September 2015

INTERNET/BROADBAND

CINCINNATI BELL PANS MINIMUM BROADBAND SPEED REQUIREMENTS FOR LIFELINE ELIGIBILTY
[SOURCE: Fierce, AUTHOR: Sean Buckley]
Cincinnati Bell (CBT) may be a broadband advocate for lower income families, but it says that the Federal Communications Commission should not impose a minimum speed level on the Lifeline support program. In particular, the service provider said if the regulator applies the 10/1 Mbps speed it set for the second phase of the Connect America Fund (CAF-II) program, it could create negative effects for low-income families. "While the FCC did not propose a specific minimum speed, by referencing the 10/1 Mbps level of service requirement established in the Connect America Fund proceeding, CBT is concerned that the FCC may be considering imposing a minimum speed requirement such as 10/1 Mbps before customers may use Lifeline support for broadband service," said Cincinnati Bell in an FCC filing. "CBT believes it would be a mistake to do so."
benton.org/headlines/cincinnati-bell-pans-minimum-broadband-speed-requirements-lifeline-eligibility | Fierce
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EXPANDING THE BENEFITS OF BROADBAND IN NEW ENGLAND
[SOURCE: Department of Commerce, AUTHOR: Press release]
The National Telecommunications and Information Administration’s BroadbandUSA team, together with Next Century Cities, a nonprofit initiative of over 100 mayors and community officials dedicated to ensuring the availability of next-generation broadband Internet for all Americans, convened a productive broadband workshop in Portland (ME) to explore ways to close the digital divide and expand broadband capacity throughout the New England region. The Digital New England Summit brought together about 250 broadband experts, community leaders and state and federal officials, including Sen Angus King (I-ME), for this day-long gathering. NTIA said it appreciates the participation of all the panelists and participants at the Digital New England Summit, and looks forward to continuing the discussion across the country as local communities tackle the challenge of ensuring that all residents have access to advanced telecommunications networks and the skills and resources to take advantage of them.
benton.org/headlines/expanding-benefits-broadband-new-england | Department of Commerce
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COMPETITION, COMPETITION, COMPETITION
[SOURCE: AT&T, AUTHOR: Caroline Van Wie]
“Competition, competition, competition” has been Federal Communications Commission Chairman Tom Wheeler’s rallying cry. Under his watch, the FCC’s approach has been, “When competition is high, regulation can be low.” He has stressed that, “[i]f the facts and data determine that a market is competitive, the need for FCC intervention decreases. I have zero interest in imposing new regulations on a competitive market just because we can.” As the FCC embarks on its review of the Special Access marketplace, it must take these words to heart and avoid imposing harmful and unnecessary regulation on this highly competitive telecom sector. The facts on the ground show that the dedicated services marketplace (both for TDM-based special access services and for IP-based dedicated services) is competitive and thriving. Competition from cable is both real and rapidly increasing. Traditional competitors are making significant investments in their networks to deploy fiber to customer premises. Reverting to monopoly-era rate regulation now will only serve to stifle real competition by disincentivizing infrastructure investment by all -- precisely the kind of regulation for regulation’s sake that Chairman Wheeler has warned against.
benton.org/headlines/competition-competition-competition | AT&T
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ELECTIONS AND MEDIA

MONEY, DATA, AND DEMOCRACY
[SOURCE: Philanthropy News Digest, AUTHOR: Lucy Bernholz]
[Commentary] Voter turnout is a big deal. Not just to political junkies and clipboard-wielding party volunteers but also to American foundations. According to Foundation Center's newest mapping tool, Foundation Funding for US Democracy, 180 foundations have spent more than $150 million on voter education, registration, and turnout since 2011, a period that includes one presidential and one midterm election. Seems like a lot of money to get Americans to do what people in many other countries die for. But we're good at spending a lot of money on our democracy. Even this early in the campaign, big donors are talking big numbers, promising (threatening?) to spend $100 million or more each on their favorite candidates or issues. And political junkies are predicting that more than $4.4 billion will be spent on TV ads alone -- while election spending in total could run as high as $10 billion. Suddenly, nearly $150 million of foundation funding over four years doesn't look so big in comparison to $10 billion for a single election cycle.
[Lucy Bernholz is a senior research scholar at the Stanford Center on Philanthropy and Civil Society]
benton.org/headlines/money-data-and-democracy | Philanthropy News Digest
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WHY IS DONALD TRUMP DECLINING IN THE POLLS? THE MEDIA STRIKES AGAIN.
[SOURCE: Washington Post, AUTHOR: John Sides]
[Commentary] After over two months of growing poll numbers, Donald Trump has suddenly experienced a notable drop-off -- visible in the Pollster polling averages as well as the Real Clear Politics average. So why are Trump’s polling numbers declining? As I’ve argued before, changes in people’s preferences almost always require changes in the information they’re receiving. For Trump, media coverage has been crucial in motivating his surge. Now, media coverage is arguably motivating his decline. There is a correlation. An initial surge in news coverage after Trump announced his candidacy on June 16 creates an initial surge in polling. Then, further increases in news coverage coincide with increases in Trump’s polling numbers -- likely in a self-reinforcing cycle. But right before his apparent decline in the polls, there was a decline in his share of news coverage. Just as news coverage helped create Trump’s surge in the polls, it appears to be helping create his decline. We’ll see if that continues.
[John Sides is an Associate Professor of Political Science at George Washington University. He specializes in public opinion, voting, and American elections]
benton.org/headlines/why-donald-trump-declining-polls-media-strike-again | Washington Post
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HOW THE MEDIA FAILS TO COVER BERNIE SANDERS, IN TWO HEADLINES
[SOURCE: Washington Post, AUTHOR: David Weigel]
[Commentary] On May 10, the weekend after he announced his presidential bid, Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) appeared on CBS's "Face the Nation" to reemphasize some of his campaign themes. Among them was that anyone he would appoint to the Supreme Court would have to be on record against the "disastrous" 2010 Supreme Court decision known as Citizens United. CNN's Eric Bradner reported this under the headline, "Bernie Sanders has a Supreme Court litmus test." On Sept 28, Sen Sanders spoke at an event held by the University of Chicago's Institute of Politics in Washington. Much had changed since May; for example, in Real Clear Politics's national average of polls, Sen Sanders had jumped from 5.6 percent to 27.6 percent. The same reporter reported from the new speech, and delivered an article with this headline: "Bernie Sanders' Supreme Court litmus test: Overturn Citizens United." It's unusual for candidates to get national coverage this consistent when they repeat their core messaging. Local coverage is one thing, but Sen Sanders, who has refused to go negative against his main Democratic opponent, has received relatively skimpy coverage, and he knows it.
benton.org/headlines/how-media-fails-cover-bernie-sanders-two-headlines | Washington Post
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OWNERSHIP

OUTSIDE PARTIES SEEK INSIDE LOOK AT CHARTER-TWC
[SOURCE: Multichannel News, AUTHOR: John Eggerton]
Third parties are lining up to look at the documents in the Charter/Time Warner Cable/Bright House deal. Among the entities who in the past couple of weeks have filed their acknowledgements of confidentiality with the Federal Communications Commission in order to access sensitive -- confidential and highly confidential -- documents in the deal include Dish, COMPTEL (which represents competitive carriers), the American Cable Association (which represents smaller operators), and Free Press. That follows the FCC's release during the week of Sept 14 of the protective orders that determine how documents, like programming contracts and work product, will be shared with outside parties, including competitors.
benton.org/headlines/outside-parties-seek-inside-look-charter-twc | Multichannel News
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CONTENT

STUDY: RACIALLY CHARGED HATE CRIMES GO UP AS BROADBAND EXPANDS
[SOURCE: ars technica, AUTHOR: Sam Machkovech]
Does online hate speech ripple into the real world in the form of offline hate crimes? A study scheduled to publish in the next issue of MIS Quarterly sought to answer this question. Its authors say that their results show a strong correlation between increased rates of racially motivated hate crimes and areas that saw significant increases in broadband access. The study, conducted by researchers at the University of Minnesota and NYU's Stern School of Business, determined that depending on the year in question, every 65 percent increase in broadband in a given American county correlated with an uptick in racially charged hate crimes that ranged from 70 to 270 percent. [Our research team] thought that the issue of racial hate crimes is of great importance -- the fact that such crimes are reported so often in news says a lot about this," said study co-author Jason Chan. "Over the years, I saw many instances in which the Internet was used and misused for such purposes, and I thought that a link between the two might be present, which sparked the motivation to begin this work." The correlation appears strongest when an American county has greater levels of segregation and sees more queries for racially charged search terms. However, the study also determined that the growing number of hate crimes appears not to stem from established hate groups actively recruiting members through the Internet, nor through coordinated, multi-person hate crime activities -- instead, "lone wolf" activities appear to dominate.
benton.org/headlines/study-racially-charged-hate-crimes-go-broadband-expands | Ars Technica
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THE CHANGING FACE OF MEDIA
[SOURCE: Huffington Post, AUTHOR: Jennifer Risi]
[Commentary] Today, digital traffic is the major force driving news consumption, and mobile platforms especially outpace desktop platforms; 39 out of 50 news sites gain more traffic from mobile devices. The media industry has kept pace with this change -- beginning to recognize that mobile platforms, with their large readerships, make non-mobile devices less relevant. Notably, the trend doesn't suggest or reflect any less of an interest in news in general, or any less of a standard for quality reporting. Throughout the television industry, local and network news actually increased their numbers of viewers this year. Cable news, saw declines in 2014 but their website audience grew. In the end, quality will always be the difference maker and the biggest attraction for consumers. People will always want the news, distribution and form aside - and we know that content will always be KING - something the savviest of media brands have known all along.
[Jennifer Risi is the Managing Director of Ogilvy Media Influence]
benton.org/headlines/changing-face-media | Huffington Post
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PRIVACY

HOW APPLE IS TRYING TO PROTECT YOUR PRIVACY AS ITS PRODUCTS GET MORE PERSONAL
[SOURCE: Washington Post, AUTHOR: Andrea Peterson, Hayley Tsukayama]
In a revamped privacy policy Web site, Apple attempts to lay out how its philosophy on data collection distinguishes itself from its tech industry rivals. In essence, the company is telling customers it is not interested in their personal data, even as it must use more of that data to deliver personalized products. It is broken down into several sections -- such as how it handles information requests from the authorities including the National Security Agency, instructions on how to secure devices from, say, third parties which may be interested in tracking behavior, and how some of Apple's services work. Others such as Google have also tried to explain data use policies in everyday language, but sometimes veer to toward being too general. A new section on the Apple News app states that it collects data on what each user is reading so it can offer personalized headlines and ads. But the service does not tie reading habits to an Apple account and uses a unique identifier -- which functions only within the News app -- to send you targeted ads. Readers can also remove a record of their reading history from their device.
benton.org/headlines/how-apple-trying-protect-your-privacy-its-products-get-more-personal | Washington Post
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SURVEILLANCE

SENATORS PUSH DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY TO GET WARRANTS FOR CELLPHONE SPYING
[SOURCE: The Hill, AUTHOR: Julian Hattem]
The bipartisan leaders of the Senate Judiciary Committee want to expand the government’s commitment to obtaining a warrant before using controversial spying devices that pick up information from people’s cellphones. Chairman Chuck Grassley (R-IA) and Ranking Member Patrick Leahy (D-VT) asked Homeland Security Secretary Jeh Johnson to follow the Justice Department’s lead and commit to getting a warrant before using the “StingRay” devices. If successful, the effort would represent a major victory for privacy advocates who have managed to shine a light on the little-known devices, which otherwise have been employed without a warrant. “While these devices can be useful tools for identifying the location of a suspect's cell phone or identifying an unknown cell phone, they also present significant privacy concerns because they gather information about the cell phones of many people who are not investigative targets but happen to be in the vicinity,” the Sens wrote in their letter.
benton.org/headlines/senators-push-department-homeland-security-get-warrants-cellphone-spying | Hill, The | Sen Grassley and Sen Leahy Letter
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CYBERSECURITY

FAULTING US INTERNET SECURITY POLICY
[SOURCE: New York Times, AUTHOR: Paul Mozur]
Just days after China and the United States hailed a high-level agreement limiting cyberattacks, a former commander of one of the Chinese military’s top hacking units lashed out at American Internet policy, in a sign of how far apart Beijing and Washington remain on technology issues. Hao Yeli, the former deputy head of the Fourth Department of the People’s Liberation Army General Staff Department — which is responsible for the Chinese military’s offensive electronic warfare — said that the United States had double standards with online surveillance and that the uncertainty behind the origin of digital attacks makes it difficult to apply traditional rules of engagement to the Internet. Hao’s speech punctured some of the cautious optimism analysts had expressed about the agreement between the United States and China, which was intended to rein in hacking theft of intellectual property and create international standards for “appropriate conduct in cyberspace.” Speaking at an Internet security conference in Beijing that also featured a former National Security Agency director, Keith Alexander, Hao challenged the position generally favored by American politicians. He warned that taking away developing countries’ ability to control public opinion through Internet controls and surveillance would result not in more openness, but instead in “blood” and “hatred.”
benton.org/headlines/chinese-official-faults-us-internet-security-policy | New York Times
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STORIES FROM ABROAD

US SLAMS EUROPE OVER FACEBOOK PRIVACY CONTROVERSY
[SOURCE: CNNMoney, AUTHOR: Ivana Kottasova]
The United States Mission to the European Union backed Facebook in its battle against the EU, accusing Europe's top court of making "inaccurate assertions" about America's intelligence services. The US Mission slammed the court for questioning a crucial data sharing agreement between the US and EU. The US Mission slammed the court for questioning a crucial data sharing agreement between the US and EU. The deal, called "Safe Harbor Framework," makes it possible for thousands of US companies, including tech giants such as Google, Facebook, and Amazon. to transfer private data from the EU to their servers in the US. But the top legal adviser to European Court of Justice suggested the deal is no longer valid because of allegations of "mass, indiscriminate surveillance" by US intelligence services. The US hit back Sept 28, saying the claims are "simply not the case." The court's opinion is part of an ongoing case against Facebook, which was brought by Austrian law student Max Schrems. He said he was uncomfortable with the way Facebook transfers his personal data to the US, where it can be accessed by authorities with little respect for his privacy. Schrems was prompted to file his case by revelations in the case of Wikileaks whistleblower Edward Snowden.
benton.org/headlines/us-slams-europe-over-facebook-privacy-controversy | CNNMoney
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Analysis

September 2015

September 30, 2015 (Money, Data, and Democracy)

Chinese Official Faults US Internet Security Policy

Washington Post editorial asks, Can we trust China’s promise to stop engaging in cyberwarfare?

Los Angeles Unified School District to get $6.4 million in settlement from Pearson over iPad software

Senators push Department of Homeland Security to get warrants for cellphone spying

Cincinnati Bell pans minimum broadband speed requirements for Lifeline eligibility

Expanding the Benefits of Broadband in New England

The Interactive Advertising Bureau Calls Ad Blocking 'Highway Robbery' and Ramps Up Its Call to Arms

Content Measurement Firms ComScore, Rentrak to Merge

FCC Commission O'Rielly on Improving Broadcasters’ Physical Security