September 2017

ELECTIONS

TWITTER ON RUSSIAN INFLUENCE IN 2016
[SOURCE: Twitter, AUTHOR: ]
Earlier this summer we outlined some of our work to combat bots and networks of manipulation on Twitter. Since then, we have received a number of questions about how malicious bots and misinformation networks on Twitter may have been used in the context of the 2016 U.S. Presidential elections. Sept 28, Twitter Vice President for Public Policy Colin Crowell met with staff from Senate Select Committee on Intelligence and House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence to discuss these issues. Of the roughly 450 accounts that Facebook recently shared as a part of their review, we concluded that 22 had corresponding accounts on Twitter. All of those identified accounts had already been or immediately were suspended from Twitter for breaking our rules, most for violating our prohibitions against spam. In addition, from those accounts we found an additional 179 related or linked accounts, and took action on the ones we found in violation of our rules. Neither the original accounts shared by Facebook, nor the additional related accounts we identified, were registered as advertisers on Twitter. However, we continue to investigate these issues, and will take action on anything that violates our Terms of Service.
benton.org/headlines/russian-interference-2016-us-election-bots-misinformation | Twitter | Vox
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THE FALSE DREAM OF A NEUTRAL FACEBOOK
[SOURCE: The Atlantic, AUTHOR: Alexis Madrigal]
Mark Zuckerberg wants his company’s role in the election to be seen like this: Facebook had a huge effect on voting—and no impact on votes. If Facebook wants to be a force for good in democracy, it needs to answer some questions. Does maximizing engagement, as it is understood through News Feed’s automated analysis, create structural problems in the information ecosystem? More broadly, do the tools that people use to communicate on Facebook influence what they actually talk about? The fake news that ran rampant on Facebook was a symptom of a larger issue. The real problem lies at the very heart of Facebook’s most successful product: Perhaps virality and engagement cannot be the basis for a ubiquitous information service that acts as a “force for good in democracy.” And if this is true, how much is Facebook willing to change?
benton.org/headlines/false-dream-neutral-facebook | Atlantic, The
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COMMUNICATIONS & DEMOCRACY

KUSHNER DIDNT DISCLOSE PERSONAL E-MAIL ACCOUNT TO SENATE INTEL COMMITTEE
[SOURCE: CNN, AUTHOR: Jake Tapper]
In his closed interview with the staff of the Senate intelligence committee, White House senior adviser and presidential son-in-law Jared Kushner did not share the existence of his personal e-mail account, which he has used for official business. The chair and vice chair of the committee were so unhappy that they learned about the existence of his personal e-mail account via news reports that they wrote him a letter via his attorney Sept 28 instructing him to double-check that he has turned over every relevant document to the committee including those from his "'personal e-mail account' described to the news media, as well as all other e-mail accounts, messaging apps, or similar communications channels you may have used, or that may contain information relevant to our inquiry."
benton.org/headlines/kushner-didnt-disclose-personal-e-mail-account-senate-intel-committee | CNN
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INTERNET/BROADBAND

DEMOCRATIC PARTY $40 BILLION BROADBAND PLAN
[SOURCE: Washington Post, AUTHOR: Brian Fung]
The Democratic Party is making high-speed Internet access a new plank in its economic agenda as it tries to regain trust among middle-class Americans in the country's heartland. Democratic lawmakers are calling for $40 billion in new federal funding for infrastructure projects for rural and tribal areas and other regions, whose access to fast, affordable broadband has lagged behind that of dense, urban areas. The proposal, unveiled Sept 28, would have Internet providers compete for the right to build out the networks -- local governments and cooperatives would also be eligible for funding. Drawing parallels to the 1930s-era push for nationwide electricity, Democrats say the plan would benefit farmers, medical patients and students in the most remote and underserved areas. The effort suggests Democrats are seeking to turn Internet access into a campaign issue in upcoming midterm races. By incorporating rural broadband into the party's overarching “Better Deal” economic plan, the “digital divide” is gaining a prominence that has rarely been seen before in the party's platform.
benton.org/headlines/democratic-party-pushing-40-billion-plan-bring-best-internet-access-rural-america | Washington Post | read the White Paper | The Hill
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AMERICA’S DIGITAL DIVIDE
[SOURCE: US Congress Joint Economic Committee, AUTHOR: Sen Martin Heinrich (D-NM)]
While broadband internet access has increased over time, there remains a digital divide in access to and adoption of high-speed internet. Closing this gap must be a priority, and will take a substantial federal investment to do. There are still 34 million residents that do not have at least one broadband provider in their community. While nearly all of Connecticut has access to high-speed internet, more than one third of Mississippi’s residents lack access. At local levels, the disparities get larger. In more than 200 counties, no one has access to broadband internet. Congress must prioritize rural broadband expansion in any national comprehensive infrastructure plan debated in the 115th Congress. Further, Congress needs to work on closing the gap in at-home internet usage. All Americans can benefit from having the internet in their homes, giving them better access to educational, health, and career-related resources. Bridging this gap will require improving competition to bring consumer costs down and expanding efforts to subsidize home broadband subscriptions.
benton.org/headlines/americas-digital-divide | US Congress Joint Economic Committee
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NET NEUTRALITY

NCTA APPEALS NN DECISION
[SOURCE: Broadcasting&Cable, AUTHOR: John Eggerton]
NCTA-The Internet and Television Association, which represents cable and broadband operators, has asked the Supreme Court to hear their challenge to the federal appeals court decision upholding the Federal Communications Commission's Title II reclassification of Internet service providers. NCTA filed a cert petition with the court Sept 28, which is its request that the High Court review the US Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia decision on the 2015 Open Internet Order. That comes as new FCC Chairman Ajit Pai has proposed to roll back that classification. The petition recognizes that and advises the court that if the FCC does reclassify ISPs as Title I information services, the court should vacate its original judgment and dismiss the NCTA cert petition as moot. NCTA says the Tom Wheeler FCC's decision to reclassify ISPs under Title II was an arbitrary and capricious reversal of long-standing policy without changed circumstances that would justify it, that the FCC violated the Administrative Procedures Act by failing to give adequate notice of its shift to Title II, and that the FCC was exceeding its authority.
benton.org/headlines/ncta-appeals-net-neutrality-decision-supreme-court | Broadcasting&Cable
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SECURITY/PRIVACY

PHISH FOR THE FUTURE
[SOURCE: Electronic Frontier Foundation, AUTHOR: Eva Galperin, Cooper Quintin]
This report describes “Phish For The Future,” an advanced persistent spearphishing campaign targeting digital civil liberties activists at Free Press and Fight For the Future. Between July 7th and August 8th of 2017 we observed almost 70 spearphishing attempts against employees of internet freedom NGOs Fight for the Future and Free Press, all coming from the same attackers.
benton.org/headlines/phish-future | Electronic Frontier Foundation | Gizmodo
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EMERGENCY COMMUNICATIONS

CELL PHONE FM CHIPS
[SOURCE: Federal Communications Commission, AUTHOR: FCC Chairman Ajit Pai]
In recent years, I have repeatedly called on the wireless industry to activate the FM chips that are already installed in almost all smartphones sold in the United States. And I’ve specifically pointed out the public safety benefits of doing so. In fact, in my first public speech after I became Chairman, I observed that ‘[y]ou could make a case for activating chips on public safety grounds alone.’ When wireless networks go down during a natural disaster, smartphones with activated FM chips can allow Americans to get vital access to life-saving information. I applaud those companies that have done the right thing by activating the FM chips in their phones. Apple is the one major phone manufacturer that has resisted doing so. But I hope the company will reconsider its position, given the devastation wrought by Hurricanes Harvey, Irma, and Maria. That’s why I am asking Apple to activate the FM chips that are in its iPhones. It is time for Apple to step up to the plate and put the safety of the American people first. As the Sun Sentinel of South Florida put it, ‘Do the right thing, Mr. Cook. Flip the switch. Lives depend on it.’
benton.org/headlines/fcc-chairman-pai-urges-apple-activate-fm-chips-promote-public-safety | Federal Communications Commission
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POLICYMAKERS

SENATE WILL PROCEED TO PAI NOMINATION VOTE
[SOURCE: Broadcasting&Cable, AUTHOR: John Eggerton]
The Senate as expected voted to invoke cloture (limit debate) on the renomination of Federal Communications Commission Chairman Ajit Pai to a new, five-year term on the FCC retroactive to the end of his term, which was June 2016 (commissioners can serve through the end of the next Congress, which is the end of 2017). The vote was 55 to 40 along primarily partisan lines and followed Democratic Sens calling for the "firing" of Pai and Republicans saying the FCC was in good hands under Pai's stewardship. The vote means the Senate can proceed to a vote on the underlying nomination. An earlier vote was blocked by Democrats. That vote is expected by Oct 2 and will almost certainly result in a new term for the chairman.
benton.org/headlines/senate-will-proceed-pai-nomination-vote | Broadcasting&Cable
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MARKEY SLICES PAI
[SOURCE: Broadcasting&Cable, AUTHOR: John Eggerton]
On the floor of the Senate, Sen Ed Markey (D-MA) said, "At every turn, [Federal Communications Commission] Chairman Pai choses corporate interests over consumers." He told his colleagues that the FCC now stands for "Forgetting Consumers and Competition" under Chairman Ajit Pai. He also said he would outline who is getting a big piece of the FCC pie under Pai. He even used a visual aide, an FCC logo divided into Pai wedges he moved from the "consumer" side of his chart to the "corporation" side. Sen Markey tied his opposition to Pai's proposal to roll back Title II classification of broadband internet access service and repealing network neutrality rules. Markey said Pai was in the thrall of big media to the detriment of consumers. But he also pointed to Pai’s actions on Lifeline, broadband privacy, the Sinclair-Tribune merger, E-rate and more as reasons to deny him a seat on the commission, which were other pieces of the pie he moved to the "corporation" side in his own version of a Senate Ted Talk.
benton.org/headlines/sen-markey-slices-fccs-pai | Broadcasting&Cable
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STORIES FROM ABROAD

TOSHIBA DEAL
[SOURCE: New York Times, AUTHOR: Jonathan Soble]
Toshiba, the huge but struggling Japanese conglomerate, traded some of its size for financial security by selling off most of its profitable microchip business. It was not the way the company, which has long been accused of being bloated and directionless, had hoped to slim down. Toshiba said it had signed a deal to sell 60 percent of the microchip unit, Toshiba Memory Corporation, to a group of international investors that includes Bain Capital and Apple. The deal, which followed months of tumultuous negotiations, will net Toshiba about $14 billion. In addition to Apple, investors include three other American businesses: Seagate Technology and Kingston Technology, two data storage companies, and a venture capital arm of Dell, the computer maker. The South Korean semiconductor maker SK Hynix, and Hoya, a Japanese manufacturer of optical equipment, were also named as investors. Toshiba itself will retain just over 40 percent of the unit, one of the world’s largest producers of the flash memory chips used to store data in smartphones and other digital devices.
benton.org/headlines/toshiba-reaches-deal-bain-apple-group-sell-chip-business | New York Times
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MEDIA OWNERSHIP RULES IN AUSTRALIA
[SOURCE: New York Times, AUTHOR: Jacqueline Williams]
Most of Australia’s newspapers, radio stations and television broadcasters are controlled by only a handful of owners, like Rupert Murdoch’s media empire, making it one of the most concentrated media markets in the developed world. Soon, even more Australian media properties could be in fewer hands. New legislation backed by Australia’s governing Liberal party would eliminate restrictions separating broadcast media from print and would allow media companies to own more outlets in a city. The legislation, which has cleared Australia’s Senate and could come before the lower house of Parliament as soon as next month, is widely expected to pass. Media owners say the rules are relics of a less digital era. Like media companies around the world, Australia’s newspaper and television station owners are contending with the rise of internet companies like Facebook and Google, which are drawing away advertising dollars, eyeballs and eardrums. But in an echo of debates raging in other countries, opponents say the changes would lead to a less diverse media market, with Murdoch’s company among those likely to benefit the most. They also contend the legislation’s backers are simply helping their political allies.
benton.org/headlines/australias-big-media-set-get-bigger-help-lawmakers | New York Times
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... and we are outta here. Have a great weekend -- and Go Cubs!

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Analysis

September 2017

Black lawmaker Rep Robin Kelly presses Facebook to stop racially charged Russian ads

Fake black activist accounts linked to Russian government

Facebook Built Its vision of Democracy on Bad Math

Seven legal questions about Trump deleting his tweets

Google Missed Deadlines and Other Challenges Lead Some to Question Google Gigabit Value

City Bureau and ProPublica Illinois Partner on Public Meeting Data

Radical Leftists Built Their Own Reddit After It Banned Them

Pai Confirmation Vote Scheduled for 5:30 P.M. Oct 2

China Is Another Step Closer to Building a Quantum Internet

September 29, 2017 (Election Interference)