February 2017

BENTON'S COMMUNICATIONS-RELATED HEADLINES for THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 9, 2017

Today's Events

• The Next Three Billion: Initiatives to Bring the Whole World Online, New America -- https://www.benton.org/node/254459
• Community Connectivity Initiative-Webinar Series, NTIA -- https://www.benton.org/node/245384

POLICYMAKERS
   When the Pai FCC Abandons the Public Interest, Who You Gonna Call?
   Under new Trump chairman, FCC means business - Adonis Hoffman op-ed
   FCC Chairman Pai’s Alternative Personalities, Facts, Economics and Law—Part One - TeleFrieden
   How FCC Chairman Ajit Pai Became a Rising Republican Star [links to Benton summary]
   Senate confirms Jeff Sessions as attorney general [links to Washington Post]
   FTC Acting Chairman Ohlhausen Names Thomas Pahl Acting Director of the Agency’s Bureau of Consumer Protection - press release [links to Benton summary]
   In Jessica Rich, FTC loses cornerstone of privacy program - IAPP op-ed [links to Benton summary]

INTERNET/BROADBAND
   FCC Tweaks E-Rate Program - press release
   Ranking Member Nelson lashes out at FCC chairman for scrapping E-rate report
   Implications of a Trump White House for broadband policy - Blair Levin

NET NEUTRALITY
   Chairman Blackburn: Let FCC Make First Move on Net Neutrality
   Legislative Net Neutrality Solution Draws A Crowd
   Here's How Net Neutrality Advocates Will Fight Trump's FCC [links to Benton summary]
   The Real Question Behind Zero-Rating: Who Should Pay? - Medium op-ed [links to Benton summary]
   Bruce Kushnick: Don’t Believe Those Against Net Neutrality, Title II and Privacy—Funded by the Phone, Cable and Wireless Associations: USTA, NCTA, & the CTIA [links to Huffington Post]

FCC REFORM/TELECOM ACT
   FCC Enforcement Reform - press release
   FCC Reform: Let's Start with the Enforcement Bureau - AT&T blog [links to Benton summary]
   Needed: A Universal FCC Deadline Policy - press release
   Will the Telecommunications Act get a much-needed update as it turns 21? - Richard Adler op-ed [links to Benton summary]

COMMUNICATIONS & DEMOCRACY
   Supreme Court Nominee Calls Trump’s Attacks on Judiciary ‘Demoralizing’ [links to New York Times]
   Shutting Down Speech by Sen Elizabeth Warren, GOP Amplifies Her Message [links to New York Times]
   Jake Tapper spars with Kellyanne Conway over White House falsehoods [links to Benton summary]
   Jake Tapper and Kellyanne Conway Clashed. Will Critics Take On Tapper? [links to New York Times]
   Sean Spicer’s chilling words [links to Benton summary]
   Trump administration seen as more truthful than news media: poll [links to Benton summary]
   New app helps people track internet censorship [links to CNN]
   The Language Divide [links to Technology Academics Policy]
   Jennifer Rubin: Trump traumatizes tech [links to Washington Post]
   Politics Have Turned Facebook Into a Steaming Cauldron of Hate [links to Medium]
   A Low-Tech Guide to Becoming More Politically Active [links to New York Times]
   Gov. Kasich to newspaper editors: 'I want you to survive' [links to Benton summary]

SECURITY/PRIVACY
   US visitors may have to reveal social media passwords to enter country
   Google case illustrates need for online bill of rights - editorial
   Cellphone Spy Tools Have Flooded Local Police Departments [links to Benton summary]
   NSA contractor indicted over mammoth theft of classified data [links to Reuters]
   FBI official: No immediate changes to encryption policy under Trump [links to Hill, The]
   Why did Vizio spy on you? [links to San Diego Union-Tribune]

WIRELESS/SPECTRUM
   Gigabit Libraries Network: "Beyond the Walls" Awards - press release [links to Benton summary]
   Verizon, T-Mobile run fastest LTE networks, OpenSignal finds [links to Fierce]
   5G is still years away, but at least it has a logo now [links to Verge, The]

ADVERTISING
   Not so fast—Comcast told to stop claiming it has “fastest Internet” [links to Benton summary]
   Facebook cracks down on ads that discriminate [links to Washington Post]

CONTENT
   Code-Dependent: Pros and Cons of the Algorithm Age - Pew research [links to Benton summary]
   The disturbing trend of live-streamed suicides [links to Washington Post]

JOURNALISM
   Op-Ed: We were the victims of fake news [links to Brookings]
   A felonious former Illinois governor’s surprising contribution to journalism [links to Columbia Journalism Review]

HEALTH
   Could Rural Healthcare Technology Address Resource Shortages? [links to telecompetitor]

OWNERSHIP
   Public Knowledge Welcomes YODA Bill to Restore Ownership Rights in our Digital Devices [links to Public Knowledge]

LABOR
   Why Silicon Valley Wouldn’t Work Without Immigrants [links to New York Times]
   Intel, Trump tout new $7 billion investment to create 10K jobs [links to Benton summary]
   Op-Ed: Coming technology will likely destroy millions of jobs. Is Trump ready? [links to Washington Post]

EMERGENCY COMMUNICATIONS
   Facebook is expanding Safety Check so people can offer help during a disaster [links to Vox]

REGULATION
   Why Companies May Behave Themselves Even as Regulations Are Eased - analysis

STORIES FROM ABROAD
   Radio Free Europe, Voice of America launch new Russian-language TV channel - press release [links to Benton summary]
   EU Agrees to Cross-Border Access to Streaming Services [links to Variety]
   Hollywood Seeks New Business Terms With China [links to Wall Street Journal]

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POLICYMAKERS

WHEN THE PAI FCC ABANDONS THE PUBLIC INTEREST, WHO YOU GONNA CALL?
[SOURCE: Benton Foundation, AUTHOR: Adrianne Furniss]
On February 6, 2017, Andrew Jay Schwartzman – the Benton Senior Counselor at the Public Interest Communications Law Project at Georgetown University Law Center's Institute for Public Representation – appeared before the US Court of Appeals for the DC Circuit in an unusual role. The Federal Communications Commission was scheduled to defend its rules to lower the predatory prices inmates and their families pay to make prison phone calls. But with new FCC leadership in place, the FCC decided to not defend the rules, thus abdicating to Schwartzman the protection of the public interest.
benton.org/headlines/when-pai-fcc-abandons-public-interest-who-you-gonna-call | Benton Foundation
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FCC CHAIRMAN PAI'S ALTERNATIVE PERSONALITIES, FACTS, ECONOMICS AND LAW -- PART ONE
[SOURCE: TeleFrieden, AUTHOR: Rob Frieden]
[Commentary] Federal Communications Commission Chairman Pai has launched a charm offensive showcasing his commitment to transparency and regulatory restraint. However, behind the scenes, he ignores due process, the rule of law, FCC tradition, bipartisanship and fair play to shut down previous FCC initiatives of which he disapproves.
benton.org/headlines/fcc-chairman-pais-alternative-personalities-facts-economics-and-law-part-one | TeleFrieden
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INTERNET/BROADBAND

FCC TWEAKS E-RATE PROGRAM
[SOURCE: Federal Communications Commission, AUTHOR: Kris Anne Monteith]
In this Order, the Federal Communications Commission’s Wireline Competition Bureau grants two limited waivers of the requirement to comply with certain category of service classification standards established in the funding year 2017 E-rate Eligible Services List. First, we waive the obligation to apply the FY 2017 ESL classification standards to connections provided under pre-existing multi-year contracts if doing so would change the eligibility of the connections from Category Two to Category One. Second, for funding year 2017 applications, we waive the requirement to classify connections between different schools and libraries sharing a single building as Category One services. Pursuant to this waiver, applicants may elect to seek Category Two funding for customer-owned or -controlled inside wiring that connects different schools and libraries within the same building
benton.org/headlines/fcc-tweaks-e-rate-program | Federal Communications Commission
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NELSON ON REPORT REDACTION
[SOURCE: The Hill, AUTHOR: Harper Neidig]
Sen. Bill Nelson (D-FL), the ranking Democrat on the Senate Commerce Committee, tore into Federal Communications Commission Chairman Ajit Pai for scrubbing a commission progress report on the E-rate, a program that helps provide broadband connections to schools and libraries. “Your unilateral action last week to quash a staff report providing an analysis and progress report of the agency’s E-Rate modernization efforts shows a troubling disinterest in the facts,” Sen Nelson wrote in a letter to Chairman Pai. “The facts are these: the revitalized E-Rate program is now connecting more schools and libraries in every state with faster and better broadband. More students in more places, including in more rural areas, can now get access to the tools they need for a digital education, which is essential if our nation’s students are to compete in the 21st century economy.”
benton.org/headlines/ranking-member-nelson-lashes-out-fcc-chairman-scrapping-e-rate-report | Hill, The | B&C
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IMPLICATIONS OF A TRUMP WHITE HOUSE FOR BROADBAND POLICY
[SOURCE: Brookings, AUTHOR: Blair Levin]
[Commentary] If affordable and abundant broadband is integral to the continued growth of the American economy , then how the market reacts to Trump administration policy will determine whether the country can deliver this necessary infrastructure. Here are the four major areas where I expect the Trump administration to impact broadband policy and my predictions for how those reforms may look:
Expect a change in how the government considers the competitive landscape
Expect a change in the range of government oversight
Expect a change in the center of gravity from the FCC to Congress
Expect an increase in mergers and a change in merger reviews
(This is the second of three blogs discussing the state of broadband policy as a new administration and Congress begin.)
benton.org/headlines/implications-trump-white-house-broadband-policy | Brookings
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NET NEUTRALITY

BLACKBURN: LET FCC MAKE FIRST MOVE ON NET NEUTRALITY
[SOURCE: Broadcasting&Cable, AUTHOR: John Eggerton]
House Communications Subcommittee Chairman Marsha Blackburn (R-TN) says she will give the Federal Communications Commission first crack at the Open Internet order before taking legislative steps. That comes amidst some Democratic Sens' and others declaring to fight for the Title II-based net neutrality rules, including any weakening by Congress, while other legislators and industry groups are pushing for a legislative solution. Chairman Blackburn—joined by Full Commerce Committee Chairman Greg Walden (R-OR), was asked what she thought the timetable would be for a network neutrality bill. She said "let's let the FCC go in and do what they are able to do, make the first move on that. I think we allow them to take those first steps." Asked how the FCC's and Congress' role in addressing the rules would dovetail, she said that after FCC Chairman Ajit Pai takes whatever actions he takes, "the opportunity that we will have as a legislative body will be to take action that will move forward on some principles and definitions and make sure we don't end up in the situation again where we had agency overreach and an agency that decides they want to go off script."
benton.org/headlines/chairman-blackburn-let-fcc-make-first-move-net-neutrality | Broadcasting&Cable | Morning Consult
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LEGISLATIVE NET NEUTRALITY SOLUTION DRAWS A CROWD
[SOURCE: Broadcasting&Cable, AUTHOR: John Eggerton]
While Democratic Sens were suggesting that the Federal Communications Commission's Open Internet order is fine as is and nothing is needed to be done to alter those protections—either legislatively and certainly not a rollback by the FCC—a legislative solution to resolve the issue was getting a lot of votes from outside groups Tuesday. That came after Sens Ed Markey (D-MA), Al Franken (D-MN) and others held a press conference to say they would fight any attempts by the FCC to reverse the Open Internet order or legislative attempts in a Republican-controlled Congress to weaken it. In a joint press statement, The Multicultural Media, Telecom and Internet Council, the National Urban League and others called for "a permanent statutory solution that enshrines the basic open internet principles into law. These core principles are not controversial and should not be subject to endless litigation, regulation, and reconsideration. A statute locking in net neutrality would protect net neutrality no matter how the political winds blow."
benton.org/headlines/legislative-net-neutrality-solution-draws-crowd | Broadcasting&Cable
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FCC REFORM

FCC ENFORCEMENT REFORM
[SOURCE: Federal Communications Commission, AUTHOR: FCC Chairman Ajit Pai]
I am instituting an important process reform measure to enable Commissioners to become more fully involved in the agency’s enforcement activities.
One of the ways in which the FCC’s Enforcement Bureau resolves an investigation is by entering into a consent decree, in which the party being investigated agrees to comply with certain terms in exchange for the government closing its inquiry. But over the past few years, in cases in which the full Commission has previously voted to propose and/or impose a forfeiture, such consent decrees have generally not been presented to the Commissioners for a vote. Instead, they have simply been signed by the Chief of the Enforcement Bureau at the direction of the Chairman’s Office. Indeed, many times, Commissioners were barely given any notice of such consent decrees before they were publicly released by the Bureau.
That process ends now. If Commissioners vote to propose and/or impose a forfeiture, the Enforcement Bureau should not settle that matter without their approval. Therefore, I have instructed the Enforcement Bureau that starting today, any consent decree settling a Notice of Apparent Liability or Forfeiture Order issued by the full Commission must now be approved by a vote of the full Commission. This will help promote Commissioners’ involvement in and accountability for important enforcement decisions.
We are putting this reform into practice immediately. This afternoon, the Enforcement Bureau circulated a consent decree for the Commission’s consideration that would conclude an important investigation previously approved by the full Commission. I look forward to working closely with my colleagues on that matter and other consumer protection efforts in the months to come.
benton.org/headlines/fcc-enforcement-reform | Federal Communications Commission | TVNewsCheck | B&C
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DEADLINES, DEADLINES, DEADLINES
[SOURCE: Federal Communications Commission, AUTHOR: FCC Commissioner Michael O’Rielly]
For Federal Communications Commission rules and procedures to be truly effective, everyone needs to know with a certain level of confidence what will happen if applicable deadlines are missed. Not only does this not exist today, but the Commission’s inconsistency with how it responds to late filings borders on arbitrary and capricious. To rectify, I suggest it is time to establish a universally-applied policy that, from now on, everyone is expected to either comply with all applicable deadlines or face the consequences. Let’s remove the ambiguity and wide disparity of approaches once and for all. As it stands now, the FCC is unintentionally favoring some parties over others through its disparate treatment of its deadlines. Moreover, combining a short amnesty window to rectify current instances where licensees may not be in compliance with the implementation of firm deadlines, going forward, would help restore administrative certainty, transparency, parity, and confidence in our enforcement process.
benton.org/headlines/needed-universal-fcc-deadline-policy | Federal Communications Commission
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UNDER PAI, FCC MEANS BUSINESS
[SOURCE: The Hill, AUTHOR: Adonis Hoffman]
[Commentary] As much as the Tom Wheeler Federal Communications Commission was known for its pro-consumer bias, the Ajit Pai FCC will become known for its pro-business bent. It is not that consumers will be forgotten; it is that Chairman Pai is an unabashed free-market trumpeter and proponent of limited federal government. As such, he is expected to encourage the private sector not only to pull its weight on competition, but also on consumer protection. In opinion after opinion, Pai maintains that the key challenge for businesses — both large and small —is complying with an overweight regulatory regime. This philosophy, articulated often and eloquently by Pai, sits foursquare with the Trump doctrine and will guide Pai's actions, and most importantly, communications policy, for the foreseeable future.
[Adonis Hoffman is chairman of Business in the Public Interest and an adjunct professor at Georgetown University. He served from 2013 to 2015 as chief of staff and senior legal advisor to a FCC commissioner.]
benton.org/headlines/under-new-trump-chairman-fcc-means-business | Hill, The
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SECURITY/PRIVACY

US VISITORS MAY HAVE TO REVEAL SOCIAL MEDIA PASSWORDS
[SOURCE: ars technica, AUTHOR: David Kravets]
US Department of Homeland Security Secretary John Kelly has informed Congress that the DHS is considering requiring refugees and visa applicants from seven Muslim-majority nations to hand over their social media credentials from Facebook and other sites as part of a security check. "We want to get on their social media, with passwords: What do you do, what do you say?" he told the House Committee on Homeland Security Feb 7. "If they don't want to cooperate, then you don't come in." Kelly told the House panel that the idea was among "the things we're thinking about" to bolster border security.
benton.org/headlines/us-visitors-may-have-reveal-social-media-passwords-enter-country | Ars Technica
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ONLINE BILL OF RIGHTS
[SOURCE: San Jose Mercury News, AUTHOR: Editorial staff]
[Commentary] If Congress and the president won’t take up the pressing need for an online consumer bill of rights, the California Legislature should. Lawmakers have to provide a road map for striking a proper balance between the public’s right to information and individuals’ right to privacy. Ideally, the laws would foster free expression but also provide privacy for individuals and businesses where it is merited. (And yes, ‘merit’ is the concept to be defined.) The lack of a legal guide leaves Silicon Valley giants like Google and Facebook struggling to deal with a legal quagmire. The United States needs to join other advanced nations and establish an online consumer bill of rights. It will help the courts, the tech industry and individuals struggling to make sense of challenges unimaginable in the day of Thomas Jefferson.
benton.org/headlines/google-case-illustrates-need-online-bill-rights | San Jose Mercury News
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REGULATION

INVESTORS AND REGULATION
[SOURCE: Wall Street Journal, AUTHOR: Ken Brown]
The Trump administration has pledged to boost economic growth by cutting two regulations for every new one created. Investors have responded by bidding up stocks in the hope that profits will surge. In the past companies would have been off to the races, building belching smokestacks and cutting back on worker safety, though, all in the name of profits. Today, businesses will rejoice at reduced red tape and might invest in areas they have avoided, but few will pollute more or risk damaging their reputations as good corporate citizens. The extent to which businesses will take advantage of the easier regulations will determine whether the economy gets the boost the administration is seeking. Business that sell to consumers are especially sensitive to their reputations. But all U.S. companies are increasingly wary of how their shareholders might respond to their behavior. Investors that incorporate businesses’ records on the environment, social factors such as diversity and good governance characteristics into their decisions account for $9 trillion in investment assets in the US.
benton.org/headlines/why-companies-may-behave-themselves-even-regulations-are-eased | Wall Street Journal
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