August 30, 2017 (Net Neutrality Deadline)
BENTON'S COMMUNICATIONS-RELATED HEADLINES for WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 30, 2017
Final Day to Submit Net Neutrality Comments! https://www.fcc.gov/ecfs/search/filings?proceedings_name=17-108&sort=dat...
Looking for help? Read Gigi Sohn's 4 steps to writing an impactful net neutrality comment (which you should do): http://mashable.com/2017/06/15/how-to-write-a-good-fcc-comment/#xKzxqDcq...
NET NEUTRALITY
FCC flooded with comments ahead of critical net neutrality vote [links to Guardian, The]
Statement of Gigi Sohn on the Aug 30 Closing of the FCC's Net Neutrality Comment Period - press release
The Internet thrives without overregulation - Rep Bob Goodlatte (R-VA) op-ed
End the policy pingpong, cement net neutrality into law - The Hill op-ed
Poll shows consumers want Net Neutrality law [links to Benton summary]
Even Many ISP-Backed Allies Think Ajit Pai's Attack On Net Neutrality Is Too Extreme - Tech Dirt [links to Benton summary]
INTERNET/BROADBAND
Op-ed: Internet access is essential - Rep Bill Johnson (R-OH) op-ed
Rural America Is Building Its Own Internet Because No One Else Will [links to Benton summary]
EMERGENCY COMMUNICATIONS
Harvey Shows Progress on Emergency Communications Since Katrina
Communications Status Report for Areas Impacted by TS Harvey [links to Federal Communications Commission]
FCC Waives Number Porting Rules for Providers Affected by Harvey [links to Federal Communications Commission]
AT&T Deploys Portable Cell Sites, Charging Stations in South Texas [links to Multichannel News]
Verizon commits $10 million to support Hurricane Harvey relief efforts [links to Verizon]
Comcast-NBCU Commits $1M-Plus to Hurricane Harvey Relief [links to Multichannel News]
SECURITY/PRIVACY
Uber to kill feature that tracks users after rides [links to Hill, The]
One of 1st-known Android DDoS malware infects phones in 100 countries [links to Ars Technica]
Op-ed: California online privacy legislation threatens tech success [links to San Jose Mercury News]
Tech sector struggles to prepare for new EU data protection laws [links to Financial Times]
US and UK governments demand more personal data even as EU prepares tougher data protection rules [links to Financial Times]
Samsung Wants Your Behavior to Unlock Your Phones [links to nextgov]
CONTENT
Apple Spars With Movie Studios Over Pricing Ahead of Apple TV Rollout [links to Benton summary]
Google and Facebook's biggest weapon: apps [links to Benton summary]
Entertainment Studios Agrees to Nielsen Measurement Deal [links to Broadcasting&Cable]
Op-ed: The ACLU's free speech stance should be about social justice, not longstanding precedent [links to Los Angeles Times]
OWNERSHIP
Sinclair/Tribune Critics Tell FCC: No Deal [links to Benton summary]
Public Knowledge Responds to DC Circuit SNR Wireless v. FCC Decision - press release [links to Benton summary]
HEALTH
Medicare Spending on Telehealth Increases, But Barriers Remain [links to mHealth Intelligence]
TELECOM
To Tackle Robocalls From Illegally Spoofed Numbers, FCC Proposes Whopping $82M Fine - CommLawBlog analysis [links to Benton summary]
ELECTIONS
Trump Jr. to interview privately with Senate Judiciary Committee [links to Hill, The]
Dark money, super PAC spending surges ahead of 2018 midterms [links to Benton summary]
In one corner of the Internet, the 2016 Democratic primary never ended [links to Benton summary]
JOURNALISM
Sarah Palin’s Defamation Suit Against The New York Times Is Dismissed
Free speech in the fog of scientific uncertainty - WaPo op-ed [links to Benton summary]
GOVERNMENT & COMMUNICATIONS
In the Trenches of Trump's Leak War
‘The President Speaks For Himself’ - NYT editorial [links to Benton summary]
GOVERNMENT PERFORMANCE
Republicans Divided in Views of Trump’s Conduct; Democrats Are Broadly Critical - research [links to Benton summary]
POLICYMAKERS
Trump nominee blames 'internet crimes' for inflammatory comments against Obama
COMPANY NEWS
Apple's Tim Cook Barnstorms for 'Moral Responsiblity' [links to Benton summary]
How Apple Plans to Change the Way You Use the Next iPhone [links to Bloomberg]
STORIES FROM ABROAD
Google to Comply With EU Search Demands to Avoid More Fines
FCC Releases 2015 US International Capacity Report [links to Federal Communications Commission]
The son of a corporate chairman has been targeted by advanced spying technology bought by the Mexican government to combat terrorism and organized crime. [links to New York Times]
NET NEUTRALITY
SOHN STATEMENT ON AUG 30 CLOSING OF NN PERIOD
[SOURCE: Gigi Soh, AUTHOR: Gigi Sohn]
August 30th could very well mark the official beginning of the end for the Open Internet. With the closing of the public comment period for the Federal Communications Commission’s proceeding to repeal the 2015 Net Neutrality rules, the record is now full of tens of millions of comments, many of them demonstrably fake. Incredibly, it doesn’t even matter if the facts are real or alternative because FCC Chairman Ajit Pai intends to ignore them all so that he can eliminate the rules and protections for Internet users and innovators as quickly as possible – which also explains why he refuses to make public information that is critical to his FCC’s decision making. It’s no secret that American consumers regardless of party affiliation overwhelmingly support basic rules that protect them and the Open Internet they increasingly depend upon. They expect and deserve the freedom to choose what they see, buy, hear and share. They made that abundantly clear earlier this year when Congress rushed to repeal another set of Internet consumer protections, the broadband privacy rules, and they will do so again. If Chairman Pai intends to pursue that same rash, anti-consumer agenda and expects a different result, he is fooling himself.
benton.org/headlines/statement-gigi-sohn-aug-30-closing-fccs-net-neutrality-comment-period | Gigi Soh | B&C
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THE INTERNET THRIVES WITHOUT OVERREGULATION
[SOURCE: The Hill, AUTHOR: Rep Bob Goodlatte (R-VA)]
[Commentary] Fostering competition and punishing anti-competitive conduct creates an environment where innovators can create new products and services in response to consumer demand more freely, without having to spend time and money to comply with static, “one-size-fits-all” regulations from Washington, D.C. With that in mind, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), with its jurisdiction over our nation’s antitrust and competition laws, is ideally equipped to both protect the interests of consumers and foster competition in the ISP marketplace.
FTC enforcement of antitrust laws preserves innovation and consumer benefits.
FTC has the most extensive experience to address anticompetitive conduct.
FTC provides regulatory certainty and prevents overregulation.
[Rep Bob Goodlatte (R-VA) is Chairman of the House Judiciary Committee]
benton.org/headlines/internet-thrives-without-overregulation | Hill, The
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CEMENT NN INTO LAW
[SOURCE: The Hill, AUTHOR: Mike Montgomery]
[Commentary] According to a new survey, Americans overwhelmingly favor a permanent law over regulations that can be changed from administration to administration. Indeed, 74 percent of Americans said they would support net neutrality legislation that enabled them to use the internet free from government or corporate censorship, while creating rules that ensure a level playing field. It’s time to end the slowest game of policy pingpong before it drags into another decade. It is high time for Congress to finally step up — after multiple decades of hibernation — and pass affirmative, bipartisan legislation that makes net neutrality the law of the land. That is something that CALinnovates has proposed for three years now; we are gratified that others are finally jumping on the bandwagon. Congress must wake from its two-decade slumber regarding internet policy to take the decision away from the FCC and cement net neutrality once and for all.
[Mike Montgomery is the executive director of CALinnovates]
benton.org/headlines/end-policy-pingpong-cement-net-neutrality-law | Hill, The
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INTERNET/BROADBAND
INTERNET ACCESS IS ESSENTIAL
[SOURCE: Parkersburg News and Sentinel, AUTHOR: Rep Bill Johnson (R-OH)]
[Commentary] There is a national conversation taking place on how to get broadband providers to go the last mile, and strike a balance with electric utilities to utilize their existing or planned infrastructure. And, private investment remains an essential component to any broadband buildout. The Energy and Commerce Committee, of which I am a member, is currently considering legislation to streamline federal permitting processes, create common contracts for siting wireless facilities on federal properties, and create an inventory of federal assets. One of the key roles of Congress is to facilitate policy and programs that help unserved or underserved communities. The infrastructure bill that will likely be debated later this year must include provisions for rural broadband deployment. Many bureaucrats in Washington simply don’t understand the challenges we here in Eastern and Southeastern Ohio face. We will not be left behind anymore. There’s a lot of intellectual capital here in rural Appalachia…and, America needs to start tapping into it.
benton.org/headlines/op-ed-internet-access-essential | Parkersburg News and Sentinel
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EMERGENCY COMMUNICATIONS
HARVEY SHOWS PROGRESS ON EMERGENCY COMMUNICATIONS SINCE KATRINA
[SOURCE: Wired, AUTHOR: Issie Lapowsky]
While connectivity was almost completely lost in Rockport (TX) which was hit hardest by the storm, the Federal Communications Commission says just 4 percent of the 7,804 cell sites in Harvey’s path were wiped out, affecting 148,565 people. By contrast, more than 1,000 cell sites were knocked out during Katrina, preventing millions of calls from going through, according to a post-Katrina FCC report. Now, Texas’s 9-1-1 system has been overloaded with calls, but “those calls are going through,” says Adm. Jamie Barnett, former chief of public safety and homeland security at the FCC. “By and large we’re hearing that the cellular networks stood up. That means there’s been some learning.”
benton.org/headlines/harvey-shows-progress-emergency-communications-katrina | Wired
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JOURNALISM
PALIN DEFAMATION SUIT AGAINST NYT DISMISSED
[SOURCE: New York Times, AUTHOR: Sydney Ember]
A federal judge on Aug 29 dismissed a defamation lawsuit filed by the former vice-presidential candidate Sarah Palin against The New York Times, saying Palin’s complaint failed to show that a mistake in an editorial was made maliciously. “What we have here is an editorial, written and rewritten rapidly in order to voice an opinion on an immediate event of importance, in which are included a few factual inaccuracies somewhat pertaining to Palin that are very rapidly corrected,” Judge Jed S. Rakoff of Federal District Court in Manhattan said in his ruling. “Negligence this may be; but defamation of a public figure it plainly is not.”
benton.org/headlines/sarah-palins-defamation-suit-against-new-york-times-dismissed | New York Times | Washington Post
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GOVERNMENT AND COMMUNICATIONS
IN THE TRENCHES OF TRUMP’S LEAK WAR
[SOURCE: Vanity Fair, AUTHOR: Joe Pompeo]
On July 6, the Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs issued a scathing report detailing what the Committee characterized as a seething epidemic of classified information making its way into the press. Titled, “State Secrets: How an Avalanche of Media Leaks Is Harming National Security,” the 23-page document cites “at least 125 stories” between Inauguration day and May 25 “with leaked information potentially damaging to national security.” That last part is debatable. While the report does include a handful of truly astonishing disclosures—things like FISA warrants and transcripts of private phone calls with foreign leaders—most of the document essentially reads like a chronology of what the public has learned about the interlocking investigations into the Trump administration and its potential ties to Russia. The bylines of New York Times and Washington Post reporters are especially prolific. “Listing individual reporters who allegedly harmed national security is something that illiberal nations do,” the Committee to Protect Journalists wrote in response. Trump’s election was not a total sea change. Those who spoke with me agreed that the previous administration laid the groundwork for the current leak jihad. But his very public war on the press, along with his suspicion of his own intelligence agencies, has significantly raised the temperature.
benton.org/headlines/trenches-trumps-leak-war | Vanity Fair
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POLICYMAKERS
TRUMP NOMINEE BLAMES INTERNET CRIMES FOR INFLAMMATORY COMMENTS AGAINST OBAMA
[SOURCE: The Hill, AUTHOR: Mallory Shelbourne]
William Bradford, the man President Donald Trump has appointed to head an office under the Department of Energy, has blamed "cyber attacks and Internet crimes" for derogatory comments made against former President Barack Obama by an online user appearing to be Bradford. "I cannot comment on an ongoing federal investigation into multiple cyber attacks and Internet crimes committed against me over the past several years, to include e-mail intrusions, hacking and impostors in social media,” Bradford said. His statement comes after CNN’s KFile unearthed various comments from a user appearing to be Bradford on the comment-hosting platform Disqus. CNN’s research connected the account to Bradford via Google cache.
benton.org/headlines/trump-nominee-blames-internet-crimes-inflammatory-comments-against-obama | Hill, The
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STORIES FROM ABROAD
GOOGLE TO COMPLY WITH EU SEARCH DEMANDS TO AVOID MORE FINES
[SOURCE: Bloomberg, AUTHOR: Aoife White, Mark Bergen]
Google will comply with Europe’s demands to change the way it runs its shopping search service, a rare instance of the internet giant bowing to regulatory pressure to avoid more fines. The Alphabet Inc unit faced an Aug 29 deadline to tell the European Union how it planned to follow an order to stop discriminating against rival shopping search services in the region. The EU fined Google a record 2.4 billion euros ($2.7 billion) in late June for breaking antitrust rules by skewing its general search results to unfairly favor its own shopping service over rival sites. The company had 60 days to propose how it would "stop its illegal content" and 90 days to make changes to how the company displays shopping results when users search for a product. Those changes need to be put in place by Sept. 28 to stave off a risk that the EU could fine the company 5 percent of daily revenue for each day it fails to comply. "The obligation to comply is fully Google’s responsibility," the European Commission said. The onus is on Google to find a solution that satisfies regulators, who’ve learned from past battles with Microsoft and Intel.
benton.org/headlines/google-comply-eu-search-demands-avoid-more-fines | Bloomberg
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