March 2, 2017 (Master of His Own Messages)
BENTON'S COMMUNICATIONS-RELATED HEADLINES for THURSDAY, MARCH 2, 2017
Today's Events
- Exploring the Value of Spectrum to the U.S. Economy, Senate Commerce Committee hearing -- https://www.benton.org/node/255423
- Cyber Strategy and Policy, Senate Armed Services Committee -- https://www.benton.org/node/255708
COMMUNICATIONS & DEMOCRACY
President Trump Moves to Become Master of His Own Messages
Trump, the press, the First Amendment and Thomas Jefferson - WaPo analysis
Press freedom organizations are teaming up to start a news site
ABC News president: 'We’ve expressed our concerns' to White House over transparency
Vice President Pence just made clear that Trump’s media cease-fire was a one-night-only thing [links to Benton summary]
Should the media boycott the White House? [links to Washington Post]
WH Memo: For the Heads of Departments and Agencies - press release [links to Benton summary]
White House rebuffs ethics office recommendation to discipline Kellyanne Conway over clothing line endorsement
47 Million Viewers Watched Trump’s First Address to Congress [links to New York Times]
Trump has been pushing fake news for years, Obama’s former press secretary says [links to Washington Post]
Get ready for #ConfirmGorsuch as Twitter army takes on nomination [links to Washington Post]
Trump tweets and the TV news stories behind them [links to CNN]
In Defense of Cultural Criticism in Trump’s America [links to New Republic]
Obama Administration Rushed to Preserve Intelligence of Russian Election Hacking [links to New York Times]
Niloofar Razi Howe: Russia carried out a digital campaign to disrupt our democracy, but did not change vote counts. [links to Christian Science Monitor]
NET NEUTRALITY
Net neutrality is two years old this week — and Republicans still want to kill it
Republicans Split on Paid Prioritization
Trump's FCC is out to kill your small business - USAToday op-ed
The New FCC Chairman’s Plan to Undermine Net Neutrality [links to Benton summary]
Under Ajit Pai’s FCC, mobile ISPs can charge tolls to bypass data caps [links to Benton summary]
Racial Justice Leaders Mark the Two-Year Anniversary of the Net Neutrality Rules [links to Benton summary]
FCC Chair Claims Broadband Investment At Historic Low Level Because Of Net Neutrality; That’s Not What The Numbers Say - analysis
INTERNET/BROADBAND
Over 60 Mayors and Municipal Leaders Send Letter Calling on Congress to Include Broadband in Infrastructure Plans
Chairman Thune Open to Moving New Broadband Infrastructure Spending Through FCC
NTCA to Senate: Experience Counts With Broadband Subsidies [links to Benton summary]
Broadband is the infrastructure challenge of the 21st Century - The Hill op-ed [links to Benton summary]
What the World Wide Web of the 1990s can teach us about Internet policy today
SECURITY/PRIVACY
FCC Moves To Ensure Consumers Have Uniform Online Privacy Protection - public notice
FCC Chairman & FTC Chairman on Protecting Americans' Online Privacy - press release
FCC Commissioners React to Stay from Data Security Regulation from Broadband Privacy Order - press release [links to Benton summary]
Sen Flake: Settling a Bureaucratic Turf War in Online Privacy Rules [links to Wall Street Journal]
If President Trump Spoils Privacy Pact, We'll Pull It, EU Official Warns
Surveillance Battle in House Focuses on Number of US Citizens Affected [links to Benton summary]
White House supports renewal of spy law without reforms [links to Reuters]
i2Coalition Delivers Letter To House Leadership Advocating Section 702 Reform of FISA Amendments Act [links to Internet Infrastructure Coalition]
How regulators can make smart devices more secure against hackers [links to Washington Post]
TELECOM
Sen Schumer asks FCC for waiver to trace Jewish center bomb threats [links to Benton summary]
FCC Statement on Request to Help Jewish Community Centers - press release [links to Benton summary]
EMERGENCY COMMUNICATIONS
States Must Stop Raiding 9-1-1 Fees - FCC Commissioner O’Rielly
FirstNet’s Message to Tech: First Responders Could Be the Next Big Market [links to nextgov]
JOURNALISM
Craigslist founder gives $1 million to ProPublica [links to Poynter]
10 tools to tackle common problems journalists face [links to Columbia Journalism Review]
Readers Less Likely to Recall Source When They Find News via Social Media [links to Media Shift]
ADVERTISING
Why a commercial about tax policy will run during SNL this week [links to Washington Post]
BROADCASTING
Broadcasting Industry Bullish on Chairman Pai, Concerned About Spectrum Repacking [links to Morning Consult]
WIRELESS/SPECTRUM
Verizon: 'We need to have a single standard' for 5G [links to Fierce]
OWNERSHIP
Uphill Battle Expected for AT&T-Time Warner Foes [links to Benton summary]
Next test for Trump FCC could be Tribune-Sinclair [links to USAToday]
EDUCATION
Silicon Valley teacher: Don’t confuse educational technology that helps kids learn — and doesn’t [links to Washington Post]
CHILDREN & MEDIA
Kids Entering The Digital Age At Young Ages [links to Benton summary]
CONTENT
The next-generation operating model for the digital world [links to McKinsey]
Facebook Introduces New Suicide Prevention Tools [links to AdWeek]
OPEN GOV
Open Data Privacy Playbook - research
LOBBYING
House Commerce Committee Chairman Walden Dines With Telecommunications Lobbyists [links to Benton summary]
POLICYMAKERS
Trump Administration Withdraws Nomination of Jessica Rosenworcel to the FCC
US Secretary of Commerce Wilbur L. Ross, Jr. Addresses Department of Commerce Employees [links to Department of Commerce]
Senate confirms Ryan Zinke as interior secretary [links to Washington Post]
He Will Soon Run a Fifth of the Nation. Meet Ryan Zinke. [links to New York Times]
Why the Trump Agenda Is Moving Slowly: The Republicans’ Wonk Gap [links to Benton summary]
Obamas Make Book Deal With Penguin Random House [links to New York Times]
Senate Commerce Committee Staff [links to Benton summary]
Former FCC Legislative Affairs Deputy Director Sean Conway Joins Wilkinson Barker Knauer [links to Wilkinson Barker Knauer]
COMPANY NEWS
Windstream says half of its consumer base will get 25 Mbps, higher speeds [links to Fierce]
Frontier enables 1 million homes with 50 Mbps amidst 72K broadband subscriber loss [links to Fierce]
STORIES FROM ABROAD
If President Trump Spoils Privacy Pact, We'll Pull It, EU Official Warns
Europe’s largest telecoms operators have warned the European Commission that plans for the region to take a leading role in 5G mobile services are in danger of becoming a “pipe dream” given the capital constraints on the sector [links to Financial Times]
COMMUNICATIONS & DEMOCRACY
MASTER OF MESSAGE
[SOURCE: New York Times, AUTHOR: Maggie Haberman, Michael Grynbaum]
All presidents lunch with major news anchors. But a recent White House gathering was different. The President kept his guests 30 minutes beyond the allotted hour, was gracious and spoke so much that he left his lunch untouched — a recognition, those close to him say, that he must sell himself to the Washington news media because he believes the people who work for him cannot. President Trump, after all, had conceded only the day before on national television that “in terms of messaging, I would give myself a C or a C-plus.” In the same interview, on “Fox & Friends,” the President described his press secretary, Sean Spicer, as “a fine human being.” The language struck close Trump associates as a dismissive turn from a man who relishes hyperbole. Christopher Ruddy, the chief executive of Newsmax Media and a longtime friend of President Trump, said that the President was experiencing “a lot of angst” about his negative coverage. A master media manipulator and storyteller, candidate Trump went without a traditional press secretary during the presidential campaign, preferring to field queries on his own. Now he is increasingly taking command of his administration’s message making, and privately expressing frustration with a White House press office under siege amid leaks and infighting.
benton.org/headlines/president-trump-moves-become-master-his-own-messages | New York Times
Share: Twitter | Facebook
back to top
TRUMP, THE PRESS, THE FIRST AMENDMENT, AND JEFFERSON
[SOURCE: Washington Post, AUTHOR: David Post]
Does the recent “Gaggle Order” — the decision to ban the New York Times, CNN, Politico, Buzz Feed, and the Los Angeles Times reporters from Sean Spicer’s press “gaggle” — violate the First Amendment? Turns out that’s a close question. It certainly looks, at first glance, like a prohibited content-based (or possibly even viewpoint-based) discrimination limiting the affected outlets’ ability to receive information, which would subject it to the highest form of First Amendment scrutiny and require some “compelling” justification to be constitutional. On the other hand, surely the First Amendment doesn’t prevent a president (or his press secretary) from, say, granting an exclusive interview (or providing a “leak”) to one (favored) reporter or paper or TV network and not another.
benton.org/headlines/trump-press-first-amendment-and-thomas-jefferson | Washington Post
Share: Twitter | Facebook
back to top
PRESS FREEDOM ORGANIZATIONS ARE TEAMING UP TO START A NEWS SITE
[SOURCE: Poynter, AUTHOR: Benjamin Mullin]
Later in 2017, a coalition of organizations including the Committee to Protect Journalists, the Freedom of the Press Foundation, the Reporters Committee for the Freedom of the Press, the Knight First Amendment Center and the Index on Censorship will launch an as-yet unnamed news site to track press freedom violations in the United States. The site will not only track incidents spurred by the Trump administration, but his election and anti-press rhetoric was a major catalyst in its founding. The site, which is slated to launch sometime in the next two to three months, will have one full-time reporter and feature research and analysis from the partner organizations. CPJ is funding the reporting position (they're fresh from a fundraising bump), and the Freedom of the Press Foundation is contributing the site's development work. The project was conceived at a meeting of those organizations about a month ago, said Trevor Timm, the executive director of the Freedom of the Press Foundation. They discussed the lack of a comprehensive database for "press freedom incidents" in the United States — arrests of journalists, border security shakedowns and equipment confiscation.
benton.org/headlines/press-freedom-organizations-are-teaming-start-news-site | Poynter
Share: Twitter | Facebook
back to top
ABC NEWS PRESIDENT ON WH TRANSPARENCY
[SOURCE: Politico, AUTHOR: Kelsey Sutton]
ABC News President James Goldston has pledged to “stand with our colleagues who cover the White House" and "protest” if the White House does not operate with transparency, he said in response to a petition imploring the broadcasting company to take a stand over the White House’s decision to exclude news organizations from a press gaggle Feb 27. “We’ve expressed our concerns to the White House that it operates in a way that’s open, transparent and fair,” Goldston said. “And we will continue to stand with our colleagues who cover the White House and to protest when any government official fails to live up to those standards.” Earlier, Goldston received a petition signed by more than 230 former ABC News executives, correspondents, producers and other former staffers calling on him to refuse to take part in White House briefings if news organizations are barred from attending.
benton.org/headlines/abc-news-president-weve-expressed-our-concerns-white-house-over-transparency | Politico
Share: Twitter | Facebook
back to top
WH REBUFFS ETHICS OFFICE RECOMMENDATION
[SOURCE: Washington Post, AUTHOR: Matea Gold]
The White House Counsel's Office has concluded that senior adviser Kellyanne Conway acted “inadvertently” when she endorsed Ivanka Trump's clothing line, rebuffing a recommendation by the top federal ethics official that she be disciplined for an apparent violation of federal rules. Stefan C. Passantino, who handles White House ethics issues as deputy counsel to President Trump, wrote in a letter that his office concluded Conway was speaking in a “light, offhand manner” when she touted the Ivanka Trump line during a Feb. 9 appearance on “Fox & Friends.” At the time, she was addressing efforts by activists to persuade retailers such as Nordstrom to drop Ivanka Trump-branded items. “We concluded that Ms. Conway acted inadvertently and is highly unlikely to do so again,” Passantino wrote to Walter M. Schaub, Jr., director of the Office of Government Ethics, adding that Conway made the comments “without nefarious motive or intent to benefit personally.” Passantino said he met with Conway and advised her that her remarks “implicated the prohibition on using one's official position to endorse any product or service.” “Ms. Conway has acknowledged her understanding of the Standards and has reiterated her commitment to abiding by them in the future,” he added.
benton.org/headlines/white-house-rebuffs-ethics-office-recommendation-discipline-kellyanne-conway-over-clothing | Washington Post | Huffington Post
Share: Twitter | Facebook
back to top
NET NEUTRALITY
NET NEUTRALITY IS 2 -- REPUBLICANS STILL WANT TO KILL IT
[SOURCE: The Verge, AUTHOR: Jacob Kastrenakes]
Feb 26 marked the two-year anniversary of network neutrality passing at the Federal Communications Commission. Unfortunately for advocates, the anniversary hasn’t been so sweet. “It’s kind of tragic that we're observing the second anniversary of its passing with all signs indicating a frontal assault is going to be launched against it,” said Michael Copps, a former FCC commissioner. You’d think that with net neutrality now in effect, we’d be able to look around to see what kind of impact the policy has had — whether it’s lived up to advocates high hopes or whether it’s destroyed the internet as opponents warned. But for the most part, net neutrality opponents are sticking with the same arguments they used two years ago: the rules rely on law that’s too old, they’ll hurt investment, and they’ll leave internet providers uncertain of their fate. “Contrary to the over-hyped fears of the carriers and their friends, nothing bad has come to pass,” says Gigi Sohn, who worked as a counselor to former FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler while the net neutrality rules were being put in place. “They continue to invest heavily in their networks, they’re buying other properties ... they continue to buy edge companies and other telecoms.”
benton.org/headlines/net-neutrality-two-years-old-week-and-republicans-still-want-kill-it | Verge, The
Share: Twitter | Facebook
back to top
REPUBLICANS SPLIT ON PAID PRIORITIZATION
[SOURCE: Politico, AUTHOR: Ashley Gold, Margaret Harding McGill]
Paid prioritization appears to be a flashpoint and Republican leaders consider next steps on network neutrality. On one side, some GOP lawmakers, like House Communications Subcommittee Chairman Marsha Blackburn (R-TN) are OK with letting internet service providers cut deals with websites for faster access to consumers, a concept known as ‘paid prioritization.’ But other powerful Republicans, Senate Commerce Committee Chairman John Thune (R-SD) consider the practice harmful to consumers and want to make it illegal. Chairman Blackburn acknowledged she differs from Chairman Thune and House Commerce Chairman Greg Walden (R-OR) on the issue, but expressed confidence they can ‘talk it through.’
benton.org/headlines/republicans-split-paid-prioritization | Politico
Share: Twitter | Facebook
back to top
TRUMP'S FCC IS OUT TO KILL YOUR SMALL BUSINESS
[SOURCE: USAToday, AUTHOR: Rhonda Abrams]
[Commentary] If network neutrality goes away, you’ll almost certainly start paying more for all the many Internet-based services you depend on in your small business – VoIP (voice over Internet service), international calls, document storage, online payroll, e-mail newsletter service, your website hosting and credit-card processing. The reality is the Internet is now a critical backbone of our economy. It’s likely as critical to your business as electricity. For many companies, the Internet is now even more important than telephone services. It is appropriate to require Internet service providers, like electric companies, treat all customers equally in terms of quality of service. So use your small business voice and let Federal Communications Commission Chairman Ajit Pai, the FCC, and your senators and representatives know that you want – you need – to keep net neutrality for your small business.
[Rhonda Abrams is the author of “Entrepreneurship: A Real-World Approach,”]
benton.org/headlines/trumps-fcc-out-kill-your-small-business | USAToday
Share: Twitter | Facebook
back to top
NET NEUTRALITY AND INVESTMENT
[SOURCE: The Consumerist, AUTHOR: Chris Morran]
Speaking at Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, Federal Communications Commission Chairman Ajit Pai blamed network neutrality for causing uncertainty in the broadband market and declared that “uncertainty is the enemy of growth.” However, many of the nation’s largest broadband providers have grown in the last two years. Since Feb. 26, 2015, the day that the FCC voted to approve the neutrality rules, AT&T’s share price has increased by more than 20 percent, Comcast’s is up 26 percent. Verizon’s stock price is at the same level as it was, though it has fluctuated as much as 15 percent in either direction since then. Charter’s share price is up 40 percent, after the FCC allowed it to acquire Time Warner Cable and Bright House in 2016. The only major broadband provider whose stock has fallen dramatically in the last two years is CenturyLink, whose share price has sunk around 50 percent in that time. In its most recent earnings report, Comcast — the nation’s largest broadband provider — noted that in 2016 year over year “capital expenditures increased 7.5% to $9.1 billion.” The lion’s share ($7.6 billion) of that $9.6 billion went to the company’s Cable Communications division, “primarily reflecting increased investment in line extensions, a higher level of investment in scalable infrastructure to increase network capacity and continued spending on customer premise equipment related to the deployment of the X1 platform and wireless gateways.” In case you were wondering, that $7.6 billion was an increase of 7.9% over the previous year. Likewise, AT&T said it its most recent earnings that it spent $22.9 billion on capital investment in 2016, up from $20.7 billion in 2015.
benton.org/headlines/fcc-chair-claims-broadband-investment-historic-low-level-because-net-neutrality-thats-not | Consumerist, The
Share: Twitter | Facebook
back to top
INTERNET/BROADBAND
BROADBAND INFRASTRUCTURE
[SOURCE: Next Century Cities, AUTHOR: ]
Mayors and other city and county leaders from sixty-two Next Century Cities member communities, representing nearly 16 million Americans, sent a letter to President Donald Trump, Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY), and Speaker Paul Ryan (R-WI) on the importance of including broadband in any infrastructure plan. The letter asserts that broadband internet access is necessary infrastructure, and a key to prosperity. It has the power to expand entrepreneurship and economic growth, arm teachers and students for success in the classroom, and give citizens a voice on a both a local and national level. It was sent on the same day the United States Senate held a hearing on “Improving Access the Infrastructure,” focusing on transportation and information networks. The letter recommends three key broadband priorities for any federal infrastructure plan: access, affordability, and local solutions for connectivity. It also emphasizes that the internet is nonpartisan, and that federal leaders should work together across party lines to promote the deployment of next-generation broadband. “Today’s letter, signed by representatives from sixty-one cities and counties across the country, shows significant support for the inclusion of broadband in any infrastructure bill,” said Deb Socia, Executive Director of Next Century Cities. “This letter, signed by cities large and small, serves as a reminder to state and federal lawmakers that there is widespread, bipartisan support for the deployment of high-speed, reliable internet access.”
benton.org/headlines/over-60-mayors-and-municipal-leaders-send-letter-calling-congress-include-broadband | Next Century Cities
Share: Twitter | Facebook
back to top
THUNE OPEN TO MOVING NEW BROADBAND INFRASTRUCTURE SPENDING THROUGH FCC
[SOURCE: Morning Consult, AUTHOR: Brendan Bordelon]
Senate Commerce Committee Chairman John Thune said he’s open to funneling a potential tranche of broadband infrastructure funding through the Federal Communications Commission’s Universal Service Fund. “I think the USF could be a way to figure out how we channel and move money in the right direction — get the most lead on the targets, so to speak, to get results,” Thune said following a hearing on how to best allocate funds under a possible infrastructure bill. On Feb 28, President Donald Trump said he would ask Congress for a $1 trillion infrastructure package, but he did not mention broadband investment. Chairman Thune said that while he believes broadband will ultimately be included in the White House package, “it’s hard to say exactly what their plan might entail.”
benton.org/headlines/thune-open-moving-new-broadband-infrastructure-spending-through-fcc | Morning Consult
Share: Twitter | Facebook
back to top
WHAT THE 90s WEB CAN TEACH US ABOUT INTERNET POLICY TODAY
[SOURCE: Washington Post, AUTHOR: Brian Fung]
At an industry conference in Barcelona, Federal Communications Commission Chairman Ajit Pai said he plans to use key policy decisions made in the 1990s and early 2000s as a guide for his own agenda. Those early decisions include, he said, a bipartisan consensus to not require Internet providers to obey “outdated rules crafted in the 1930s for a telephone monopoly.” He also cited a Bush-era commitment to give Internet providers sole control over broadband networks that they built, rather than adopt a European-style system permitting other companies to use those same cables to sell competing Internet service. But some consumer advocates say that Pai's historical references are misleading. Although the World Wide Web's own early history was marked by a free-for-all in which online businesses competed on mostly equal footing, it is not the case that the government played no role, said Gene Kimmelman, president of the advocacy group Public Knowledge. Policymakers at the time “were setting up an entire regulatory framework for opening [a] telephone monopoly to a broader competitive environment,” said Kimmelman, referring to a time when telephone lines — and thus Internet connections — were controlled by just a few large players. “And it required substantial government intervention.”
benton.org/headlines/what-world-wide-web-1990s-can-teach-us-about-internet-policy-today | Washington Post
Share: Twitter | Facebook
back to top
SECURITY/PRIVACY
FCC STAYS DATA SECURITY REGULATION
[SOURCE: Federal Communications Commission, AUTHOR: Press release]
The Federal Communications Commission issued a temporary stay of a data security regulation that would have subjected Internet service providers (ISPs) to a different standard than that applied to other companies in the Internet ecosystem by the Federal Trade Commission. The regulation would have gone into effect on March 2. The March 1 decision will maintain a status quo that has been in place for nearly two years with respect to ISPs and nearly a decade with respect to other telecommunications carriers. The stay will remain in place until the FCC is able to act on pending petitions for reconsideration. The stay will provide time for the FCC to work with the FTC to create a comprehensive and consistent framework for protecting Americans’ online privacy. The FTC had proven to be an effective cop on the beat for safeguarding digital privacy. But in 2015, the FCC stripped the FTC of its authority over ISPs’ privacy and data security practices when it adopted the Title II Order. The stay will also ensure that ISPs and other telecommunications carriers do not incur substantial and unnecessary compliance costs while the FCC considers modifications to the rule. ISPs have been – and will continue to be – obligated to comply with Section 222 of the Communications Act and other applicable federal and state privacy, data security, and breach notification laws. In addition, broadband providers have released a voluntary set of “ISP Privacy Principles” that are consistent with the Federal Trade Commission’s long-standing privacy framework. For other telecommunications carriers, the Commission’s preexisting rules governing data security will remain in place.
benton.org/headlines/fcc-moves-ensure-consumers-have-uniform-online-privacy-protection | Federal Communications Commission | read the order
Share: Twitter | Facebook
back to top
JOINT FCC-FTC STATEMENT
[SOURCE: Federal Communications Commission, AUTHOR: FCC Chairman Ajit Pai, FTC Chairman Maureen Ohlhausen]
The Federal Communications Commission and the Federal Trade Commission are committed to protecting the online privacy of American consumers. We believe that the best way to do that is through a comprehensive and consistent framework. After all, Americans care about the overall privacy of their information when they use the Internet, and they shouldn’t have to be lawyers or engineers to figure out if their information is protected differently depending on which part of the Internet holds it. That’s why we disagreed with the FCC’s unilateral decision in 2015 to strip the FTC of its authority over broadband providers’ privacy and data security practices, removing an effective cop from the beat. The FTC has a long track record of protecting consumers’ privacy and security throughout the Internet ecosystem. It did not serve consumers’ interests to abandon this longstanding, bipartisan, successful approach. We still believe that jurisdiction over broadband providers’ privacy and data security practices should be returned to the FTC, the nation’s expert agency with respect to these important subjects. All actors in the online space should be subject to the same rules, enforced by the same agency. Until that happens, however, we will work together on harmonizing the FCC’s privacy rules for broadband providers with the FTC’s standards for other companies in the digital economy. Accordingly, the FCC today stayed one of its rules before it could take effect on March 2. This rule is not consistent with the FTC’s privacy framework. The stay will remain in place only until the FCC is able to rule on a petition for reconsideration of its privacy rules. Two years after the FCC stripped broadband consumers of FTC privacy protections, some now express concern that the temporary delay of a rule not yet in effect will leave consumers unprotected. We agree that it is vital to fill the consumer protection gap created by the FCC in
2015, and today’s action is a step toward properly filling that gap. How that gap is filled matters. It does not serve consumers’ interests to create two distinct frameworks—one for Internet service
providers and one for all other online companies. The federal government shouldn’t favor one set of companies over another—and certainly not when it comes to a marketplace as dynamic as the Internet. So going forward, we will work together to establish a technology-neutral privacy framework for the online world. Such a uniform approach is in the best interests of consumers and has a long track record of success.
benton.org/headlines/fcc-chairman-ftc-chairman-protecting-americans-online-privacy | Federal Communications Commission
Share: Twitter | Facebook
back to top
PRIVACY PACT
[SOURCE: Bloomberg, AUTHOR: Stephanie Bodoni]
Vera Jourova spent months working with the Obama administration on a deal to protect Europeans from digital surveillance by US spies. With a new occupant now in the White House, the European Union’s privacy czar says she’s prepared to rip up the pact if the Americans don’t adhere to its terms.“If there is a significant change, we will suspend” the accord, Jourova, the European Union’s justice commissioner, said. “I will not hesitate to do it. There’s too much at stake.” At the end of March the former Czech regional development minister will travel to Washington to meet with the administration of new US President Donald Trump on the privacy shield. Jourova said she’s hopeful she won’t have to suspend the pact, but conceded that Trump’s unpredictability has raised concern among European regulators.
benton.org/headlines/if-president-trump-spoils-privacy-pact-well-pull-it-eu-official-warns | Bloomberg
Share: Twitter | Facebook
back to top
OPEN GOV
OPEN DATA PRIVACY PLAYBOOK
[SOURCE: Berkman Klein Center for Internet and Society, AUTHOR: Ben Green, Gabe Cunningham, Ariel Ekblaw, Paul Kominers, Andrew Linzer, Susan Crawford]
Cities today collect and store a wide range of data that may contain sensitive or identifiable information about residents. As cities embrace open data initiatives, more of this information is available to the public. While releasing data has many important benefits, sharing data comes with inherent risks to individual privacy: released data can reveal information about individuals that would otherwise not be public knowledge. In recent years, open data such as taxi trips, voter registration files, and police records have revealed information that many believe should not be released. Effective data governance is a prerequisite for successful open data programs. The goal of this document is to codify responsible privacy-protective approaches and processes that could be adopted by cities and other government organizations that are publicly releasing data. Our report is organized around four recommendations:
Conduct risk-benefit analyses to inform the design and implementation of open data programs.
Consider privacy at each stage of the data lifecycle: collect, maintain, release, delete.
Develop operational structures and processes that codify privacy management widely throughout the City.
Emphasize public engagement and public priorities as essential aspects of data management programs.
Each chapter of this report is dedicated to one of these four recommendations, and provides fundamental context along with specific suggestions to carry them out. In particular, we provide case studies of best practices from numerous cities and a set of forms and tactics for cities to implement our recommendations. The Appendix synthesizes key elements of the report into an Open Data Privacy Toolkit that cities can use to manage privacy when releasing data.
benton.org/headlines/open-data-privacy-playbook | Berkman Klein Center for Internet and Society
Share: Twitter | Facebook
back to top
EMERGENCY COMMUNICATIONS
STATES AND 911
[SOURCE: Federal Communications Commission, AUTHOR: FCC Commissioner Michael O’Rielly]
It is unconscionable that some states divert fees collected for legitimate and needed 9-1-1 communications capabilities to unrelated purposes, threatening the public's safety for short-term budget relief. After almost fifteen years of working on the problem, we are no closer to resolving it. I suggest that the appropriate policymakers must implement new measures to end this practice once and for all. This may require uncomfortable conversations with states or taking forceful actions, but the current mechanism of shame and hope isn't working. Here are three non-mutually exclusive ideas for the FCC to increase the pressure and force states to end this despicable practice:
Interstate Services Prohibition: The FCC maintains sole jurisdiction over interstate communications services and, as such, we retain the right to bar diverting states from imposing 9-1-1 fees on the interstate calls.
Prohibit Collection and Remittance by Providers: For diverting states, the collection of funds above what will be spent directly on 9-1-1 services is by definition misleading to consumers. The FCC can prevent any providers from collecting such funds or requiring them to remit the funds to diverting states. As part of this effort, the FCC could also define what are inappropriate uses of 9-1-1 funds and ensure providers are held harmless in the process.
Commission Advisory Committees: The ability to serve on Commission Advisory Committees is a privilege, not a right. As such, the FCC can and should exclude any person from a diverting state from participating on an advisory committee, and this can be done without losing valuable advice.
benton.org/headlines/states-must-stop-raiding-9-1-1-fees | Federal Communications Commission
Share: Twitter | Facebook
back to top
POLICYMAKERS
JESSICA ROSENWORCEL
[SOURCE: Variety, AUTHOR: Ted Johnson]
President Donald Trump has withdrawn the nomination of Jessica Rosenworcel for another term on the Federal Communications Commission, leading to some speculation over how the White House plans to fill two vacancies on the commission. The commission is split 2-1, with two Republicans and one Democrat. Rosenworcel, a Democrat, left the FCC at the end of 2016 after her tenure expired. President Barack Obama renominated her just weeks before he left office. The apparent expectation was that once President Trump took office, he would pair her nomination with a Republican choice and they would jointly go through the confirmation process. But Trump’s decision to pull her nomination has led to speculation that he would put forward another Republican and perhaps an independent or other Democrat more favorable to administration policy. In the past, the White House has deferred to Senate leadership in the selection of nominees from the opposing party. Democrats have already been vowing to push back if the administration tries to buck that tradition.
benton.org/headlines/trump-administration-withdraws-nomination-jessica-rosenworcel-fcc | Variety
Share: Twitter | Facebook
back to top