1. Monthly archive
  2. August 2017

August 2017

August 25, 2017 (Broadband Redlining Complaint Filed at FCC)

BENTON'S COMMUNICATIONS-RELATED HEADLINES for FRIDAY, AUGUST 25, 2017
Jay Thomas, Emmy-Winning ‘Cheers’ and ‘Murphy Brown’ Actor, Dies at 69 [links to Wrap, The]
Jack Rosenthal, Times Journalist and Civic Leader, Is Dead at 82 [links to New York Times]

INTERNET/BROADBAND
   Broadband Redlining Complaint Filed Against AT&T at FCC
   FCC Posts 1.5 Million Net Neutrality Comments Since Extending Deadline
   NTCA on Rural Fiber Deployment: 31% of Rural Telecom Companies Have 100% Fiber-to-the-Home Coverage [links to telecompetitor]

COMMUNICATIONS & DEMOCRACY
   Judge approves limited search warrant for data on anti-Trump protesters
   i2Coalition: Our Concerns Regarding DC Superior Court Ruling In DreamHost Warrant Challenge [links to Internet Infrastructure Coalition]
   We’re Journalists, Mr. Trump, Not the Enemy - Nicholas Kristof, NYT
   New York Times Columnist Suffers Twitter Blowback After Declaring ‘We’re Journalists’ [links to Wrap, The]
   President Trump Takes Aim at the Press, With a Flamethrower - NYT [links to Benton summary]
   Could Trump’s Anti-Media Rants Lead to Actual Violence Against Journalists? [links to Benton summary]
   Qunnipiac Poll: President Trump’s war on the media is backfiring [links to Benton summary]
   Newt Gingrich: The left's opposition to Trump is "almost verbatim" reaction slave newspapers had to Lincoln [links to Media Matters for America]

SURVEILLANCE
   Verizon reports spike in government requests for cell 'tower dumps'

SECURITY/PRIVACY
   Washington, Not Silicon Valley, Leads the Way in Cybersecurity [links to nextgov]

GOVERNMENT & COMMUNICATIONS
   House Energy and Commerce Committee Revamps Website [links to Benton summary]
   President Trump Chief of Staff John Kelly vetting everything that comes across Trump's desk [links to Hill, The]

EMERGENCY COMMUNICATIONS
   Public Safety and Homeland Security Bureau Announces Agenda for Sept 11 Workshop on Improving Situational Awareness During 911 Outages - public notice [links to Benton summary]

CONTENT
   YouTube cracking down on hate speech [links to Hill, The]
   YouTube and Syria: Tech's role as archivist [links to CNN]
   A black man went undercover as a digital white supremacist. This is what he learned. [links to Washington Post]

TELEVISION
   FCC Seeks Status of Competition in Market for the Delivery of Video Programming in 19th Report - public notice [links to Benton summary]

WIRELESS/SPECTRUM
   TechNet Calls for Reserving Channels for Unlicensed [links to Broadcasting&Cable]

CHILDREN & MEDIA
   Melinda Gates: I spent my career in technology. I wasn’t prepared for its effect on my kids. - WaPo op-ed [links to Benton summary]
   When is the right age to buy your child a smartphone? [links to USAToday]

COMPANY NEWS
   Apple will build new data center in Iowa, get $200M in tax breaks [links to Ars Technica]
   Comcast to Sell Rooftop Solar Services, Take Possible Stake in Sunrun [links to Multichannel News]

DIVERSITY
   Uber partners with Girls Who Code to fight for greater diversity in tech [links to Verge, The]

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INTERNET/BROADBAND

BROADBAND REDLINING COMPLAINT FILED AGAINST ATT AT FCC
[SOURCE: Broadcasting&Cable, AUTHOR: John Eggerton]
Attorney Daryl Parks has filed a formal Federal Communications Commission complaint against AT&T on behalf of three African American low-income residents of Cleveland (OH) alleging digital redlining. The complainants--Joanne Elkins, Hattie Lanfair, and Rochelle Lee--allege that "wealthier and predominantly white areas have gotten premium upgradable high speed broadband access at bullet speed," while the three complainants "receive slow speeds at a rate as low as 1.5 mbps downstream or less, although they pay AT&T for high speed access." They say that is unjust and unreasonable discrimination in violation of the Communications Act. They also allege that is part of a pattern of discrimination by AT&T nationwide, relying on a study by the National Digital Inclusion Alliance. The parties say they met with AT&T in July, which "flatly" denies that it is redlining, hence the suit. The complaint concedes AT&T offered to expand a 5G wireless broadband pilot program, but says that is not sufficient. Parks and company want the FCC to investigate the charge, including holding a hearing, which would likely be before the FCC's Administrative Law Judge, and they want damages.
benton.org/headlines/broadband-redlining-complaint-filed-against-att-fcc | Broadcasting&Cable | NDIA | The Hill | ars technica
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FCC POSTS 1.5M NN COMMENTS SINCE EXTENDING DEADLINE
[SOURCE: Broadcasting&Cable, AUTHOR: John Eggerton]
The pace of filings at in the Federal Communications Commission's network neutrality comment docket, dubbed "Restoring Internet Freedom," by FCC Chairman Ajit Pai, is showing no signs of slowing down, with still plenty of people (or bulk e-mail generators, some argue) still weighing in. The FCC extended the comment deadline to Aug. 30 from Aug. 16. Since that Aug. 16 date, 1.5 million additional filings have been logged as of Aug. 24, making the current total 21,850,771, up from the 20,350,000 in the docket as of Aug. 16. The FCC does not keep track of such records, but nobody is disputing that this volume is a record for the number of comments in any FCC docket.
benton.org/headlines/fcc-posts-15-million-net-neutrality-comments-extending-deadline | Broadcasting&Cable
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COMMUNICATIONS & DEMOCRACY

JUDGE APPROVES LIMITED SEARCH WARRANT FOR DATA ON ANTI-TRUMP PROTESTERS
[SOURCE: Los Angeles Times, AUTHOR: Lauren Rosenblatt]
A District of Columbia judge ruled that a Web host provider must provide the government with digital data from a website widely used to help organize protests against President Donald Trump’s inauguration in January. The ruling by District of Columbia Superior Court Chief Judge Robert E. Morin marked a win for the government, although Judge Morin said he would supervise the government’s use of the data it collects from Web host DreamHost. Chris Ghazarian, general counsel for DreamHost, said the company needed to review the ruling before deciding whether to appeal. In a 90-minute hearing Aug 24, Judge Morin ruled from the bench that DreamHost must provide the government with all other data from disruptj20.org that it sought under the search warrant. But Judge Morin put restrictions on what they could do with the material. He ruled that the government must disclose how they plan to review the data, identify those involved in the process, and explain how they will avoid collecting protected information about "innocent visitors" to the website. Judge Morin also limited the scope of the search from when the website domain was created in October 2016 to Inauguration Day on Jan. 20. He also said Justice cannot distribute or publicize the data it collects, including to any other government agency.
benton.org/headlines/judge-approves-limited-search-warrant-data-anti-trump-protesters | Los Angeles Times | Bloomberg
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WERE JOURNALISTS, TRUMP, NOT THE ENEMY
[SOURCE: New York Times, AUTHOR: Nicholas Kristof]
[Commentary] President Donald Trump’s caricature of journalists as dishonest is hypocritical, and it insults the courage and professionalism of my colleagues who sometimes risk their lives trying to get a story. I’ve lost reporter and photographer friends in war zones all over the world, and have had other friends kidnapped and tortured. When Trump galvanizes crowds against reporters in the room, I worry that we may lose journalists in the line of duty not only in places like Syria but also right here at home. Trump will get people hurt....This is an extraordinary moment in our nation’s history, for we are enduring an epic struggle over the principles on which our country was founded. These include the idea that a flawed free press is an essential institutional check on flawed leaders. So may I humbly suggest that when a megalomaniacal leader howls and shrieks at critics, that is when institutional checks on that leader become a bulwark of democracy.
benton.org/headlines/were-journalists-mr-trump-not-enemy | New York Times
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SURVEILLANCE

VERIZON REPORTS SPIKE IN GVT REQUESTS FOR CELL 'TOWER DUMPS'
[SOURCE: The Hill, AUTHOR: Katie Bo Williams]
Government requests for the mass disclosure of every caller who connected to a particular cellphone tower have spiked during the first half of 2017, according to Verizon’s latest transparency report. Law enforcement seek so-called tower dumps to try to identify a suspect in a crime, compelling tower operators to provide the phone numbers of all devices that connected to a specific tower during a given period of time. “This tool is being used much more frequently by law enforcement,” Verizon said in the report. Verizon has received approximately 8,870 warrants or court orders for cell tower dumps in the first half of this year — a huge increase over 2013, when the government sought only 3,200 dumps across the whole of that year. In 2016, the total figure was 14,630. Law enforcement demands for customer data totaled at 138,773 for the first half of the year — relatively steady with six-month segments over the past two years. Verizon rejected around 3 percent of requests, granting around 68,000 subpoenas, 700 wiretap demands and about 4,000 “trap and trace” orders that let investigators see what phone numbers are calling a target in real time.
benton.org/headlines/verizon-reports-spike-government-requests-cell-tower-dumps | Hill, The | Verizon Transparency Report
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FCC Seeks Status of Competition in Market for the Delivery of Video Programming in 19th Report

This Public Notice solicits data, information, and comment for the Commission’s Nineteenth Report on the Status of Competition in the Market for the Delivery of Video Programming (19th Report). We seek to update the information and metrics provided in the Eighteenth Report (18th Report) in order to report on the state of competition in the video marketplace in 2016. Using the information collected pursuant to this Notice, we seek to enhance our analysis of competitive conditions, better understand the implications for the American consumer, and provide a solid foundation for Commission policy making with respect to the delivery of video programming to consumers. The 19th Report also will satisfy the Commission’s statutory requirement to “annually report to Congress on the status of competition in the market for the delivery of video programming.”

Section 19 of the Cable Television Consumer Protection and Competition Act of 1992 (1992 Cable Act) amended the Communications Act of 1934, as amended (the Act or Communications Act) and directed the Commission to establish regulations for the purpose of increasing competition and diversity in multichannel video programming distribution, increasing the availability of satellite delivered programming, and spurring the development of communications technologies. Our annual reports to Congress seek to assess progress toward these goals.

House Energy and Commerce Committee Revamps Website

The House Energy & Commerce Committee unveiled its new site, complete with large graphic blocks, moving layers, and colorful icons—the Communications & Technology Subcommittee icon, for example, is, perhaps tellingly, a smart phone.

"The new website was designed with the user in mind. The home page now makes it easier for visitors to learn more about the issues they care about and stay up-to-date on recent news and scheduled events," said the Committee majority in unveiling the site. "Additionally, each subcommittee has a more robust and flexible page dedicated to their respective jurisdiction. As the committee continues to lead on a number of national priorities, like safely ushering in self-driving cars and promoting new energy infrastructure, it is also updating its online presence, allowing for greater transparency and usefulness."

Melinda Gates: I spent my career in technology. I wasn’t prepared for its effect on my kids.

[Commentary] I spent my career at Microsoft trying to imagine what technology could do, and still I wasn’t prepared for smartphones and social media. Like many parents with children my kids’ age, I didn’t understand how they would transform the way my kids grew up — and the way I wanted to parent. I’m still trying to catch up. For other parents trying to decide how to do their job in a way that feels right despite the bewildering array of changes brought on by smartphones and social media, I want to share some of the resources that have helped me and my friends. Hopefully, these tips can spark conversation and help parents become resources for each other:
Learn about the issue
Unplug
Have Tough Conversations
Advocate for your kids
Make a Plan
[Melinda Gates is a businesswoman and philanthropist. She is co-chair of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation]

Judge approves limited search warrant for data on anti-Trump protesters

A District of Columbia judge ruled that a Web host provider must provide the government with digital data from a website widely used to help organize protests against President Donald Trump’s inauguration in January. The ruling by District of Columbia Superior Court Chief Judge Robert E. Morin marked a win for the government, although Judge Morin said he would supervise the government’s use of the data it collects from Web host DreamHost. Chris Ghazarian, general counsel for DreamHost, said the company needed to review the ruling before deciding whether to appeal.

In a 90-minute hearing Aug 24, Judge Morin ruled from the bench that DreamHost must provide the government with all other data from disruptj20.org that it sought under the search warrant. But Judge Morin put restrictions on what they could do with the material. He ruled that the government must disclose how they plan to review the data, identify those involved in the process, and explain how they will avoid collecting protected information about "innocent visitors" to the website. Judge Morin also limited the scope of the search from when the website domain was created in October 2016 to Inauguration Day on Jan. 20. He also said Justice cannot distribute or publicize the data it collects, including to any other government agency.

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