BENTON'S COMMUNICATIONS-RELATED HEADLINES for FRIDAY, JANUARY 20, 2017
The 58th Presidential Inauguration
ELECTION 2016
US counterintelligence officials are examining possible ties between Russia and Trump associates
Electronic Privacy Information Center Sues for FBI Records on Russian Hacking [links to nextgov]
TRANSITION
Chairman Wheeler’s Farewell Message (in Two Parts) [links to Benton summary]
Trump Nominees Make Clear Plans to Sweep Away Obama Policies [links to New York Times]
Trump team prepares dramatic cuts
Corporation For Public Broadcasting: Reported Trump Privatization Plan Would Be “Devastating” To Public Media [links to Benton summary]
Obama, Trump paint contrasting pictures of role of White House press corps
The coming storm for journalism under Trump [links to Benton summary]
Trump’s hostile takeover of the American brand [links to Columbia Journalism Review]
CNN’s president has fired a warning shot at Donald Trump [links to Benton summary]
More, cheaper, bigger, faster: The defense and cyber strategy of Donald Trump
Cybersecurity Prospects for a New Administration: The Experts Weigh In [links to New America]
Cybersecurity policy in 2017: Encryption and surveillance - AEI op-ed [links to Benton summary]
For the sake of national security, Donald Trump needs to trade in his cellphone [links to Benton summary]
Speaker Ryan offers picture of public-private spending in Trump’s infrastructure plan [links to Benton summary]
Patent Office head to keep spot in Trump administration [links to Hill, The]
US Digital Service Gets New Leader [links to Benton summary]
Trump White House Adds Communications Staffers [links to Broadcasting&Cable]
Congress’ post-inauguration agenda [links to Bloomberg]
Karl Rove: Trump should 'end the compulsive tweeting’ [links to Hill, The]
On Eve of Inauguration, Americans Expect Nation’s Deep Political Divisions to Persist [links to Pew Research Center]
President-elect Trump needs time to make whitehouse.gov great again [links to Benton summary]
President-elect Trump stirs apolitical Silicon Valley [links to Benton summary]
President Trump will be a boon and a challenge for the cable news business [links to Los Angeles Times]
The White House went ghost on Obama’s last night. Here’s what it looked like. [links to Washington Post]
Obama assembles his post-presidential team [links to Hill, The]
INTERNET/BROADBAND/TELECOM
Improving the Nation's Digital Infrastructure - FCC report
CLIC Organizes Letter Opposing Virginia HB 2108 - press release
FCC's net neutrality enforcement policy should be rated zero - Scott Cleland op-ed
Here’s How The FCC’s Net Neutrality Rules Might Be Throttled Under Trump [links to Benton summary]
Protect the Free and Open Internet - New America [links to Benton summary]
Rise Broadband Cites Connect America Fund Program for Broadband Expansion, Adds 10 ‘Enhanced’ Broadband Markets [links to Benton summary]
Leaning Toward the IP Future [links to AT&T]
WIRELESS/SPECTRUM
Chairman Wheeler: Spectrum Auction Was Congress' Directive [links to Benton summary]
Former FCC Chairman Genachowski: Spectrum Auction Is Success From Various Vantages [links to Benton summary]
Spectrum Auction Continues, Bids Rise to $18.3B [links to Broadcasting&Cable]
Online traffic data tool shows public benefit of internet of things - Brookings [links to Benton summary]
Does your smartphone make you less likely to trust others? [links to Conversation, The]
SECURITY/PRIVACY
The emergence of the 'cyber cold war' [links to Benton summary]
Looking back at privacy in 2016, and on to the future - FTC press release [links to Benton summary]
St. Louis' public library computers hacked for ransom [links to CNN]
TELEVISION
OTA Broadcasting Settles FCC Political File Investigation [links to Benton summary]
FCC Freezes LPTV Companion Channel Applications [links to Benton summary]
ADVERTISING
Google Uses Its Search Engine to Hawk Its Products
CONTENT
Will Rinehart: The Enchantment of Code and the Rise of Technoanimism [links to Medium]
Facebook temporarily limits posts from media outlet RT following copyright dispute [links to Verge, The]
OWNERSHIP
Qualcomm’s latest regulatory challenge: Will new FTC complaint fizzle out under Trump? [links to International Telecommunication Union]
Amazon, Apple End Exclusivity Deals for Audiobooks [links to Wall Street Journal]
JOURNALISM
Researchers Created Fake News. Here’s What They Found. [links to Benton summary]
William Jennings Bryan, the populist presidential hopeful, warned of an “epidemic of fake news” in his day. [links to Atlantic, The]
New York Times Report: Journalism That Stands Apart [links to New York Times]
Margaret Sullivan: Forget Putin. Fox News and Trump is the biggest romance in politics. [links to Washington Post]
Journalists should stop interviewing Kellyanne Conway [links to Vox]
EDUCATION
Higher Education Supplement to the National Education Technology Plan [links to Benton summary]
How Education Is Failing Rural America [links to Education Week]
DIVERSITY
Twitter users are diverse but not its staff [links to USAToday]
EMERGENCY COMMUNICATIONS
PSAC Profile: US Conference of Mayors (USCM) [links to FirstNet]
PSHSB Provides Perspective on Bureau of Labor Statistics 911 Dispatcher Classification [links to Federal Communications Commission]
GOVERNMENT & COMMUNICATIONS
How Technology Is Giving Town Hall Meetings a Modern Twist [links to Government Technology]
US soldiers will be armed with machine translators to kill communication woes [links to Quartz]
What Trump got wrong on Twitter this week (#3) [links to Washington Post]
POLICYMAKERS
Gus Rossi Joins Public Knowledge to Bolster International Advocacy Efforts for Digital Rights [links to Public Knowledge]
STORIES FROM ABROAD
Lawsuits blame Facebook and Twitter in terror attacks in Paris, Brussels [links to Benton summary]
Russia threatens retaliation over Facebook 'censorship' of RT [links to Guardian, The]
ELECTION 2016
TRUMP-RUSSIA TIES
[SOURCE: Washington Post, AUTHOR: Ellen Nakashima, Greg Miller]
US counterintelligence officials are sifting through intercepted communications and financial data as part of a wider look at possible ties between the Russian government and associates of President-elect Donald Trump, officials said. But while it has been clear for months that a broad investigation is underway, what remains murky — even to lawmakers receiving closed briefings — is its scope and target. It is unclear if the intercepts being examined have any connection to the Trump campaign. But the investigation adds to the uncertainty surrounding Trump’s relationship with Russia even as he is sworn in as president. U.S. intelligence agencies have already concluded that Russia interfered in the election to help Trump win. Trump’s former campaign chairman, Paul Manafort, has been under FBI scrutiny for some time, including for allegations of illegal financial dealings in Ukraine, current and former U.S. officials said. Manafort has done business in Russia and Ukraine. The Treasury Department’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network, CIA and the National Security Agency, which intercepts phone calls, emails and other electronic communications of foreigners overseas, are also involved in the probe.
benton.org/headlines/us-counterintelligence-officials-are-examining-possible-ties-between-russia-and-trump | Washington Post | NY Times
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TRANSITION
TRUMP TEAM PREPARES DRAMATIC CUTS
[SOURCE: The Hill, AUTHOR: Alexander Bolton]
Staffers for the Trump transition team have been meeting with career staff at the White House ahead of Jan 20’s presidential inauguration to outline their plans for shrinking the federal bureaucracy. The changes they propose are dramatic. Overall, the blueprint being used by Trump’s team would reduce federal spending by $10.5 trillion over 10 years. The Corporation for Public Broadcasting would be privatized, while the National Endowment for the Arts and National Endowment for the Humanities would be eliminated entirely. At the Department of Justice, the blueprint calls for eliminating the Office of Community Oriented Policing Services, Violence Against Women Grants and the Legal Services Corporation and for reducing funding for its Civil Rights and its Environment and Natural Resources divisions. “The Trump Administration needs to reform and cut spending dramatically, and targeting waste like the National Endowment for the Arts and National Endowment for the Humanities would be a good first step in showing that the Trump Administration is serious about radically reforming the federal budget,” said Brian Darling, a former aide to Paul and a former staffer at the Heritage Foundation.
benton.org/headlines/trump-team-prepares-dramatic-cuts | Hill, The
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OBAMA, TRUMP PAINT CONTRASTING PICTURES OF ROLE OF WH PRESS CORPS
[SOURCE: Politico, AUTHOR: Alex Weprin]
President Barack Obama and President-elect Donald Trump described two very different visions for how the White House press corp should operate, with Trump setting the stage for significant changes to the status quo. Trump’s press team has been teasing out the possibility that White House daily briefing may be moved out of the Brady Briefing Room in the West Wing of the White House, perhaps to a space in the Eisenhower Executive Office Building, or the White House Conference Center. They have also raised the possibility of other changes, including taking over responsibility for which outlets and reporters get credentialed, and which reporters can sit where. Trump himself told Fox News that while the daily briefing will stay in the White House, his press team may restrict access to who can attend. President Obama, in his final news conference as president, painted a very different picture of the role the White House press corp should play. “Having you in this building has made this place work better. It keeps us honest, it makes us work harder,” President Obama said, apparently in reference to the idea that the briefings should move outside of the West Wing. “America needs you, and our democracy needs you.”
benton.org/headlines/obama-trump-paint-contrasting-pictures-role-white-house-press-corps | Politico
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THE DEFENSE AND CYBER STRATEGY OF TRUMP
[SOURCE: ars technica, AUTHOR: Sean Gallagher]
Since Election Day, President-elect Donald Trump has taken an inordinate interest in some of the minutia of defense policy. His tweets (particularly about the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter and the Air Force One presidential aircraft replacement program) have sent shockwaves through the defense industry. The same is true of the cyber realm—particularly in his treatment of the intelligence community that currently dominates the US' cyber-defense capabilities. The one thing that is certain is that Trump wants more muscle in both departments, urging an increase in the number of troops, ships, planes, and weapons deployed by the Department of Defense; the end of defense budget sequestration; and an expansion of the US nuclear and ballistic missile defense arsenal. And he has also pledged a new focus on offensive "cyber" capabilities, as outlined by his campaign, "to deter attacks by both state and non-state actors and, if necessary, to respond appropriately." That sort of aggressive posture is not a surprise. But the policies that will drive the use of those physical and digital forces are still a bit murky. Considering the position Trump has taken regarding the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) and his attitudes toward Russia, Trump's statements may hint at a desire for a Fortress America—armed to the teeth and going it alone in every domain of conflict.
benton.org/headlines/more-cheaper-bigger-faster-defense-and-cyber-strategy-donald-trump | Ars Technica
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INTERNET/BROADBAND
IMPROVING THE NATIONS DIGITAL INFRASTRUCTURE
[SOURCE: Federal Communications Commission, AUTHOR: Paul de Sa]
This paper aims to contribute to the ongoing discussion about a national-infrastructure plan by highlighting three points relevant to communications, namely:
1. Improving the nation’s digital infrastructure should be a significant part of any national-infrastructure plan, as the economic upside for the country from accelerating investment in broadband is likely greater than from most other areas of infrastructure investment.
2.The primary goal of federal actions with respect to digital infrastructure should be to increase and accelerate profitable, incremental, private-sector investment to achieve at least 98% nationwide deployment of future-proofed, fixed broadband networks.
3.The policy measures that can be used to achieve this goal are: (i) direct funding support to reduce the cost of capital; (ii) changes to the tax code to increase the return on invested capital, and (iii) operations-related actions that enhance the productivity of capex. A national-infrastructure plan should include initiatives in some, or all, of these categories.
benton.org/headlines/improving-nations-digital-infrastructure | Federal Communications Commission | Broadcasting&Cable
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CLIC ORGANIZES LETTER OPPOSING VIRGINIA HB 2108
[SOURCE: Coalition for Local Internet Choice, AUTHOR: Press release]
On Jan 19, 2017, the Coalition for Local Internet Choice (CLIC) distributed a letter to Virginia lawmakers opposing House Bill (HB) 2108. The letter was co-signed by: Atlantic Engineering, Coalition for Local Internet Choice, CTC Energy & Technology, Fiber to the Home Council, Google, Indeed, Internet Association, National Association of Telecommunications Officers and Advisors, Netflix, Next Century Cities, Nokia, OnTrac, Telecommunications Industry Association, Ting Internet, and Utilities Technology Council. The letter noted that HB 2108 would essentially ban public broadband networks and public-private partnerships and harm Virginia communities, especially rural communities, and businesses that operate in the state. CLIC, along with its co-signers, encourages the Virginia legislature to reject this harmful legislation.
benton.org/headlines/clic-organizes-letter-opposing-virginia-hb-2108 | Coalition for Local Internet Choice | read the letter
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FCC NET NEUTRALITY ENFORCEMENT POLICY SHOULD BE RATED ZERO
[SOURCE: The Hill, AUTHOR: Scott Cleland]
[Commentary] A week before the transition to the new administration, the Federal Communications Commission’s Wireless Bureau issued a report about mobile “zero-rating” plans, which provide consumers the option of free data usage paid by advertising. This zero-rating kerfuffle exposes that network neutrality has transmogrified from the FCC’s original net neutrality purpose of protecting consumers’ freedom to competitively access and use the legal content, apps, and devices of their choice, to potentially taking away consumer’s freedom to access cost-saving content and apps of their choice on the device of their choice. How can the FCC claim to be pro-consumer, and then tell consumers that more consumer choice, control, and savings are a net neutrality violation? The dirty little secret that the FCC does not want people to know is that Title II net neutrality is implicit FCC price regulation that by design forces consumers to subsidize corporations, the exact opposite of how the FCC implemented Title II historically before competition, where corporations’ communications bills always subsidized consumers’ communications bills.
[Scott Cleland is president of Precursor LLC.]
benton.org/headlines/fccs-net-neutrality-enforcement-policy-should-be-rated-zero | Hill, The
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ADVERTISING
GOOGLE SEARCH ADS
[SOURCE: Wall Street Journal, AUTHOR: Jack Nicas]
Google runs the world’s largest advertising business, selling space atop its search results. Google is also among the biggest buyers of those ads, promoting products from its music service to its app store. These days, Google often pushes its growing list of hardware products, from Pixel phones to Nest smart thermostats, in the top ad spot above its search results. A Wall Street Journal analysis found that ads for products sold by Google and its sister companies appeared in the most prominent spot in 91% of 25,000 recent searches related to such items. In 43% of the searches, the top two ads both were for Google-related products.
benton.org/headlines/google-uses-its-search-engine-hawk-its-products | Wall Street Journal | How Google’s Ad Auctions Work
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