February 2017

Sen McCain on shutting down press: That's how dictators get started

Sen John McCain (R-AZ) defended the free press following criticism by President Trump, warning that a suppression of an "adversarial" press can lead to a dictatorial regime. When asked about the president's tweet from Feb 17 that accused the media of being the "enemy of the American people," Sen McCain took the opportunity to underscore the importance of free press in the modern era. "A fundamental part of that new world order was a free press. I hate the press, I hate you especially, but the fact is we need you, we need a free press," Sen McCain told Chuck Todd in an interview on NBC's "Meet the Press." "That's how dictators get started," he added later. "They get started by suppressing free press, in other words, a consolidation of power." "I am not saying that President Trump is trying to be a dictator. I am just saying we need to learn the lessons of history," he said, warning about any attempts to "shut down" the press.

How Trump’s obsession with the media endangers his presidency — and all of us

[Commentary] We’ve never had a president who was this obsessed with the news media, and that obsession is going to continue to shape his presidency. Cable news in particular seems to be a far more important influence on Trump’s thinking than any intelligence briefing or government economic data. And that means we’d better get used to the chaos of Trump’s first month in office, because it’s going to last for four years. Cable news is ruling Trump’s attention. The erratic nature of cable news makes Trump’s focus more erratic.

The Sad Way Trump’s War with CNN Could Keep Cable Cheaper

President Donald Trump’s senior advisor and son-in-law Jared Kushner reportedly met recently with Time Warner executives to complain about CNN’s coverage of the president. Any visit from a White House official seeking to stifle journalists is disturbing. But Time Warner, which owns CNN, has another problem that’s all tied up in presidential politics.

The cable and entertainment giant is seeking to sell itself to AT&T, a mega-merger that would require federal approval. At this point, thanks to Kushner’s visit, any move by the Department of Justice or the Federal Communications Commission to block the merger would end up looking political. That’s too bad, because there are plenty of good reasons to be skeptical of the deal. AT&T could hike the rates that other pay TV providers have to pay to provide channels like HBO and CNN. It could refuse to license that content to streaming video services. It could give Time Warner an edge over competitors on its wireless network by exempting its content from data caps. All that stands to get lost in Trump’s petty war on the press.

FEC commissioner’s departure sets up test of how Trump will approach money in politics

Ann Ravel, one of the three Democratic appointees on the deeply divided Federal Election Commission, announced that she will leave her post March 1, setting up one of the first tests of how President Trump will approach campaign finance regulation. The opening at the FEC provides Trump with an opportunity to demonstrate the tack he plans to take toward the growing reach of the wealthy in politics. There was a surge of massive donations by the super-rich in the 2016 presidential race, with just 10 mega-donor individuals and couples contributing nearly 20 percent of the $1.1 billion raised by super PACs by the end of August, according to a Washington Post analysis. Trump made denouncing big donors a centerpiece of his presidential bid, lambasting the role of super PACs and promising to “drain the swamp.”

Sen Wyden asks DHS to explain border demands for cellphone, Internet passwords

Can the government demand you unlock your phone at the airport? Sen Ron Wyden (D-OR) is demanding the Department of Homeland Security explain reports that it's doing just that.

Sen Wyden, a senior member of the Senate Intelligence Committee, is set to send a letter to DHS Secretary John Kelly calling reports that Americans were required to unlock their smartphones "deeply troubling," asking what legal authority allows for it. "These reports are deeply troubling, particularly in light of your recent comments suggesting that (Customs and Border Protection) might begin demanding social media passwords from visitors to the United States," Sen Wyden wrote. "With those passwords, CBP may then be able to log in to accounts and access data that they would otherwise only be able to get from Internet companies with a warrant. Circumventing the normal protections for such private information is simply unacceptable."

Yahoo salvages Verizon deal by giving Verizon a $350-million discount

Yahoo is taking a $350-million hit on its previously announced $4.8-billion sale to Verizon Communications in a concession for security lapses that exposed personal information stored in more than 1 billion Yahoo user accounts. The revised agreement announced Feb 21 eases investor worries that Verizon would demand a discount of at least $1 billion or cancel the deal entirely. The hacking bombshells, disclosed after the two companies agreed on a sale, represent the two biggest security breaches in Internet history. The security breaches raised concerns that people might decrease their usage of Yahoo email and other digital services that Verizon is buying. A smaller audience makes Yahoo's services less valuable because it reduces the opportunities to show ads — the main reason that Verizon struck the deal seven months ago.

Left finds new online tools to fight Trump

Liberal groups are turning to new technology to help organize their fight against President Trump's administration. Activists are no strangers to harnessing technology and social media to promote their cause, but organizers say a new generation of tools is helping them build larger movements and sustain their protests. Organizers of high-profile events, including the demonstrations against the Dakota Access Pipeline and the record-setting Women's March on Inauguration weekend, are using a new platform from the nonprofit group The Action Network to improve communications with members and organize on the fly. Another new digital tool is Hustle, a growing mass-texting app, that lets groups better communicate directly with supporters on the ground.

Why Supreme Court Nominee Judge Gorsuch is a regulatory skeptic

One unreported item regarding President Trump’s nominee for the US Supreme Court, Judge Neil Gorsuch of the US Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit, is that he would bring more private practice exposure to telecommunications law to the court than anyone in history. Judge Gorsuch spent a decade at one of DC’s premier law firms, Kellogg, Huber, Hansen, Todd, Evans & Figel PLLC. According to Vault, a reference source that profiles leading law firms, Kellogg Huber Hansen has “a particular depth of experience in the telecommunications industry, representing companies like Verizon and AT&T in both court litigation and dealings with the FCC.” This environment, which Gorsuch experienced daily as a practitioner, likely helped shape his view regarding the power of the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) and other federal agencies involved in regulatory decisionmaking.

At least as far as judicial review of FCC and other agency matters, Gorsuch clearly represents a philosophy that is more skeptical of regulatory overreach and more deferential to Congress. This may send a mixed message for political conservatives who are supporting his nomination—less regulatory intrusion, but perhaps a more activist judiciary. For political liberals, Judge Gorsuch’s assertion of a more powerful role for courts might inspire greater confidence that he would check executive authority by the Trump administration and its successors during what may be his very long tenure on the Supreme Court.

Disability Advisory Committee Announcement Of Date, Time And Agenda Of Next Meeting

The first meeting of the Federal Communications Commission's Disability Advisory Committee’s second term will take place on Tuesday, March 21, 2017, from 9:00 am to 1:30 pm Eastern Time, at the FCC’s headquarters.

At its March 21st meeting, DAC members will discuss (i) the roles and responsibilities of the Committee and its members; (ii) issues that the Committee will address; (iii) meeting schedules, (iv) issues to be assigned to each subcommittee; and (iv) any other topics relevant to the DAC’s work. The meeting will be led by the new DAC co-chairs: Lise Hamlin, Director of Public Policy of the Hearing Loss Association of America, and Sam Joehl, Principal Technical Consultant of the SSB BART Group. In addition, initial subcommittee meetings may be held following the meeting of the full DAC.

The Mark Zuckerberg Manifesto Is a Blueprint for Destroying Journalism

It’s not that Mark Zuckerberg set out to dismantle the news business when he founded Facebook 13 years ago. Yet news organizations are perhaps the biggest casualty of the world Zuckerberg built. There’s reason to believe things are going to get worse.

A sprawling new manifesto by Zuckerberg, published to Facebook on Feb 16, should set off new alarm bells for journalists, and heighten news organizations’ sense of urgency about how they—and their industry—can survive in a Facebook-dominated world. Zuckerberg uses abstract language in his memo—he wants Facebook to develop “the social infrastructure for community,” he writes—but what he’s really describing is building a media company with classic journalistic goals: The Facebook of the future, he writes, will be “for keeping us safe, for informing us, for civic engagement, and for inclusion of all.”

Benton

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