BENTON'S COMMUNICATIONS-RELATED HEADLINES for WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 2, 2017
Today's Event -- Markup on FCC, NTIA Nominations and Bills --- https://www.benton.org/node/262471
COMMUNICATIONS & DEMOCRACY
Behind Fox News' Baseless Seth Rich Story: The Untold Tale
White House denies Fox-Trump connection on Rich story [links to Benton summary]
A timeline of the explosive lawsuit alleging a White House link in the Seth Rich conspiracy [links to Washington Post]
Sean Spicer claimed to be unaware of Seth Rich story after meeting with donor who pushed it [links to Washington Post]
DNC: Both parties should denounce alleged WH role in Seth Rich story [links to Hill, The]
White House defends president’s effort to help write Trump Jr. statement
President Trump: Only 'Fake News Media' and 'enemies' want me to stop tweeting [links to Benton summary]
Lewandowski: Priebus 'ultimately responsible' for White House leaks [links to Benton summary]
NETWORK NEUTRALITY
Network Neutrality Backers Seek Merger Info
Is zero-rating just another form of (pro-competitive) bundling? [links to American Enterprise Institute]
INTERNET/BROADBAND/TELECOM
GOP Takes on Lifeline (Again)
President Trump Remains Committed to Moving Broadband Through Infrastructure Bill [links to Benton summary]
FCC’s 2015 pole attachment order upheld by circuit court [links to Benton summary]
Verizon to purchase fiber network infrastructure in Chicago market from WideOpenWest [links to Verizon]
For Maine Islands, Internet Means Opportunity [links to National Public Radio]
Smart City Tech Experts Gather in Kansas City for Annual Gigabit Summit [links to Government Technology]
FTC Escalates the Fight against Illegal Robocalls Using Consumer Complaints to Aid Industry Call-Blocking Solutions - press release [links to Benton summary]
WIRELESS/SPECTRUM
Sens Gardner, Hassan Introduce AIRWAVES Act - press release
Echoing Microsoft, House Coalition Asks FCC for Three TV White Space Channels to Target Rural Broadband
Commissioner O'Rielly Remarks Before the CBRS Alliance - speech [links to Benton summary]
Verizon and AT&T customers are getting slower speeds because of unlimited data plans
SECURITY/PRIVACY
Senate bill would ease law enforcement access to overseas data [links to Benton summary]
Sens Warner, Gardner think the government has a new cybersecurity problem: The Internet of Things [links to Benton summary]
Op-ed: The FTC is watching when your children's toys are listening [links to Hill, The]
Op-ed: Digital privacy bill still abandons probable cause for our papers [links to Hill, The]
Using a fitness app taught me the scary truth about why privacy settings are a feminist issue [links to Quartz]
EMERGENCY COMMUNICATIONS
FirstNet Becoming a Reality as the Number of States Opting in Grows to Seven [links to Government Technology]
New Mexico Approves Buildout Plan for First Responder Network [links to First Responder Network Authority]
U.S. Virgin Islands Becomes First Territory to Join FirstNet Network [links to FirstNet]
CONTENT
Tech companies fear repercussions from a new bill to combat human trafficking [links to Benton summary]
Pew Research Powerpoint: The Reckoning for Social Media [links to Pew Research Center]
DHS Acting Secretary Duke Joins Tech Companies, UK Home Secretary Rudd to Discuss Combating Online Terrorist Recruitment [links to Department of Homeland Security]
Picture Books Based on Famous Novels Violate Copyright, a Judge Rules [links to New York Times]
OWNERSHIP
What Steve Bannon Wants to Do to Google - The Atlantic analysis [links to Benton summary]
Report on Foreign Ownership Of Interconnected Voice Over Internet Protocol Applicants [links to Federal Communications Commission]
DIVERSITY
Inequality in 900 Popular Films: Examining Portrals of Gender, race/Ethnicity, LGBT, and Disability from 2007-2016 [links to University of Southern California]
CBS has huge diversity problems. But the issues run much deeper than one network. [links to Vox]
LABOR
As the Trump administration tightens immigration, governments around the world are stepping up their efforts to lure talent and capital away from the US [links to New York Times]
TELEVISION
Transmitter Identification Requirements for Video Uplink Transmissions - press release [links to Benton summary]
COMMUNITY MEDIA
Rural Libraries in the United States: Recent Strides, Future Possibilities, and Meeting Community Needs - research [links to Benton summary]
JOURNALISM
Judge blocks Palin lawyers from questioning NYT reporters in defamation suit [links to Benton summary]
POLICYMAKERS
Senate confirms Wray as next FBI director
Former Fox News Executive Bill Shine Said to Be Considered for White House Job
Lewandowski: President Trump 'greatest communicator we have ever seen' in office [links to Hill, The]
Trump Loyalist Corey Lewandowski Mixes Businesses and Access at ‘Advisory’ Firm [links to New York Times]
STORIES FROM ABROAD
Companies brace for European privacy rules [links to Benton summary]
Joining Apple, Amazon’s China Cloud Service Bows to Censors [links to New York Times]
China’s State Media Slams Trump’s ‘Emotional Venting’ on Twitter [links to New York Times]
OTT - Threat or opportunity for African Telcos? [links to Telecommunications Policy]
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COMMUNICATIONS & DEMOCRACY
FOX NEWS, SETH RICH, AND WH
[SOURCE: NPR, AUTHOR: David Folkenflik]
The Fox News Channel and a wealthy supporter of President Trump worked in concert under the watchful eye of the White House to concoct a story about the death of a young Democratic National Committee aide, according to a lawsuit filed Aug 1. The explosive claim is part of the lawsuit filed against Fox News by Rod Wheeler, a longtime paid commentator for the news network. Wheeler alleges Fox News and the Trump supporter intended to deflect public attention from growing concern about the administration's ties to the Russian government. His suit charges that a Fox News reporter created quotations out of thin air and attributed them to him to propel her story. The lawsuit focuses particular attention on the role of the Trump supporter, Ed Butowsky, in weaving the story. He is a wealthy Dallas investor and unpaid Fox commentator on financial matters who has emerged as a reliable Republican surrogate in recent years. Butowsky offered to pay for Wheeler to investigate the death of the DNC aide, Seth Rich, on behalf of his grieving parents in Omaha (NE). On April 20, a month before the story ran, Butowsky and Wheeler — the investor and the investigator — met at the White House with then-press secretary Sean Spicer to brief him on what they were uncovering. The first page of the lawsuit quotes a voicemail and text from Butowsky boasting that President Trump himself had reviewed drafts of the Fox News story just before it went to air and was published.
benton.org/headlines/behind-fox-news-baseless-seth-rich-story-untold-tale | NPR | New York Times
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WH DEFENDS TRUMP'S EFFORT TO HELP WRITE TRUMP JR STATEMENT
[SOURCE: The Hill, AUTHOR: Jordan Fabian]
The White House defended President Donald Trump’s decision to help write his eldest son’s statement about his election-year meeting with a Russian lawyer, calling it “something any father would do.” White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders disputed the fact that the statement to The New York Times contained inaccurate or misleading information, telling reporters it “is true.” Her comments appeared to largely confirm a Washington Post report that the president was personally involved in drafting the statement, which could open him up to further legal scrutiny. But she appeared to deny that he dictated the statement to an assistant. “He certainly didn’t dictate. But he weighed in, offered suggestions like any father would do,” she said. Sanders criticized Democrats and the news media for being obsessed with the investigation into whether Trump associates colluded with the Russian government to interfere in the 2016 election.
benton.org/headlines/white-house-defends-presidents-effort-help-write-trump-jr-statement | Hill, The
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NET NEUTRALITY
NET NEUTRALITY BACKERS SEEK MERGER INFO
[SOURCE: Politico, AUTHOR: Li Zhou]
Trade group INCOMPAS wants the Federal Communications Commission to include redacted materials from recent mergers involving Comcast, Charter and AT&T in its review of Chairman Ajit Pai’s proposal to roll back the agency’s network neutrality rules. The group, which counts Netflix and Sprint among its members, said economic studies, internal company presentations and other data submitted as part of the commission’s merger review process shows that internet service providers have incentive to curb competition. The information would be vital in a court review of final rules, said INCOMPAS CEO Chip Pickering. “The FCC has taken a position that the ISPs do not have the means and the motive to act against online competitors,” Pickering said. “And if that’s the question, you have to look at all the evidence. And a refusal to consider the evidence, I think any court would find unreasonable.” INCOMPAS noted that its request would not make the information available to the general public. Instead, only certain parties would be able to see the documents — the same confidentiality the FCC used in the merger reviews. Comcast, Charter and AT&T opposed the request, arguing that sharing the information in the net neutrality proceeding risks disclosure of sensitive documents. Charter said the “unprecedented request is a harmful fishing expedition, which, if granted, would violate federal law.” Pickering finds the companies’ opposition suspect: “Their nuclear reaction for simply asking for the evidence to be included continues to beg the question, ‘What do they have to hide?’” INCOMPAS asks the FCC to act by July 31. Agency representatives did not respond to a request for comment.
benton.org/headlines/network-neutrality-backers-seek-merger-info | Politico
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MORE INTERNET/BROADBAND
GOP TAKES ON LIFELINE
[SOURCE: Politico, AUTHOR: Li Zhou]
Rep Austin Scott (R-GA) brought back his End Taxpayer Funded Cell Phones Act before House lawmakers left town. That’s the legislation that GOP leadership fast-tracked straight to floor consideration immediately after its introduction in 2016. (They tried to advance it under suspension of the rules, and it went down 207-143.) It now has 18 GOP backers, triple what it had before. “My bill will reform the Lifeline Program and restore it to its original purpose of providing landline services and prohibit Universal Service support for mobile services,” Rep Scott said. A GOP leadership aide said there’s no talk on when and if the measure may be brought to the floor this time around.
benton.org/headlines/gop-takes-lifeline-again | Politico | Rep Scott | ars technica
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WIRELESS/SPECTRUM
GARDNER, HASSAN INTRODUCE AIRWAVES ACT
[SOURCE: US Senate, AUTHOR: Press release]
Sens Cory Gardner (R-CO) and Maggie Hassan (D-NH) introduced the Advancing Innovation and Reinvigorating Widespread Access to Viable Electromagnetic Spectrum (AIRWAVES) Act, which will encourage the federal government to continue to free up spectrum for commercial licensed and unlicensed use and leverage the success of spectrum auctions to help close the urban-rural divide. First, the legislation establishes a spectrum pipeline that will provide more capacity for wireless providers to improve existing service and expand to new areas. The AIRWAVES Act aims to motivate industry and federal agencies to find ways to better utilize spectrum and avoid a spectrum crunch and lay the groundwork for 5G technologies. Second, this legislation requires 10 percent of all of the proceeds from spectrum auctions in the bill to go directly to wireless broadband infrastructure buildout in unserved and underserved areas throughout rural communities across the country.
benton.org/headlines/sens-gardner-hassan-introduce-airwaves-act | US Senate | The Hill | Pai Statement | Clyburn Statement | O'Rielly Statement | PK
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HOUSE COALITION ASKS FCC FOR THREE TV WHITE SPACE CHANNELS
[SOURCE: telecompetitor, AUTHOR: Joan Engebretson]
A bi-partisan coalition of 43 Members of Congress is asking the Federal Communications Commission to reserve at least three TV white space channels in the 600 MHz band to support rural broadband deployments. “We believe that the television white spaces (TVWS) have strong potential to revolutionize broadband internet accessibility in rural areas,” wrote the coalition in a letter to the FCC. The coalition was led by Rep Kevin Cramer (R-ND) but also included some Democratic representatives, including Rep Anna Eshoo (D-CA). The three channels referenced would include the duplex gap between 652-663 MHz, Channel 37 (608-614 MHz) and an additional vacant channel in the post-auction broadcast TV band (54-608 MHz), the letter stated. The channels would be reserved for unlicensed use. If the idea of reserving three channels below 700 MHz for rural broadband sounds familiar, it may be because that’s what Microsoft has asked for to support the company’s plan to spur the deployment of TV white spaces technology to unserved rural areas. The 600 MHz band initially was licensed to television broadcasters but a portion of that band will now be repurposed for wireless use. A recent auction gave broadcasters the option of voluntarily relinquishing spectrum and sharing the auction proceeds with the government.
benton.org/headlines/echoing-microsoft-house-coalition-asks-fcc-three-tv-white-space-channels-target-rural | telecompetitor | read the letter
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UNLIMITED DATA PLANS
[SOURCE: Vox, AUTHOR: Rani Molla]
Unlimited data plans are slowing down mobile speeds for Verizon and AT&T customers, according to data released by mobile network measurement company OpenSignal. Verizon and AT&T reinstated their unlimited plans in February to compete with T-Mobile and Sprint, which have long offered unlimited data plans, and have since seen a deluge of demand. Greater data demand — either more data usage or more customers — means slower speeds. Think of it as increased traffic on a highway. Verizon and AT&T also have nearly double the subscribers of T-Mobile and Sprint, so changes in their offerings hit their networks harder. Carriers have long supported greater leeway to manage their networks as part of the US government’s fierce debate over net neutrality. T-Mobile’s unlimited plan often limits video streaming quality in a bid to ease the burden on its network; others like Verizon recently have tested similar tools to improve speeds. To staunch advocates of open internet rules, however, these techniques violate the spirit of federal safeguards meant to ensure all web traffic is treated equally. Both Verizon and AT&T saw a notable decline in speeds after introducing unlimited plans.
benton.org/headlines/verizon-and-att-customers-are-getting-slower-speeds-because-unlimited-data-plans | Vox
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POLICYMAKERS
SENATE CONFIRMS WRAY AS NEXT FBI DIRECTOR
[SOURCE: Washington Post, AUTHOR: Karoun Demirjian]
The Senate voted overwhelmingly to confirm Christopher A. Wray as the next FBI director, filling the critical post that has remained vacant since President Donald Trump fired James B. Comey in May. President Trump’s firing of Comey immediately led to accusations that he was trying to impede the bureau’s Russia investigation and ultimately led to the appointment of special counsel Robert S. Mueller III. Comey later testified that President Trump asked him for a “loyalty” oath and to drop a probe of former national security adviser Michael T. Flynn’s contacts with Russian officials. Wray, a former senior Justice Department official known for his low-key demeanor, told lawmakers during his confirmation hearing that he would never pledge loyalty to the president and that if President Trump ever pressured him to drop an investigation, he would push back or resign. This pledge appeared to gain him the confidence of Senate Judiciary Committee lawmakers, who unanimously approved his nomination and urged their colleagues to vote in favor of his confirmation. The vote was 92 to 5 with five Democratic Sens voting against his nomination.
benton.org/headlines/senate-confirms-wray-next-fbi-director | Washington Post | The Hill
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BILL SHINE SAID TO BE CONSIDERED FOR WH JOB
[SOURCE: New York Times, AUTHOR: Michael Grynbaum]
Apparently, Bill Shine, a former co-president of Fox News and top lieutenant to the network’s founder, Roger Ailes, has spoken with White House officials about taking a position on President Donald Trump’s communications team. Shine has no political experience outside of producing cable news, and he was forced out of Fox News in May after his name surfaced in lawsuits that accused him of abetting Ailes’s harassing behavior toward women. (Shine has denied all wrongdoing, as did Ailes, who died in May.) But Shine has an influential ally in the Fox News host Sean Hannity, an informal adviser to President Trump — and one of his most loyal on-air supporters — who dined with Shine, the president and the first lady at the White House the week of July 24. Shine’s job prospects are unclear now that Trump has fired his communications director, Anthony Scaramucci, who also attended last week’s dinner and worked with Shine during his tenure as a host on Fox News and the Fox Business Network. Shine’s association with Scaramucci may hinder his chances with some factions in the West Wing.
benton.org/headlines/former-fox-news-executive-bill-shine-said-be-considered-white-house-job | New York Times
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