BENTON'S COMMUNICATIONS-RELATED HEADLINES for THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 23, 2107
Today's Events
- Work on Things That Matter: Find a Job in Public Interest Tech, New America -- https://www.benton.org/node/254888
- Will The Internet Set Us Free?, New America -- https://www.benton.org/node/254730
INTERNET/BROADBAND
First Lifeline, Now Broadband Program for Schools and Libraries in the FCC’s Crosshairs -- Gigi Sohn
Dozens of Digital Inclusion Groups Urge FCC to Support Internet ‘Lifeline’ for Low-Income Families
FCC's Pai: DC Should Not Micromanage Dynamic Industry
Give Chairman Pai a Chance to Break the Net Neutrality Logjam - Morning Consult op-ed [links to Benton summary]
Christopher Mitchell: TN needs better broadband, not subsidies - Knoxville News Sentinel op-ed
Sen. Schatz: No Big Infrastructure Bill Coming [links to Light Reading]
Google Fiber makes expansion plans for $60 wireless gigabit service [links to Benton summary]
Google fights online trolls with new tool [links to Washington Post]
COMMUNICATIONS & DEMOCRACY
Donald Trump is losing his war with the media
The Washington Post: 'Democracy dies in darkness' [links to Benton summary]
Conway sidelined after going 'off message' [links to Benton summary]
How to build a Donald Trump media bubble [links to Washington Post]
Why Trump loves to hate the media - WaPo commentary [links to Benton summary]
Five ways President Trump can become media literate - Margaret Sullivan [links to Benton summary]
The conservative media flap that explains Facebook’s funding of CPAC [links to Washington Post]
Silicon Valley's impossible balancing act with Trump [links to CNN]
Oscars Poll: 66 Percent of Trump Voters Turn Off Awards Shows When Speeches Get Political [links to Hollywood Reporter]
JOURNALISM
We Avoid News We Don't Like. Some Trump-Era Evidence.
What Facebook Owes to Journalism - NYT op-ed
How Mark Zuckerberg could really fix journalism - CJR [links to Benton summary]
Donors Sponsor Over 200,000 Digital Student Subscriptions To 'NYT' [links to MediaPost]
FCC REFORM
A Modified Delegated Authority Proposal - Michael O'Rielly blog
SECURITY/PRIVACY
What to expect from the Trump administration on cybersecurity
How Peter Thiel's Palantir Helped the NSA Spy on the Whole World
FTC Chair Says Privacy Shield Is Safe, Despite Immigration Order [links to Benton summary]
This creepy tool reveals how Facebook’s AI tracks and studies your activity [links to Next Web, The]
Don't post violent threats on "anonymous" messaging apps [links to Ars Technica]
Your Biggest Online Security Risk Is You [links to Wall Street Journal]
Vivek Wadhwa: How regulators can make smart devices more secure against hackers [links to Washington Post]
WIRELESS/SPECTRUM
FCC Approves LTE-U Devices
Your next smartphone might run on something called LTE-U. Here’s what that means. [links to Washington Post]
T-Mobile promises big LTE boost from 5GHz Wi-Fi frequencies [links to Ars Technica]
Verizon to deliver 5G service to pilot customers in 11 markets across U.S. by Mid 2017 [links to Verge, The]
Nokia, AT&T Test 5G Streaming of DirecTV Now [links to Multichannel News]
Project Loon’s latest breakthrough to reduce costs for telcos [links to Benton summary]
Smartphones Have an Unexpected New Rival [links to Benton summary]
TELECOM
FCC Defends Prison Call Shift
ADVERTISING
Democratic Reps Seek FCC Political Disclosure Closure [links to Benton summary]
BROADCASTING
FCC Receives 106 Complaints on Madonna’s Speech at Women’s March [links to Benton summary]
FCC Lets Class A Low Powers Kick Tires on ATSC 3.0 [links to Benton summary]
GOVERNMENT AND COMMUNICATIONS
18F Wants to Change the Rules, Not Break Them [links to Benton summary]
What is the “Cost per Regulator” on GDP and Private Sector Job Creation? - Phoenix Center analysis [links to Benton summary]
LABOR
Sorry techies, the majority of U.S. workplaces still use ‘old-school’ tech like email and phone calls to communicate [links to Vox]
The Video Game Industry Is Afraid of Unions [links to Vice]
DIVERSITY
Journalism and Race: ‘Everyone genuinely seems to care. Collectively, not much changes.’ - op-ed [links to Benton summary]
4 steps newsrooms are taking to boost diversity [links to Benton summary]
EMERGENCY COMMUNICATIONS
FirstNet Annual Report: Fiscal Year 2016 Marked Significant Achievements in Making Network a Reality for Public Safety [links to FirstNet]
POLICYMAKERS
Decoding the Doublespeak of FCC Chairman Pai - Timothy Karr op-ed
Former FCC Commissioner Gloria Tristani Joins National Hispanic Media Coalition as Special Policy Advisor - press release
Chief digital officer steps down from White House job over background check [links to Benton summary]
INTERNET/BROADBAND
FIRST LIFELINE, NOW BROADBAND FOR SCHOOLS AND LIBRARIES IN FCC CROSSHAIRS
[SOURCE: Benton Foundation, AUTHOR: Gigi Sohn]
First the new Federal Communications Commission majority revoked the approval of nine companies to become Lifeline providers, a move that will weaken the Lifeline program and widen the digital divide. Now it appears that the E-Rate program, which makes broadband services more affordable for America’s schools and libraries, is in the FCC majority’s crosshairs. And much like in the case of Lifeline, the majority is using procedural steps and administrative tools to weaken the E-Rate program.
benton.org/headlines/first-lifeline-now-broadband-program-schools-and-libraries-fccs-crosshairs | Benton Foundation
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LIFELINE LETTER
[SOURCE: Free Press, AUTHOR: ]
Nearly 40 civil rights, social justice, labor and digital inclusion groups sent a letter to the Federal Communications Commission urging the agency to reverse its decision that undermined the Lifeline Program. Under previous FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler, the agency expanded and modernized Lifeline to help make high-speed internet access more affordable to people in low-income communities around the country. New FCC Chairman Ajit Pai stymied program implementation in one of a number of decisions his FCC bureaus released on Feb. 3. Under Chairman Pai, the FCC revoked Lifeline broadband-provider status previously granted to nine internet service providers. The decision made it more difficult — if not impossible — for tens of thousands of low-income families and students to get online. He took away the connections of 17,500 customers that one of these providers was already serving, and stalled imminent service from other eight. “Lifeline … is the only federal program poised to bring broadband to poor families across the U.S. so that they can connect to jobs, complete their homework, and communicate with healthcare providers and emergency services,” reads the groups’ letter to the FCC. “[W]e respectfully request that the Commission reject any further efforts to undermine Lifeline, swiftly implement the March 2016 Lifeline modernization order, and overturn the Wireline Competition Bureau’s Order on Reconsideration that rescinded Lifeline Broadband Provider designations for nine carriers prepared to offer Lifeline broadband services.” Groups signing the letter include the AFL-CIO, the American Library Association, the Benton Foundation, the Center for Media Justice, the Center for Rural Strategies, Color Of Change, Common Cause, Communications Workers of America, Free Press, Generation Justice, Media Mobilizing Project, the NAACP, the National Hispanic Media Coalition, Native Public Media, New America's Open Technology Institute, Public Knowledge, and the United Church of Christ, Office of Communication Inc., among others.
benton.org/headlines/dozens-digital-inclusion-groups-urge-fcc-support-internet-lifeline-low-income-families | Free Press
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PAI: DC SHOULD NOT MICROMANAGE DYNAMIC INDUSTRY
[SOURCE: Broadcasting&Cable, AUTHOR: John Eggerton]
Federal Communications Commission Chairman Ajit Pai says DC bureaucrats should not micromanage dynamic industries and that he supports Congress making broadband part of an infrastructure legislative package. He also suggests the government should not be trying to divine journalists' editorial judgments. When asked for a timetable for rolling back the FCC's Title II reclassification of Internet service providers, Chairman Pai said he could not provide one. He did say the ultimate goal was to preserve an internet he argues had been open for two decades before the FCC decided to reclassify ISPs as common carriers. He said the takeaway from those two decades was that light-touch regulation was best and signaled that was what he was aiming to restore. Chairman Pai put in a plug for making broadband part of an infrastructure package in Congress. "I think what Americans really want is better, faster, cheaper internet access," he said, "and for the Congress to give the private sector more tools to promote broadband development."
benton.org/headlines/fccs-pai-dc-should-not-micromanage-dynamic-industry | Broadcasting&Cable
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CHRISTOPHER MITCHELL: TN NEEDS BETTER BROADBAND
[SOURCE: Knoxville News Sentinel, AUTHOR:]
[Commentary] If you were tasked with improving the internet access across Tennessee, a good first start would be to examine what is working and what’s not. But when the General Assembly debates broadband, it frequently focuses on what AT&T and Comcast want rather than what is working. Broadband expansion has turned into a perennial fight between Tennessee’s municipal broadband networks and advocates of better connectivity on one side and AT&T and Comcast on the other. On one side is a taxpayer-subsidized model, while the other depends solely on the revenues of those who choose to subscribe. But which is which? AT&T has received billions of taxpayer dollars to build its networks, whereas Chattanooga, Tullahoma and Morristown, for example, financed their fiber-optic networks by selling revenue bonds to private investors and repaying them with revenues from their services. The big telephone companies are massively subsidized, whereas municipal networks have generally not used taxpayer dollars.
[Christopher Mitchell is the director of the Community Broadband Networks Initiative at the Institute for Local Self-Reliance in Minneapolis.]
benton.org/headlines/christopher-mitchell-tn-needs-better-broadband-not-subsidies | Knoxville News Sentinel
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COMMUNICATIONS & DEMOCRACY
TRUMP LOSING HIS WAR WITH MEDIA
[SOURCE: Washington Post, AUTHOR: Aaron Blake]
A new poll from Quinnipiac University suggests that while people may be broadly unhappy with the mainstream media, they still think it's more credible than President Donald Trump. The president regularly accuses the press of “fake news,” but people see more “fake news” coming out of his own mouth. The poll asked who registered voters “trust more to tell you the truth about important issues.” A majority — 52 percent — picked the media. Just 37 percent picked Trump. The poll did find that registered voters by a narrow margin think the media has treated Trump unfairly, with 50 percent saying they disapproved of the coverage of Trump and 45 percent approving. But voters are even more critical of Trump's treatment of the media, with 61 percent disapproving and 35 percent approving. Even 23 percent of Republicans say Trump is mistreating the media, and independents disapprove 59-35.
benton.org/headlines/donald-trump-losing-his-war-media | Washington Post | WaPo
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JOURNALISM
WE AVOID NEWS WE DON'T LIKE
[SOURCE: New York Times, AUTHOR: Kevin Quealy]
The United States is so polarized that it can seem that Republicans and Democrats choose to exist in two entirely different versions of the day, depending on their media diet. But a new analysis of the web traffic of 148 news organizations shows something subtler: Publications across the political spectrum broadly cover the news events of the day, but their readers appear to gloss over the stories they don’t want to see. That analysis comes from Chartbeat, a web analytics company used by hundreds of online media publishers, including The New York Times. Chartbeat’s real-time dashboards display the articles that are being read most at any given moment, along with where those readers came from and how long they stayed.
benton.org/headlines/we-avoid-news-we-dont-some-trump-era-evidence | New York Times
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WHAT FACEBOOK OWES TO JOURNALISM
[SOURCE: New York Times, AUTHOR: Steven Wadlman]
[Commentary] Facebook chief executive Mark Zuckerberg’s manifesto about community, released last week on Facebook, wisely analyzed the state of journalism: He decried sensationalism, and declared that “a strong news industry is also critical to building an informed community.” Giving people a voice, he said, “is not enough without having people dedicated to uncovering new information and analyzing it.” He even noted that “reading local news is directly correlated with local civic engagement.” Unfortunately, his memo ignored two major points — the role that Facebook and other technology platforms are playing in inadvertently damaging local news media, and the one way they could actually save journalism: with a massive philanthropic commitment.
[Steven Waldman, the founder of LifePosts.com, was the prime author of the Federal Communications Report “Information Needs of Communities: The Changing Media Landscape in a Broadband Age.”]
benton.org/headlines/what-facebook-owes-journalism | New York Times
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FCC REFORM
A MODIFIED DELEGATED AUTHORITY PROPOSAL
[SOURCE: Federal Communications Commission, AUTHOR: FCC Commissioner Michael O'Rielly]
I have made the case previously that the Commission delegates way too many substantive decisions to Bureau staff, usurping the role and obligations of duly appointed and confirmed Commissioners. Consider that in 2016 I only voted on 167 items, but almost nine times as many were decided on delegated authority. The heart of my revised delegated authority proposal is an attempt to achieve balance between the need to allow Commissioners to have greater say in the workings of the Commission and preventing process abuses and unnecessary delays. Here are its main components:
Advanced Warning: Consistent with my previous recommendation, except for the most routine matters, Commissioners should be provided no less than 48 hours to review an item that is to be decided by Bureau staff under delegated authority.
Request by Two or More Commissioners: On any given matter, it is possible that any one Commissioner could be troubled by the substance or process of an item.
Time Constraint: A concern was raised that having two Commissioners as the proper threshold may not necessarily provide a sufficient barrier to excessive or needless delays.
Automatic Approval if Delayed: Under my proposal, in those instances (if ever) when a requesting office does not vote by the deadline, the item would be – at the Chairman’s prerogative – either released as approved by the full Commission (assuming the other offices voted to approve) or sent back to the Bureau for immediate issuance on delegated authority.
benton.org/headlines/modified-delegated-authority-proposal | Federal Communications Commission
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SECURITY/PRIVACY
TRUMP AND CYBERSECURITY
[SOURCE: IDG News Service, AUTHOR: Grant Gross]
Look for President Donald Trump's administration to push for increased cybersecurity spending in government, but also for increased digital surveillance and encryption workarounds. That's the view of some cybersecurity policy experts, who said they expect Trump to focus on improving cybersecurity at federal agencies while shying away from new cybersecurity regulations for businesses. Trump is likely to look for ways for the National Security Agency and other agencies to assist the government and companies in defending against cyberattacks, said Jeffrey Eisenach, a visiting scholar at the American Enterprise Institute and a tech adviser during Trump's presidential transition. "Cyber has to be top of mind for any view of the United States' global strategy," Eisenach said. "If you're not thinking of cyber first, I don't know what you should be thinking about."
benton.org/headlines/what-expect-trump-administration-cybersecurity | IDG News Service
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PETER THIEL AND NSA
[SOURCE: The Intercept, AUTHOR: Sam Biddle]
Donald Trump has inherited the most powerful machine for spying ever devised. How this petty, vengeful man might wield and expand the sprawling American spy apparatus, already vulnerable to abuse, is disturbing enough on its own. But the outlook is even worse considering Trump’s vast preference for private sector expertise and new strategic friendship with Silicon Valley billionaire investor Peter Thiel, whose controversial (and opaque) company Palantir has long sought to sell governments an unmatched power to sift and exploit information of any kind. Thiel represents a perfect nexus of government clout with the kind of corporate swagger Trump loves. The Intercept can now reveal that Palantir has worked for years to boost the global dragnet of the NSA and its international partners, and was in fact co-created with American spies.
benton.org/headlines/how-peter-thiels-palantir-helped-nsa-spy-whole-world | Intercept, The
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WIRELESS/SPECTRUM
FCC APPROVES LTE-U DEVICES
[SOURCE: Broadcasting&Cable, AUTHOR: John Eggerton]
The Federal Communications Commission is opening up the 5 GHz spectrum band to unlicensed LTE use as a way to boost spectrum sharing and wireless broadband. “This is a significant advance in wireless innovation and a big win for wireless consumers," said FCC chairman Ajit Pai. “LTE-U allows wireless providers to deliver mobile data traffic using unlicensed spectrum while sharing the road, so to speak, with Wi-Fi. The excellent staff of the FCC’s Office of Engineering and Technology has certified that the LTE-U devices being approved today are in compliance with FCC rules. And voluntary industry testing has demonstrated that both these devices and Wi-Fi operations can co-exist in the 5 GHz band. This heralds a technical breakthrough in the many shared uses of this spectrum." The FCC certified LTE-U equipment from Ericsson and Nokia, T-Mobile said, which means the carrier can start deploying the technology in its network, which it will start doing this spring. T-Mobile says tapping into 20 MHz of 5 GHz spectrum—the "U" in LTE-U stands for unlicensed—will help it deliver gigabit LTE to more areas of the country.
benton.org/headlines/fcc-approves-lte-u-devices | Broadcasting&Cable | Pai Statement | The Hill
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TELECOM
FCC DEFENDS PRISON CALL SHIFT
[SOURCE: Politico, AUTHOR: Margaret Harding McGill, Tony Romm]
Although Federal Communications Commission Chairman Ajit Pai believes there’s market failure in the prison phone call industry, the FCC’s “well-intentioned efforts have not been fully consistent with the law,” the agency’s acting general counsel told lawmakers in a letter Feb 21. Citing the reality that the commission’s current Republican leadership disagreed with parts of the FCC’s 2015 reforms, agency attorneys abandoned defense of rate regulation of in-state phone calls in a lawsuit brought by major prison phone providers. Acting general counsel Brendan Carr pointed out that the FCC still moved forward with oral arguments, and defended the agency’s authority to cap interstate rates and efforts to curb fees. “If the court ultimately agrees with the positions the FCC defended at oral argument, the result could go a long way in helping to reduce the rates and fees associated with inmate calling services,” Carr wrote in response to a letter from Rep. Bobby Rush (D-IL) and other Democrats.
benton.org/headlines/fcc-defends-prison-call-shift | Politico | The Hill
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POLICYMAKERS
PAI DOUBLESPEAK
[SOURCE: American Prospect, AUTHOR: Timothy Karr]
[Commentary] The Washington Post noted that Federal Communications Commission Chairman Ajit Pai likes to talk the talk of bridging the digital divide—during his first speech as FCC chairman, he said it would be a top agency priority. But when the FCC released his anti-Lifeline action days later, “he opened another gap,” wrote the Post, “this time between his words and his actions.” It’s the sort of head fake that’s familiar to those who’ve followed Pai’s career as a lead apologist for the phone companies he once worked for—and still serves. This list of Pai’s miscues on key policy issues makes amply clear the many harmful directions the new FCC chairman will lead the agency through the Trump years.
Commissioner Pai on the 2015 Net Neutrality Proceeding: “[The ruling is] President Obama’s plan to regulate the Internet. ... Was this proceeding ‘one of the most open and transparent in Commission history’? Not in the least.”
Commissioner Pai on the Threat to an Open Internet: “[Net neutrality] regulation was a solution that wouldn’t work for a problem that didn’t exist.”
Commissioner Pai on the Impact the Net Neutrality Rules Have Had on Investment: “Growth in broadband investment has ... flatlined.” “We need to fire up the weed whacker and remove those rules that are holding back investment, innovation, and job creation ... [net neutrality’s] days are numbered.”
Commissioner Pai on the FCC Effort to Protect Broadband-User Data from Prying ISPs: “Instead of respecting ... common sense ... the FCC tilts the regulatory playing field by proposing to impose more burdensome regulation on internet service providers, or ISPs, than the FTC imposes on so-called ‘edge providers.’”
Commissioner Pai on Offering Affordable Broadband to Those in Need: “If we are going to refocus Lifeline on broadband, our goal should be increasing broadband adoption—that is, helping Americans without internet access across the digital divide, not supporting those who have already made the leap.”
benton.org/headlines/decoding-doublespeak-fcc-chairman-pai | American Prospect
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GLORIA TRISTANI JOINS NHMC
[SOURCE: National Hispanic Media Coalition, AUTHOR: Press release]
The National Hispanic Media Coalition announced that former Commissioner Gloria Tristani of the Federal Communications Commission will be joining NHMC as the new Special Policy Advisor. In this role, Tristani will further NHMC’s work to bridge the digital divide and advocate for responsible media that is inclusive of Latino voices. Tristani comes to NHMC from Spiegel & McDiarmid LLP, where she represented the interests of clients including noncommercial radio stations, public, educational and governmental access channels, local and municipal governments, rural electric cooperatives and non-profit groups. She also served as president of the Benton Foundation, where she educated policy-makers, academics and public interest advocates on communications policy. As an FCC Commissioner from 1997 to 2001, Tristani sought to accelerate broadband deployment to rural and other underserved areas; was an advocate for the “E-Rate” program, which provides discounted Internet access to schools and libraries; and supported the FCC’s Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO) rules and policies to enhance minority and women ownership in the communications industry.
benton.org/headlines/former-fcc-commissioner-gloria-tristani-joins-national-hispanic-media-coalition-special | National Hispanic Media Coalition
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