BENTON'S COMMUNICATIONS-RELATED HEADLINES for TUESDAY, JUNE 14, 2016
Today's Events:
- Restoring America’s Investment Economy, ITIF https://www.benton.org/node/235437
- House Communications Subcommittee hearing "FCC Overreach: Examining the Proposed Privacy Rules" https://www.benton.org/node/242527
OWNERSHIP
Microsoft to Acquire LinkedIn for $26.2 Billion
Why is Microsoft buying LinkedIn? - analysis [links to Benton summary]
Letter to the Editor: Hollywood creatives have been instrumental in blessing us with a political class that is intent on regulating most aspects of our lives [links to Wall Street Journal]
ELECTIONS & MEDIA
Why Americans are still waiting for our first tech president - op-ed
Pre-Primary News Coverage of the 2016 Presidential Race: Trump’s Rise, Sanders’ Emergence, Clinton’s Struggle - research
Washington Post Is Latest News Outlet Barred by Trump [links to New York Times]
The media isn’t going to save the country from Donald Trump. Here’s why. [links to Washington Post]
Google better get used to conspiracy theories about search results this election year [links to Revere Digital]
Political Candidate Ads Without the Candidate’s Voice or Image – What is a Station to Do? [links to Broadcast Law Blog]
INTERNET/BROADBAND
Broadband: 21st-Century Infrastructure - commentary [links to Benton summary]
House Hunters: Fiber Edition [links to Google]
SECURITY/PRIVACY
Wireless carriers see threat from FCC rules
Why the NSA and other spies will love the Internet of Things [links to Benton summary]
B&C Editorial: The Senate Should Pass a Clean Version of Electronic Communications Privacy Act [links to Broadcasting&Cable]
JOURNALISM
After Orlando attack, New York Times warns staff against posting opinions online [links to Politico]
Remembering Tim Russert, 8 years later [links to Washington Post]
How a Chicago reporter ‘explodes stereotypes’ with unexpected stories about the city [links to Columbia Journalism Review]
TELEVISION
How Set-Top Rules Would ‘Lower the Tide’ for PEG - Multichannel News op-ed [links to Benton summary]
B&C Editorial: With Set-Top Debate, Civility, Please [links to Broadcasting&Cable]
FCC: Nielsen Designated Market Areas Still Best Definition of TV Markets [links to Broadcasting&Cable]
CONTENT
Op-Ed: Google’s Fair Use Victory Is Good for Open Source [links to Technology Academics Policy]
President Obama says Orlando killer was inspired by online extremism [links to Verge, The]
This hacker is fighting ISIS by spamming its Twitter accounts with porn [links to Washington Post]
Orlando attack: Clinton calls on tech companies to help disrupt terrorist plots [links to Reuters]
Technology companies are selling software designed to counteract the effects of ad-blocking [links to Wall Street Journal]
LABOR
More than two dozen companies have signed a White House pledge to conduct an annual gender pay analysis aimed at eliminating inequitable compensation [links to Wall Street Journal]
ACCESSIBILITY
Chairman Wheeler Honors Innovators in Accessible Communications Technology - press release [links to Benton summary]
HEALTH
Digital disabilities — text neck, cellphone elbow — are painful and growing [links to Washington Post]
GOVERNMENT & COMMUNICATIONS
CBO Scores Networking and Information Technology Research and Development Modernization Act of 2016 - CBO research [links to Benton summary]
House looks to send FOIA reform to President Obama’s desk [links to Hill, The]
LOBBYING
Cable Industry Mobilizes Lobbying Army to Block FCC Moves
POLICYMAKERS
Common Cause Names Karen Hobert Flynn President [links to Common Cause]
STORIES FROM ABROAD
In “an unusual move,” US government asks to join key EU Facebook privacy case
A Russian Cybersleuth Battles the ‘Dark Ages’ of the Internet [links to New York Times]
Red astroturf: Chinese government makes millions of fake social media posts [links to Ars Technica]
China, US hold talks to bridge cybersecurity differences [links to Associated Press]
OWNERSHIP
MICROSOFT TO ACQUIRE LINKEDIN FOR $26.2 BILLION
[SOURCE: Wall Street Journal, AUTHOR: Jay Greene, Anne Steele]
Microsoft, in what is by far the biggest acquisition in the company’s history, said it had reached a deal to buy LinkedIn, the professional social-networking company, for $26.2 billion in cash. Integrating Microsoft’s and LinkedIn’s offerings would broaden their reach, enhance their utility, and create market-leading services for business customers, the companies said. Microsoft said LinkedIn will “retain its distinct brand, culture and independence,” with Chief Executive Jeff Weiner remaining at the helm, reporting to Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella. The deal is expected to close within the year. The companies see cost savings of about $150 million a year by 2018. Microsoft believes the acquisition will expand the market for both LinkedIn and Microsoft’s Office products. The software giant has made a significant push in the past few years to make its products more connected and wants to use data to make them more intelligent. LinkedIn’s vast network offers data that could help. Connecting LinkedIn directly to Office could help attendees of meetings learn more about one another directly from invitations in their calendars. Sales representatives could pick up useful tidbits of background on potential customers from LinkedIn data. Microsoft is betting that the combination of Microsoft and LinkedIn services will make workers more productive by revealing connections and data that might otherwise take additional steps to find. That could increase the value of Office to customers, and helps explain why Microsoft made the deal.
benton.org/headlines/microsoft-acquire-linkedin-262-billion | Wall Street Journal | Microsoft | The Verge | Revere Digital
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ELECTIONS & MEDIA
WHY AMERICANS ARE STILL WAITING FOR OUR FIRST TECH PRESIDENT
[SOURCE: The Guardian, AUTHOR: Timothy Karr]
[Commentary] As Donald Trump, Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders have shown, any candidate hoping to connect with voters in the 2016 election can’t do so without a strong online presence. But embracing the Internet as an organizing tool isn’t enough. To become the nation’s first genuine tech president, a candidate must also champion Internet policies that safeguard users and ensure the network’s survival and continued growth. On June 13, a coalition of public interest organizations that played leading roles in these policy fights will release the 2016 Internet Policy Platform and send it to the leaders of both major parties, including their presumptive nominees, as a roadmap to becoming America’s first tech president. The platform has been endorsed by more than a dozen Internet rights, social justice and consumer advocacy organizations, including 18 Million Rising, ColorOfChange, Demand Progress, Free Press, the National Hispanic Media Coalition, New America’s Open Technology Institute and Public Knowledge. We built the platform around six guiding principles supported by millions of Americans who have become forceful advocates for internet rights. These principles – free speech, access, choice, privacy, transparency and openness – are what make the Internet a democratic medium like no other. They must be upheld by anyone seeking elected office – not just our next president. The Internet isn’t just a tactical tool for campaign organizing. Candidates need to pay attention to Internet users and protect the interests of everyone who’s fighting for policies to keep the network open, secure and available to everyone.
benton.org/headlines/why-americans-are-still-waiting-our-first-tech-president | Guardian, The | 2016 Internet Policy Platform
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HARVARD RESEARCH ON ELECTION COVERAGE
[SOURCE: Harvard University, AUTHOR: Thomas Patterson]
A new report from Harvard Kennedy School’s Shorenstein Center on Media, Politics and Public Policy analyzes news coverage of the 2016 presidential candidates in the year leading up to the primaries. This crucial period, labeled “the invisible primary” by political scientists, is when candidates try to lay the groundwork for a winning campaign—with media exposure often playing a make or break role. The report shows that during the year 2015, major news outlets covered Donald Trump in a way that was unusual given his low initial polling numbers—a high volume of media coverage preceded Trump’s rise in the polls. Trump’s coverage was positive in tone—he received far more “good press” than “bad press.” The volume and tone of the coverage helped propel Trump to the top of Republican polls. The Democratic race in 2015 received less than half the coverage of the Republican race. Bernie Sanders’ campaign was largely ignored in the early months but, as it began to get coverage, it was overwhelmingly positive in tone. Sanders’ coverage in 2015 was the most favorable of any of the top candidates, Republican or Democratic. For her part, Hillary Clinton had by far the most negative coverage of any candidate. In 11 of the 12 months, her “bad news” outpaced her “good news,” usually by a wide margin, contributing to the increase in her unfavorable poll ratings in 2015.
benton.org/headlines/pre-primary-news-coverage-2016-presidential-race-trumps-rise-sanders-emergence-clintons | Harvard University | Huffington Post
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PRIVACY
PRIVACY AND WIRELESS
[SOURCE: The Hill, AUTHOR: David McCabe]
Wireless carriers are clashing with the Federal Communications Commission over proposed regulations that could thwart their ambitions of expanding in the mobile advertising business. The FCC is considering privacy rules that wireless companies say could hurt their ability to compete with the likes of Facebook and Google. The regulatory push comes at a time when Verizon and AT&T are working aggressively to sell ads that accompany their growing array of video products. “I think the rules as proposed are explicitly structured to lock down providers into providing broadband service and not providing digital advertising,” said Doug Brake, a telecom analyst with the Information Technology and Innovation Foundation. The credit rating agency Moody’s has warned investors about the potential impact of the FCC’s plan, saying it would be “credit negative” for Internet providers.
benton.org/headlines/wireless-carriers-see-threat-fcc-rules | Hill, The
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LOBBYING
CABLE INDUSTRY MOBILIZES LOBBYING ARMY TO BLOCK FCC MOVES
[SOURCE: New York Times, AUTHOR: Cecilia Kang]
In recent weeks, staff members for Rep Bobby Rush (D-IL) have asked fellow lawmakers to sign a letter opposing a Federal Communications Commission proposal to limit how broadband providers can share users’ personal data. In May, 60 lawmakers signed a separate letter voicing their objections to an FCC regulation that would open the market for cable television set-top boxes. What the actions have in common: the financial connections and legwork of cable companies like Comcast. The National Cable & Telecommunications Association, an industry lobbying group, said it had edited the letter shared by Rep Rush’s staff. Cable industry lobbyists also helped gather the 60 signatures on the set-top-box letter; nearly all of the lawmakers who signed count cable and telecom companies as top campaign donors, according to federal disclosures. The behind-the-scenes activity by cable companies and their industry groups is part of the biggest lobbying push by the $115 billion industry in Washington since 2009, when the government drew up its net neutrality rules. These days, the cable and telecom industries are hiring more lobbyists, issuing warnings that they may sue federal agencies, and making speeches and writing scathing blog posts about policy makers. The trigger? A string of proposed regulations by the FCC that has left cable companies feeling besieged.
benton.org/headlines/cable-industry-mobilizes-lobbying-army-block-fcc-moves-0 | New York Times
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STORIES FROM ABROAD
US GOVT ASKS TO JOIN KEY EU FACEBOOK PRIVACY CASE
[SOURCE: ars technica, AUTHOR: Glyn Moody]
The US government has asked to be joined as a party in the Irish High Court case between the Austrian privacy activist and lawyer Max Schrems, and the social network Facebook. Schrems called this "an unusual move." He said that there are no documents relating to the "amicus curiae"—friend of the court—request yet. "The US government simply appeared via a barrister at the first (administrative) hearing today," he said. "They will be able to file the documents until the 22nd." Schrems speculated that the US government has made this move because it wanted to defend its surveillance laws before the European Courts. "I think this move will be very interesting," he said. "The US has previously maintained that we all misunderstood US surveillance." The Court of Justice of the European Union struck down the Safe Harbour agreement between the EU and the US largely because of fears that personal data sent from the EU to the US would be subject to US surveillance without sufficient safeguards. The latest move seems to be an attempt by the US government to convince European courts that personal data is adequately protected when it is transferred to the US. But as Schrems notes, the US government's bold approach carries risks. "Compared to diplomatic talks with the EU and EU member states, as well as public statements in the United States, it will not be protected by US laws on confidentiality and be placed under oath," he wrote. "The party that gives evidence on behalf of the US government could therefore face severe consequences, if he does not truthfully answer all questions raised on US mass surveillance."
benton.org/headlines/unusual-move-us-government-asks-join-key-eu-facebook-privacy-case | Ars Technica | Schrem's press release
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