BENTON'S COMMUNICATIONS-RELATED HEADLINES for MONDAY, MARCH 28, 2016
LIFELINE
The Lifeline from Digital Desert to Digital Opportunity - Benton Foundation
NET NEUTRALITY
Netflix Throttles Its Videos on AT&T, Verizon Networks
Netflix Gets Hammered Over 'Throttling'
Not Neutrality: The Netflix Scandal That Isn’t - Free Press analysis
After Netflix Throttling, American Cable Association Calls for FCC Investigation Into Edge Practices [links to Benton summary]
Netflix admits to capping video speeds. Here's what that means for you (Video) [links to Washington Post]
SECURITY/PRIVACY
France Fines Google Over Right to be Forgotten
Time to rewrite the rules on cyberattacks - WaPo editorial [links to Benton summary]
FBI reversal in Apple fight draws critics' ire [links to Hill, The]
The Dream Of Usable E-mail Encryption Is Still A Work In Progress [links to Benton summary]
Plenty of Unanswered Questions Remain in the San Bernardino iPhone Case [links to Revere Digital]
Encryption: The FBI’s “Comedy of Errors” [links to American Enterprise Institute]
The books, films and John Oliver episodes that explain encryption [links to Washington Post]
ELECTIONS & MEDIA
How YouTube is shaping the 2016 presidential election
What Donald Trump gets wrong about money in politics - Vox analysis
Media critic President Obama is worried that ‘balkanized’ media is feeding partisanship [links to Benton summary]
How Clinton’s e-mail scandal took root [links to Washington Post]
Donald Trump’s attack on Heidi Cruz is a case study in the need for media diversity - WaPo analysis [links to Benton summary]
Op-Ed: A Dozen Reasons Sanders Voters Are Justifiably Angry at the Media Right Now [links to Huffington Post]
The media are losing their handle on this campaign — not that they ever had much of one [links to Washington Post]
OWNERSHIP
Charter’s $67 Billion Cable Merger Hinges on the Cord Cutters - NYT analysis
Microsoft Tells Possible Yahoo Buyers It Would Consider Backing Bids With Big Bucks [links to Revere Digital]
Tribune Chief Discusses Transforming a Mature Media Company [links to New York Times]
INTERNET/BROADBAND
Empowering Small Businesses to Innovate in Today’s Digital Economy - Chairman Wheeler blog [links to Benton summary]
The dark web is too slow and annoying for terrorists to even bother with, experts say [links to Benton summary]
Tackling the Digital Divide in the Pacific Northwest - NTIA blog [links to Benton summary]
Exclusionary strategies and the rise of winner-takes-it-all markets on the Internet - Telecommunications Policy [links to Benton summary]
Bernadine Joselyn for policymakers – we must invest in broadband [links to Blandin Foundation
Bill Coleman for policymakers – we must invest in broadband [links to Blandin Foundation]
WIRELESS/SPECTRUM
A Regional Repack is Reasonable Way To Go - TVNewsCheck editorial [links to Benton summary]
A new bill would force prepaid phone buyers to register themselves [links to Benton summary]
Alternative perspectives on the Internet of Things - analysis [links to Benton summary]
Walking while texting could mean jail time under New Jersey proposal [links to Guardian, The]
TELEVISION
Nielsen will start to track digital devices. But what does that mean for cord-cutters? [links to Benton summary]
CONTENT
The Real Reason Why The Live Streams For Events Like March Madness Are So Glitchy [links to Fast Company]
Op-Ed: The Complicated Question of Free Speech on Social Media [links to Huffington Post]
How Hollywood studios woo the hottest companies in video-streaming [links to Los Angeles Times]
TELECOM
Court stops FCC’s latest attempt to lower prison phone rates [links to Benton summary]
ADVERTISING
FCC Seeks Comment on Petitions Concerning the Commission's Rule on Opt-Out Notices on Fax Advertisements - public notice [links to Benton summary]
Study: Teens Prefer E-mail Vs Social Media Marketing [links to telecompetitor]
EDUCATION/CHILDREN & MEDIA
E-books are not the answer to a literacy crisis - WaPo op-ed
Op-Ed: Deeper Learning Demands Deeper Leading—and Technology Can Help [links to EdSurge]
JOURNALISM
Op-Ed: It’s Time to Reimagine the Role of a Public Editor, Starting at the New York Times [links to TechPolicy]
6 Depressing Reasons Your Local Newspaper Now Reads Like Buzzfeed - Vice analysis [links to Benton summary]
New Jersey sites tap into local news [links to Columbia Journalism Review]
With partnerships and young reporters, Chicago’s City Bureau builds a collaborative community newsroom [links to Columbia Journalism Review]
COMPANY NEWS
International Business Times Announces Layoffs, Exit of Top Editor [links to Hollywood Wrap]
LABOR
Why Learning To Code Won't Save Your Job [links to Fast Company]
HEALTH
People being treated for alcohol or drug abuse face serious privacy issues [links to Washington Post]
We’re More Honest With Our Phones Than With Our Doctors [links to New York Times]
EWTN Founder Mother Mary Angelica Dies at 92 [links to Broadcasting&Cable]
POLICYMAKERS
EWTN Founder Mother Mary Angelica Dies at 92 [links to Broadcasting&Cable]
DIVERSITY
Durham (NC) Is Ready to Tackle Silicon Valley's Diversity Problem [links to nextgov]
Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey pledges to make Twitter inclusive [links to USAToday]
Donald Trump’s attack on Heidi Cruz is a case study in the need for media diversity - WaPo analysis [links to Benton summary]
Tech leaders join ranks opposing N.C. law [links to USAToday]
Not just Tay: A recent history of the Internet’s racist bots [links to Washington Post]
STORIES FROM ABROAD
Facebook Safety Check for Pakistan malfunctions
US grants China's ZTE temporary reprieve on export curbs [links to Reuters]
France Fines Google Over Right to be Forgotten
Wikipedia Doesn’t Realize It's the Developing World’s Internet Gatekeeper [links to Vice]
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LIFELINE
THE LIFELINE FROM DIGITAL DESERT TO DIGITAL OPPORTUNITY
[SOURCE: Benton Foundation, AUTHOR: Adrianne Furniss, Amina Fazlullah]
[Commentary] This week, the Federal Communications Commission will vote on a proposal, first articulated and championed by Commissioner Mignon Clyburn in 2014, that will make broadband Internet service more affordable for millions of low-income consumers. For these people who are some of the most vulnerable in our society, the FCC will be providing a lifeline to opportunity. There’s no argument that Internet access is essential to full participation in American society today. But 1 in 5 Americans are not connected at home. And the primary barrier to broadband adoption is cost. Less than half of the lowest-income households are using the Internet – compared to 95 percent of the wealthiest. The proposal before the FCC would transform a traditional safety net program called Lifeline, that has helped make basic and wireless telephone service affordable for millions of households, and refocus it on broadband. Lifeline modernization will turn this safety net into a trampoline that can catapult us into a new world of opportunity.
benton.org/headlines/lifeline-digital-desert-digital-opportunity | Benton Foundation
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NET NEUTRALITY
NETFLIX THROTTLES ITS VIDEOS ON AT&T, VERIZON NETWORKS
[SOURCE: Wall Street Journal, AUTHOR: Ryan Knutson, Shalini Ramachandran]
Netflix, a leading proponent of open-Internet rules, has been lowering the quality of its video for customers watching its service on AT&T or Verizon wireless networks. The popular video service said that for more than five years it has limited its video speeds to most wireless carriers across the globe, including AT&T and Verizon, to “protect consumers from exceeding mobile data caps,” which may discourage future viewing. Netflix said it caps its streams at 600 kilobits-per-second—much slower than what should be possible on modern wireless networks. It hasn’t previously disclosed the practice. The issue came to light after T-Mobile’s chief executive said Verizon and AT&T customers were receiving lower-quality Netflix streams. The carriers denied throttling Netflix videos. Netflix said it doesn’t limit its video quality at two carriers: T-Mobile and Sprint, because “historically those two companies have had more consumer-friendly policies.” When customers exceed their data plans on Sprint or T-Mobile, the carriers usually slow their network connections, rather than charge overage fees. “We’re outraged to learn that Netflix is apparently throttling video for their AT&T customers without their knowledge or consent,” said Jim Cicconi, AT&T’s senior executive vice president of external and legislative affairs. Netflix also said it is also exploring “new ways to give members more control in choosing video quality.” It is working on a mobile “data saver” to be rolled out in May that would allow consumers to “stream more video under a smaller data plan, or increase their video quality if they have a higher data plan.”
benton.org/headlines/netflix-throttles-its-videos-att-verizon-networks | Wall Street Journal | Netflix | Washington Post | Broadcasting & Cable | Multichannel News
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NETFLIX GETS HAMMERED OVER 'THROTTLING'
[SOURCE: Broadcasting&Cable, AUTHOR: John Eggerton]
With Netflix apparently having discriminated in its delivery of Internet video to wireless carriers AT&T and Verizon, after those carriers had been accused of doing the video degrading, there was plenty of input from industry players. The pushback was particularly strong given Netflix's push for network neutrality rules that prevent Internet service providers from discriminating and requiring them to tell customers how they are managing their networks. There have long been rumblings, sometimes not so quietly in the case of Comcast, alleging Netflix intentionally congested traffic to wired ISPs in peering disputes. Netflix has denied it. The reaction started with AT&T not long after Netflix's conduct was reported in the Wall Street Journal but that reaction did not include FCC chairman Tom Wheeler, who declined to comment. The FCC has been investigating ISP zero rating plans, which critics say is a form of discrimination by favoring one form of content over another. AT&T top D.C. executive James Cicconi was not reticent: "We're outraged to learn that Netflix is apparently throttling video for their AT&T customers without their knowledge or consent," he said in a statement. "When Netflix pointed the finger at AT&T and Verizon, it had three fingers pointing back at itself," said Adonis Hoffman, chairman of Business in the Public Interest and former chief of staff to FCC commissioner Mignon Clyburn. "Throttling traffic without notifying the customer is a violation of the principles of net neutrality 101, and they failed. Even though edge providers are technically not covered, transparency is a best practice."
benton.org/headlines/netflix-gets-hammered-over-throttling | Broadcasting&Cable
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NOT NEUTRALITY: THE NETFLIX SCANDAL THAT ISN'T
[SOURCE: Free Press, AUTHOR: Matt Wood]
[Commentary] News broke that Netflix has been throttling video streams for its own customers when they’re watching on mobile devices and networks. Netflix responded with its own post, staying away from the term “throttling” but revealing that its “default bitrate for viewing over mobile networks has been capped globally at 600 kilobits per second.” Is that a good thing for Netflix users? Maybe, maybe not. But whatever it is, it’s not a Net Neutrality violation. Plain and simple. Anyone who tells you that it is — or that this practice undermines the case for Net Neutrality rules — is either in the business of misleading you, woefully ignorant of the law, or both. Netflix suggests it was doing this to spare wireless users from burning through their carrier-imposed data caps. That’s not a bad idea, but it’s still off-putting. If Netflix was limiting transmission speeds and picture quality for its users without telling them, as appears all too likely, that’s a bad thing. Period, full stop. Companies should be transparent with their customers and empower them to make their own choices. But here’s what Net Neutrality detractors and the shills paid to attack the whole idea of an open Internet never seem to grasp: Something might be bad for Internet users, or for consumers more generally, without being a Net Neutrality issue. Net Neutrality is a hugely important concept, but there are other consumer-protection laws on the books at the Federal Communications Commission and elsewhere.
benton.org/headlines/not-neutrality-netflix-scandal-isnt | Free Press
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SECURITY/PRIVACY
FRANCE FINES GOOGLE OVER RIGHT TO BE FORGOTTEN
[SOURCE: Wall Street Journal, AUTHOR: Sam Schechner]
France’s data-protection regulator has slapped a fine on Alphabet’s Google for not implementing Europe’s “right to be forgotten” globally, rejecting a compromise offered by the search firm and setting up a court battle over the scope of the divisive rule. France’s Commission Nationale de l’Informatique et des Libertés, or CNIL, said that the search engine had violated a formal order in 2015 ordering it to apply the new right to be forgotten to “all domain names” of the search engine, including google.com, and fined the company €100,000 ($112,000). As part of its decision, the regulator rejected a compromise offered by Google, in which it would apply the rule to all of its sites when they were accessed from an European Union country where a removal-request originated. A Google spokesman said the company would appeal the ruling, adding that “we disagree with the CNIL’s assertion that it has the authority to control the content that people can access outside France.” While the CNIL’s fine is a pittance for Google, compared with Alphabet’s annual revenue of $74.54 billion in 2015, both sides are fighting to set a precedent over how far the right to be forgotten can extend.
benton.org/headlines/france-fines-google-over-right-be-forgotten | Wall Street Journal
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ELECTIONS & MEDIA
HOW YOUTUBE IS SHAPING 2016 ELECTION
[SOURCE: Washington Post, AUTHOR: Drew Harwell]
In the years since Sarah Palin’s sound bites and the “Obama girl” cemented 2008 as America’s first “YouTube election,” the world’s most popular video site has proven even more spellbinding — and powerful — than political campaigns ever imagined. In January, a political ad — actually, three — ranked among YouTube's 10 most-watched ads for the first time in history, delivering millions more views to campaigns than to the best commercials corporate America had to offer. And in the early caucus and primary states of Iowa, New Hampshire, South Carolina and Nevada, the streaming giant's open pool of reserved ad time did something it had never done: It sold out, a sign that candidates yearned so deeply to reach voters’ cell phones that they wanted to snatch up every YouTube second money could buy. Google’s video giant has become not just the Web's biggest petri dish for the funny, weird and astronomically popular. With its 1 billion viewers and cultural omnipresence, it now offers campaigns a breadth no hometown TV network can match. "Anybody at this point who doesn’t get it’s a part of everyday life ... is myopic at best and malpracticed at worst," said Chris Wilson, founder of WPA Opinion Research and the director of research and analytics for the Ted Cruz campaign, whose border-jumping "Invasion" ad ranked among January's most-watched. YouTube and digital advertising have played key roles in past campaigns, Wilson said, but "this is the first cycle where if you’re not doing it, you're going to lose."
benton.org/headlines/how-youtube-shaping-2016-presidential-election | Washington Post
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WHAT DONALD TRUMP GETS WRONG ABOUT MONEY IN POLITICS
[SOURCE: Vox, AUTHOR: Jeff Stein]
[Commentary] Donald Trump thinks he knows what's ailing our political system — corrupt lobbyists buying off politicians in exchange for government favors. "Their lobbyists, their special interests and their donors will start calling President Bush, President Clinton," Trump has said. "And they’ll say: ‘You have to do it. They gave you a million dollars to your campaign." He usually goes on to state that since he doesn't need this money, he'll be freed from this corrupting influence. "I'm self-funding my own campaign," he's said. "It's my money." (That's not entirely true — Trump has raised several million dollars in unsolicited contributions, but he has loaned his campaign far more of his own cash.) But according to several campaign finance experts, Trump's analysis doesn't account for money's true impact on our politics. The real problem with our campaign finance system, they say, is not that it creates a quid pro quo in which donors are transactionally rewarded for their gifts, but that it elevates the priorities of the wealthy across the board. "The influence is not nearly as crude as he puts it," says Richard Skinner, a policy analyst at the Sunlight Foundation, which tracks money in politics. "It is certainly accurate to say that these large donors are going to get better access to have their voices heard, but I think people give predominantly because they share the views of the candidates or are strong supporters of the party." Trump seems to imagine a direct line of influence from lobbyist to politician. But the real problem is a lot more complicated — and requires a different solution than the one he advances.
benton.org/headlines/what-donald-trump-gets-wrong-about-money-politics | Vox
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OWNERSHIP
CHARTER'S $67 BILLION CABLE MERGER HINGES ON CORD CUTTERS
[SOURCE: New York Times, AUTHOR: Emily Steel, Cecilia Kang]
Emily Steel, who covers media for The New York Times, and Cecilia Kang, who writes for The New York Times from Washington (DC) about technology policy discuss the Charter Communications/Time Warner Cable/Bright House Networks merger. Kang says, "It looks as if Charter, a small cable company with big ambitions, will find rare success. The Federal Communications Commission shot down two big mergers in the last five years but is about to approve Charter’s bid for Time Warner Cable and Bright House. The acquisitions will create the second-largest broadband provider, after Comcast, with 19.4 million subscribers, and the third-largest video provider, after Comcast and DirecTV, with 17.3 million customers. The combined company will span 40 states and include big markets such as Los Angeles and New York. The creation of such a giant cable and Internet company upsets consumer advocacy groups, which say a lack of competition has led to increased prices and poor customer service. But the FCC thinks the deal won’t harm consumers because the companies don’t really compete in the same markets. While Comcast made a similar argument in its failed bid for Time Warner Cable, the FCC was more skeptical in that case because Comcast’s big media holdings with NBCUniversal held the potential for a conflict of interest. Charter and Time Warner Cable have also persuaded regulators that together, they’ll be able to bring faster broadband to more households. The big focus at the FCC has been on how this deal will affect the fastest-growing area of media: video streaming. Emily, what do people in the media and tech industries think?" Steel responded, "Streaming has definitely been a hot topic. The big fear is that a gigantic Charter will have both the power and the incentive to hurt rival streaming services. It also could hinder the invention of other new offerings. If Charter is selling traditional cable service, why would it want to ease the way for a new set of competitors? Both Dish and Time Warner, the parent company of HBO, have warned regulators that Charter’s takeover could alter the future of streaming."
benton.org/headlines/charters-67-billion-cable-merger-hinges-cord-cutters | New York Times
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EDUCATION/CHILDREN & MEDIA
E-BOOKS ARE NOT THE ANSWER TO A LITERACY CRISIS
[SOURCE: Washington Post, AUTHOR: Juanita Giles]
[Commentary] The White House recently announced the launch of Open eBooks, an app giving access to thousands of free e-books to any educator, student or administrator at one of the more than 66,000 Title I schools or any of the 194 Defense Department Education Activity schools in the United States. It’s an admirable endeavor and recognizes that we have a literacy problem. However, it brings to mind Samuel Taylor Coleridge’s famous line: “Water, water, every where/ Nor any drop to drink.” Technology is repeatedly touted as a cure for the United States’ educational woes, promising everything from banishing boredom to widespread reform. There is more technology in our classrooms and homes than ever, but too often these expensive technologies yield few gains in learning or gains not commensurate with cost. Serving as the executive director of the Virginia Children’s Book Festival, in the heart of a literacy desert, has taught me two things: Literacy is an instilled value, and too frequently reading is a luxury instead of a necessity. The Open eBooks initiative is laudable, but it fails to address the root of the country’s literacy crisis. While it will make textbooks and storybooks accessible to those lucky enough to have the technology, without critical intervention to create a culture of reading in every home and school, that access has little chance of making any meaningful change. At best, the program and ConnectED must be seen as supplementary solutions to a problem we haven’t addressed in a sustained and intensive manner. At worst, Open eBooks will go the way of Crewe Primary’s iPads: well-intentioned but extraordinarily insufficient.
[Juanita Giles is the executive director of the Virginia Children’s Book Festival]
benton.org/headlines/e-books-are-not-answer-literacy-crisis | Washington Post
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STORIES FROM ABROAD
FACEBOOK SAFETY CHECK FOR PAKISTAN MALFUNCTIONS
[SOURCE: CNNMoney, AUTHOR: Jackie Wattles]
Facebook activated its Safety Check after a suicide bomber in Pakistan left scores dead. But the feature malfunctioned, prompting users thousands of miles from the blast to tell friends they were safe. Social media was flooded with confused Facebook users who'd received a notification March 27 reading: "Are you OK? It looks like you're in the area affected by The Explosion in Gulshan-i-Iqbal Park, Lahore, Pakistan. Let your friends know that you're safe." It was unclear how widespread the issue was, although it appeared to primarily affect users in the US and United Kingdom. "Unfortunately, many people not affected by the crisis [in Pakistan] received a notification asking if they were OK," a Facebook statement read. "This kind of bug is counter to the product's intent." Facebook said it had "worked quickly to resolve the issue."
benton.org/headlines/facebook-safety-check-pakistan-malfunctions | CNNMoney
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