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June 2016

June 29, 2016 (Clinton's Tech Agenda)

BENTON'S COMMUNICATIONS-RELATED HEADLINES for WEDNESDAY, JUNE 29, 2016
Today's Events:


ELECTIONS & MEDIA
   Hillary Clinton’s Initiative on Technology & Innovation - press release
   Reported email hack purports to show Clinton campaign tracking snoopy reporters [links to Washington Post]
   Why is politics filled with so many pants-on-fire lies these days? [links to Vox]
   Donald Trump Hires Former Ted Cruz Communications Guru [links to Hollywood Wrap]
   Donald Trump finally admits he needs help with the media [links to Washington Post]

INTERNET/BROADBAND
   Letter from Judiciary Leaders to NTIA Re: Internet Transition Plan - press release
   Dear Landlord: Don’t Rip Me Off When it Comes To Internet Access - Susan Crawford op-ed
   NTIA Request for Comments on the Proposed Framework for the Community Connectivity Self-Assessment Tool - public notice [links to Benton summary]
   FCC Releases Peer Review Materials In Business Data Services (Special Access) Rulemaking Proceeding [links to Federal Communications Commission]
   Massachusetts Dispute Illustrates Challenges of Reaching Underserved Broadband Areas [links to Benton summary]

OWNERSHIP
   Puerto Rico Telephone & América Móvil To Pay $1.1 Million For Repeatedly Exceeding Foreign Ownership Limits - press release
   American Cable Association: OK With Charter-TWC Merger Absent Buildout Condition [links to Benton summary]

WIRELESS/SPECTRUM
   Cablevision to shutter Freewheel as Comcast, others prepare to jump into mobile [links to Benton summary]
   Verizon, AT&T and others can't afford Dish's spectrum: MoffettNathanson [links to Fierce]
   These clothes can wirelessly charge your phone [links to CNNMoney]

CONTENT
   Airbnb sues San Francisco — its hometown — to block new rental law [links to Benton summary]
   In its ongoing quest to devour the Web, Google’s killing the sites that serve up song lyrics [links to Washington Post]
   Terabyte terror: It takes special databases to lasso the Internet of Things [links to Benton summary]
   How to Get People to Embrace Technological Change [links to Benton summary]

TRANSPORTATION
   Secretive Alphabet division funded by Google aims to fix public transit in US

SECURITY/PRIVACY
   Public Knowledge Demands FCC Protect Wireless Car Network from Cyberattacks - press release [links to Benton summary]

GOVERNMENT & COMMUNICATIONS
   CBO Scores the FCC Process Reform Act - research [links to Benton summary]
   CommLawBlog: FCC Seeks Comment on “Streamlined” Review Process [links to CommLawBlog]

ADVERTISING
   Google is adding new ways to track you for ads, but it’s letting you call the shots [links to Benton summary]

TELEVISION
   FCC's Wheeler Circulates Item Eliminating UHF Discount [links to Benton summary]

JOURNALISM
   Jeff Bezos is saving the Washington Post, but he won’t be able to save newspapers [links to Revere Digital]

LABOR
   Silicon Valley: My Journey off the Beaten Path - Commissioner Clyburn blog [links to Benton summary]

HEALTH
   No surprise doctors dislike electronic health records [links to Benton summary]

COMPANY NEWS
   Verizon dials into $1.2 billion bond backed by mobile phone contracts [links to Financial Times]

STORIES FROM ABROAD
   What Brexit means for net neutrality in the EU - AEI op-ed [links to Benton summary]
   Russian ISPs will need to store content and metadata, open backdoors [links to Ars Technica]
   India goes from village to village to compile world’s biggest ID database [links to Guardian, The]
   US extends reprieve from export restrictions to Chinese electronics vendor ZTE [links to Fierce]

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ELECTIONS & MEDIA

HILLARY CLINTON'S INITIATIVE ON TECHNOLOGY & INNOVATION
[SOURCE: Hilary for America, AUTHOR: ]
Hillary Clinton believes that with the right public policies, we can ensure that technology is a force for broad-based growth, reducing social and economic inequality, and securing American leadership on the global stage. Clinton is announcing a Tech & Innovation Agenda with five key parts. First, her plan will leverage technology to create good-paying jobs on Main Street—through new commitments in computer science and STEM education, support for entrepreneurial ecosystems, and other policies to build the human capital pipeline. Second, her plan will deliver high-speed broadband to all Americans, hook up public places like airports and stations—and enable them to offer free Wi-Fi—and lay the groundwork for the next generation of the mobile Internet and the Internet of Things. Third, her agenda will ensure America remains the global leader in technology, by promoting more high-tech exports and ensuring the free flow of data. Fourth, her plan will establish rules of the road to support innovation—rules that foster healthy competition, reduce barriers to entry, and effectively protect intellectual property—while safeguarding privacy and security. Fifth, her plan will make our government smarter, more efficient, and more responsive, using new technologies to deliver real results for the American people.
benton.org/headlines/hillary-clintons-initiative-technology-innovation | Hillary for America | Politico | Revere Digital | The Hill | Washington Post
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INTERNET/BROADBAND

LETTER FROM JUDICIARY LEADERS TO NTIA RE: INTERNET TRANSITION PLAN
[SOURCE: Senate Judiciary Committee, AUTHOR: Sen Chuck Grassley (R-IA), Rep Bob Goodlatte (R-VA)]
Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley (R-IA) and House Judiciary Chairman Bob Goodlatte (R-VA) sent a letter to the National Telecommunications and Information Administration, asking a series of questions about NTIA's proposal to transfer key Internet domain name functions to the global multi-stakeholder community. The wrote, "We are writing to express concerns regarding this proposal and NTIA's conclusions. As we have stated previously, it is unfortunate that this proposal to eliminate the United States historical stewardship role over key Internet management functions has been undertaken not because of technical considerations but for political ones." The lawmakers asked if the administration is opposed to having Congress hold a vote on the issue, and questioned why it has continued to work to finalize the transition despite Congress repeatedly blocking funds to finish the hand off.
They also questioned the transition proposal itself. They noted portions of the proposal on human rights and free speech might not be finished before the transition. They also questioned whether the proposal leaves an opening for other countries to gain control over the system.
benton.org/headlines/letter-judiciary-leaders-ntia-re-internet-transition-plan | Senate Judiciary Committee | The Hill
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DEAR LANDLORD: DON'T RIP ME OFF WHEN IT COMES TO INTERNET ACCESS
[SOURCE: Medium, AUTHOR: Susan Crawford]
[Commentary] When it comes to Internet access, people in apartments (called Multiple Dwelling Units, or MDUs) often have the worst of both worlds: all the limitations of a utility framework — no competition, no choices — with zero protections for consumers. That means unconstrained pricing. Network operators like Comcast, Time Warner Cable, and AT&T, in cahoots with developers and landlords, routinely use a breathtaking array of kickbacks, lawyerly games of Twister, blunt threats, and downright illegal activities to lock up buildings in exclusive arrangements. For people in apartments, the “free market” is anything but. This astounding, enormous, decentralized payola scheme affects millions of American lives. And these shenanigans will only stop when cities and national leaders require that every building have neutral fiber/wireless facilities that make it easy for residents to switch services when they want to. We’ve got to take landlords out of the equation — all they’re doing is looking for payments and deals (understandably: they’re addicted to the revenue stream they’ve been getting), and the giant telecom providers in our country are more than happy to pay up. The market is stuck. Residents have little idea these deals are happening. The current way of doing business is great for landlords and Internet service providers but destructive in every other way.
[Susan Crawford is the John A. Reilly Clinical Professor at Harvard Law School and a co-director of the Berkman Center.]
benton.org/headlines/dear-landlord-dont-rip-me-when-it-comes-internet-access | Medium
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OWNERSHIP

PUERTO RICO TELEPHONE & AMÉRICA MÓVIL TO PAY $1.1M
[SOURCE: Federal Communications Commission, AUTHOR: Press release]
The Federal Communications Commission announced that Puerto Rico Telephone Company and its parent company, América Móvil of Mexico, will pay $1.1 million to resolve an investigation by the FCC’s Enforcement Bureau. Stock purchases of América Móvil by its owner Carlos Slim Helú and his family repeatedly exceeded the foreign ownership levels approved by the Commission. Puerto Rico Telephone Company (PRTC), a telecommunications carrier operating in the United States territory of Puerto Rico, and América Móvil, S.A.B. de C.V. (América Móvil) of Mexico, have exceeded their approved foreign ownership three times in five years. Most recently, in June 2014, the Slim family increased its ownership in and control of América Móvil through a purchase of stock from AT&T International. This also increased the family’s ownership in FCC licensee PRTC beyond the voting and equity interests then approved by the agency’s International Bureau in accordance with the FCC’s foreign ownership rules and policies. As part of the settlement, PRTC and América Móvil have each agreed to adopt compliance plans to prevent future stock purchases by the Slim family that would exceed foreign ownership limits without first receiving the International Bureau’s review and approval.
benton.org/headlines/puerto-rico-telephone-america-movil-pay-11-million-repeatedly-exceeding-foreign-ownership | Federal Communications Commission
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TRANSPORTATION

ALPHABET DIVISION FUNDED BY GOOGLE AIMS TO FIX PUBLIC TRANSIT IN US
[SOURCE: The Guardian, AUTHOR: Mark Harris]
Sidewalk Labs, a secretive subsidiary of Alphabet, wants to radically overhaul public parking and transportation in American cities. Its high-tech services, which it calls “new superpowers to extend access and mobility”, could make it easier to drive and park in cities and create hybrid public/private transit options that rely heavily on ride-share services such as Uber. But they might also gut traditional bus services and require cities to invest heavily in Google’s own technologies, experts fear. Sidewalk is initially offering its cloud software, called Flow, to Columbus (OH), the winner of a recent $50 million Smart City Challenge organized by the US Department of Transportation. Using public records laws, the Guardian obtained dozens of e-mails and documents submitted to Challenge cities by Sidewalk Labs, detailing many technologies and proposals that have not previously been made public. Some will be controversial, including spending transport subsidies for low-income residents on ride-sharing services such as Uber, requiring cities to upgrade to Sidewalk’s mobile payments system, and modernizing public parking to boost city revenues. Sidewalk Labs was spun out from Google last June with a mission to “improve city life for everyone”. Since then, it was part of a consortium that deployed several hundred free Wi-Fi kiosks in New York and is rumoured to be designing a city from the ground up for self-driving cars. Now, it’s offering Columbus a three-year demonstration project consisting of 100 Wi-Fi kiosks and free access to Flow.
benton.org/headlines/secretive-alphabet-division-funded-google-aims-fix-public-transit-us | Guardian, The
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Reactions to Hillary Clinton's Tech Agenda

Hillary Clinton unveiled a far-reaching plan explaining how her administration would approach technology issues, promising to connect all American homes to high-speed Internet by the end of the decade and revamping the country's education system to support foreign-born engineers and US entrepreneurs.
John Windhausen, Executive Director of SHLB:“Access to open, affordable, and high-capacity broadband is no longer a luxury, yet a nationwide digital divide still prevails in the 21st Century. The SHLB Coalition is pleased that Hillary Clinton’s Technology Initiative aims to close that divide by connecting anchor institutions to the broadband necessary for them to advance their communities.Broadband policy often tends to focus on business and residential users, while Secretary Clinton’s Technology Initiative recognizes anchor institutions’ important role in promoting digital equity and seeks to increase their funding options. Her initiative would expand the funding for the successful BTOP program to connect more anchor institutions to broadband and work to provide free WiFi to the public. By proposing to invest new federal resources to connect “additional anchor institutions”, we hope that she intends to expand broadband for rural health clinics, community colleges and public housing. In addition, the SHLB Coalition welcomes Hillary’s policies regarding “dig once” strategies to reduce the cost of broadband infrastructure, the utilization of dark fiber, fostering public-private partnerships, the deployment of 5G technologies, and opening new spectrum. All of these policies help enhance broadband connectivity for anchor institutions, and are in line with SHLB’s Broadband Action Plan.”
Chris Lewis, Vice President of Government Affairs at Public Knowledge: “Secretary Clinton’s tech policy agenda lays out a strong roadmap to supporting the values of access, openness and opportunity for consumers around the world while balancing the needs to promote competition and innovation for American industry. We look forward to these ideas being a part of the debates as more Americans realize that the tech policy decisions in Washington directly impact their career and education opportunities, personal privacy, and general quality of life."
TechNet president Linda Moore: “It’s worth singling out Secretary Clinton’s proposals on making investments in computer science and STEM education, the need to safeguard the free flow of information across borders, the critical importance of cybersecurity at home and abroad, as well as the need to reallocate and repurpose radio spectrum for broadband and WiFi. These are key components in the effort to build a true innovation economy.”
Free Press Action Fund President and CEO Craig Aaron: “We're encouraged that Hillary Clinton is making the internet's future a top priority in her campaign. The internet is no longer a luxury for Americans: It's a necessity in our daily lives. The issues highlighted by Clinton today matter greatly to millions and millions of Internet voters...We urge the Clinton campaign to do more to recognize Americans' serious concerns about unchecked spying and surveillance. Rejecting the false choice between privacy interests and keeping Americans safe means committing to change the PATRIOT Act policies that have targeted innocent people for unwarranted surveillance. Unfortunately, her initiative lacks details on how a future Clinton administration would protect the privacy rights of everyday people.”
Berin Szoka, President of Tech Freedom: "Hillary hit the ball out of the park about making broadband deployment easier. Removing government barriers is the best way to close the digital divide and increase speeds for all Americans."
Computer & Communications Industry Association president Ed Black, "The ability to grow the economy in the future will depend on a good foundation for the digital economy. This is the platform of a candidate who can be trusted to grow the economy. [W]hat distinguishes Clinton is her articulation of a platform to provide better trained workers, Internet access, and policies both here and with our trading partners to deliver economic growth.”
Gene Kimmelman, president of Public Knowledge: "The blueprint sets up opportunities for key stakeholders to push their private agenda in the context of a much broader economic development plan. It's no surprise they'd know how to weave their way around some of these political minefields."

Reactions to Hillary Clinton's Tech Agenda

Hillary Clinton unveiled a far-reaching plan explaining how her administration would approach technology issues, promising to connect all American homes to high-speed Internet by the end of the decade and revamping the country's education system to support foreign-born engineers and US entrepreneurs.
John Windhausen, Executive Director of SHLB:“Access to open, affordable, and high-capacity broadband is no longer a luxury, yet a nationwide digital divide still prevails in the 21st Century. The SHLB Coalition is pleased that Hillary Clinton’s Technology Initiative aims to close that divide by connecting anchor institutions to the broadband necessary for them to advance their communities.Broadband policy often tends to focus on business and residential users, while Secretary Clinton’s Technology Initiative recognizes anchor institutions’ important role in promoting digital equity and seeks to increase their funding options. Her initiative would expand the funding for the successful BTOP program to connect more anchor institutions to broadband and work to provide free WiFi to the public. By proposing to invest new federal resources to connect “additional anchor institutions”, we hope that she intends to expand broadband for rural health clinics, community colleges and public housing. In addition, the SHLB Coalition welcomes Hillary’s policies regarding “dig once” strategies to reduce the cost of broadband infrastructure, the utilization of dark fiber, fostering public-private partnerships, the deployment of 5G technologies, and opening new spectrum. All of these policies help enhance broadband connectivity for anchor institutions, and are in line with SHLB’s Broadband Action Plan.”
Chris Lewis, Vice President of Government Affairs at Public Knowledge: “Secretary Clinton’s tech policy agenda lays out a strong roadmap to supporting the values of access, openness and opportunity for consumers around the world while balancing the needs to promote competition and innovation for American industry. We look forward to these ideas being a part of the debates as more Americans realize that the tech policy decisions in Washington directly impact their career and education opportunities, personal privacy, and general quality of life."
TechNet president Linda Moore: “It’s worth singling out Secretary Clinton’s proposals on making investments in computer science and STEM education, the need to safeguard the free flow of information across borders, the critical importance of cybersecurity at home and abroad, as well as the need to reallocate and repurpose radio spectrum for broadband and WiFi. These are key components in the effort to build a true innovation economy.”
Free Press Action Fund President and CEO Craig Aaron: “We're encouraged that Hillary Clinton is making the internet's future a top priority in her campaign. The internet is no longer a luxury for Americans: It's a necessity in our daily lives. The issues highlighted by Clinton today matter greatly to millions and millions of Internet voters...We urge the Clinton campaign to do more to recognize Americans' serious concerns about unchecked spying and surveillance. Rejecting the false choice between privacy interests and keeping Americans safe means committing to change the PATRIOT Act policies that have targeted innocent people for unwarranted surveillance. Unfortunately, her initiative lacks details on how a future Clinton administration would protect the privacy rights of everyday people.”
Berin Szoka, President of Tech Freedom: "Hillary hit the ball out of the park about making broadband deployment easier. Removing government barriers is the best way to close the digital divide and increase speeds for all Americans."
Computer & Communications Industry Association president Ed Black, "The ability to grow the economy in the future will depend on a good foundation for the digital economy. This is the platform of a candidate who can be trusted to grow the economy. [W]hat distinguishes Clinton is her articulation of a platform to provide better trained workers, Internet access, and policies both here and with our trading partners to deliver economic growth.”
Gene Kimmelman, president of Public Knowledge: "The blueprint sets up opportunities for key stakeholders to push their private agenda in the context of a much broader economic development plan. It's no surprise they'd know how to weave their way around some of these political minefields."

FCC's Wheeler Circulates Item Eliminating UHF Discount

At the same time Federal Communications Commission Chairman Tom Wheeler was circulating the FCC's quadrennial review of media ownership rules, which retain and even tighten some rules, he separately circulated an order eliminating the UHF discount, apparently, which would be an additional cap on ownership.

Under then-FCC Chair Mignon Clyburn, the commission back in 2013 voted to propose eliminating the discount given that in the digital age UHF stations are now more robust than VHF, a reversal of fortune from the analog days. The UHF discount means that TV station owners only have to count half of the audience reach of those stations toward the 39% national ownership cap. But no final vote was held on the proposal. The UHF discount item grandfathers existing ownership groups that would be over the 39% cap once the discount is scrapped. But it does not propose replacing it with a VHF discount, which the FCC had asked for input on. Like the quadrennial review, it must still be voted by the full commission. With the discount gone, UHFs would have to count all their audience, which will be yet another new limit on ownership and would not allow groups including Ion and Tribune to be sold in their entirety. The National Association of Broadcasters has argued, and did so again in a letter to the FCC recently, that the FCC should not treat the discount in a vacuum but in relation to the goals of the national ownership caps.

Puerto Rico Telephone & América Móvil To Pay $1.1 Million For Repeatedly Exceeding Foreign Ownership Limits

The Federal Communications Commission announced that Puerto Rico Telephone Company and its parent company, América Móvil of Mexico, will pay $1.1 million to resolve an investigation by the FCC’s Enforcement Bureau. Stock purchases of América Móvil by its owner Carlos Slim Helú and his family repeatedly exceeded the foreign ownership levels approved by the Commission.

Puerto Rico Telephone Company (PRTC), a telecommunications carrier operating in the United States territory of Puerto Rico, and América Móvil, S.A.B. de C.V. (América Móvil) of Mexico, have exceeded their approved foreign ownership three times in five years. Most recently, in June 2014, the Slim family increased its ownership in and control of América Móvil through a purchase of stock from AT&T International. This also increased the family’s ownership in FCC licensee PRTC beyond the voting and equity interests then approved by the agency’s International Bureau in accordance with the FCC’s foreign ownership rules and policies. As part of the settlement, PRTC and América Móvil have each agreed to adopt compliance plans to prevent future stock purchases by the Slim family that would exceed foreign ownership limits without first receiving the International Bureau’s review and approval.

Google is adding new ways to track you for ads, but it’s letting you call the shots

Since it began, Google has kept the vast amount of user data it tracks in silos. Information gathered from users while signed into Google accounts — searches, YouTube videos watched — was kept separate from data on web pages and apps visited. Not anymore. The company is rolling out a new service that pools data from across the entire web and mobile devices, giving it a potential boost to its core ads business. The big caveat: It’s giving users total control — and with that, they’ll have the freedom to block particular ads carte blanche.

It’s a way for Google to get ahead of the growth of ad-blocking. By building the feature opt-in, it’s also a way for Google to combat criticism of its privacy practices. Digital advertisers have long clamored for solutions that can track customers from their desktop browser to their phone and back. Google is finally setting the stage for that.

Public Knowledge Demands FCC Protect Wireless Car Network from Cyberattacks

Public Knowledge and The New America Open Technology Institute filed a Petition for Rulemaking with the Federal Communications Commission to establish requirements for cybersecurity and privacy protection in the Direct Short Range Communication (DSRC) service. Public Knowledge’s Petition for Rulemaking asks the FCC to adopt the following safety measures before permitting the auto industry to deploy DSRC for American vehicles:

  • Limit DSRC to life and safety uses only. The auto industry plans to take spectrum allocated for safety of life and monetize it with advertising and mobile payments. This compromises cybersecurity and potentially violates the privacy of every driver and passenger.
  • Require automakers to file a cybersecurity plan before activating DSRC systems. This plan should not only show that auto manufacturers have taken appropriate precautions today, but explain how they will update security over the life of the vehicle.
  • Data transparency and breach notification. Auto manufacturers must inform purchasers of DSRC-equipped cars what personal information they collect and how they will use that information. In the event of a data breach, the manufacturer collecting the information must notify the customer.

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