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August 2017

Could Trump’s Anti-Media Rants Lead to Actual Violence Against Journalists?

President Donald Trump ramped up his anti-media rhetoric this week during a rally in Arizona, leaving some observers to question whether journalists should be concerned for their safety. President Trump took numerous shots at the “truly dishonest people” in the media during the Aug 22 rally, including calling the industry “pathetic,” “dishonest” and “liars.” Syracuse University journalism professor and media historian Robert Thompson thinks that journalists should absolutely be nervous on the heels of Trump’s speech. “I think it is a legitimate concern. We’ve certainly seen people who have been inflamed by rhetoric who have gone out and done horrible things,” Thompson said.

Public Safety and Homeland Security Bureau Announces Agenda for Sept 11 Workshop on Improving Situational Awareness During 911 Outages

As previously announced, the Public Safety and Homeland Security Bureau (PSHSB) will host a public workshop on September 11, 2017 to discuss best practices for improving situational awareness during 911 outages. By this Public Notice, the Bureau announces the agenda and panelists for the workshop.

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

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.

Broadband Redlining Complaint Filed Against AT&T at FCC

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.

President Trump Takes Aim at the Press, With a Flamethrower

[Commentary] Yes, mistrust of the media was growing even before President Donald Trump emerged on the political scene. But this much is unmistakable: The president is significantly adding to what is, without question, the worst anti-press atmosphere I’ve seen in 25 years in journalism, and real, chilling consequences have surfaced, not just in the United States, but around the world.

What seemed to particularly sting on Aug 23 was the way that Trump had impugned journalists’ patriotism. “Claim bias. Fine. Claim elitism. Fine,” Jim VandeHei, chief executive of Axios, wrote on Twitter. “But to say reporters erase America’s heritage, don’t love America, turn off cameras to hide truth, are to blame for racial tension, is just plain wrong.” Anyone with a passing interest in history knows that the founders viewed an independent press as essential to democracy. Talk about heritage.

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