June 2016

Partisanship and Political Animosity in 2016

The 2016 presidential campaign has highlighted the deep partisan divisions in the United States. A new Pew Research Center report finds that Republicans and Democrats now have more negative views of the opposing party than at any point in nearly a quarter century. These sentiments are not just limited to views of the parties and their policy proposals; they have a personal element as well.

Many Democrats and Republicans associate negative characteristics with members of the other party – and positive traits with their own.
In choosing a party, disliking the policies of opponents is almost as powerful a reason as liking the policies of one’s own party.
Political conversations highlight differences, but most think it’s still possible to agree on nonpolitical topics.
Partisans on both sides give “cold” ratings for members of the opposing party, “colder” ratings to that party’s 2016 candidate.
Having cross-party friendships is associated with how coldly partisans see the other party.
For the first time in surveys dating to 1992, majorities in both parties express not just unfavorable but very unfavorable views of the other party.

Sen Sanders: Media 'Far Removed' From American People

Sen Bernie Sanders (I-VT) says that the media are "far removed from the reality of where the American people are." Sen Sanders said that in an interview on C-SPAN after being asked about early press reports that his campaign was a long shot and could have money problems and what had changed—he wound up pushing Hillary Clinton on the campaign trail and to the left on some issues and raised large amounts of cash in many small individual donations.

Sen Sanders suggested that rather than anything changing, the media had gotten it wrong. He cited David Brooks of the New York Times talking about how the pundits all got it wrong—Donald Trump's campaign was also given little chance by those pundits, and he is now the presumptive GOP nominee. He said that despite what the establishment thought when talking with each other, it turned out the people wanted real change."There is an inside-the-Beltway bubble in which Congress, the media, the establishment, look at reality in a certain way." He said what has saddened him about the corporate media, and he said he used that term "very advisedly because people have to understand that when they look at network television and major media, these are owned by large corporations. They are not some folks coming down from the sky trying to give an independent or objective perspective. They work for large, multinational corporations."

Commissioner Pai Statement on Need for Action on Contraband Cellphones

June 21, a North Carolina jury convicted a prison inmate of orchestrating the kidnapping of his prosecutor’s father by using a contraband cellphone. Kevin Melton, a leader in the United Bloods Nation gang, coordinated the abduction by sending more than 120 text messages and placing numerous phone calls to gang members from the Polk Correctional Institution in Butner (NC). The prosecutor’s father was snatched from his home in Wake Forest and spirited
away to an apartment in Atlanta (GA). There, he was tied to a chair, imprisoned in a closet for four days, and beaten by his captors. Luckily, law enforcement rescued him before the order to execute him could be carried out.

This horrific incident is just one example of how innocent Americans across our country are being victimized by prison inmates using contraband cellphones. And it highlights the need for the FCC to take immediate action to combat this problem.

Time for a commonsense approach to the Telephone Consumer Protection Act

[Commentary] The Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA) was enacted in 1991 to protect Americans from unwanted and intrusive telemarketing calls. Since then, the law has become more of a sword than a shield, slicing businesses of all sizes for the slightest of mistakes. It has become the vehicle of choice for ambitious plaintiffs' attorneys seeking to cash in on companies that have good intentions but are noncompliant in calling their customers. Class-action lawsuits brought under the TCPA have been fueled by a statutory penalty of $500 per violation. Although this penalty does not have any relation to any actual harm, the damages for even the smallest number of violations can easily balloon to near-bankruptcy levels. This sets up a system ripe for abuse as evidenced by lawyers trolling for clients who want to sue deep pocketed companies.

As the stakes on TCPA litigation continue to rise, we need to smooth the path for companies who want to demonstrate their commitment to responsible communication practices. Compliance programs that are recognized and protected in the law would move us closer to the intersection of consumer protection and corporate responsibility and alleviate costly litigation which hurts corporations and consumers alike.

[Hoffman is chairman of Business in the Public Interest and author of "Doing Good: The New Rules of Corporate Responsibility, Conscience and Character."]

How much havoc is caused by unwanted radio signals? FCC tries to find out

The Federal Communications Commission is trying to figure out exactly how much trouble is being caused by radio noise. Many devices emit radio frequency energy that could interfere with radio services and increase the "radio spectrum noise floor," essentially the sum of all unwanted signals. The FCC is planning to study changes to the noise floor from human-made sources over the past 20 years.

It's commonly believed that "the noise floor in the radio spectrum is rising as the number of devices in use that emit radio energy grows," but the FCC said it hasn't found much quantitative data to support this presumption. As a first step toward the FCC producing such a study, the commission asked the public for input on the proper design of the study and input on the problem itself. While there are already regulations limiting RF energy emissions, not all devices are regulated equally. The FCC inquiry notes that "incidental radiators" face little regulation and asks, "what sorts of government, industry, and civil society efforts might be appropriate to ameliorate the noise they produce?"

Congress wants more answers about US Digital Service

Weeks after an House Oversight hearing probed vaunted tech teams 18F and the White House’s US Digital Service, lawmakers are asking for a deeper look into USDS’ internal processes. In a letter to the Government Accountability Office, lawmakers asked the watchdog to assess how the tech troubleshooting team prioritizes the federal government’s highest-risk programs, and how closely the group works with agency chief information officers on those programs. The Oversight Committee specifically asked GAO for more information on:

Agency oversight on the 10 high priority programs
USDS’ prioritization process, including how it incorporates the 10 programs into project selection
How USDS coordinates with CIOs of other federal agencies
Potential improvements to the quarterly status reports

The Future of the Internet Hangs in the Balance

To realize its full potential, the Internet of the future will need to be open, secure, trustworthy and accessible to all. Safeguarding these attributes requires international cooperation that engages governments, businesses, the technical community and civil society in a shared vision to protect the rights of users, establish norms for responsible public and private use, and ensure the kind of flexibility that will encourage innovation and growth.

Grounded in an extensive program of research, individual consultations, public opinion surveys and enriched by our Commissioners’ wide experience, diverse geographical backgrounds, and gender and stakeholder representation, this report lays out a comprehensive approach for realizing a future with digital freedom, security, trustworthiness and accessibility for all. It outlines the rights and responsibilities of all actors, each playing a critical role in shaping the future of the Internet.

Enabling Growth and Innovation in the Digital Economy

This canvasses eight cross-cutting areas and is the product of a Department-wide collaborative effort, organized around the Digital Economy Leadership Team’s four policy pillars: I) The Free and Open Internet; II) Trust and Security Online; III) Innovation and Emerging Technologies; and IV) Access and Skills.

It is an anthology of the major initiatives of the Commerce Department over the course of the past seven years in pursuit of a more inclusive, dynamic, and productive digital economy for the American people and the users of digital technologies around the world.

Commerce Sec Pritzker blames Internet transition critics for 'misinformation'

Commerce Secretary Penny Pritzker said critics of the US government's plan to give up oversight of some technical functions of the internet are engaging in "politics and misinformation." Sec Pritzker downplayed the planned handoff of the United States' role over the Internet domain name system.

She described the US's current responsibility as "largely symbolic" and "clerical." "I think there is a lot of politics and misinformation at play," she said. "That is why I wanted to take you through the story, because it is important that we get the facts correct." Delaying the transition that is planned for later this year would harm the trust other countries have put in the United States, Sec Pritzker said. "If we don't take action now, the trust will be undermined," she said.

USTelecom Members Ask FCC to Revoke BDS Data Framework

Several USTelecom members have filed a motion to strike the Federal Communications Commission’s data framework in the business data services proposal. The motion comes in response to recent acknowledgements by four of the largest cable providers that they significantly undercounted the number of locations that are capable of providing business data services and thus deemed competitive.

According to a press statement released by the companies, CenturyLink, AT&T, Cincinnati Bell, Consolidated, FairPoint and Frontier, recent filings by cable show 22 times more Ethernet-capable locations than the data on which the FCC based its May 2 further notice of proposed rulemaking (FNPRM). “We are extremely concerned that the FCC’s latest business broadband proposal is now based on fatally flawed data that, unless corrected and updated, could have serious economic consequences for the business broadband market,” said CenturyLink Senior Vice President for Public Policy and Government Relations John F. Jones. “We’re asking the FCC to rescind the affected portions of its proposal and update its data before pronouncing judgment on what is or isn’t competitive.”

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