Verizon is pleased to release our Transparency Report for the second half of 2017. This is our ninth Transparency Report. As in the past, this report describes the different types of demands we receive and the types of data that we disclose in response to those demands. The number of demands that we have received each year continues to be fairly stable since we released our first report.
[Commentary] The ability to speak and be heard is a basic human right. And the ability to communicate during a disaster is a life-and-death issue. But both are often denied to people of color. This has been the case in Puerto Rico.
Congressional action to update the Telecommunications Act will be incremental, according to House Commerce Committee Chairman Greg Walden (R-OR). "We're looking at it piece by piece," Walden said at the 2018 State of the Net conference on Jan 29. He added that Congress also "needs to look at the FCC operation" overall, acknowledging that "we live in a different era" than when the 1996 Telecom law was enacted. Walden said he expects a "program-by-program" evaluation, but did not suggest any timetable or urgency for the review.
[Commentary] Republicans have been largely supportive of the [Sinclair Broadcast Group and Tribune Media mega-merger], not just because of the principle that the government should stay out of business decisions, but also for political reasons: Conservatives are excited about the prospect of a national broadcast giant with a distinct right-leaning perspective. In the short term, they’re right to be excited: The merged broadcaster would have 215 TV stations covering more than 72 percent of U.S. households, an unprecedented reach into Americans’ living rooms.
In mid-January, the US Department of Commerce slapped a tariff on Canadian newsprint, which is used by around 75 percent of US publishers and is particularly prevalent in the Northeast. Even though the duty may yet be reversed, American newspapers—already struggling to go to print in an era of rapidly declining circulation—have to pay it in the meantime. Many publishers fear it’ll add upward of 10 percent to their print costs, and could even result in job losses. The tariff will affect publishers of all sizes, from The New York Times and The Wall Street Journal on down.
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