BENTON'S COMMUNICATIONS-RELATED HEADLINES for TUESDAY, JANUARY 12, 2015
MANY Events on our Calendar, including the State of the Union: https://www.benton.org/calendar
SECURITY/PRIVACY/SURVEILLANCE
The US Must No Longer Accept China's Denial of Government-Sponsored Hack Attacks - Rep Matt Salmon (R-AZ) op-ed
Op-Ed: US-China cyber relations in 2016: Uncertainty continues on anti-terrorism law [links to American Enterprise Institute]
The debate over government ‘backdoors’ into encryption isn’t just happening in the US [links to Benton summary]
When can the FBI use National Security Letters to spy on journalists? That’s classified. - CJR op-ed [links to Benton summary]
In Most Hacks, 'The Common Denominator' is People [links to nextgov]
INTERNET/BROADBAND
Understanding Broadband Un-adopters - Brian Whitacre, Colin Rhinesmith research
Big Cable Owns Internet Access. Here’s How to Change That. - Susan Crawford op-ed
FCC Commissioners Pai and O’Rielly Send Letter to Congress on Network Neutrality Small Business Exemption
Why Internet Platforms Don't Need Special Regulation - HuffPo op-ed
Open Letter to Consumers about Binge On from T-Mobile’s John Legere - press release [links to Benton summary]
‘Free Basics’ row presents India dilemma for Facebook [links to Benton summary]
WIRELESS/SPECTRUM
AT&T brings back unlimited data plans for its DirecTV and U-verse subscribers
Indoor Mobile Forecast: Six-Fold Increase by 2020 [links to telecompetitor]
Open Letter to Consumers about Binge On from T-Mobile’s John Legere - press release [links to Benton summary]
‘Free Basics’ row presents India dilemma for Facebook [links to Benton summary]
CONTENT
Information Policy in 2016: Let’s Have Some Optimism - Alan Inouye op-ed
Consumer Technology Association Chief: State of the Union Must Address 'Disruptive Innovation' [links to Multichannel News]
Apple’s music streaming subscribers top 10 million [links to Financial Times]
TELEVISION
Op-Ed: Getting More Bang for Big-Data Bucks [links to Multichannel News]
OPEN GOVERNMENT
House poised to approve FOIA reform bill
The impact of open access scientific knowledge - Brookings [links to Benton summary]
GOVERNMENT & COMMUNICATIONS
Can YouTube, Snapchat and Amazon amplify President Obama’s message? The White House hopes so. [links to Benton summary]
ELECTIONS & MEDIA
Sen Bernie Sanders Raising Millions Online, Without a Finance Team [links to Daily Beast, The]
ABC severs debate partnership with NH Union Leader [links to Benton summary]
Op-Ed: The Media and Trump's Rally Thugs [links to Huffington Post]
ADVERTISING
Digital Display Ads to Overtake Search, Bringing a Reckoning for Google [links to Revere Digital]
Inside the Fine Art of Political Ad Persuasion - Broadcasting&Cable op-ed [links to Benton summary]
No One Hates Political Ads More Than Car Dealers [links to Benton summary]
The Big Agenda: What Lies Ahead for Marketing in an Increasingly Ad-Free Future [links to AdAge]
OWNERSHIP
Philadelphia Inquirer, Daily News Donated To Non-Profit Institute In Effort To Preserve Independent Journalism
Wanda pays $3.5 billion for Hollywood studio; Plans to merge Legendary Entertainment with existing film assets [links to Financial Times]
Facebook co-founder Chris Hughes plans to sell 'The New Republic' [links to USAToday]
JOURNALISM
After Charlie Hebdo, Press Freedom Endangered [links to Committee to Protect Journalists]
When can the FBI use National Security Letters to spy on journalists? That’s classified. - CJR op-ed [links to Benton summary]
DIVERSITY
Op-Ed: There's No Formula for Gender Diversity in the Workplace [links to Revere Digital]
New Study Finds Female Directors of Top Movies Rise To Where They Were in 1998 [links to Wrap, The]
POLICYMAKERS
David Bowie Wasn't Just an Incredible Artists, But a Tech Visionary Too
COMPANY NEWS
Lenovo exec says Android's Google Play Services coming to China in 2016 [links to Fierce]
STORIES FROM ABROAD
The US Must No Longer Accept China's Denial of Government-Sponsored Hack Attacks - Rep Matt Salmon (R-AZ) op-ed
Op-Ed: US-China cyber relations in 2016: Uncertainty continues on anti-terrorism law [links to American Enterprise Institute]
Brussels summons telcos to 5G meeting; Digital commissioner wants to get ahead of Asia [links to Financial Times]
‘Free Basics’ row presents India dilemma for Facebook [links to Benton summary]
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SECURITY/PRIVACY/SURVEILLANCE
THE US MUST NO LONGER ACCEPT CHINA'S DENIAL OF GOVERNMENT-SPONSORED HACK ATTACKS
[SOURCE: Huffington Post, AUTHOR: Rep Matt Salmon (R-AZ)]
[Commentary] China's bitter battle to rewrite the rules of the Internet persisted in December in the historic town of Wuzhen. There, China held its second World Internet Conference. The theme was identical to 2014's -- "an interconnected world shared and governed by all" -- but the context surrounding this WIC was quite different. 2015's World Internet Conference fell against the backdrop of many notable developments in US-China cyber relations over the past year, including continued government and non-government reporting on China's persistent malicious cyber espionage; the Obama Administration's threats to impose sanctions against China for cyber-enabled economic espionage; an agreement between the United States and China that "neither country's government will conduct or knowingly support cyber-enabled theft of intellectual property, including trade secrets or other confidential business information, with the intent of providing competitive advantages to companies or commercial sectors"; and the first China-US ministerial dialogue to discuss cybercrime cooperation. These incidents are all indicative of a fragile foundation for US-China cyber relations, one built on competing interpretations of what is and what is not acceptable in cyberspace. While I welcome the consistent, high-level interaction between our two countries, we are neither closer to converging on agreed norms of behavior or the level of state involvement in cybersecurity, nor are we closer to doing anything about it. I encourage the Chinese leadership to consider whether the imbalance between maintaining domestic stability and stifling free speech and limiting free access to information will eventually impair Chinese citizens, as well as China's true national potential.
benton.org/headlines/us-must-no-longer-accept-chinas-denial-government-sponsored-hack-attacks | Huffington Post
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INTERNET/BROADBAND
UNDERSTANDING BROADBAND UN-ADOPTERS
[SOURCE: Benton Foundation, AUTHOR: Brian Whitacre, Colin Rhinesmith]
As the Federal Communications Commission seeks to modernize the Lifeline program to include a broadband subsidy for low-income Americans, new research explains why some people drop home broadband service after trying it and recommends policies to help improve adoption rates in these households. In an upcoming paper for Telecommunications Policy, we present findings from our recent study of broadband un-adopters – those who have had their household Internet connections discontinued. These households represent an important piece of the overall broadband adoption picture, since they have experienced the Internet at home but ultimately did not maintain the connection. Given the recent Pew Research Center findings of a slight drop in home broadband adoption in 2015, future policy efforts should benefit from a deeper understanding of why households terminate their service. Our study takes a comprehensive look at these un-adopting households, including assessing how common this practice is across income levels, and also looks at the underlying reasons for stopping their broadband connections. Using data from the nationally-representative Current Population Survey, we find that these “un-adopters” comprised 12% of all households without broadband service as of 2013. From another perspective, approximately 4% of households nationwide with a broadband connection have become “un-adopters” – though, as expected, this rate of un-adoption is much more common among lower-income households.
[Brian Whitacre is an Associate Professor of Agricultural Economics at Oklahoma State University. Colin Rhinesmith is an Assistant Professor of Library and Information Studies at the University of Oklahoma and a Faculty Research Fellow with the Benton Foundation.]
https://www.benton.org/blog/understanding-broadband-un-adopters
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WHAT TO DO ABOUT BIG CABLE
[SOURCE: Medium, AUTHOR: Susan Crawford]
[Commentary] We know that Big Cable’s plan for high-speed internet access is to squeeze us with “usage-based billing” and data caps, so as to milk ever-growing profits from their existing networks rather than invest in future-proof fiber optics. We are also seeing that Big Cable has won the war for high-capacity, 25Mbps-download-or-better wired internet access, leaving AT&T and Verizon to concentrate primarily on mobile wireless. Indeed, Big Cable’s share of new and existing wired-access subscribers has never been greater — cable got both all new net subscribers in the third quarter of 2015 and captured millions of subscribers fleeing DSL — and its control over this market is growing faster than ever. Wall Street analyst Craig Moffett predicts that, in the end, unless things change, cable will have 90 percent of subscribers in areas where it faces competition from only traditional DSL and will have the lion’s share of subscribers in areas where cable faces competition from souped-up copper-line DSL and fiber-to-the-node (aka “fiber to the neighborhood”). We’re already seeing the deadening effects of this. So where does that leave us? Are we really going to wait for the Cable Guy to bring everyone in America the same modern internet access capacity at reasonable prices that other countries have had for years? We need a better plan — a better vision — if we want to unlock the full benefits that access to the internet can bring Americans. Right now, as a country, we’re investing inefficiently and in the wrong things at a time when we should be unleashing private capital to invest in smarter, faster, and cheaper ways.
Smarter: First, Americans should invest only in technologies that can meet both our future and immediate needs. That means fiber optic networks.
Faster: We need to lower the barriers that exist to getting fiber-optic access built quickly and efficiently. One obvious place to start is to ease the process of getting permits and rights of way. Less obvious but just as important is the need to make it easier to share facilities like poles and underground conduits, which are essential to fiber-optic network construction. Faster also means making sure that funding is available to spread best practices and project management skills across the country, particularly to rural areas that don’t have infrastructure project management expertise on tap.
Cheaper: We need a program like Build America Bonds (BABs) for fiber-optic internet infrastructure around the country, particularly in the last miles between residences/businesses and local internet access points. And we need to make sure it extends beyond state and municipal issuers to include the public/private partnerships that are building that infrastructure, which we can do by relaxing restrictions on subsidies for internet infrastructure projects that serve both public and private interests.
benton.org/headlines/big-cable-owns-internet-access-heres-how-change | Medium
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SMALL BUSINESS LETTER
[SOURCE: Federal Communications Commission, AUTHOR: FCC Commissioner Ajit Pai, FCC Commissioner Michael O’Rielly]
As you know, we dissented from last year's Net Neutrality decision, arguing that it was unlawful and would impose unnecessary and unjustified burdens on providers. To provide at least a modicum of relief for some providers, however, we believe that the Federal Communications Commission should at least make the small business exemption permanent. Unfortunately, on December 15, 2015, the FCC's Consumer and Governmental Affairs Bureau issued a Report and Order that declined to do so. We write to draw your attention to this flawed ruling and seek your further input.
benton.org/headlines/fcc-commissioners-pai-and-orielly-send-letter-congress-network-neutrality-small-business | Federal Communications Commission
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WHY INTERNET PLATFORMS DON'T NEED SPECIAL REGULATION
[SOURCE: Huffington Post, AUTHOR: Robert Atkinson]
[Commentary] From city halls around the country to Washington (DC) and other world capitals, lawmakers and regulators lately have come under intense pressure to regulate upstart Internet market platforms such as Uber, Airbnb, UpCounsel, and Heal, as they rapidly transform entire sectors of the economy by providing simple and elegant new ways for buyers and sellers to connect and do business online. But if lawmakers take time to carefully sort through the facts, they will find that existing statutes give regulators all the power they need to oversee the new generation of companies powering the so-called "gig economy" -- and piling on would do more harm than good. The first thing to understand about these new Internet platforms is that they create enormous value for buyers and sellers of all sorts. Critics variously contend the newcomers exercise monopoly powers, take undue liberties with consumers' data, and take advantage of workers by making them independent contractors rather than employees. But to the extent any of this is true (and much of it isn't), the circumstances have little to do with the fact that the companies in question are Internet market platforms, so singling them out would be unjustified and unwise as a policy matter. Existing laws also give regulators power to protect workers on Internet market platforms from obvious problems such as nonpayment, dangerous work conditions, discrimination, or abusive practices. The last thing policymakers should do is stand in the way or impose regulatory burdens that would make the new players operate more like the old ones.
[Robert Atkinson is the president of the Information Technology and Innovation Foundation]
benton.org/headlines/why-internet-platforms-dont-need-special-regulation-0 | Huffington Post
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WIRELESS/SPECTRUM
AT&T BRINGS BACK UNLIMITED DATA PLANS FOR ITS DIRECTV U-VERSE SUBSCRIBERS
[SOURCE: The Verge, AUTHOR: Dante D'Orazio]
AT&T is bringing back unlimited data. The number-two wireless carrier discontinued its original unlimited plans years ago, but it's resuscitating the all-you-can-eat option as a cross-promotion with its DirecTV and U-verse television services. Unlimited data will cost $100 per month for a single smartphone, and you'll be able to add additional smartphones for $40 per month each. Before you get too excited about the new plans, note that you'll have to be a DirecTV or U-verse subscriber to sign up for unlimited data. If you're a cord cutter, don't live in a U-verse market, or can't install a DirecTV satellite dish, you'll have to settle for a standard Mobile Share plan. However, if you do sync up your television service with your AT&T plan, you'll also get another $10 off your bill monthly, per the company's existing promotions. It's clear where the company is going here: it's leveraging its new DirecTV acquisition and existing U-verse TV services to promote video streaming on the go. While the plan itself doesn't bundle in specific home TV packages, it's designed to work hand-in-hand with DirecTV and U-verse's out-of-home streaming apps. It just so happens that watching lots of video quickly burns up your data allowance -- and AT&T's more than happy to offer an unlimited plan to fix that problem. Of course, if you'd rather just watch Netflix and use your AT&T phone separately, you'll have to keep an eye on your data usage. Such is the power of mergers.
benton.org/headlines/att-brings-back-unlimited-data-plans-its-directv-and-u-verse-subscribers | The Verge | Revere Digital
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OWNERSHIP
LENFEST DONATES PHILLY NEWSPAPERS
[SOURCE: Reuters, AUTHOR: Victoria Cavaliere]
H.F. "Gerry" Lenfest -- the owner of the Philadelphia Inquirer, the Philadelphia Daily News and the website Philly.com -- has donated the news organizations to a newly created non-profit institute called the Institute for Journalism in New Media, a subsidiary of the Philadelphia Foundation. Lenfest has given $20 million to endow the nonprofit; the donation is an effort to preserve independent journalism in Philadelphia and protect traditional print newspapers at a time of shrinking readership and revenues from advertisements.
benton.org/headlines/philadelphia-inquirer-daily-news-donated-non-profit-institute-effort-preserve-independent | Reuters
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CONTENT
INFORMATION POLICY 2016
[SOURCE: Benton Foundation, AUTHOR: Alan Inouye]
[Commentary] As we welcome the New Year, policy wonks appreciate that as the last year of a second-term president, this is a special year. That means major turnover is coming in senior posts in the Administration regardless of who wins the presidency. It also means that policy people should be beginning to draft their proposals for the next Administration. Let’s begin with hope and vision. There will be time enough for lesser thoughts. Just think about what’s happened with digital technology since the Obama presidential transition of 2008. The “new sharing economy” was just beginning with the founding of Airbnb and Uber in 2008 and 2009 and the “the internet of things” had not yet emerged on the national agenda. The age of the smartphone, e-books, and social media had just begun. So what can we do? We can begin by thinking and talking and writing in these terms—at least some of the time. And incorporate this thinking into our policy strategies and planning in the coming months. Let’s put some of that holiday cheer and a few of our resolutions for the new year to productive use. Coming from the library community, I represent a constituency of people who are fundamentally helpful and hopeful by nature. And with a new Librarian of Congress on the way—an information leader with the knowledge and influence to play a key role in shaping the digital age for the benefit of all—there is the opportunity to leverage this appointment to advance information policy in the interests of all—across ideological, societal sector, and party lines.
[Alan S. Inouye leads technology policy for the American Library Association. Previously, he coordinated the President’s Information Technology Advisory Committee in the Executive Office of the President, and directed information technology policy studies at the National Academy of Sciences.]
https://www.benton.org/blog/information-policy-2016-lets-have-some-optimism
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OPEN GOVERNMENT
HOUSE POISED TO APPROVE FOIA REFORM BILL
[SOURCE: The Hill, AUTHOR: Mario Trujillo]
The House is slated to approve a bill that could expand the public’s access to government records. Similar legislation to update the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) has gotten close to the President’s desk in recent years, even though some federal agencies and the banking industry have raised concerns about access to sensitive financial information. The current proposal, sponsored by Reps Darrell Issa (R-CA) and Elijah Cummings (D-MD), is expected to pass the House easily. The most high-profile portion of the legislation would codify a so-called presumption of openness, which requires federal agencies and other parts of the government to adopt a policy that leans toward the public release of documents. Agencies would have to point to a specific identifiable harm when withholding documents unless disclosing them is specifically barred by law. President Barack Obama instructed agencies to adopt this model when he first entered office. But critics say agencies have not lived up to that promise. The legislation would do a number of other things, including creating a single FOIA request portal for all agencies and limiting the amount of time that certain documents are exempt from disclosure. The bill would also make more documents available online.
benton.org/headlines/house-poised-approve-foia-reform-bill | Hill, The
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POLICYMAKERS
DAVID BOWIE WASN’T JUST AN INCREDIBLE ARTIST, BUT A TECH VISIONARY TOO
[SOURCE: Quartz, AUTHOR: Joon Ian Wong]
David Bowie wasn’t just a ground-breaking musician, who used a lot of innovative technology in his work; he was also an internet entrepreneur with a startup worth hundreds of millions of dollars in the dotcom-boom days. In September 1998, when less than half of all Americans had ever used the Internet and AOL dominated the online landscape, Bowie launched an Internet service provider (ISP) called BowieNet, which offered subscribers access for $19.95 a month -- first in the US, then in the United Kingdom. Bowie made sure to throw in lots of goodies, including the then-standard 20 free megabytes to build a home page, an e-mail address with a davidbowie.co.uk domain name for UK subscribers, and access to live chat sessions with Bowie himself and assorted musical collaborators. BowieNet was operated by Bowie’s tech company UltraStar, which had a plan to bring celebrities online by creating their own ISPs and portals filled with customized online content. These would be on-ramps to the “Information Superhighway” for the celebrities’ fans, and UltraStar would make sure there would be plenty of billboards dedicated to the celebs as fans sped by. BowieNet was officially shuttered in March 2012 (“Whatever the truth, the old BowieNet, as we have known it, is kaput!” a Facebook announcement said), but not before a string of technological experiments, including: an Internet radio station with Bowie as DJ; encrypted music and video files designed to prevent piracy; concert live-streams; “BowieWorld,” where users could interact using 3-D avatars; and a “cyber song” contest that crowdsourced lyrics to a half-finished song Bowie had written.
benton.org/headlines/david-bowie-wasnt-just-incredible-artists-tech-visionary-too | Quartz
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