BENTON'S COMMUNICATIONS-RELATED HEADLINES for FRIDAY, JUNE 17, 2016
Today’s events https://www.benton.org/calendar/2016-06-17
NETWORK NEUTRALITY
A victory for net neutrality: Why the Internet is an essential public utility - Ford Foundation
A huge win on net neutrality could embolden the FCC to tighten regulations in other areas
Net neutrality and the changing of the guard on the DC Circuit - op-ed
MORE INTERNET/BROADBAND
Municipal fiber network will let customers switch ISPs in seconds
FCC Hears It From Hill on Lifeline ETCs
ADVERTISING
After Comcast complains, Verizon is told to alter deceptive “#1” speed ads [links to Benton summary]
OWNERSHIP
Altice wins final regulatory approval to acquire Cablevision
Docket Established for Monitoring Compliance with the Conditions Imposed in the Charter Communications Time Warner Cable Bright House Networks Order - public notice
TELEVISION
Cable industry offers set-top box compromise to avoid stricter regulation
Senate Appropriations Passes Set-Top Pause Provision [links to Multichannel News]
CONTENT
6 in 10 of you will share this link without reading it, a new, depressing study says
The History of Autocorrect [links to Wired]
T-Mobile is working to give subscribers unlimited free Facebook video streaming [links to Benton summary]
Family of ISIS Paris attack victim sues Google, Facebook and Twitter for providing “material support” to the terrorist group [links to Washington Post]
ELECTION 2016
Is Donald Trump's Endgame the Launch of Trump News?
Trump Suddenly Encounters Media Attention He Doesn’t Want [links to Media Matters for America]
Donald Trump embracing super PACs, megadonors he once decried [links to Center for Public Integrity]
7 Major Companies Are Pulling Sponsorship From Donald Trump’s Big Nomination Bash [links to Wrap, The]
Mark Feldstein: Trump’s war on the media carries chilling echoes of Nixon [links to Washington Post]
House Commerce Chairman Upton has no plans to endorse Trump [links to Hill, The]
A Comprehensive Guide To The Right-Wing Media Conspiracy Theorists That Have Influenced Trump’s Campaign [links to Media Matters for America]
JOURNALISM
NPR Gives False Equivalence To Critics Of Court Ruling Upholding FCC Net Neutrality Rules [links to Benton summary]
The shadowy war on the press: How the rich silence journalists - analysis [links to Benton summary]
4 ways newsrooms can address a lack of diversity - editorial [links to Benton summary]
DIVERSITY
Oscars’ Board May Get More Star Power, if Not Diversity [links to New York Times]
LABOR
Stuart N. Brotman: Small business technology challenges require greater political attention [links to Brookings]
SECURITY
CIA chief argues for action on encryption before Senate panel [links to Hill, The]
John Shinal: Silicon Valley has a chance to influence cyber security policy [links to USAToday]
Senators Warner and Gardner establish cybersecurity caucus [links to Hill, The]
PRIVACY
Apple Tries to Peek at User Habits Without Violating Privacy [links to Benton summary]
Student data mining is a problem, and states are trying to fix it [links to eSchool News]
Pushing For Mosque Surveillance, Fox News Is Fighting The Last War [links to Media Matters for America]
ACCESSIBILITY
How ICTs Can Open Up The World of Music to Deaf People [links to International Telecommunication Union]
NETWORK NEUTRALITY
A VICTORY FOR NET NEUTRALITY: WHY THE INTERNET IS AN ESSENTIAL PUBLIC UTILITY
[SOURCE: Ford Foundation, AUTHOR: Lori McGlinchey]
[Commentary] The verdict is in: The Internet is not a luxury. Broadband is an essential public utility, and must be equally accessible to everyone.Yesterday, the US Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit ruled decisively to uphold the Federal Communications Commission’s net neutrality rules, which require Internet service providers to treat all web traffic equally—preventing them from blocking or slowing some traffic and offering preferential treatment to sites that pay for faster service. Net neutrality is essential because it maintains the Internet as an open platform for free expression, political engagement, education, and economic opportunity. As The New York Times explained in an op-ed, “The decision helps to ensure a level playing field for smaller- and start-up Internet businesses because it precludes larger, established companies like Amazon and Netflix from simply paying broadband companies for faster delivery. Equally important, it ensures reliable service and choice for consumers by acknowledging that the Internet, now a requisite of modern life, is akin to a utility, subject to regulation in the public interest.”
benton.org/headlines/victory-net-neutrality-why-internet-essential-public-utility | Ford Foundation
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NET NEUTRALITY WIN COULD EMBOLDEN FCC TO TIGHTEN REGULATIONS ELSEWHERE
[SOURCE: Revere Digital, AUTHOR: Ina Fried]
Net neutrality advocates are hoping that a big win in court will prompt the Federal Communications Commission to take bold action in other areas, including privacy. "By affirming the FCC’s rules and their use of Title II, the court set the stage for strong privacy protections,” said Fight for the Future’s Holmes Wilson. In March, FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler surprised many with plans to require Internet service providers to get consent from customers before using many types of data. The agency is now sifting through an initial wave of comments, with a deadline looming later in June for responses to those comments. Another area where the FCC may take action is around so-called zero rating, where carriers choose to exempt one service or a class of service from counting against a user’s data cap. AT&T and Verizon both have sponsored data programs where the provider of content or a third party pays for data traffic, while T-Mobile has a pair of programs that allow certain music or video streams to be delivered without counting against a user’s data cap. “Comcast, AT&T, Verizon and T-Mobile are all violating the spirit of the net neutrality rules with zero-rating plans that privilege some sites over others,” Wilson said. "Now that the FCC clearly has the power to shut down these shady arrangements, the question is: Will they?" Commission staff have already met with several companies, and apparently an informal review is continuing.
benton.org/headlines/huge-win-net-neutrality-could-embolden-fcc-tighten-regulations-other-areas | Revere Digital
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NET NEUTRALITY AND THE CHANGING OF THE GUARD ON THE DC CIRCUIT
[SOURCE: Washington Post, AUTHOR: Daniel Lyons]
[Commentary] June 14’s decision by the US Appeals Court for the DC Circuit focused not on network neutrality policy, but rather on the Federal Communications Commission’s statutory authority and administrative process. The court’s opinion is chock-full of staple admin law doctrines, including the logical outgrowth test (whether the agency gave sufficient notice of its final rule to allow for meaningful comment), the standard for an agency to depart from a prior policy, arbitrary and capricious review of agency decisionmaking, the “hard look” doctrine (whether the agency adequately supported its position and responded to critical comments), and, naturally, statutory interpretation under Chevron. The two opinions may evince a changing of the guard at the DC Circuit. Historically, the court has been unafraid to perform the type of close, critical review of the record that Judge Williams undertook — and the Federal Communications Commission in particular has long been the DC Circuit’s whipping boy in such cases, suffering a higher reversal rate than most agencies. The majority opinion, co-authored by Democratic appointees over the dissent of a senior Reagan nominee, suggests that the court may finally be losing its appetite for more intrusive judicial review.
[Daniel Lyons is a Boston College law professor]
benton.org/headlines/net-neutrality-and-changing-guard-dc-circuit | Washington Post
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MORE INTERNET/BROADBAND
MUNI FIBER WILL LET CUSTOMERS SWITCH ISPS IN SECONDS
[SOURCE: ars technica, AUTHOR: Jon Brodkin]
Most cities and towns that build their own broadband networks do so to solve a single problem: that residents and businesses aren't being adequately served by private cable and telecommunication companies. But there's more than one way to create a network and offer service, and the city of Ammon (ID) is deploying a model that's worth examining. Ammon has built an open access network that lets multiple private Internet service providers offer service to customers over city-owned fiber. The wholesale model in itself isn't unprecedented, but Ammon has also built a system in which residents will be able to sign up for an ISP—or switch ISPs if they are dissatisfied—almost instantly, just by visiting a city-operated website and without changing any equipment. Ammon has completed a pilot project involving 12 homes and is getting ready for construction to another 200 homes. Eventually, the city wants to wire up all of its 4,500 homes and apartment buildings, city Technology Director Bruce Patterson said. Ammon has already deployed fiber to businesses in the city, and it did so without raising everybody's taxes.
benton.org/headlines/municipal-fiber-network-will-let-customers-switch-isps-seconds | Ars Technica
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LIFELINE ETCs
[SOURCE: Broadcasting&Cable, AUTHOR: John Eggerton]
Sen Deb Fischer (R-NE), joined by two dozen of her Senate and House colleagues, wrote to Federal Communications Commission Chairman Tom Wheeler to say they are concerned about the FCC's reform of the Universal Service Fund Lifeline subsidy, which supports advanced communications service to low-income residents. They-nine Senators and 15 House members, all Republicans except for one, Rep. Brad Ashford (D-NE) -- say they are specifically troubled by the FCC's preemption of the role of state commissions in verifying eligibility. In the letter, the legislators take issue with what they say is the FCC's decision to "drastically curtail the important state role in preventing waste, fraud, and abuse." The FCC is proposing to create a new eligible telecommunications carrier (ETC) designation for broadband providers--it is migrating the subsidy from phone to broadband--to be certified by the FCC. But the legislators say that expressly preempting state public service commissions from the designation process runs counter to the Communications Act and language that gives those commissions primary designation authority. "The FCC may only perform this function where a carrier is not subject to the jurisdiction of a state commission," they argue, so Congress, not the FCC, would have to change that.
benton.org/headlines/fcc-hears-it-hill-lifeline-etcs | Broadcasting&Cable
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OWNERSHIP
ALTICE WINS FINAL REGULATORY APPROVAL TO ACQUIRE CABLEVISION
[SOURCE: Reuters, AUTHOR: ]
New York state regulators approved European telecommunication group Altice NV's acquisition of Cablevision Systems Corp, a $17.7 billion deal that would create the fourth-largest US cable provider. The unanimous approval by the New York State Public Service Commission with conditions means the Dutch company has cleared the final regulatory hurdle to complete the transaction announced in September. Altice said it was pleased with the approval and expects to close the deal by the end of the month. Cablevision has 3.1 million subscribers, mostly in New York, New Jersey and Connecticut. In May, the Federal Communications Commission approved the Altice acquisition of Cablevision, saying it was in the "public interest" and noted Altice had vowed to invest to upgrade Cablevision broadband. New York regulators agreed to approve the deal if Altice agreed to pass 25 percent of the estimated $450 million in cost savings from the deal to subscribers over five years. The company is barred from laying off workers for four years in any customer-facing jobs in New York. The sale includes other Cablevision assets including the News 12 programming networks; Newsday, a Long Island daily newspaper; amNewYork, a free daily serving New York City; and Star Community Publishing, a publisher of weekly shoppers and community papers on Long Island.
benton.org/headlines/altice-wins-final-regulatory-approval-acquire-cablevision | Reuters
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NEW CHARTER DOCKET
[SOURCE: Federal Communications Commission, AUTHOR: Public Notice]
On May 10, 2016, the Federal Communications Commission released its order approving the applications for the transfer of control of licenses and authorizations from Charter Communications, Time Warner Cable, and Advance/Newhouse Partnership, the parent of Bright House Networks, to a new company, also named Charter Communications. As part of its approval, the FCC imposed a number of conditions to ensure that the proposed transaction served the public interest, including requiring Charter to offer broadband service at a discounted rate for low-income individuals, requiring Charter to expand its broadband network to two million new customer locations, and prohibiting Charter from imposing data caps or usage based billing on its customers. The FCC also required the appointment of an independent compliance monitor and the filing of periodic reports to help ensure that the conditions were fulfilled. By this Public Notice, the FCC is opening a new docket, WC Docket No. 16-197, for the purpose of monitoring compliance with the conditions imposed by the Commission.
benton.org/headlines/docket-established-monitoring-compliance-conditions-imposed-charter-communications-time | Federal Communications Commission
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TELEVISION
CABLE INDUSTRY OFFERS SET-TOP BOX COMPROMISE TO AVOID STRICTER REGULATION
[SOURCE: ars technica, AUTHOR: Jon Brodkin]
Cable companies still oppose the Federal Communications Commission's attempt to open up the set-top box market but seem to have resigned themselves to accepting some form of regulation. Industry representatives met with FCC commissioners and staff to say they are willing to comply with a requirement to deploy applications for third-party set-top boxes using open standards. The apps would have to include all linear and on-demand TV content, but apparently they would not have to allow recording. This isn't quite what the FCC says it wants. The commission proposed rules that would force pay-TV providers to make video programming—and the right to record video—available to the makers of third-party devices and software. Under the FCC's model, makers of third-party software and equipment could create their own user interfaces through which cable TV subscribers could access their programming. The solution would be similar to CableCard, but it wouldn't require a physical card. Throughout the debate, cable companies have favored an "apps" model in which pay-TV operators could choose whether to build applications that bring their programming to third-party devices. Cable companies still aren't giving up on the apps approach, but now they say they would agree to rules that make it mandatory for large operators to build apps providing access to all the video customers subscribe to on a wide range of devices.
benton.org/headlines/cable-industry-offers-set-top-box-compromise-avoid-stricter-regulation | Ars Technica
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CONTENT
STUDY ABOUT ARTICLE SHARING
[SOURCE: Washington Post, AUTHOR: Caitlin Dewey]
According to a new study by computer scientists at Columbia University and the French National Institute, 59 percent of links shared on social media have never actually been clicked: In other words, most people appear to retweet news without ever reading it. Worse, the study finds that these sort of blind peer-to-peer shares are really important in determining what news gets circulated and what just fades off the public radar. So your thoughtless retweets, and those of your friends, are actually shaping our shared political and cultural agendas.
benton.org/headlines/6-10-you-will-share-link-without-reading-it-new-depressing-study-says | Washington Post
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ELECTION 2016
IS DONALD TRUMP’S ENDGAME THE LAUNCH OF TRUMP NEWS?
[SOURCE: Vanity Fair, AUTHOR: Sarah Ellison]
The breakout media star of the 2016 election cycle is, inarguably, Donald Trump, who has masterfully—and horrifyingly—demonstrated an aptitude for manipulating the news cycle, gaining billions of dollars worth of free airtime and dominating coverage on every screen. Now, several people around him are looking for a way to leverage his supporters into a new media platform and cable channel. Trump, a person close to the matter suggests, has become irked by his ability to create revenue for other media organizations without being able to take a cut himself. Such a situation “brings him to the conclusion that he has the business acumen and the ratings for his own network.” Trump has “gotten the bug,” according to this person. “So now he wants to figure out if he can monetize it.”
benton.org/headlines/donald-trumps-endgame-launch-trump-news | Vanity Fair
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