, and it's just the beginning of connecting the whole world," Zuckerberg said.

Does The Tumble In Broadband Investment Spell Doom For The FCC's Open Internet Order?

[Commentary] They said it wouldn’t happen. They offered assurances from three Wall Street analysts, who insisted that Internet service providers (ISPs) would continue to invest at the same levels regardless of the regulatory climate. AT&T’s capital expenditure (capex) was down 29 percent in the first half of 2015 compared to the first half of 2014. Charter’s capex was down by the same percentage. Cablevision’s and Verizon’s capex were down ten and four percent, respectively. CenturyLink’s capex was down nine percent. Although the Federal Communications Commission’s Order failed to perform any cost-benefit analysis, a companion statement issued by the agency pursuant to the Congressional Review Act speculated that the Open Internet rules would generate $100 million in annual benefits for content providers. Given the roughly $78 billion in ISP capex in 2014, Title II would need to scare off a mere 0.13 percent of ISP capex (equal to $101 million) to generate net losses for the economy.

On December 4, some unfortunate FCC attorney will have to defend the Open Internet Order before a panel of judges on, among other things, cost-benefit grounds. With luck, a judge will ask about those assurances from the three Wall Street analysts.

[Hal Singer is a principal at Economists Incorporated and a senior fellow at the Progressive Policy Institute]

© 1994-2024 Benton Institute for Broadband & Society. All Rights Reserved.