BENTON'S COMMUNICATIONS-RELATED HEADLINES for THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 29, 2016
Today's Events --
INTERNET/BROADBAND/TELECOM
House Unanimously Clears Communications Act Update of 2016 - press release
Commissioner Pai Applauds House Passage of Communications Act Update [links to Federal Communications Commission]
Innovators in Digital Inclusion - press release
Innovators in Digital Inclusion: PCs for People - analysis
Senators Introduce Rural Broadband Bill
Digitally Unconnected in the US: Who’s Not Online and Why? - NTIA
Tech Sparks Global Consensus, White House Official Says
Room for Debate: Four Pundits on ‘Should the U.S. Give Up Oversight of Internet Addresses?’ [links to New York Times]
Michael Hiltzik: No, Mr. Trump, the U.S. is not turning over control of the Internet to Russia and China [links to Los Angeles Times]
Georgia lawmakers conduct survey to identify rural market broadband gaps [links to Benton summary]
Trains Built Roanoke. Science Saved It. [links to Politico]
Urban renewal and high-speed fiber downtown [links to Eugene Weekly]
Saul Tannenbaum: Cambridge Needs Strong Dig Once/Touch Once Policies [links to Medium]
TELEVISION
Outcome Uncertain on Eve of FCC’s Vote on TV Set-Top Boxes [links to Wall Street Journal]
Sen Heller Seeks Privacy-Related Set-Top Vote Delay
Sens. Wyden, Franken Push for FCC Set-Top Plan [links to Broadcasting&Cable]
FCC May Exit App Standards Oversight in Set-Top Proposal [links to Benton summary]
It’s Crunch Time for the FCC’s Plan to Bust Open the TV Set-Top Box Market [links to Vice]
Focus on broadband access, not set-top boxes, analyst says [links to Benton summary]
Cord-Cutting Could Cost Pay TV Industry $1 Billion in a Year, Study Says
SECURITY/PRIVACY
Facebook and Google: most powerful and secretive empires we've ever known - The Guardian op-ed
What Facebook Knows About You [links to Benton summary]
Librarians Stand Again Against FBI Overreach - Hartford Courant op-ed
Roles of FTC, FCC Are Front and Center in Privacy Debate [links to Benton summary]
New York Cyber Conference Panelists Stress Importance of Unified Cybersecurity Plan [links to Insurance Journal]
Hackers have attempted more intrusions into voter databases, FBI director says [links to Washington Post]
Rep Conyers: ‘Clear Consensus’ Russian Government Was Behind DNC Hack [links to Morning Consult]
Sen Leahy wants Hearing on Yahoo Data Breach [links to Hill, The]
Defending Against Hackers Took a Back Seat at Yahoo, Insiders Say [links to New York Times]
Cable-Tec Expo: Cyber Threats Come with Wireless Expansion [links to Multichannel News]
Cyberattacks on personal health records growing ‘exponentially’ [links to Benton summary]
What a real cyber war would look like [links to Benton summary]
Apple keeps track of everyone you try to chat with on iMessage [links to Verge, The]
Verizon technician sold calling, location data for thousands of dollars [links to Benton summary]
ELECTIONS 2016
Donald Trump says Google proves he’s winning — and is trying to make sure he loses
You can vote online for potential presidential debate questions [links to Benton summary]
Presidential Debate 2016: Cybersecurity Highlights Significant Differences in Policy, Understanding Between Candidates [links to Government Technology]
Ariel Rabkin: Analyzing the “cyber” question at the debate [links to American Enterprise Institute]
Trump transition team plans meeting with tech groups [links to Hill, The]
Fox news exec to staff: Online polls ‘not true measures of public opinion’ [links to Benton summary]
FBI director rejects idea of reopening Clinton probe [links to Washington Post]
How Donald Trump gets away with avoiding the media [links to Washington Post]
Asymmetry between the major parties fries the circuits of the mainstream press [links to Press Think]
Google searches reveal how obsessed Hispanic voters are with this election [links to CNNMoney]
Donald Trump is making conservative newspapers do things they never thought they would do [links to Washington Post]
For Some Newspapers, Endorsing Clinton Means Losing Subscribers [links to New York Times]
How Donald Trump Set Off a Civil War Within the Right-Wing Media [links to New York Times]
Marc Rotenberg: Will either candidate protect your data? It's time to ask [links to Christian Science Monitor]
WIRELESS/SPECTRUM
FTC won’t give up fight against AT&T unlimited data throttling [links to Benton summary]
Comcast, Charter and cable’s uncertain wireless future - Fierce editorial [links to Benton summary]
MoffettNathanson: Cable's infrastructure will ultimately win in wireless [links to Fierce]
As innovation stagnates and devices are kept for longer, smartphone makers and operators face each other in a battle over the phone as a service [links to Guardian, The]
Google’s Got a Plan to Unify the World’s Wi-Fi Hotspots [links to Benton summary]
Now You Can Build Your Own Private Mesh Network With Phones and Radios [links to Vice]
The future of mobile payments is here, it’s just not evenly distributed [links to Revere Digital]
BlackBerry to stop making phones [links to Guardian, The]
Gogo Plans to Speed Up In-Flight Internet Service...in 2018 [links to Wall Street Journal]
ADVERTISING
Gaping holes, confusion mar FCC’s data on political ad buys - Center for Responsive Politics op-ed [links to Benton summary]
Slowdown in U.S. political ad spending takes toll on broadcasters [links to Reuters]
The Ad Industry Is Mediocre or Worse At Hiring Diverse Talent, Study Finds [links to AdWeek]
CONTENT
Court strikes down ban on ‘ballot selfies [links to Hill, The]
LABOR
Sec Kerry warns of ‘serious consequences’ if US backs away from TPP trade pact [links to Washington Post]
DIVERSITY
John Greathouse: Why Women in Tech Might Consider Just Using Their Initials Online [links to Wall Street Journal]
ENVIRONMENT
FCC Releases Letter to Union Pacific Railroad Finding Violations of FCC Environmental Rules [links to Federal Communications Commission]
RESEARCH
Facebook, World Bank and OECD Link Up to Gather Data [links to Benton summary]
EMERGENCY COMMUNICATIONS
CBO Scores First Responder Access to Innovative Technologies Act (HR 5460) [links to Congressional Budget Office]
JOURNALISM
In a Los Angeles neighborhood, teen reporters give a paper unique access to its community [links to Columbia Journalism Review]
Adam Schweigert: Who Funds Infrastructure for Journalism and Civic Tech? [links to Medium]
GOVERNMENT & COMMUNICATIONS
Six lessons from a five-year FOIA battle [links to Columbia Journalism Review]
LOBBYING
NCTA 'Sunsetting' Annual INTX Convention [links to Broadcasting&Cable]
POLICYMAKERS
Brent Nelsen Nominated for CPB Board - press release [links to Benton summary]
President Obama to Nominate 2 for National Council on the Arts and 2 for National Council on the Humanities [links to White House, The]
STORIES FROM ABROAD
GAO: US University in China Emphasize Academic Freedom but Face Internet Censorship [links to US Government Accountability Office]
A Voice Cuts Through, and Adds to, the Intrigue of Russia’s Cyberattacks [links to New York Times]
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INTERNET/BROADBAND/TELECOM
HOUSE PASSES COMMUNICATIONS ACT UPDATE
[SOURCE: House of Representatives Commerce Committee, AUTHOR: Press release]
The House of Representatives unanimously amended and approved the Communications Act Update Act of 2016 (S. 253). The bill contains eight Commerce Committee bills that have previously passed the House or have unanimously passed the committee. S. 253 now heads back to the Senate for final consideration. The bills included in the package are as follows (in order by Title of the amendment to S. 253):
1) The Federal Communications Commission Process Reform Act (H.R. 2583), sponsored by House Communications and Technology Subcommittee Chairman Greg Walden (R-OR). Previously passed the House November 16, 2015, by voice vote. The bill aims to increase transparency, efficiency, and accountability at the FCC.
2) The Federal Communications Commission Consolidated Reporting Act (H.R. 734), sponsored by House Majority Whip and committee member Rep. Steve Scalise (R-LA). Previously passed the House February 24, 2015, by a vote of 411 to 0. The legislation aims to reduce the reporting workload and increase efficiency at the FCC. The legislation would consolidate a number of existing reports required by law into a single, comprehensive report on the state of the communications marketplace.
3) The Small Business Broadband Deployment Act (H.R. 4596), sponsored by Chairman Walden. Previously passed the House March 16, 2016, by a vote of 411 to 0. The bill would support small Internet Service Providers (ISPs) by protecting them from the onerous reporting requirements included in the FCC’s Open Internet Order. The bill would extend the small business ISP exemption for providers with fewer than 250,000 subscribers for five years.
4) Kari’s Law Act of 2015 (H.R. 4167), sponsored by Rep. Louie Gohmert (R-TX). Previously passed the House May 23, 2016, by voice vote. The would require that any multi-line telephone system connects directly to 911 when dialed, even in instances where the phone requires the user to dial “9” to get an outside line.
5) Securing Access to Networks in Disasters Act (H.R. 3998), sponsored by Commerce Committee Ranking Member Frank Pallone, Jr. (D-NJ). Previously passed the House May 23, 2016, by a vote of 389 to 2. The bill would create requirements for mobile service providers during emergencies to ensure that consumers have access to networks during disasters, and requires the FCC and GAO to examine the resiliency of networks during these events. In addition, it amends the Stafford Act to ensure all categories of communications service providers may access disaster sites to restore service.
6) Anti-Spoofing Act of 2016 (H.R. 2669), introduced by Rep. Grace Meng (D-NY) and co-authored by committee members Rep. Leonard Lance (R-NJ) and Rep. Joe Barton (R-TX). Previously passed by the Commerce Committee September 21, 2016, by voice vote. The bill aims to strengthen the Truth In Caller ID Act and protect consumers from fraudulent actors and deceptive text messages by going after lawbreakers who seek to harass and defraud consumers. Passed unanimously by voice vote.
7) Amateur Radio Parity Act (H.R. 1301), sponsored by Rep. Adam Kinzinger (R-IL). Previously passed the House September 12, 2016, by voice vote. The bill would instruct the FCC to adopt rules that protect the rights of amateur radio operators to use radio equipment in deed-restricted communities.
8) Improving Rural Call Quality and Reliability (H.R. 2566), sponsored by Rep. David Young (R-IA). Previously passed by the Commerce Committee September 21, 2016, by voice vote. The bill would require intermediate providers to register with the Federal Communications Commission and comply with the service quality standards set by the agency in order to improve call quality from long distance or wireless calls in rural areas throughout the country. Passed unanimously by voice vote.
benton.org/headlines/house-unanimously-clears-communications-act-update-2016 | House of Representatives Commerce Committee
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INNOVATORS IN DIGITAL INCLUSION
[SOURCE: Benton Foundation, AUTHOR: Adrianne Furniss]
Sept 28 we're launching a series of articles that explore the origins, strategies, challenges and funding mechanisms for successful digital inclusion organizations. In research released early in 2016, Benton Faculty Research Fellow Dr Colin Rhinesmith explored the critical work being done in communities across the United States to address gaps in broadband adoption. He found that the efforts that emphasize human-to-human interactions are the most helpful to individuals and families. To help deepen Rhinesmith’s original research, the Benton Foundation and the National Digital Inclusion Alliance (NDIA) are now publishing a series of articles that explore the origins, strategies, challenges and funding mechanisms for successful digital inclusion organizations. We’d like to inject the experiences of each organization into ongoing policy discussions that affect federal, state and local digital inclusion efforts -- and to highlight best practices for other organizations working in this space. PCs for People (St. Paul, Minnesota), Axiom Education and Training Center (Machias, Maine), Ashbury Senior Computer Community Center (Cleveland, Ohio), Connecting for Good (Kansas City, Kansas), Free Geek (Portland, Oregon), Youth Policy Institute (Los Angeles, California), Austin Free-Net (Austin, Texas), and Multnomah County Library (Portland, Oregon). Each of these organizations are doing phenomenal work to bridge the digital divide and promote digital inclusion. But each one has a unique approach to meeting this challenge.
benton.org/headlines/innovators-digital-inclusion | Benton Foundation
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INNOVATORS IN DIGITAL INCLUSION: PCS FOR PEOPLE
[SOURCE: Benton Foundation, AUTHOR: Angela Siefer]
[Commentary] Functional broadband access and adoption are essential for full participation in our society, for education, for public health, and for public safety. But nagging gaps in broadband adoption exist for too many US communities. In Digital Inclusion and Meaningful Broadband Adoption Initiatives,(1) Dr. Colin Rhinesmith explored successful, local efforts to help low-income individuals and families overcome the barriers to broadband adoption. Dr. Rhinesmith finds that successful digital inclusion organizations focus on: 1) Providing low-cost broadband, 2) Connecting digital literacy training with relevant content and services, 3) Making low-cost computers available, and 4) Operating public access computing centers. In this new series, the Benton Foundation and the National Digital Inclusion Alliance (NDIA) explore the origins, strategies, challenges and funding mechanisms for successful digital inclusion organizations. In this first article, we examine PCs for People, an organization which refurbishes recycled computers and provides affordable technology and broadband service to low-income individuals and families. PCs for People’s work is touching many lives, helping to improve educational and economic outcomes.
[Angela Siefer is the Director of the National Digital Inclusion Alliance (NDIA).]
benton.org/headlines/innovators-digital-inclusion-pcs-people | Benton Foundation
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SENS INTRODUCE RURAL BROADBAND BILL
[SOURCE: Broadcasting&Cable, AUTHOR: John Eggerton]
Sens Shelley Moore Capito (R-WV) and Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY) have introduced a bill to boost rural broadband in rural and tribal areas. The Broadband Connections for Rural Opportunities Program Act is meant to close the rural digital divide by providing new federal grants for high-speed broadband buildouts to supplement the money already available through the USDA's Rural Utilities Service. It would also double the RUS broadband program funding to $50 million. Sens Capito and Gillibrand cited Federal Communications Commission stats saying that 40 percent of rural and tribal areas do not have access to broadband, but also suggested their bill was about competition, not just providing access where none existed. "When high-speed broadband is available, consumers often have only one choice for service and pay more for high-speed plans than consumers in some other advanced countries," they said in a joint release announcing the bill. Internet service providers have long argued that government funds should be targeted to areas without service first, not where government money underwrites competition to existing privacy investment and service.
benton.org/headlines/senators-introduce-rural-broadband-bill | Broadcasting&Cable
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DIGITALLY UNCONNECTED IN THE US: WHO'S NOT ONLINE AND WHY?
[SOURCE: National Telecommunications and Information Administration, AUTHOR: Maureen Lewis]
When she announced the Commerce Department's Digital Economy Agenda a year ago, Commerce Secretary Penny Pritzker emphasized that broadband Internet access and digital skills are critical to the economy's success. The digital marketplace has created millions of new jobs in the United States. Digitally connected Americans are the modern workers, creative innovators, and new customers who will help sustain our nation's global competitiveness. But what about those Americans who do not use the Internet? Whether by circumstance or by choice, millions of US households are not online, and thus unable to meaningfully participate in the digital economy. Data from the National Telecommunications and Information Administration's July 2015 Computer and Internet Use Supplement to the Current Population Survey confirm that the digital divide persists. In 2015, 33 million households (27 percent of all US households) did not use the Internet at home, where families can more easily share Internet access and conduct sensitive online transactions privately. Significantly, 26 million households--one-fifth of all households--were offline entirely, lacking a single member who used the Internet from any location in 2015. As we previously reported, non-Asian minorities and people with disabilities were among those groups most likely not to use the Internet at home, as were those with lower incomes and lower levels of educational attainment. The reasons these and other offline households gave in 2015 reflect a consistent pattern since 2001, which is when NTIA first asked why people did not use the Internet at home.
benton.org/headlines/digitally-unconnected-us-whos-not-online-and-why | National Telecommunications and Information Administration
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TECH CONSENSUS
[SOURCE: Morning Consult, AUTHOR: Amir Nasr]
David Edelman, special assistant to the president for economic and technology policy at the National Economic Council, said technology areas like cybersecurity, privacy, and network neutrality are winners in the international community. Edelman said that the core principles behind the net neutrality rules — ones that some industry lobbyists and Republicans fought so vehemently in the United States — were widely adopted in other major economies. “Something was happening under our noses that I think wasn’t truly recognized in an international forum until this G20 [summit],” Edelman said. “The vast majority of G20 economies already had open internet protection on the books.” Republicans and some industry executives say the rules are an overreach that will squelch broadband innovation. Edelman disagrees. “As it turns out, the principles that were so controversial domestically were ones that had surprising international consensus,” he said, noting that Brazil, India and the European Union were all in the process of drafting open internet rules as policymakers in the United States debated the validity of the rules put forward by the Federal Communications Commission. “This is a remarkable evolution in a debate that reflected and became a part of the global consensus, certainly well before any would have said the issue is resolved domestically,” he added. The issue of privacy also reflects an area where, despite differences, the U.S. has been able to strike key agreements with allies because of domestic policy, Edelman said.
benton.org/headlines/tech-sparks-global-consensus-white-house-official-says | Morning Consult
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TELEVISION
SEN HELLER SEEKS PRIVACY-RELATED SET-TOP VOTE DELAY
[SOURCE: Broadcasting&Cable, AUTHOR: John Eggerton]
Sen Dean Heller (R-NV) has called on Federal Communications Commission Chairman Tom Wheeler to delay his planned Sept 29 vote on proposed new set-top box rules. Most of the Hill pushback on Chairman Wheeler's proposal has centered on copyright and app licensing issues, but Sen Heller is pulling out a different stop, saying his main sticking point is consumer privacy, that and the FCC process that produced the plan. "I have concerns about how the FCC’s proposal requiring this approach will impact my constituents’ privacy and whether it is technology neutral," said Sen Heller in a letter to Chairman Wheeler. The FCC is said to be planning to require device manufacturers to have to comply with cable privacy regulations to get access to pay-TV user data, since the FCC does not have authority over device privacy, but that bifurcated privacy oversight does not appear to sit well with Sen Heller. "[T]his rule will result in [multichannel video programming distributors] handing over consumers’ personal information to third-party developers using their own platforms without addressing how that information can be utilized and what recourse consumers have if there is a data breach of third-party developers," said Sen Heller. "This is not technology neutral and not beneficial to consumers. That is why I request that you delay voting on this proposal until these privacy concerns are resolved." He also has problems with the process. "These issues also stem from the lack of transparency in the process leading up to the final proposal, the text of which has not been released to stakeholders, Congress, and the American public prior to a vote," he opined. There were calls from both sides of the aisle to publish the text before the vote, including in a further notice of proposed rulemaking, which would have had the effect of delaying the vote for weeks if not months.
benton.org/headlines/sen-heller-seeks-privacy-related-set-top-vote-delay | Broadcasting&Cable
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CORD-CUTTING COULD COST PAY TV INDUSTRY $1 BILLION IN A YEAR, STUDY SAYS
[SOURCE: Wall Street Journal, AUTHOR: Shalini Ramachandran]
Pay-TV providers could lose nearly $1 billion in revenue as 800,000 customers cut the cord over the next 12 months, according to a new study from the firm cg42. The study, which is based on an online survey of 1,119 US customers, estimates that pay-TV providers lose about $1,248 per cord-cutter annually. That’s because the average cord-cutter saves $104 a month—about 56 percent of their bill--from dropping cable TV. Some analysts say that if consumers ditch cable TV they could wind up paying even more for the combination of standalone high-speed Internet and streaming services. But the study found the opposite -- that going without pay TV service yields savings. That’s in part because people tend not to spend much more than $15 on streaming services even after cutting the cord. A “cord-haver” spends about $187 a month on average prior to cutting the cord, including cable TV, phone, Internet access and streaming services. Meanwhile, a typical “cord-never” -- someone who never had a pay-TV connection -- spends about $71 on streaming services and home Internet combined, and the average cord-cutter spends $83. “The consumer is discovering they don’t need the mean, evil cable company to get the content that they want, and they can get it for a better deal,” said Steve Beck, managing partner at cg42. A $1 billion loss of revenue is small for the entire pay TV industry, but it is a warning sign. According to the survey, the vast majority of people who cut the cord or never had pay-TV in the first place don’t exactly thirst for traditional television, despite the draw of live sports. About 83 percent of cord-cutters surveyed said they can access “most or all” of the content they want to watch without a pay-TV subscription, and about 87 percent of cord-nevers said the same.
benton.org/headlines/cord-cutting-could-cost-pay-tv-industry-1-billion-year-study-says | Wall Street Journal
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SECURITY/PRIVACY
FACEBOOK AND GOOGLE: MOST POWERFUL AND SECRETIVE EMPIRES WE'VE EVER KNOWN
[SOURCE: The Guardian, AUTHOR: Ellen Goodman, Julia Powles]
[Commentary] Google and Facebook have conveyed nearly all of us to this page, and just about every other idea or expression we’ll encounter today. Yet we don’t know how to talk about these companies, nor digest their sheer power. We call them platforms, networks or gatekeepers. But these labels hardly fit. The appropriate metaphor eludes us; even if we describe them as vast empires, they are unlike any we’ve ever known. Far from being discrete points of departure, merely supporting the action or minding the gates, they have become something much more significant. They have become the medium through which we experience and understand the world. Facebook is not merely a “network” for connection, like the old phone network or electrical grid, as if it had no agency, and did not take a piece of every last interaction (or false start) between friends. When and how much we interact, we rely on Facebook to say. These are not mere “edge providers”, peripheral to infrastructure, or mere “applications” that we can select or refuse. The metaphors that we use – empire, medium, undertow – allude to the power of the all-knowing digital companies. Speaking clearly about this power and its effects is critical. Ultimately, the public needs more voice, more choice, more power. In the near term, we should pursue algorithmic accountability, independent auditing and consumer protection scrutiny, before we lose our agency as a public that is something other than their “user base.”
[Ellen P. Goodman is a professor of law at Rutgers University and co-directs the Rutgers Institute for Information Policy & Law, RIIPL. Julia Powles is a legal academic working on technology law and policy at the University of Cambridge]
benton.org/headlines/facebook-and-google-most-powerful-and-secretive-empires-weve-ever-known | Guardian, The
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LIBRARIANS STAND AGAIN AGAINST FBI OVERREACH
[SOURCE: Hartford Courant, AUTHOR: Peter Chase, Barbara Bailey, Jan Nocek, George Christian]
[Commentary] We are the four librarians who fought a government gag order a decade ago when FBI agents demanded library records under the Patriot Act and told us, under penalty of criminal prosecution, that we couldn't talk about it. We members of what the media called "the Connecticut Four" haven't reunited in the civil liberties cause. Until now. Attempts are being made in the US Senate to expand the amount and kinds of information that the government may compel libraries and others to divulge. This could once again infringe on the civil liberties of library patrons and silence librarians as we were silenced a dozen years ago. This past summer, the Senate barely defeated legislation that would have expanded the FBI's authority to collect information by using National Security Letters that could gag librarians and others without a court order. The legislation was attached as an amendment to a Justice Department spending bill. The senators could try again any time — including tacking the legislation onto the government funding bill that has to pass this week to avoid a shutdown.
[Peter Chase is retired from the Plainville (CT) Public Library. Barbara Bailey is director of the Welles-Turner Memorial Library in Glastonbury (CT). Jan Nocek is director of the Portland (CT) Public Library. George Christian is executive director of the Library Connection, a nonprofit cooperative of 30 libraries.]
benton.org/headlines/librarians-stand-again-against-fbi-overreach | Hartford Courant
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ELECTION 2016
TRUMP VS GOOGLE
[SOURCE: Washington Post, AUTHOR: Philip Bump]
At the top of his rally in the critical Wisconsin county of Waukesha, Donald Trump accused Google of both impeding and bolstering his candidacy. "A new post-debate poll, the Google poll, has us leading Hillary Clinton by two points nationwide," he said, "and that's despite the fact that Google search engine was suppressing the bad news about Hillary Clinton. How about that." As it turns out, this is classic Trump: Running full steam ahead with any sketchy evidence that seems like it might be helpful to him. Here's each thing he was referring to, so you can judge for yourself.
benton.org/headlines/donald-trump-says-google-proves-hes-winning-and-trying-make-sure-he-loses | Washington Post | video
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