March 10, 2011 (House Panel Rejects Net Neutrality Rules)

NETWORK NEUTRALITY

NETWORK NEUTRALITY VOTE
[SOURCE: Wall Street Journal, AUTHOR: Amy Schatz]
House Republicans took the first step toward blocking the Federal Communications Commission's effort to assert authority over Internet lines, advancing one of several policy disputes GOP lawmakers have with the Obama Administration. On a 15-8 partisan vote, the House Subcommittee on Communications and Technology approved a measure to toss out new FCC "net neutrality" rules which would prohibit Internet providers from deliberately blocking legal websites or Internet services. The agency approved the rules in December. It applied fewer rules on wireless broadband networks and required Internet providers to offer more information to subscribers about their service, such as actual download speeds. House Republicans have also proposed cutting FCC funding to prevent the agency from enforcing the rules in the continuing resolution budget proposal. The measure now awaits a full House Commerce Committee vote that has yet to be scheduled. It is unlikely that the Republican effort will succeed since it would require the approval of President Barack Obama, who has supported the FCC's new rules. But Republican lawmakers and conservative activists have targeted the FCC rules as part of a broader attack on the administration's approach to regulation.
benton.org/node/52430 | Wall Street Journal | National Journal | ars technica | The Hill | B&C | Media Post | Public Knowledge | Free Press | Media Access Project
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HOUSE HEARING RECAP
[SOURCE: House of Representatives Commerce Committee]
The House Communications and Technology Subcommittee held a hearing on House Joint Resolution 37, an effort to disallow the Federal Communications Commission's new network neutrality/Open Internet regulations. Subcommittee Chairman Greg Walden (R-OR) introduced the resolution under the Congressional Review Act, which provides Congress with an expedited process to nullify agency rules. The resolution only requires a simple majority in each chamber, and is filibuster proof in the Senate. Because the form of the resolution is provided for in statute, it is not subject to amendment. Chairman Walden said the FCC is attempting to regulate the Internet without statutory authority to do so: "it’s important to realize that the FCC’s underlying theory of authority would allow the commission to regulate any interstate communication service on barely more than a whim and without any additional input from Congress. I do not want to cede such authority to the FCC."
House Commerce Committee Chairman Fred Upton (R-MI) urged his colleagues to nullify the FCC’s attempt to regulate the Internet. He said, "If the FCC had taken this approach for the last year, we might not have needed this resolution today. The reality is, if the FCC was truly weighing the costs and benefits of its actions, the agency would not be attempting to regulate the Internet." He noted that there is no crisis warranting the regulations -- the Internet is open, it is not broken, and the market has not failed. He went on to say that if the FCC's logic was followed "the agency would ultimately be regulating Google and any number of other Internet companies."
Democrats called Republican efforts to overturn the FCC's net neutrality rules destructive and said the GOP-backed resolution of disapproval isn't based on facts.
Committee Ranking Member Henry Waxman (D0CA) said that Justice Department officials do not believe they have the authority to enforce network neutrality principles under antitrust law. "According to DoJ, favoring websites that pay high fees and degrading websites that don't is perfectly legal under the antitrust laws as long as the phone or cable company isn't in direct competition with the websites being degraded," Rep Waxman said. Network neutrality opponents often argue that antitrust laws make it unnecessary to have regulations enforced by the FCC. The House Judiciary Committee explored the issue this year. Intellectual Property subcommittee Chairman Bob Goodlatte (R-VA) said he is considering legislation to tweak antirust law to address net neutrality concerns.
Ranking subcommittee member Anna Eshoo (D-CA), whose district includes numerous content and app companies pushing for network neutrality regulations, also pointed out that stakeholders like the National Cable & Telecommunications Association and AT&T do not see the regulations as menacing. She also pointed to what she said was a flood of letters from religious leaders, consumer groups and high tech associations opposing the resolution to block the regulations. She warned that the resolution would create uncertainty about FCC authority beyond the order itself, and could affect its ability to promote pubic safety and protect against online privacy violations and piracy. She said the rules were necessary to prevent blocking access and unreasonable discrimination and consumers and businesses being told what sources of content they can access.
Robin Chase, founder and former CEO of Zipcar said Wednesday that the FCC's application of different rules to wireless and wired broadband was "nonsense," and that Congress should strengthen the FCC's network neutrality rules, not try to invalidate them.
benton.org/node/52404 | House of Representatives Commerce Committee | The Hill - Upton | B&C | The Hill - Waxman | National Journal | B&C 0 Zipcar
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THE WAY EUROPE'S NET WORKS
[SOURCE: Politico, AUTHOR: Eliza Krigman]
Instead of network neutrality regulations, Europe has opted for unregulated competition to guard against anti-competitive behavior on the Internet. The European Union’s “competitive Internet offers” and ease of “switching” providers should not be underestimated for its role in supporting regulation-free net neutrality, Neelie Kroes, the European Commission’s vice president and the European digital agenda commissioner, said in a November speech. As proof of her confidence in the marketplace, Kroes later said that people cut off from Skype should vote with their feet and leave their mobile provider. “A healthy competitive environment allows tackling many potential problems at their root, avoiding the emergence of monopolistic gatekeepers, which could create serious dangers for net neutrality,” Kroes said. “This is why the debate is different here than in the United States.”
benton.org/node/52444 | Politico
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INTERNET/BROADBAND

USDA REPORT
[SOURCE: Department of Agriculture, AUTHOR: ]
Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack today issued a report which shows that Recovery Act investments are renewing our Nation's rural areas and providing benefits to the 50 million people who live there. The report, The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act: Working for Rural Communities, shows Federal investments under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (Recovery Act) are helping rural communities in all 50 states and in territories extending from the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico to Guam. Consistent with the plan President Obama laid out, Recovery Act projects are investing now in rural innovation through clean energy research and technology, in rural education through school improvements and educational reforms, and through the modernization and renewal of transportation, community facilities, water and broadband systems.
The Recovery Act is providing nearly 7 million rural residents with improved broadband Internet access through investment from the Department of Agriculture (USDA) in broadband infrastructure. The USDA's Rural Utilities Service targeted its $3.5 billion in Recovery Act loans, grants, and loan-grant combinations to the hardest-to-reach rural areas of the country. In total, RUS invested in 297 broadband infrastructure projects, 4 broadband-via-satellite projects, and 19 technical assistance grants to extend the benefits of broadband to rural communities and Native American lands in 45 States and 1 U.S. Territory. These RUS investments will bring broadband to approximately 2.8 million households, 364,000 businesses, and 32,000 anchor institutions across rural America. These projects also overlap with 31 tribal lands and 125 persistent poverty8 counties. Estimated to create more than 25,000 immediate and direct jobs9, these projects are also expected to contribute to the long-term economic development opportunities in each rural community where a broadband project is launched. These connections will help existing business owners tighten their distribution channels, increase efficiencies, and expand their market reach, enabling a new generation of entrepreneurs to thrive in rural areas. American farmers and ranchers can use broadband to monitor product prices, obtain weather forecasts, buy and sell commodity futures, track the progress of supplies ordered or products shipped, and find markets for their produce and livestock. Broadband availability will also enhance the attractiveness of these areas to firms able to operate remotely. Rural communities linked to broadband will be able to host call centers, information technology hotlines, and other industries that require remote connection to businesses.
benton.org/node/52358 | Radio & Television Business Report
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CYBERSECURITY

DHS REQUESTS CYBERSECURITY FUNDING
[SOURCE: Government Technology, AUTHOR: ]
Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Janet Napolitano is urging federal lawmakers to boost DHS funding for fiscal 2012, citing the need to keep pace with emerging and evolving security threats. Napolitano’s 2012 budget proposal includes significant funding for cyber-security initiatives, including:
$233.6 million for development of the Einstein 3 program designed to prevent infiltration of government information systems;
$40.9 million for network assessments in federal agencies;
$24.5 million for cyber-security education and training;
$1.3 million to help DHS work with the Department of Defense and National Security Agency; and
$18 million for research and development in the Comprehensive National Cybersecurity Initiative.
benton.org/node/52419 | Government Technology
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CYBERSECURITY PLANNING
[SOURCE: nextgov, AUTHOR: Aliya Sternstein]
Sen Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI) blasted the Obama administration for holding up passage of cybersecurity legislation that has been subjected to a more than yearlong interagency review process. "We need input from the executive branch to sort out the differences between the different committees," he said at the Senate Judiciary Committee session. "There's no point in sorting it out if we don't know where the executive branch is going to stand. . . . We're kind of on hold now, waiting." "In the legislative branch we are now probably a year into a stall in preparing the legislation that I think we urgently need in order to protect our country from a cyberattack," Sen Whitehouse added. Department of Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano at first declined to say when the Administration would finalize its legislative offer. "You're the secretary of Homeland Security -- that's the central agency for cybersecurity other than the [National Security Agency], which provides the technical horses to everybody," Sen Whitehouse responded. "You've gotta have a sense of how close this is." After repeated grilling, Sec Napolitano said: "I think it is fairly close, but I hesitate to give you a deadline because I don't know that there is one. . . . I understand and take your frustration to heart and will take it to the White House, and we will try to generate an answer for you." Without cyber mandates, the administration has used its existing regulatory powers to create agency roles and responsibilities for protecting the nation's digital infrastructure.
benton.org/node/52417 | nextgov
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PUBLIC BROADCASTING

SENATE REJECTS HOUSE BUDGET
[SOURCE: Broadcasting&Cable, AUTHOR: John Eggerton]
As expected, the Senate officially voted not to approve the Republican-backed continuing resolution (CR) appropriations bill that would defund the Federal Communications Commission's network neutrality rules and its chief diversity officer, as well as the Corporation for Public Broadcasting. The House had approved the bill before the President's Day break last month, which would have funded the government through September but with 60 billion or so in Republican-backed budget cuts. When it was clear that was not going to get approved before the March 4 expiration of the last continuing resolution, a two-week stopgap CR was passed with a handful of cuts -- including to some broadband stimulus funding through the Department of Agriculture -- but none of the above cuts. Congress must still agree on a new CR, either short-term again of the longer-term version, by March 18, when the current CR runs out. Then, of course, it must eventually pass an appropriations bill, which it has been trying to do since last year.
benton.org/node/52449 | Broadcasting&Cable
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SCHILLER RESIGNS
[SOURCE: National Public Radio, AUTHOR: David Folkenflik]
National Public Radio CEO Vivian Schiller has resigned after controversial comments made by NPR's former top fundraising executive came to light in a secret video. The video of Ron Schiller (no relation to the CEO) made public Tuesday shows him disparaging conservative groups during what he thought was a fundraising meeting. The lunch meeting with two people posing as potential contributors to public radio was secretly taped by conservative activists. A statement released by NPR's board of directors said the resignation by Vivian Schiller, who also faced criticism last fall for the dismissal of commentator Juan Williams, "was accepted." But NPR media correspondent David Folkenflik tells Morning Edition host Renee Montagne that the CEO was forced out. House Majority Leader Eric Cantor (R-VA) said, "Our concern is not about any one person at NPR, rather it's about millions of taxpayers. NPR has admitted that they don't need taxpayer subsidies to thrive, and at a time when the government is borrowing 40 cents of every dollar that it spends, we certainly agree with them."
benton.org/node/52378 | National Public Radio | NPR - Cantor
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BROADCASTING

VIDEO DESCRIPTION
[SOURCE: CommLawBlog, AUTHOR: Christine Goepp]
The video description rules, dealt a death blow by a federal appeals court nearly a decade ago, are one step closer to resurrection with the release of a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) looking to their reimposition. Congress directed the Federal Communications Commission to reinstate its rules more or less exactly as they were in 2000, with certain mandated changes. One might ask, why go through a rulemaking at all, if all the agency has to do is find a copy of the old rules, cut-and-paste them into a new order, and insert the necessary changes? It turns out, though, that the Commission does have some discretion this time around. In particular, the law leaves it to the FCC to decide what entities broadcast stations, multichannel video programming distributors (MVPDs), networks are to be subject to the video description rules. Accordingly, the Commission would like public input on a limited number of points. So, if you’re a broadcaster or an MVPD, you may want to refresh your memory of the original rules and consider commenting if you might be affected by the proposed modifications.
benton.org/node/52380 | CommLawBlog
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TELEVISION AUDIENCE AGES
[SOURCE: Wall Street Journal, AUTHOR: Amy Chozick]
In CBS's new cop show "Blue Bloods," Tom Selleck, at the age of 66, plays a New York police commissioner. Kathy Bates, at 62, snagged the lead role in NBC's legal series "Harry's Law." And 62-year-old rocker Steven Tyler is fast becoming the crowd's favorite judge on his first season on Fox's "American Idol." Television is starting to act its age. For decades the TV industry has operated on a currency of youth, creating shows that appeal to 18- to 49-year-olds, the age group advertisers traditionally consider most likely to buy new products, switch brands and spend on everything from cars to soft drinks. But as the nearly 80 million baby boomers continue to age out of the coveted demographic—the oldest boomers are turning 65 this year, the youngest 47—networks want to charge advertisers more to reach them. After all, these viewers still watch a disproportionate amount of TV, and they control half of all U.S. consumer spending. From Ed O'Neill's patriarch on ABC's "Modern Family" to 51-year-old Hugh Laurie on Fox's "House," boomers' influence can be seen in programming. On "NCIS," TV's No. 1 drama with an average viewer age of 57, strapping young naval investigators turn to wise 59-year-old Mark Harmon for advice. Network executives' pitch to advertisers is that the current crop of aging viewers isn't like previous generations, who were winding down their spending at 55. This group buys iPads, redecorates, splurges on vacations and postpones retirement. "People still think of their grandparents when they were 60 wearing comfort shoes and baggy chinos," says Alan Wurtzel, NBC Universal's president of research. "These guys are just fundamentally different." Networks had to do something. Despite the vast teenage contingent that tunes in to "American Idol" each week, the average prime-time TV viewer hit 51 this year.
benton.org/node/52399 | Wall Street Journal
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EDUCATION

E-RATE PILOT PROJECTS
[SOURCE: Federal Communications Commission, AUTHOR: Press release]
Federal Communications Commission Chairman Julius Genachowski announced E-rate funding for 20 schools and libraries at a digital roundtable discussion held at the iSchool in New York City with the NYC Department of Education. The 2011 "Learning On-The-Go" wireless pilot program will help K-12 students' connect to the Internet at home and increase their access to digital textbooks, cutting-edge interactive learning tools and other innovative wireless technologies. The wireless pilot projects builds on the FCC's major modernization of the E-rate program as a result of National Broadband Plan recommendations by supporting off-campus mobile Internet connections for students. Previously, the E-rate program supported on-campus connectivity only. According to a 2010 E-rate survey, approximately 50 percent of the schools and libraries that responded indicated that they plan to implement or expand the use of digital textbooks and other wireless devices for digital learning. The FCC aims to increase the percentage of schools and libraries across the country using mobile broadband. Mobile learning devices enable teachers and parents to tailor school curriculum and interactive learning to students' skill sets. Digital textbooks never go out of date and students will have greater opportunities to access the latest educational curriculum available. New wireless devices and applications will also help teacher integrate school and home work assignments for students, creating greater efficiency. Qualified pilot programs will be funded in the 2011-12 school year, assuming compliance with all other program requirements.
benton.org/node/52391 | Federal Communications Commission | Fact Sheet | more on pilot program | Chairman Genachowski
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PRIVACY

ONLINE PRIVACY UPDATE
[SOURCE: Wall Street Journal, AUTHOR: Julia Angwin]
Sens. John McCain (R-AZ) and John Kerry (D-MA) are circulating proposed legislation to create an "online privacy bill of rights," according to people familiar with the situation, a sign of bipartisan support for efforts to curb the Internet-tracking industry. The bill would require companies to seek a person's permission to share data about him with outsiders. It would also give people the right to see the data collected on them. The bill is expected to be introduced ahead of a Senate Commerce Committee hearing March 16 on online privacy. The draft Kerry-McCain bill would create the nation's first comprehensive privacy law, covering personal-data gathering across all industries. That was a key recommendation of a recent Commerce Department's report, developed in part by Sen. Kerry's brother Cameron, the department's general counsel. Current laws cover only the use of certain types of personal data, such as financial and medical information. The Kerry-McCain bill would cover data ranging from names and addresses to fingerprints and unique IDs assigned to individuals' cellphones or computers. It would also establish a program to certify companies with high privacy standards. Those companies would be allowed to sell personal data to outsiders without seeking permission in each instance. In another sign of Washington's efforts to regulate tracking, the Obama administration is moving to fill two key jobs related to privacy policy. People familiar with the matter said the administration is in talks with Jules Polonetsky, who currently heads the Future of Privacy Forum, an industry-funded think tank, to run a new privacy office in the Commerce Department. Polonetsky was previously chief privacy officer at online-advertising companies AOL Inc. and DoubleClick, now part of Google. Daniel Weitzner, a Commerce Department official who pushed for creation of the agency's new privacy office, is expected to become deputy chief technology officer in the White House, where he would oversee a privacy task force, the people familiar with the matter said.
benton.org/node/52453 | Wall Street Journal
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WIRELESS

SPECTRUM RELOCATION BILL
[SOURCE: Broadcasting&Cable, AUTHOR: John Eggerton]
Sens Mark Warner (D-VA) and Roger Wicker (R-MS) introduced a bill that would require federal agencies to provide more information on spectrum relocation projects at the outset, and would create a technical review panel to help develop relocation plans, and provide for spectrum sharing during transition period. The government is pushing federal and commercial users to share their spectrum -- or give some of it up -- so the government can reclaim some of it for auctioning to wireless broadband companies. The bill would apply to federal users. The goal of the bill is to encourage broadband deployment by improving the auction process. Sens Wicker and Warner point to the 2006 Advanced Wireless Services auction, in which federal spectrum was auctioned for advanced wireless, but problems caused build-out and deployment delays. They are looking to speed the process as the government looks to start auctioning news blocks of spectrum for wireless broadband to head off what they argue is a looming spectrum crisis.
benton.org/node/52451 | Broadcasting&Cable
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GOVERNMENT & COMMUNICATIONS

EVADING ONLINE CENSORS
[SOURCE: Washington Post, AUTHOR: Ian Shapira]
The Obama administration may not be lending arms to dissidents in the Middle East, but it is offering aid in another critical way: helping them surf the Web anonymously as they seek to overthrow their governments. Federal agencies - such as the State Department, the Defense Department and the Broadcasting Board of Governors - have been funding a handful of technology firms that allow people to get online without being tracked or to visit news or social media sites that governments have blocked. Many of these little-known organizations - such as the Tor Project and UltraReach- are unabashedly supportive of the activists in the Middle East. But the United States' backing of these firms has the potential to put the government in an awkward diplomatic position, not only with the countries where uprisings are active, but also with economic partners such as Saudi Arabia and China, which are known to block Web sites they deem dangerous. The technology comes with its own perils: Some of the tools may not always conceal the users' identities. Autocratic foreign governments are constantly updating their censorship and monitoring technology. And, of course, the software can be handy for terrorists seeking to communicate in clandestine ways.
benton.org/node/52446 | Washington Post
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March 10, 2011 (House Panel Rejects Net Neutrality Rules)