BENTON'S COMMUNICATIONS-RELATED HEADLINES for TUESDAY, JULY 12, 2016
A busy day in wonkland https://www.benton.org/calendar/2016-07-12
INTERNET/BROADBAND
Why we need affordable broadband for anchor institutions and communities - John Windhausen/SHLB Coalition op-ed
Comcast’s Netflix Deal Could Open a New Front in Net Neutrality War
Public Interest Advocates Discuss IP Transition with FCC
Broadband Commission calls on world leaders to harness development potential of ICTs to drive the SDGs - press release
AT&T installing Internet fiber throughout Louisville [links to WDRB]
GOVERNMENT & COMMUNICATIONS
Accessing People’s Browser History Is Almost Like Spying on Their Thoughts - Sens Wyden, Heinrich op-ed
Attorney general scheduled to testify before House Judiciary Committee on Clinton email investigation [links to Washington Post]
ADVERTISING
Democratic Senators Say Digital Ad Fraud Rampant
Warner Bros. Settles FTC Charges It Failed to Adequately Disclose It Paid Online Influencers to Post Gameplay Videos [links to Federal Trade Commission]
SECURITY/PRIVACY
Overview of the EU-US Privacy Shield Framework - press release
NCTA to FCC: Broadband Privacy Approach Out of Step [links to Broadcasting&Cable]
Washington, Digital Advertising and Competition - Multichannel News op-ed [links to Benton summary]
NATO-Linked Websites Go Down, Cyberattack Suspected [links to Wall Street Journal]
HTTPS is not a magic bullet for Web security - ars technica analysis [links to Benton summary]
Have you given Pokémon Go full access to everything in your Google account? [links to Guardian, The]
Pokémon GO, augmented reality, and privacy [links to International Association of Privacy Professionals]
A $50M Hack Tests the Values of Communities Run by Code [links to Vice]
WIRELESS/SPECTRUM
Verizon its partners agree to a set of standards -- a move that pushes the 5G effort forward and that reinforces Verizon's leadership in the upcoming wireless tech [links to C-Net|News.com]
Wi-Fi to shackle growth of mobile data revenues in the US, Parks predicts [links to Fierce]
Dollars and Sense - B&C editorial [links to Benton summary]
Smartphones play crucial role for Black Lives Matter [links to American Public Media]
EMERGENCY COMMUNICATIONS
FCC Adds New Warning Codes To The Emergency Alert System [links to Benton summary]
CONTENT
Roku to Wheeler: HTML5 Should Not Be De Facto Navigation Standard [links to Benton summary]
Victims' families sue Facebook for $1 billion over Palestinian attacks [links to Benton summary]
A $1 billion lawsuit by victims of Middle East attacks is unlikely to succeed. But there may be a better way. [links to Bloomberg]
Network Attached Storage Forecast Driven by Video Surveillance [links to Benton summary]
ISIS via WhatsApp [links to ProPublica]
OWNERSHIP
Regulatory Offenses - B&C editorial [links to Benton summary]
Thomson Reuters to Sell Intellectual Property and Science Unit for $3.55 Billion to private-equity funds affiliated with Onex and Baring Private Equity Asia [links to Wall Street Journal]
ELECTIONS & MEDIA
Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg says her “impossible dream” is for Citizens United to be overturned [links to Vox]
Twitter, CBS News to livestream GOP and Democratic conventions [links to USAToday]
CHILDREN & MEDIA
YouTube channels benefit as kids look beyond traditional TV [links to Guardian, The]
JOURNALISM
Carrie Budoff Brown named editor of Politico [links to Politico]
Can We Talk? - Multichannel News editorial [links to Benton summary]
LABOR
RTDNA Research: Women and minorities in newsrooms - research
The tech lobby should be really nervous about what Hillary Clinton just said about immigration reform
Research in the Crowdsourcing Age, a Case Study - Pew research [links to Benton summary]
STORIES FROM ABROAD
Op-ed: British Home Secretary Theresa May is relying on public fears of terrorist attacks to push through her Investigatory Powers Bill to expand government surveillance powers. [links to Christian Science Monitor]
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INTERNET/BROADBAND
WHY WE NEED AFFORDABLE BROADBAND FOR ANCHOR INSTITUTIONS AND COMMUNITIES
[SOURCE: Bloomberg, AUTHOR: John Windhausen]
[Commentary] Schools, healthcare providers, libraries and other anchor institutions are the gateway to the community. These non-profit and governmental organizations increasingly provide essential Internet services to students, patients, patrons and underprivileged people. But their ability to meet these community needs depends on being able to obtain affordable, high-capacity broadband connections that often do not exist, especially in rural and non-competitive markets. The 2010 National Broadband Plan Goal #4 called for every community to have affordable gigabit level broadband to anchor institutions by the year 2020. While we have made significant progress in the last six years, there is much more work to be done to meet that goal. The Schools, Health & Libraries Broadband Coalition (SHLB Coalition) will be releasing an important Broadband Action Plan for Community Anchor Institutions on Wednesday, July 13. One of the most important recommendations of this Action Plan is the need to rein in the prices for special access services, also called “business data services.” Communities are clamoring for better, faster, more affordable broadband to support their public institutions. As we’ll outline in our Grow2Gig+ Action Plan, we believe addressing a lack of competition in business data services is an important step forward. We have the opportunity to dramatically improve teaching and learning, to offer equal and ubiquitous access to broadband for our communities and begin to reach goals we have set for ourselves.
[John Windhausen is Executive Director of the Schools, Health & Libraries Broadband (SHLB) Coalition]
benton.org/headlines/why-we-need-affordable-broadband-anchor-institutions-and-communities | Bloomberg
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COMCAST'S NETFLIX DEAL COU
LD OPEN A NEW FRONT IN NET NEUTRALITY WAR
[SOURCE: Wired, AUTHOR: Klint Finley]
Watching Netflix using Comcast is about to get a little easier. The longtime rivals recently confirmed that Comcast’s X1 interactive television box will offer Netflix, obviating the need for a smart TV or third-party device like a Roku or Chromecast. The two companies said little more than the combination arrives later in 2016 and it remains to be seen whether you’ll pay a separate fee to use Netflix. The answer almost certainly is yes. The bigger question is whether you’ll also need Comcast Internet service to watch Netflix over X1—and, if so, whether watching Netflix will eat into your Internet data plan. Comcast did not respond to request for comment, but content viewed via X1 doesn’t typically count as data because it’s considered television. Making Netflix part of its television service would be great for customers who use Comcast’s television service and worry about exceeding the one terabyte threshold the company is testing in places. But such an arrangement would raise net neutrality questions, since it could put Comcast in the position of choosing sides in the streaming video market.
benton.org/headlines/comcasts-netflix-deal-could-open-new-front-net-neutrality-war | Wired
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IP TRANSITION
[SOURCE: Benton Foundation, AUTHOR: Kevin Taglang]
Eleven public interest advocates (including the Benton Foundation) filed a letter on July 7, 2016, to express concern with a draft order that will streamline the framework for Federal Communications Commission evaluation of requests to discontinue legacy voice service. The groups urged the FCC to include affordability in the criteria to evaluate a discontinuance application and require consumer education in languages other than English and in a manner that can be used by people with disabilities. The FCC must ensure that discontinuance of service does not result in the loss of Lifeline discounts to low-income households, including both voice and the recently adopted Broadband Internet Access Service Lifeline program. The availability of Lifeline discounts should be included in the adequate replacement criteria. The FCC must ensure that discontinuance of service does not leave any consumers without access to the Internet at a reasonably comparable price. The ability to connect to the Internet at a reasonably comparable price should be included in the adequate replacement criteria.
Public Knowledge and the Communication Workers of America met with Commissioner O’Reilly’s Legal Advisor on July 5, 2016, to express support for FCC action to clarify the process and criteria the FCC will use to evaluate a streamlined discontinuance request from a legacy voice TDM provider. They said, however, the FCC should require carriers to certify there is a broadband provider in the service area prior to discontinuing service and ensure that there is an adequate public comment period for a 214(a) discontinuance. They also met with Legal Advisors to Commissioners Clyburn and Rosenworcel to discuss the same issues.
benton.org/headlines/public-interest-advocates-discuss-ip-transition-fcc | Benton Foundation | Public Knowledge
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BROADCAST COMMISSION CALLS TO HARNESS DEVELOPMENT POTENTIAL OF ICTS
[SOURCE: International Telecommunication Union, AUTHOR: ]
The Broadband Commission for Sustainable Development issued a statement urging policymakers, the private sector and other partners to make deployment of broadband infrastructure a top priority in strategies to accelerate global development and progress towards the sustainable development goals (SDGs). The statement was presented to the 2016 High-level Political Forum on Sustainable Development, which is meeting in New York City from 11-20 July to guide global efforts on the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals. In the statement, the Commission outlines the myriad ways broadband can improve global sustainable development. These include addressing basic needs such as education and access to information, helping lift people out of poverty through e-commerce opportunities and job growth, improving health services, monitoring climate change and planetary processes, and bridging the digital gender divide.
benton.org/headlines/broadband-commission-calls-world-leaders-harness-development-potential-icts-drive-sdgs | International Telecommunication Union | Broadband Commission statement
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GOVERNMENT & COMMUNICATIONS
ACCESSING PEOPLE'S BROWSER HISTORY IS ALMOST LIKE SPYING ON THEIR THOUGHTS
[SOURCE: Slate, AUTHOR: Sen Ron Wyden (D-OR), Sen Martin Heinrich (D-MN)]
The week of July 4, we objected to the Senate moving forward on the 2017 Intelligence Authorization bill. We are concerned that this bill would undermine a federal board that serves as an independent watchdog for intelligence agencies. We are even more concerned that this bill includes an unnecessary, sprawling expansion of the FBI's ability to spy on what websites Americans visit and who they talk to on e-mail or in text messages and chats -- all without obtaining a warrant, or any court oversight whatsoever. Given what web browsing history can reveal, there is little information that could be more intimate. If you know that a person is visiting the website of a mental health professional, or a substance-abuse support group, or a particular political organization, or a particular dating site, you know a tremendous amount of private and personal information about him or her. That's what you get when you can get access to their web browsing history without a court order. The reality is that getting access to people's web browsing history is almost like spying on their thoughts. This level of surveillance absolutely ought to come with court oversight. Yet a number of Sens are moving to go in the opposite direction. The annual intelligence bill would let any FBI field office issue something called a National Security Letter to demand this information. These letters are esseentially administrative subpoenas and often come with gag order. Allowing government agents to see Americans' web browsing history without court oversight is a half-baked solution that won't make our country any safer, and the American people deserve better.
benton.org/headlines/accessing-peoples-browser-history-almost-spying-their-thoughts | Slate
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PRIVACY
PRIVACY SHIELD FRAMEWORK
[SOURCE: Department of Commerce, AUTHOR: Press release]
The EU-US Privacy Shield Framework was designed by the US Department of Commerce and European Commission to provide companies on both sides of the Atlantic with a mechanism to comply with EU data protection requirements when transferring personal data from the European Union to the United States in support of transatlantic commerce. The Privacy Shield Framework provides a set of robust and enforceable protections for the personal data of EU individuals. The Framework provides transparency regarding how participating companies use personal data, strong U.S. government oversight, and increased cooperation with EU data protection authorities (DPAs). The European Commission deemed the Privacy Shield Framework adequate to enable data transfers under EU law. Commerce will allow companies time to review the Framework and update their compliance programs and then, on August 1, will begin accepting certifications. To join the Privacy Shield Framework, a US-based company will be required to self-certify to the Department of Commerce and publicly commit to comply with the Framework’s requirements. While joining the Privacy Shield Framework will be voluntary, once an eligible company makes the public commitment to comply with the Framework’s requirements, the commitment will become enforceable under U.S. law. All companies interested in joining the Privacy Shield Framework should review its requirements in their entirety.
benton.org/headlines/overview-eu-us-privacy-shield-framework | Department of Commerce | Secretary of Commerce Penny Pritzker | The Verge
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ADVERTISING
DEMOCRATIC SENS SAYS DIGITAL AD FRAUD RAMPANT
[SOURCE: Broadcasting&Cable, AUTHOR: John Eggerton]
A pair of powerful Democratic Sens have called on the Federal Trade Commission to protect consumers from digital advertising fraud, which they suggest is rampant, including potential regulation of reform of ad exchanges. In a letter to Federal Trade Commission Chairwoman Edith Ramirez, Sens Mark Warner (D-VA) and Chuck Schumer (D-NY) -- members of the Senate Banking Committee as well as active on communications and tech issues -- pointed to recent studies that have found "rampant fraud" in the $60 billion digital ad market, including one finding that as much as 98% of all ad clicks on major ad platforms, including Google, Facebook, Yahoo! and LinkedIn, were not by human fingers but by computer-automated bots. "The ad fraud market has scaled to such an extent that it has attracted participation by organized crime," to put an even tougher point on the issue. “Bots plague the digital advertising space by creating fake consumer traffic, artificially driving up the cost of advertising in the same way human fraudsters can manipulate the price of a stock by creating artificial trading volume," they told Chairwoman Ramirez, suggesting regulation or legislation may be needed to stem the tide.
benton.org/headlines/democratic-sens-say-digital-ad-fraud-rampant | Broadcasting&Cable | Read the letter
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LABOR
NEWSROOM DIVERSITY
[SOURCE: Radio Television Digital News Association, AUTHOR: Bob Papper]
This is the eighth in a series of reports developed from RTDNA's annual survey of newsrooms across the United States. Topics in the series include what's new online, social media and mobile strategies, television and radio budgets and profits, stations doing news, news director profiles, and our most popular areas of research; newsroom salaries, women and minorities in newsrooms, and broadcast newsroom staffing. The women and minorities survey highlights:
Record number of minority TV news directors
Mostly down minorities numbers in radio
Record number of women TV news directors and women in TV
The latest RTDNA/Hofstra University Annual Survey finds the minority workforce in TV news rose to 23.1%. That’s up almost a full point from a year ago … and is the second highest level ever in TV news. The minority workforce at non-Hispanic TV stations also went up to the second highest level ever.
benton.org/headlines/rtdna-research-women-and-minorities-newsrooms | Radio Television Digital News Association
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TECH AND IMMIGRATION
[SOURCE: Vox, AUTHOR: Dara Lind]
Expanding visas to allow more high-skilled workers to come to the United States was supposed to be the last bipartisan immigration proposal standing. But Hillary Clinton described comprehensive immigration reform as a way to "keep the pressure on" the tech industry to "resolve the bigger problem" — "and then we can look to see what else, if anything, can and should be done." Clinton is making it clear that for Democrats, immigration is an issue primarily about Latino voters — not tech donors. The tech industry has sometimes thought of itself as first among equals when it comes to the "immigration reform" coalition — now there’s reason for it to worry it might be last.
benton.org/headlines/tech-lobby-should-be-really-nervous-about-what-hillary-clinton-just-said-about-immigration | Vox
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