November 2015

POLICYMAKERS

CHARLES AND THE RAINBOW
[SOURCE: Benton Foundation, AUTHOR: Michael Copps]
[Commentary] There was a wonderful and inspiring event in Washington (DC) last week. It was a celebration to honor the life of Charles Benton who passed away six months ago. This was just one of numerous events across the land that have paid tribute to the remarkable life of this truly extraordinary individual, but it was as impressive an event as any I have attended during my 45 years in the nation’s capital. In addition to family, attendees included public interest movers and shakers and government officials who worked with Charles in one capacity or another over the course of his incredibly distinguished career. Those who knew Charles knew no one who worked so hard, thought so creatively, and made so many friends in the process of working toward the goals to which he was so passionately dedicated. His causes included a wide gamut of public policy, communications (of course), schools, libraries, literacy, museums, encyclopedias, film, philanthropy, the arts and art collection, and a list of civic causes too long even to list here. So often we don’t realize how richly diverse one’s life has been, nor do we understand the range of contributions he or she has made, until that person has left us and we gather at events like the one last week.
[Michael Copps leads the Media and Democracy Reform Initiative at Common Cause]
https://www.benton.org/blog/charles-and-rainbow
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WITH THE HIRING OF JONATHAN MAYER, THE FCC COULD SOON GET TOUGHER ON PRIVACY AND SECURITY
[SOURCE: New York Times, AUTHOR: Natasha Singer]
Among privacy groups in the United States, Jonathan Mayer is known as a vocal advocate who has defended the right of consumers to turn off online tracking of their browsing activities. Among digital security experts, Mayer is known, among other things, as the Stanford computer scientist who reported in 2012 that Google was bypassing privacy settings in Apple’s Safari browser by placing bits of code in digital ads that tracked the sites users visited. Google subsequently agreed to pay a $22.5 million fine to settle charges by the Federal Trade Commission that the company had misrepresented its privacy practices. Now Mayer, 28, has a new handle: federal regulator. On Nov 24, the Federal Communications Commission said it had hired Mayer as chief technologist in the agency’s enforcement bureau. Mayer joins the agency as it is developing new privacy rules for online providers, like AT&T and Verizon, that could limit their tracking of consumers’ web activities. His hiring is an indication that the FCC is bolstering the enforcement team that investigates data breaches and other consumer protection cases.
http://bits.blogs.nytimes.com/2015/11/24/jonathan-mayer-well-known-onlin...
With this hire, the FCC could soon get tougher on privacy and security (Washington Post)
benton.org/headlines/hiring-jonathan-mayer-fcc-could-soon-get-tougher-privacy-and-security | New York Times | Washington Post
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COMMERCE DEPARTMENT SEEKS CANDIDATES FOR DIGITAL ECONOMY BOARD OF ADVISORS
[SOURCE: Department of Commerce, AUTHOR: Press release]
Commerce Deputy Secretary Bruce Andrews announced the Department is seeking candidates to serve on a new Digital Economy Board of Advisors, which Commerce is establishing to give government a mechanism to obtain advice from leaders in industry and civil society. The board will provide recommendations on ways to ensure that the Internet continues to thrive as an engine of growth, innovation, and free expression. Commerce is seeking candidates representing a broad cross-section of commercial, civil society, and academic sectors that make up the digital economy. The board will consist of 15-20 members and will be appointed by Secretary of Commerce Penny Pritzker to serve two-year terms. The new advisory board will help the Secretary to develop the Department’s Digital Economy Agenda, which aims to promote a free and open Internet, trust online, innovation, and Internet access for all Americans. The board’s responsibilities will include analyzing challenges to the free flow of information on the Internet, promoting the development of promising new digital technologies, and examining policies that impact the digital economy on topics such as broadband, cybersecurity and privacy. Those who are interested in serving on the board can nominate themselves or can be nominated by others. Applicants should submit nominations electronically by Wednesday, December 23, 2015.
benton.org/headlines/commerce-department-seeks-candidates-digital-economy-board-advisors | Department of Commerce
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GOVERNMENT & COMMUNICATIONS

ENCRYPTION IS NOT THE ENEMY
[SOURCE: Medium, AUTHOR: Sen Ron Wyden (D-OR)]
[Commentary] In the wake of the cowardly terrorist attacks in Paris, many politicians, intelligence officials and pundits are predictably calling for a return to discredited policies of the past that would weaken Americans’ security, violate their privacy and do little or nothing to protect us from terrorists. I am standing up against these dangerous proposals to ensure we act based on the facts, not fear, in the days ahead. Some are calling for the United States to weaken Americans’ cybersecurity by undermining strong encryption with backdoors for the government. But security experts have shown again and again that weakening encryption will make it easier for foreign hackers, criminals and spies to break into Americans’ bank accounts, health records and phones, without preventing terrorists from “going dark.” In 2014, I introduced the Secure Data Act to ban government-mandated backdoors into Americans technology. Strong encryption and sound computer security is the best way to keep Americans’ data safe from hackers and foreign threats.
benton.org/headlines/encryption-not-enemy | Medium
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ENCRYPTION SOLUTION IN WAKE OF PARIS SHOULD COME FROM WASHINGTON NOT SILICON VALLEY
[SOURCE: Washington Post, AUTHOR: Daniel Weitzner]
[Commentary] In the wake of the terrible terrorist attacks in Paris, law enforcement officials in Washington are again calling on technology designers to dumb down user’s Internet security to enable guaranteed access to all data and communications, even if encrypted. Top law enforcement officials have renewed their hope that the wizards of Silicon Valley might just design their way out of this problem. As Attorney General Loretta Lynch said, “The hope, perhaps, is that Silicon Valley, having engineered a problem, might just engineer a solution too.” Will it help to ask Silicon Valley to go back and try harder? I doubt it. Any surveillance technology -- once deployed globally as part of smartphones, apps or web-based services -- will be available to all governments. We will not be able to limit it to the governments that have good human rights practices. So, even if we think we have an exceptional access solution for Apple or Google to deploy, we have to imagine whether it’s tolerable for it to end up in the hands of bad actors. This puts both users and Internet companies in the impossible position of either compromising basic human rights or forgoing access to the world’s largest markets such as China and Russia. The way to encourage people out into the light is not by building increasingly intrusive surveillance tools with back doors everywhere, but to show there is a genuine human rights framework that protects Internet users from unjustified and unchecked surveillance.
[Weitzner is director of the MIT Internet Policy Research Initiative and principal research scientist at MIT’s Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Lab. From 2011 to 2012 he was White House deputy chief technology officer for Internet policy.]
benton.org/headlines/encryption-solution-wake-paris-should-come-washington-not-silicon-valley | Washington Post
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IF MARKETING DATA CAN FIGHT TERRORISM, HOW PRIVATE IS IT?
[SOURCE: AdAge, AUTHOR: Kate Kaye]
Recent terrorist attacks across the globe could rekindle discussions about data brokers and their roles in government surveillance. Not surprisingly, Acxiom, one of the best-known of the bunch, has been mentioned in such discussion. A recent article suggests that data available from firms such as Acxiom "is also useful for creating profiles of terror suspects and helping investigators find accomplices." When the FBI worked with Acxiom after the Sept. 11 attacks, the agency searched through information that the company received from both public records and the information the company handles for its clients. Not mentioned in the article, Acxiom stood to profit as a contractor supplying data services as part of a post-9/11 Department of Homeland Security initiative in which the Transportation Services Administration would provide data on passengers and verify their identification by matching it against consumer information stored by Acxiom. The program was fraught with concerns about consumer privacy from the start. JetBlue and Acxiom came under fire in a class action lawsuit for allegedly committing deceptive trade practices. The program was nixed in 2004 and that lawsuit was dismissed in 2005. Whether or not Acxiom or other data purveyors are actually handing over their data to the US or other governments is not clear, but we can expect journalists and watchdogs to continue spotlighting obvious links between the data they gather for marketers and the information coveted by intelligence agencies.
benton.org/headlines/if-marketing-data-can-fight-terrorism-how-private-it | AdAge
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INTERNET/BROADBNAD

CENTURYLINK/COGENT: IF FREE PEERING IS THE NORM, WHAT ABOUT VOIP INTERCONNECTION?
[SOURCE: telecompetitor, AUTHOR: Joan Engebretson]
A CenturyLink spokesperson declined to comment further on the matter of the IP interconnection agreement between CenturyLink and Cogent, and Cogent was not able to make anyone available to answer questions on this matter until next week. But based on a series of developments that have occurred in this area, it’s likely that the agreement calls for free traffic exchange -- a big change from how things were a few years ago. The new interconnection deals seem to be primarily focused on data traffic, but as the industry prepares for a TDM-to-IP transition, similar traffic exchange issues for voice traffic will be at the forefront. Traditionally small rural carriers have relied on paid interconnection to help cover the costs of bringing service to their territories, which are more costly to serve than urban areas. And as free IP data traffic exchange becomes more commonplace, some in the industry may view that as a precedent that they may also want to apply to VoIP interconnection.
benton.org/headlines/centurylink-cogent-if-free-peering-norm-what-about-voip-interconnection | telecompetitor
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CHILDREN AND MEDIA

YOUTUBE KIDS APP FACES NEW COMPLAINTS
[SOURCE: New York Times, AUTHOR: Cecilia Kang]
Visit YouTube Kids and it typically does not take long before promotions for junk food appear. The advertisements regularly appear in the form of funny contests and animated stories. In complaints filed to federal officials on Nov 24, two prominent consumer advocacy groups argued that those ads are deceptive, particularly for children. The two complaints, made to the Federal Trade Commission, expand on filings the groups made to the agency in April and could increase pressure on federal officials to intervene in the fast-growing online video market. The groups, the Campaign for Commercial-Free Childhood and the Center for Digital Democracy, argue in the complaints that online video aimed at children has become too commercialized and is not held to the same standards as cable and broadcast TV. The complaints call for an investigation of food marketers, video programmers and Google, which owns YouTube, as well as a broad examination of advertising of such food to children online.
benton.org/headlines/youtube-kids-app-faces-new-complaints | New York Times
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CONTENT

GOOGLE SAYS LOCAL SEARCH RESULT THAT BURIED RIVALS YELP, TRIPADVISOR IS JUST A BUG
[SOURCE: Revere Digital, AUTHOR: Mark Bergen]
Executives from public Internet companies Yelp and TripAdvisor noted a disturbing trend: Google searches on smartphones for their businesses had suddenly buried their results beneath Google’s own. It looked like a flagrant reversal of Google’s stated position on search, and a move to edge out rivals. Nope, it’s a bug, claims Google. “The issues cited were caused by a recent code push, which we’re working quickly to fix,” a Google spokeswoman said. In the meantime, the “issues” may be diverting tons of traffic from Google’s competitors. Some, particularly Google’s longtime rival Yelp, are not pleased. “Far from a glitch, this is a pattern of behavior by Google,” said its CEO Jeremy Stoppelman.
benton.org/headlines/google-says-local-search-result-buried-rivals-yelp-tripadvisor-just-bug | Revere Digital
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WIRELESS

AVERAGE TAXES ON WIRELESS BILLS IN CALIFORNIA REACH A RECORD 18 PERCENT
[SOURCE: Los Angeles Times, AUTHOR: David Lazarus]
The good news: Thanks to increased competition, wireless companies' rates have dropped nearly 7 percent since 2008. The bad news: Average federal, state and local taxes and fees for California customers reached a record 18 percent, meaning that the government's slice of your wireless bill is now at least twice as high as the state sales tax imposed on most other goods and services. For consumers, one troubling element is that these so-called utility user taxes aren't intended to support a municipal service, such as sewer cleaning or garbage collection. They're a tax on a service provided by private companies, which charge their own usage fees. Even though smartphones have become necessities and a crucial component of the digital economy, they're still taxed in large part as a luxury item. Blame that on the Spanish-American War. In 1898, the federal government imposed a 3 percent excise tax on telephone use to help cover a face-off with Spain over the future of Cuba. Phones were relatively scarce at the time, so the tax was intended to be a levy on wealthy Americans. Uncle Sam didn't get around to doing away with the phone excise tax until 2006 -- more than a century after the United States and Spain decided to call a halt to their five months of skirmishing.
benton.org/headlines/average-taxes-wireless-bills-california-reach-record-18-percent | Los Angeles Times
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ELECTIONS AND MEDIA

NBC AGREES TO GIVE TIME TO 4 REPUBLICAN CANDIDATES
[SOURCE: Associated Press, AUTHOR: David Bauder]
NBC agreed to give four Republican presidential candidates free time on affiliates in Iowa, New Hampshire and South Carolina after they complained Donald Trump unfairly benefited from appearing as "Saturday Night Live" host earlier in Nov. The network said Gov John Kasich (R-OH), Mike Huckabee, James Gilmore and Sen Lindsey Graham (R-SC) each will get about 12 minutes of time to tout their candidacies during prime time on Nov 27 and 28, and during this week's "Saturday Night Live." Republican George Pataki also had complained, but the network did not announce an agreement with his campaign. The candidates will get the time on each of the 18 NBC stations in those three states, where early GOP nominating caucuses or primaries are being held. The candidates said they deserved the time to counter Trump's appearance in a non-news setting, based on federal equal time provisions.
benton.org/headlines/nbc-agrees-give-time-4-republican-candidates | Associated Press
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OWNERSHIP

JUSTICE DEPARTMENT PROBING COMCAST'S ROLE IN 'SPOT' CABLE AD SALES MARKET
[SOURCE: Wall Street Journal, AUTHOR: Shalini Ramachandran, Brent Kendall]
The US Justice Department is investigating whether Comcast’s business practices in the $5 billion cable advertising-sales market violate federal antitrust law. A document, known as a civil investigative demand, indicates the department’s antitrust division is probing whether Comcast’s cable ad sales, as well as its deals to represent rival pay TV providers’ ad sales, are hindering competition. The investigation is focused on “monopolization or attempted monopolization” of the so-called spot cable ad-sales business in locations where Comcast offers service, according to the document. The document also indicates the government is examining whether Comcast’s ad deals with pay TV rivals are an unlawful restraint of trade. The Justice Department is requesting additional information from companies in the market, including Comcast, according to people familiar with the matter. The scope of the government’s probe, which appears to be at an early stage, isn’t clear. Comcast said it plans to cooperate fully with the Justice Department’s inquiry.
benton.org/headlines/justice-department-probing-comcasts-role-spot-cable-ad-sales-market | Wall Street Journal | Deadline
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PUBLIC MEDIA

HOUSE SPEAKER RYAN HAS TRACK RECORD OF OPPOSING FUNDS FOR PUBLIC BROADCASTING
[SOURCE: Current, AUTHOR: Ben Mook]
Newly minted Speaker of the US House of Representatives Paul Ryan (R-WI) has always been willing to hear from public broadcasters over the years, according to those who have worked with him, and has acknowledged the value of public broadcasting’s programming. But his belief that the government shouldn’t fund public broadcasting has been unwavering. Budget talks are set to begin again under the increased spending limits, and public broadcasters will learn the fate of key funding issues, including appropriations for Corporation for Public Broadcasting, Ready To Learn and upgrades to public TV’s interconnection system. Speaker Ryan, however, has held the line in his opposition to public funding for public broadcasting. Speaker Ryan, who started in Congress in 1999, recommended zeroing out CPB funding in spending plans he created as chair of the House Budget Committee. A plan in 2014 recommended ending subsidies to CPB and the National Endowment for the Humanities as they could “no longer be justified.” Speaker Ryan also voted with the Republican majority on a 2011 bill to defund NPR and supported a 2007 amendment to zero out CPB funding. He also opposed a 2005 bill amendment to restore $100 million in funding to CPB.
benton.org/headlines/new-house-speaker-ryan-has-track-record-opposing-funds-public-broadcasting | Current
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Daily Digest

Analysis

November 2015

Tech industry defends encryption amid new questions following Paris attacks

November 25, 2015 (Charles and the Rainbow)

Justice Department Probing Comcast’s Role in ‘Spot’ Cable Ad Sales Market

Encryption solution in wake of Paris should come from Washington not Silicon Valley

CenturyLink Asks Congress to Extend Tax Breaks

CenturyLink/ Cogent: If Free Peering is the Norm, What About VoIP Interconnection?

New House Speaker Ryan has track record of opposing funds for public broadcasting

Ben Carson draws attention over talk of ‘glyconutrients’ in pledge program

Survey finds women in pubmedia management underpaid and under-represented

FCC Chairman Wheeler's Response to Rep Eshoo Regarding the Eleventh Broadband Progress Notice of Inquiry