If you should fall into my arms / And tremble like a flower [Goodnight David Bowie]
BENTON'S COMMUNICATIONS-RELATED HEADLINES for MONDAY, JANUARY 11, 2016
Broadband Research and Digital Inclusion [links to Benton Foundation]
Events this week https://www.benton.org/calendar/2016-01-10--P1W
INTERNET/BROADBAND
Libraries' Increasing Role in Broadband Adoption - research
Research Shows Cost is Biggest Barrier to Broadband Adoption - Amina Fazlullah
Republicans to pick up fight against network neutrality
Setback for online sales tax effort
Why Amazon's Data Centers Are Hidden in Spy Country - analysis
How a Fiber Master Plan Is Guiding Shawnee (KS)'s Path to Connectivity [links to Benton summary]
Cox ‘Gigablast’ OK for Launch in Oklahoma [links to Multichannel News]
TELECOM
Consumer Action asks FCC not to narrow criteria for Lifeline phone service - press release
WIRELESS/SPECTRUM
T-Mobile Confirms It Slows Connections to Video Sites [links to Benton summary]
Video startup quits T-Mobile’s Binge On over network neutrality concern
Legere vs EFF: It’s On
FCC bullish on airwave auction [links to Hill, The]
The entire New York City subway system will have Wi-Fi by the end of 2016 [links to Verge, The]
Wi-Fi and Bluetooth are coming for the smart home [links to Verge, The]
The end of the two-year service contract: Sprint, AT&T join Verizon, T-Mobile in dropping contracts [links to Fierce]
The entire New York City subway system will have Wi-Fi by the end of 2016 [links to Verge, The]
People Turning Towards Data-only Smartphone Use [links to Benton summary]
OWNERSHIP
Charter: New York State Approves Time Warner Cable Deal
TELEVISION
As Time Warner Cable crows, David Lazarus is cutting the cord [links to Los Angeles Times]
Majority of US Households Have Internet-Connected TVs: Magid/TubeMogul Study [links to Broadcasting&Cable]
Op-Ed: Industry Standards will Accelerate Tech Transitions in 2016 [links to Multichannel News]
PRIVACY AND SECURITY
How Satellites Spy On Us [links to Fast Company]
Christopher Mims: If we compromise the security of our computing devices in a misbegotten attempt to stem criminal behavior or terrorism, then we deserve what will follow [links to Wall Street Journal]
JOURNALISM
Around half of newspaper readers rely only on print edition - Pew Research Center analysis [links to Benton summary]
Government secrecy was the biggest threat to a free press in 2015. Will this year be better? [links to Columbia Journalism Review]
ELECTIONS AND MEDIA
Candidates agree: News media have done them wrong [links to Benton summary]
Too far? The ‘Daily Show’ plugs nasty hashtag about Trump. - analysis
GOVERNMENT & COMMUNICATIONS
House to Weigh Overhaul of Open Records Process
Obama Administration plans shake-up in propaganda war against the Islamic State
Silicon Valley appears open to helping US spy agencies after terrorism summit
Juniper drops NSA-developed code following new backdoor revelations
Gathering of national security team in Silicon Valley signals criticality of technology in terrorism fight [links to American Enterprise Institute]
How President Obama is using the Consumer Electronics Show as a political opportunity
Despite Its Dark Side, the Internet Still Gives the White House's CTO Hope [links to AdWeek]
State Department Remarks On Media Freedom - speech [links to Benton summary]
Retiring members of Congress illustrate the problems with the campaign finance system [links to Vox]
State legislatures tweak lobbying rules as influence industry targets their capitols [links to Washington Post]
Book Review: “Republic of Spin,” a history of spin and the American presidency [links to Washington Post]
L Gordon Crovitz: The lesson from China is that markets can’t function smoothly when accurate information is disappeared [links to Wall Street Journal]
EMERGENCY COMMUNICATIONS
FCC Seeks Comment on 7th Report State Collection of 911 Fees [links to Federal Communications Commission]
DIVERSITY
Op-Ed: What It Really Takes To Get Girls Like Me to Code [links to EdSurge]
Silicon Valley elites on inequality [links to Vox]
HEALTH
What I Learned in 12 Weeks of Therapy for Social Media Addiction [links to Fast Company]
LIBRARIES
Libraries' Increasing Role in Broadband Adoption - research
Librarians are a dying breed - op-ed [links to Benton summary]
COMPANY NEWS
2016 Google Tracker: Everything Google is working on for the new year [links to Ars Technica]
STORIES FROM ABROAD
State Department Remarks On Media Freedom - speech [links to Benton summary]
Why tech firms hate new UK surveillance law [links to CNN Money]
UK police pay millions of pounds for telecoms surveillance [links to Financial Times]
Hong Kong rattled by missing booksellers [links to Financial Times]
INTERNET/BROADBAND
LIBRARIES’ INCREASING ROLE IN BROADBAND ADOPTION
[SOURCE: Benton Foundation, AUTHOR: Angela Siefer, Katherine Bates, Colin Rhinesmith]
With library systems increasingly prioritizing equitable access to the Internet and digital literacy training, the role 21st century libraries serve in promoting digital inclusion has become more prominent. The focus on increasing broadband access and use is happening locally and nationally with libraries increasing digital equity through partnerships with community-based organizations and engagement strategies with local neighborhoods. The New York Public Library and the Kansas City Public Library, for example, are experimenting with and searching for innovative solutions to the digital divide, which includes increasing home broadband access. While solutions must be locally-customized to meet the needs of specific populations, national support is necessary to aid local efforts, raise the visibility of the issue, garner resources, and create peer networks. To that end, this paper provides descriptions of local and national initiatives supportive of broadband adoption.
[Angela Siefer, National Digital Inclusion Alliance; Katherine Bates, Urban Libraries Council; and Colin Rhinesmith, School of Library and Information Studies, University of Oklahoma, and Benton Foundation Faculty Research Fellow]
https://www.benton.org/initiatives/libraries-broadband-adoption
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RESEARCH SHOWS COST IS BIGGEST BARRIER TO BROADBAND ADOPTION
[SOURCE: Benton Foundation, AUTHOR: Amina Fazlullah]
As federal policymakers consider ways to improve the Federal Communications Commission's Lifeline Program, the Benton Foundation shared with them recent research on digital inclusion and broadband adoption. Although realizing a fully inclusive digital society is a multi-faceted endeavor, the research we shared points to the biggest obstacle we face in making sure everyone is connected. Americans are increasingly likely to view home broadband service as important to accessing information or carrying out a variety of important tasks. A substantial majority of Americans feel that people without home broadband service are at a disadvantage when it comes to keeping up with news or information, getting health information, learning new things, accessing government services or engaging in a job search. As the FCC considers ways to best improve its Lifeline program and support home broadband adoption, these studies all show that the cost of broadband service is the biggest obstacle to overcome.
https://www.benton.org/blog/research-shows-cost-biggest-barrier-broadban...
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NEW NETWORK NEUTRALITY BILL
[SOURCE: The Hill, AUTHOR: Mario Trujillo, David McCabe]
House Republicans will resume their nearly yearlong effort to nibble away at the edges of the Federal Communications Commission's Internet rules. The House Commerce Committee’s technology subcommittee is slated to debate two bills regarding network neutrality -- one that would prevent the government from regulating Internet service prices and another that would exempt small Internet providers from some transparency rules. Republicans tried but were unable to include rate regulation language in the spending bill approved in December. FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler has said numerous times the commission has no intention of regulating the rates that customers are charged for Internet service under net neutrality rules. But net neutrality supporters said the language debated during the appropriations process was vague and could potentially blunt other FCC authority. The legislation to be debated simply says: "Notwithstanding any other provision of law, the Federal Communications Commission may not regulate the rates charged for broadband Internet access service." The committee will also take up a new bill that would exempt small Internet service providers from new transparency measures included in the net neutrality rules. The FCC has extended the exemption for a year, but many have called to keep in place indefinitely. The bill would also expand the definition of a small business, allowing more companies to be exempt from the rules. The FCC currently sets the exemption for companies with 100,000 or fewer subscribers. The new GOP definition would be 500,000 or fewer subscribers or fewer than 1,500 employees.
benton.org/headlines/republicans-pick-fight-against-network-neutrality | Hill, The
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ONLINE SALES TAX EFFORT
[SOURCE: The Hill, AUTHOR: Naomi Jagoda]
Lawmakers and industry groups who support online sales tax legislation are hopeful that they can get it passed despite a setback in Congress. Advocates for the sales tax measure had wanted to link it to a ban on taxing Internet access. But lawmakers did not take that step, instead crafting a conference report for a customs bill that would extend the ban on Internet access taxes indefinitely — but do nothing on the sales tax issue. Supporters of online sales tax legislation want the Senate to strip the access tax language from the conference report, but the effort appears to face an uphill climb. Conference reports generally cannot be changed on the floor. A senator could raise a point of order that the Internet access taxes ban is not germane, which, if successful, would send the report back to the House without the moratorium. A point of order can be waived with 60 votes.
benton.org/headlines/setback-online-sales-tax-effort | Hill, The
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WHY AMAZON'S DATA CENTERS ARE HIDDEN IN SPY COUNTRY
[SOURCE: The Atlantic, AUTHOR: Ingrid Burrington]
[Commentary] Once in a while—not quite often enough to be a crisis, but just often enough to be a trope—people in the United States will freak out because a huge number of highly popular websites and services have suddenly gone down. For an interminable period of torture (usually about 1-3 hours, tops) there is no Instagram to browse, no Tinder to swipe, no Github to push to, no Netflix to And Chill. When this happens, it usually means that Amazon Web Services is having a technical problem, most likely in their US-East region. What that actually means is that something is broken in northern Virginia. Of all the places where Amazon operates data centers, northern Virginia is one of the most significant, in part because it’s where AWS first set up shop in 2006. It seemed appropriate that this vision quest to see The Cloud across America which began at the ostensible birthplace of the Internet should end at the place that’s often to blame when large parts of the US Internet dies. Before I knew northern Virginia as the heart of the Internet, I knew it as spook country—that is, home to a constellation of intelligence agencies and defense contractors. To explain why a region surrounded mostly by farmland and a scattering of American Civil War monuments is a central point of Internet infrastructure, we have to go back to where a lot of significant moments in Internet history take place: the Cold War.
benton.org/headlines/why-amazons-data-centers-are-hidden-spy-country | Atlantic, The
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TELECOM
LIFELINE PETITION
[SOURCE: Consumer Action, AUTHOR: Ken McEldowney]
Consumer Action filed a petition with 2,585 signatures to the Federal Communications Commission in opposition to proposals to sharply reduce the ranks of low-income Americans who would be eligible for the Lifeline telephone subsidy. The Federal Lifeline program helps people in low-income households move out of poverty, by giving them access to job opportunities, health care, and public safety. The FCC voted in June to consider expanding the Lifeline program to also pay for broadband Internet service. Consumer Action applauds the FCC for recognizing that to be truly effective in connecting low-income Americans with crucial services and opportunities, low-income households must have Internet access. Unfortunately, fears of program abuse have led to recommendations from some to limit Lifeline eligibility to households on the federal Supplement Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), and to rely on a voucher or other Electronic Benefits Transfer (EBT)-based payment system to provide benefits. Consumer Action opposes such a move for several reasons given outlined in a fact sheet and created a petition to the FCC to counter the recommendations. The petition filed shows that consumers share Consumer Action’s concerns about steps that could seriously narrow or otherwise damage the Lifeline program.
benton.org/headlines/consumer-action-asks-fcc-not-narrow-criteria-lifeline-phone-service | Consumer Action
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WIRELESS
SLIDEFUSE QUITS BINGE ON
[SOURCE: ars technica, AUTHOR: Jon Brodkin]
T-Mobile continued to face criticism of its online video zero-rating and throttling program with one small video company saying it would quit Binge On. Slidefuse, maker of 4Stream.TV, was spurred to action in part by T-Mobile CEO John Legere insulting the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF). "In light of recent events and of comments made by your CEO, John Legere, we have decided to halt our participation in Binge On and disable our traffic shaping rules for the time being," Slidefuse told T-Mobile. Implementing "traffic shaping rules" apparently means that 4Stream.TV would send only 480p streams to the T-Mobile network. But since T-Mobile can recognize video from most sources and throttle it anyway, video providers can't prevent throttling simply by pulling out of the program. Consumers can disable Binge On in order to watch video without the quality being downgraded. Downgraded video uses less data, helping customers stay under their high-speed data caps. 4Stream.TV wasn't listed among the 38 providers participating in Binge On, but there appears to be a good reason for that: 4Stream.TV was still working with T-Mobile to meet its technical requirements.
benton.org/headlines/video-startup-quits-t-mobiles-binge-over-network-neutrality-concern | Ars Technica
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LEGERE VS EFF
[SOURCE: ars technica, AUTHOR: Jon Brodkin]
T-Mobile USA CEO John Legere has spent much of the day defending the carrier's controversial "Binge On" program, and he didn't hold much back when answering his critics. The Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF), which has criticized T-Mobile for throttling video streams down to 480p, asked him on Twitter whether T-Mobile is altering the video streams or just limiting their bandwidth. Legere responded in a video: “What Binge On does, it includes a proprietary technology and what the technology does is not only detect the video stream but select the appropriate bit rate to optimize to the video, the mobile device. That’s part A of my answer. Part B of my answer is, who the fuck are you, anyway, EFF? Why are you stirring up so much trouble, and who pays you?” EFF Activism Director Rainey Reitman responded, pointing out that it is "an advocacy organization fighting for civil liberties in the digital world," supported by donations from tens of thousands of people. Legere backed off a bit after his initial response, tweeting that he's not waging a "personal campaign against @EFF." "Let me be clear- I know who the @EFF is," he added. "I’m sure they do a lot of great things for a lot of consumers, but innovation can be controversial!"
benton.org/headlines/legere-vs-eff-its | Ars Technica | EFF | fun from The Verge
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OWNERSHIP
CHARTER: NEW YORK STATE APPROVES TIME WARNER CABLE DEAL
[SOURCE: Broadcasting&Cable, AUTHOR: John Eggerton]
Charter said that New York has approved its proposed merger with Time Warner Cable. Charter hailed the approval as putting it in a "strong position" as it tries to get the Federal Communications Commission to follow suit. The commission has paused the informal shot clock on its review of the merger, but that appears to be related to the holidays and time to review new document submissions rather than a signal of any issue. Stoppages of the 180-day clock are not unusual in merger reviews. New York's approval comes with new commitments on high-speed broadband—60 Mbps as a minimum offfering and 300 Mbps throughout the state, building out more unserved residential and commercial areas, and investing in and improving customer service, Charter said. “This is a significant step forward, not only for Charter but also for our future customers, and we are very happy to have obtained this approval from the New York State PSC,” said Tom Rutledge, president and CEO of Charter.
benton.org/headlines/charter-new-york-state-approves-time-warner-cable-deal | Broadcasting&Cable | Washington Post
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ELECTIONS AND MEDIA
COMEDY AND POLITICS
[SOURCE: Washington Post, AUTHOR: Callum Borchers]
[Commentary] Is there a line between what the media should and should not say about Donald Trump? Or has the Republican presidential front-runner erased it with his own boorish behavior? These are the questions running through my head as I scroll through Twitter posts marked by the hashtag #DonaldTrumpWantsToBangHisDaughter, which “Daily Show” host Trevor Noah promoted on the late-night program. Noah has used this line before -- and, we should emphasize, was making a rhetorical point when he pulled it out again. That point is this: Trump displays a reckless disregard for facts when spreading information (remember those bogus black/white homicide stats he got from “radio shows and everything else”?). So using Trump’s own standard, the logic goes, it’s okay to circulate the notion that he would like to have sexual relations with his daughter. “I’ve even seen people saying it on television,” Noah said sarcastically, as an image of himself from a previous episode appeared onscreen. Besides, Trump has joked that he would date his daughter if, you know, she wasn’t his daughter. Something about this particular gag feels uncomfortably tasteless. Noah’s wisecrack was personal, and was about something truly depraved. As many online Americans get their news from “The Daily Show” as from USA Today, according to the Pew Research Center. There’s a certain responsibility that comes with that. I just can’t get behind the idea that the press should emulate what it sees in Trump.
benton.org/headlines/too-far-daily-show-plugs-nasty-hashtag-about-trump | Washington Post
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GOVERNMENT & COMMUNICATIONS
OPEN RECORDS
[SOURCE: New York Times, AUTHOR: Gardiner Harris]
Fifty years after Congress passed a law opening most government records to public scrutiny, the House is expected on Jan 12 to take up the most important open records overhaul since 2007. Majorities of both Republicans and Democrats are expected to support the legislation. Republicans in the House have complained that the open records process “is broken” and that the Obama Administration has ignored the law. Democrats, while defending the Administration, agree that the records law needs strengthening. The bill already has 54 co-sponsors, including 25 Democrats, making it one of the few pieces of truly bipartisan legislation expected to pass this Congress. For thousands of journalists, historians and executives who file requests every year for government records only to see their requests ignored, delayed for years or refused altogether, the changes cannot come soon enough. The bill would, among other measures, require the government to create a single online portal for requests to any government agency, and it would put into law the presumption of openness promised by President Obama. But it is not expected to fully address a complaint by some open records advocates about corporations that overwhelm agencies with document requests and then resell the documents to various industries.
benton.org/headlines/house-weigh-overhaul-open-records-process | New York Times
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OBAMA ADMINISTRATION PLANS SHAKE-UP IN PROPAGANDA WAR AGAINST THE ISLAMIC STATE
[SOURCE: Washington Post, AUTHOR: Greg Miller, Karen DeYoung]
The Obama Administration is overhauling its faltering efforts to combat the online propaganda of the Islamic State and other terror groups, US officials said, reflecting rising White House frustration with largely ineffective efforts so far to cut into ISIS’ use of social media to draw recruits and incite attacks. Officials will create a new counter-terrorism task force, which will be based at the Department of Homeland Security but aims to enlist dozens of federal and local agencies. Other moves include revamping a State Department program that was created to serve as an information war room to challenge the Islamic State online and erode its appeal. US officials said the unit at the State Department will turn its focus toward helping allies craft more localized anti-terror messages, and will stop producing any videos or other material in English -- ending a campaign that had been derided by critics.
benton.org/headlines/obama-administration-plans-shake-propaganda-war-against-islamic-state | Washington Post
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SILICON VALLEY AND TERRORISM
[SOURCE: The Guardian, AUTHOR: Danny Yadron, Julia Carrie Wong]
Technology giants appeared to be open to helping the US government combat Islamic State during an extraordinary closed-door summit that brought together America’s most senior counter-terrorism officials with some of Silicon Valley’s most powerful executives. The remarkable rendezvous between Apple, Facebook, Twitter, Microsoft and others and a delegation from the White House revealed a willingness on the part of tech firms to work with the government, and indicated that the Obama administration appears to have concluded it can’t combat terrorists online on its own. Top officials – including National Security Agency director Michael Rogers, White House chief of staff Denis McDonough and FBI director James Comey – appeared to want to know how they could launch a social media campaign to discredit Isis, a person familiar with the conversation said.
The Los Angeles Times reported the creation of a task force to help prevent extremist groups from using social media to radicalize and mobilize recruits. It will be led by the departments of Homeland Security and Justice but will include staff from the FBI, the National Counterterrorism Center and other federal law enforcement and intelligence agencies. In addition, the State Department will establish a unit called the Global Engagement Center to work with allies to deter terrorists from carrying out attacks overseas. The initiative will require a level of cooperation that historically has not existed between the White House and Silicon Valley, which have long been at odds over government surveillance.
benton.org/headlines/silicon-valley-appears-open-helping-us-spy-agencies-after-terrorism-summit | Guardian, The | LA Times | Washington Post
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JUNIPER AND THE NSA
[SOURCE: ars technica, AUTHOR: Dan Goodin]
Juniper Networks, which in December 2015 made the startling announcement its NetScreen line of firewalls contained unauthorized code that can surreptitiously decrypt traffic sent through virtual private networks, said it will remove a National Security Agency-developed function widely suspected of also containing a backdoor for eavesdropping. The networking company will ship product releases in the next six months that remove the Dual_EC_DRBG random number generator from NetScreen firewalls. Security researchers have known since 2007 that it contains a weakness that gives knowledgeable adversaries the ability to decrypt encrypted communications that rely on the function. Documents provided by former NSA subcontractor Edward Snowden showed the weakness could be exploited by the NSA.
benton.org/headlines/juniper-drops-nsa-developed-code-following-new-backdoor-revelations | Ars Technica
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TPP AT THE CES
[SOURCE: Washington Post, AUTHOR: Brian Fung]
The Consumer Electronics Show may be the country's biggest yearly confab for wacky and futuristic gadgets, but for White House trade officials, it's something else: A political opportunity. President Barack Obama dispatched his top trade negotiator to Las Vegas to talk up the benefits of a major multilateral deal on international business before a number of tech companies, in hopes that the companies will pressure their representatives in Washington to vote for the trade agreement when the time comes. The trade deal, known as the Trans-Pacific Partnership, has support from the US Chamber of Commerce and other business groups. It eliminates thousands of foreign tariffs on US exports, potentially making it easier for American companies to sell their goods abroad. At the same time, it has attracted stiff opposition from labor organizations and even some presidential candidates, some of whom worry the TPP will hurt working-class wages and others who say the deal doesn't help the United States enough. That's led to questions about whether President Obama has enough support in Congress to ratify the deal.
benton.org/headlines/how-president-obama-using-consumer-electronics-show-political-opportunity | Washington Post
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