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October 2016

If Trump is president, he’ll make the Wireless Emergency Alert system his own personalized Twitter

[Commentary] . Yes, as Peter Moskowitz demonstrates, the Wireless Emergency Alert system is prone to hacking. But what if the hacking were done, perfectly legally, by the one person who has license to do whatever he or she wants with it? Here’s the three use cases for the system:
Alerts issued by the President of the United States.
Alerts involving imminent threats to safety of life, issued in two different categories: extreme threats and severe threats
AMBER Alerts.

Does anything stand out for you — like number one, where the President of the United States gets to determine what gets to interrupt us with a loud noise at any hour and use our mobile devices to get a message before our eyes? Is there any presidential candidate you can think of who likes to stay up late and beam inappropriate messages to millions of people? Who, when he when he’s piqued, has no sense of proportion? Who, when he wants wants attention, will go to extremes to get it? I am not kidding — if Donald Trump is president and someone clues him in to the fact that he has the power to use this system, it’s a real possibility (if not a certainty) that the next time he wants to engage in slut-shaming, poll-boasting or climate-denying, he’ll make our phones shriek and blast out his message, as if a natural disaster is upon us and we must take shelter. And except for the natural part, that would be right.

A Digital Monoculture Is a Bigger Threat Than the Terminator Scenario

[Commentary] While Waze leads us to our destinations via the quickest route, our dependence on this kind of decision-support system may also be the quickest route to a monocultural society. As Artificial Intelligence and machine learning improve, more people are going to benefit, and through our interaction with the machines, the AI systems will make better decisions for us and in turn become more and more popular. And then it will happen: a small number of AI systems (most likely the aforementioned "Partnership on AI" group) will be making most of our decisions for us. We might not even notice that in the process, we devolved our diverse, multicultural world into a collection of distinct digital monocultures. AI will sort our news feeds (it already does), our entertainment choices (it already does), our way-finding (it already does), and the energy efficiency of our homes and offices (it already can, but it is not widely deployed); make our financial decisions (it mostly does); make our medical decisions; make our business decisions; and probably make our political decisions too. The list of potential AI applications is bounded only by need and imagination.

[Shelly Palmer is President & CEO of Palmer Advanced Media]

Rural Utility Service Seeks Comment on Community Connect Grant Program Information Collection Requirements

The Department of Agriculture has submitted the following information collection requirement(s) to Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for review and clearance under the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, Public Law 104–13. Comments are requested regarding (1) whether the collection of information is necessary for the proper performance of the functions of the agency, including whether the information will have practical utility; (2) the accuracy of the agency’s estimate of burden including the validity of the methodology and assumptions used; (3) ways to enhance the quality, utility and clarity of the information to be collected; (4) ways to minimize the burden of the collection of information on those who are to respond, including through the use of appropriate automated, electronic, mechanical, or other technological collection techniques or other forms of information technology.

Comments regarding this information collection received by November 3, 2016 will be considered.

Wi-Fi -- Too Important To Fail

[Commentary] Now that we have a “Listen Before Talk” (“LBT”) protocol for LAA/eLAA and a “Coexistence Test Plan” for LTE-U all the threats to Wi-Fi have been eliminated, right? Wrong. At least two big problems remain. First, LBT addresses channel access, but it does not fully address channel occupancy issues. Second, the coexistence test plan will be of little value without a baseline data set documenting the performance of modern Wi-Fi in the wild prior to any LTE-U or LAA deployment.

I know that unlicensed spectrum is supposed to be the “Wild West” – the land of permission-less innovation. And, if all that was at stake with Wi-Fi was the opportunity to do email at the airport or to surf the Web in your home, it might make sense for the government to keep hands off. But, the inconvenient truth is that Wi-Fi has become the essential communications foundation of modern society. The national electric power grid, nuclear power plants, hospitals, and almost every institution and piece of infrastructure in our Nation relies on Wi-Fi. Was it a mistake to let this happen? Probably. But can we simply pretend that it didn’t happen? No. What follows below is a more detailed explanation of why LBT and the Coexistence Test Plan alone are not sufficient to protect our Nation’s critical reliance on Wi-Fi.

[Joey Padden is a wireless technologist who previously worked at Layer3 TV]

October 4, 2016 (Digital Equity Planning)

BENTON'S COMMUNICATIONS-RELATED HEADLINES for TUESDAY, OCTOBER 4, 2016

Today's Event -- The FCC’s Sprint to a Broadband Privacy Rulemaking: Discounts for Data, the Ninth Circuit Decision, and What Comes Next, ITIF -- https://www.benton.org/node/247846

INTERNET/BROADBAND
   Digital Equity Planning in US Cities
   Smartphones help those without broadband get online, but don’t necessarily bridge the digital divide - Pew Research
   AT&T to Drop ‘Internet Preferences’ Program for GigaPower
   ISPs on Domain Name Hand-Off: Hold ICANN Accountable [links to Broadcasting&Cable]
   UPDATE: How to Navigate, Mitigate or Eliminate the Impacts of State Restrictions on Public Broadband [links to Craig Settles]
   Verizon’s fiber plan called “haphazard,” leaves many with subpar DSL in NJ [links to Benton summary]
   Google Fiber Wraps Webpass Buy [links to Multichannel News]
   How telecom companies can win in the digital revolution [links to McKinsey]
   Letter to the editor: No Wonder Connecticut Needs an Internet Tax [links to Wall Street Journal]

ELECTIONS 2016
   Donald J. Trump Promises Immediate Action on Cybersecurity in his Administration - speech
   Video: Watch Trump's speech on cyber security [links to Washington Post]
   Opinion: New York Times forfeits ethics in publishing Trump taxes [links to Hill, The]
   Lewandowski on CNN: Trump should sue NYT 'into oblivion' [links to Hill, The]
   Trump Foundation ordered to stop fundraising by N.Y. attorney general’s office [links to Washington Post]
   Trump’s many, many threats to sue the press since launching his campaign - CJR op-ed [links to Benton summary]
   "Is this the way we want to live?" Andrew Sullivan on our distraction sickness — and Trump [links to Vox]
   Rieder: GOP-leaning papers abandon Trump [links to USAToday]
   Vice presidential debate moderator Elaine Quijano bridges the election’s digital and generational divide [links to Vox]

WIRELESS/SPECTRUM
   Making the most of wireless Internet access - Todd O'Boyle op-ed
   Airline Wi-Fi Performance Set to Jump to 100 Mbps Connectivity, Gogo Announces [links to telecompetitor]

SECURITY/PRIVACY
   A Grand Bargain to Make Tech Companies Trustworthy - The Atlantic op-ed
   More than 20 states have faced major election hacking attempts, DHS says [links to Politico]
   The Internet of Things Sucks So Bad Even ‘Amateurish’ Malware Is Enough [links to Vice]

EMERGENCY COMMUNICATIONS
   FCC: EAS Test Will Help Refine Second-Language Alerts [links to Benton summary]

TELEVISION
   Civil Rights Groups Seek Set-Top Sunshine
   Jeopardy viewers complained about fire, health care, and conspiracies to FCC [links to Verge, The]
   Even the NFL isn't immune to declining television viewership [links to Verge, The]

LABOR
   Developing a Thriving and Inclusive Digital-First Economy - Department of Commerce op-ed [links to Benton summary]
   Profile of Sam Altman, Head of Startup Accelerator Y Combinator [links to New Yorker, The]

CONTENT
   Why the next 20 years will see a lot less technological disruption than the past 20 [links to Vox]
   More people are shopping on phones — but many stores will struggle to reap the benefits [links to Washington Post]

JOURNALISM
   Just launched: A tool that will make life easier for FOIA reporters [links to Columbia Journalism Review]

ADVERTISING
   Pop Quiz: Do You Know How Much It Costs to Advertise in TV's Biggest Shows? [links to AdAge]

HEALTH
   An Arkansas Medical Center Plans to Monitor Patients Via Telehealth [links to Sacramento Bee]

FCC REFORM
   Op-Ed: FCC Needs to See the Light (of Innovation) [links to Multichannel News]

STORIES FROM ABROAD
   Europe extends deadline from Sept 20 to Oct 31 in Google Android antitrust case [links to Hill, The]
   EU Is Pressing for Changes at Google [links to Benton summary]
   Rural Indian villages are about to get lifesaving treatment through an app [links to CNNMoney]
   Google Spreads Web to Rural India [links to Benton summary]
   Amazon’s Dispute With Japanese Publishers Intensifies [links to Wall Street Journal]
   In the battle to dominate Europe’s cloud computing market, American tech giants are spending big to build up their local credibility [links to New York Times]

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INTERNET/BROADBAND

DIGITAL EQUITY PLANNING IN US CITIES
[SOURCE: Benton Foundation, AUTHOR: Brandon Brooks, Colin Rhinesmith, Angela Siefer]
The Federal Communications Commission has recently tasked its Consumer and Governmental Affairs Bureau with the development of a plan to identify and work to address non-price related barriers to digital inclusion. Here, we share strategies that local/regional governments can implement in their digital equity planning process. We are currently investigating the digital equity planning processes in Austin (TX), Portland (OR), and Seattle (WA) -- three US cities with their own established stand-alone plans. We have interviewed local government officials and other key stakeholders as well as reviewed city-level policy and planning documents. Based on our preliminary examination of the digital equity plans and through our own interviews with local policymakers, we offer these recommendations:
Local governments should employ a central planning and coordination office with legitimate authority to facilitate digital equity planning.
Local planners should ensure that traditionally-excluded groups are included in digital equity planning.
Local decision-makers should use research from a variety of sources to inform digital equity planning.
We offer these preliminary findings and recommendations as key insights to assist local, state, and federal policymakers in creating effective digital equity plans.
[Dr Brandon Brooks is an Assistant Professor of Digital Media Studies in the James L. Knight School of Communication at Queens University of Charlotte. Dr Colin Rhinesmith conducts original Benton research and is an assistant professor in the School of Library and Information Science at Simmons College and a faculty associate with the Berkman Klein Center for Internet & Society at Harvard University. Angela Siefer is the Director of the National Digital Inclusion Alliance (NDIA).]
benton.org/headlines/digital-equity-planning-us-cities | Benton Foundation
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SMARTPHONES HELP, BUT DON'T BRIDGE DIGITAL DIVIDE
[SOURCE: Pew Internet and American Life Project, AUTHOR: Monica Anderson, John Horrigan]
Courts and regulators have increasingly seen high-speed Internet as a public utility that is as essential to Americans as electricity and water. But many Americans still do not have broadband at home, and some Americans have turned to mobile devices as their primary gateway to the Internet, according to Pew Research Center surveys. But whether smartphones are an adequate substitute is open to question. Those who depend on their smartphones to go online encounter constraints with data caps and small screens, and the device is not their “go to” tool for personal learning at home. Instead, those with smartphones but not home broadband rely on a kind of “workaround ecosystem” that is a combination of using their mobile devices along with other resources such as computers and Wi-Fi available at public libraries. Some 13% of US adults are “smartphone only” Internet users – meaning they own a smartphone but do not have a home broadband subscription, according to our data from 2015. In 2013, that share was lower, at 8%. This group is more likely to be younger, lower-income, less educated, or black or Hispanic – the same groups that also have lower rates of home broadband adoption, suggesting that some are forgoing high-speed Internet service and depending on their phones instead.
benton.org/headlines/smartphones-help-those-without-broadband-get-online-dont-necessarily-bridge-digital-divide | Pew Internet and American Life Project
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AT&T TO DROP 'INTERNET PREFERENCES' PROGRAM FOR GIGAPOWER
[SOURCE: Multichannel News, AUTHOR: Jeff Baumgartner]
AT&T confirmed that it is sunsetting Internet Preferences, a targeted Web advertising program it has been using in tandem with its lower-cost GigaPower broadband service tiers. In Austin (TX), for example, AT&T has been selling a Premiere tier of the 1-Gig service for $70 per month, when subscribers agreed to participate in Internet Preferences alongside a Standard version, without the targeted ad option, for $99 per month. AT&T said that, starting in October, all GigaPower customers, regardless of whether or not they previously chose to opt-in, will receive the stand-alone 1-Gig service for $70 – a price that happens to match up with Google Fiber’s stand-alone gigabit offering. “To simplify our offering for our customers, we plan to end the optional Internet Preferences advertising program related to our fastest internet speed tiers,” AT&T said. “As a result, all customers on these tiers will receive the best rate we have available for their speed tier in their area."
benton.org/headlines/att-drop-internet-preferences-program-gigapower | Multichannel News
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ELECTIONS 2016

TRUMP PROMISES IMMEDIATE ACTION ON CYBERSECURITY IN HIS ADMINISTRATION
[SOURCE: Donald J. Trump for President, AUTHOR: Donald Trump]
I’d like to address one of the most important aspects of America’s national security, and that’s cybersecurity. To truly make America safe, we must make cybersecurity a major priority for both the government and the private sector. Cyber theft is the fastest growing crime in the United States. As President, improving cybersecurity will be an immediate and top priority for my Administration. One of the very first things I will do is to order a thorough review of our cyber defenses and weaknesses, including all vital infrastructure. Cyber-attacks from foreign governments, especially China, Russia, and North Korea along with non-state terrorist actors and organized criminal groups, constitute one of our most critical national security concerns. As President, I will instruct the Department of Justice to create Joint Task Forces throughout the United States to work together with Federal, State, and local law enforcement authorities and international law enforcement to crush this still-developing area of crime. I will make certain that our military is the best in the world in both cyber offense and defense. I will also ask my Secretary of Defense and Joint Chiefs to present recommendations for strengthening and augmenting our Cyber Command. As a deterrent against attacks on our critical resources, the United States must possess the unquestioned capacity to launch crippling cyber counter-attacks. This is the warfare of the future, America’s dominance in this arena must be unquestioned.
benton.org/headlines/donald-j-trump-promises-immediate-action-cybersecurity-his-administration | Donald J. Trump for President | nextgov | Washington Post
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WIRELESS/SPECTRUM

MAKING THE MOST OF WIRELESS INTERNET ACCESS
[SOURCE: Medium, AUTHOR: Todd O'Boyle]
[Commentary] Barely a week goes by without some headline-grabbing announcement about super fast mobile Internet connectivity. A bevy of acronyms promise faster data speeds. And, on the horizon, wireless broadband technologies promise blazing fast connections without cable clutter. Next Century Cities, a membership organization of more than 150 mayors and city leaders, is “solutions agnostic” — we help cities find the broadband solution that fits their needs and helps deliver next-generation broadband to more Americans. Our member communities have adopted a range of solutions: some create their own networks while others partner with private providers and some even have a mixture of both. Many of our members have approached Next Century Cities with questions about how wireless technology fits in their broadband plans. Is a brave new wireless wonderland around the corner, they ask. Not exactly. Not yet anyway. Should cities ditch their wired broadband strategies on a dime and embrace all things wireless? In reality, deploying fiber is as important as ever. Advanced wireless technologies should be welcomed, but for mobile connectivity to offer consumers real choice, policymakers must take steps to promote deployment.
[Todd O’Boyle serves as Deputy Director of Next Century Cities and is the program director for Common Cause's Media and Democracy Reform Initiative]
benton.org/headlines/making-most-wireless-internet-access | Medium
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SECURITY/PRIVACY

A GRAND BARGAIN TO MAKE TECH COMPANIES TRUSTWORTHY
[SOURCE: The Atlantic, AUTHOR: Jack Balkin, Jonathan Zittrain]
[Commentary] Companies share information about us in any number of unexpected and regrettable ways, and the information and advice they provide can be inconspicuously warped by the companies’ own ideologies or by their relationships with those who wish to influence us, whether people with money or governments with agendas. To protect individual privacy rights, we’ve developed the idea of “information fiduciaries.” In the law, a fiduciary is a person or business with an obligation to act in a trustworthy manner in the interest of another. Examples are professionals and managers who handle our money or our estates. An information fiduciary is a person or business that deals not in money but in information. Doctors, lawyers, and accountants are examples; they have to keep our secrets and they can’t use the information they collect about us against our interests. Because doctors, lawyers, and accountants know so much about us, and because we have to depend on them, the law requires them to act in good faith—on pain of loss of their license to practice, and a lawsuit by their clients. The law even protects them to various degrees from being compelled to release the private information they have learned. The information age has created new kinds of entities that have many of the trappings of fiduciaries—huge online businesses, like Facebook, Google, and Uber, that collect, analyze, and use our personal information—sometimes in our interests and sometimes not. Like older fiduciaries, these businesses have become virtually indispensable. Like older fiduciaries, these companies collect a lot of personal information that could be used to our detriment. And like older fiduciaries, these businesses enjoy a much greater ability to monitor our activities than we have to monitor theirs. As a result, many people who need these services often shrug their shoulders and decide to trust them. But the important question is whether these businesses, like older fiduciaries, have legal obligations to be trustworthy. The answer is that they should.
[Jack M. Balkin is the Knight Professor of Constitutional Law and the First Amendment at Yale Law School, and the founder and director of Yale's Information Society Project. Jonathan Zittrain is a professor at Harvard Law School.]
benton.org/headlines/grand-bargain-make-tech-companies-trustworthy | Atlantic, The
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TELEVISION

CIVIL RIGHTS GROUPS SEEK SET-TOP SUNSHINE
[SOURCE: Broadcasting&Cable, AUTHOR: John Eggerton]
In a petition to the Federal Communications Commission, 19 civil rights groups including the NAACP, National Action Network, and the Multicultural Media, Telecom and Internet Council (MMTC) have asked that FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler lift the "sunshine rule" restrictions on outside parties contacting FCC decisionmakers about the set-top box revamp. Chairman Wheeler pulled the item from a planned public meeting vote last week and placed it on circulation—where it could be voted outside a public meeting—but invoked sunshine prohibitions on outside contacts as work continued on the item. The groups pointed out that sunshine restrictions are usually lifted when an item is pulled. The same groups also want the FCC to release the text of the latest proposal and allow for further public comment and included that in their petition. "Chairman Wheeler’s refusal to release the new plan for public comment makes a mockery of the process and violates the most basic principles of transparency," said National Urban League president Marc Morial. "And his decision to impose rules that silence our voices, while decisions impacting our communities are settled behind closed doors, is unacceptable. The FCC must ‘unlock the plan’ and allow for meaningful feedback.”
benton.org/headlines/civil-rights-groups-seek-set-top-sunshine | Broadcasting&Cable
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Google Spreads Web to Rural India

The internet fails to reach millions of women in the small towns and villages of India, so Google is trying to deliver it to them—by bicycle.

The company has built an army of thousands of female trainers and sent them to the far corners of the Subcontinent on two-wheelers, hoping to give rural Indian woman their first taste of the web. Each bike is equipped with a box containing internet-connected smartphones and tablets for women to train on. The idea is to give people who have never sent an email a better understanding of how being connected to the internet could improve their lives. Families that can afford to be online often chose not to be because they don’t see the value. Meanwhile, women are sometimes blocked by their families from new technology.

EU Is Pressing for Changes at Google

The European Union’s competition regulator is intent on forcing changes to Google’s business practices and levying significant fines for breaching the bloc’s antitrust rules.

For more than five years, the European Commission has been inspecting Google’s business operations on concerns the Silicon Valley company is abusing its dominance and shutting out rivals in various markets. The investigations have resulted in formal charges in several areas of Google’s practices, including over the company’s conduct with its comparison shopping service and its Android mobile operating system. The commission intends to establish that Google and Alphabet have “infringed” on EU antitrust rules, and it will seek to end these actions and fine the companies for the alleged infringements.

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