BENTON'S COMMUNICATIONS-RELATED HEADLINES for FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 19, 2014
Today’s busy agenda http://benton.org/calendar/2014-09-19/
NETWORK NEUTRALITY
An Update on the Volume of Open Internet Comments Submitted to the FCC - FCC press release
On network neutrality, procrastination is an even more powerful force than John Oliver
Net Neutrality Comments to FCC Overwhelmingly One-Sided, Study Says
Rep Eshoo: Make sure Web rules can pass the courts
Wireless companies: Don’t put ‘fast lane’ rules on us
Big Cable's "nightmare" scenario looks a lot like dealing with Comcast now - Timothy Lee analysis
MORE ON INTERNET/BROADBAND
Study: Cities with super-fast Internet speeds are more productive
Congress Is About to Decide Whether to Tax Your Internet
Comcast Extends 'Internet Essentials' Promotion 'til Sept. 30 [links to web]
New rules push Internet retailers to make quick deliveries [links to web]
Will New AT&T Business Fiber Push Help Clarify Google Fiber Business Services Plans? [links to web]
OWNERSHIP
AT&T/DirecTV merger boosts incentive to kill copper service, opponents say
Microsoft Backs AT&T/DirecTV Deal
ELECTIONS AND MEDIA
Lawmakers want public data on political ads
Disclosure Requirements for Broadcasted Content - research
How Gary Hart’s Downfall Forever Changed American Politics [links to web]
SPECTRUM/WIRELESS
Sprint sells 900 MHz spectrum to firm led by Nextel co-founders [links to web]
Interference on the Line -AT&T press release [links to web]
Always-online requirements are ruining mobile gaming - editorial [links to web]
LightSquared Lost Another $81.4 Million in August [links to web]
Sprint’s newest gadget lets you route mobile calls over a wired phone [links to web]
PRIVACY/SECURITY
Request for Information -- National Privacy Research Strategy - public notice
This is Why we don’t have Meaningful Cybersecurity Legislation Yet - op-ed [links to web]
Healthcare.gov: Information Security and Privacy Controls Should Be Enhanced to Address Weaknesses - research [links to web]
Healthcare.gov: Actions Needed to Address Weaknesses in Information Security and Privacy Controls - research [links to web]
Newest Androids will join iPhones in offering default encryption, blocking police [links to web]
Apple offers its own tips for securing your iPhone [links to web]
Senate’s new overseas-email protection act gets mixed reviews [links to web]
CONTENT
What happens to literacy when the Internet turns into a giant TV station? [links to web]
Facebook acknowledges news feeds are bad at news, vows to improve [links to web]
GOVERNMENT & COMMUNICATIONS
Journalists Criticize White House for ‘Secrecy’ [links to web]
From #Ferguson to #OfficerFriendly - op-ed
EMERGENCY COMMUNICATIONS
Could The Weather Company Change Emergency Alerting? [links to web]
LOBBYING
Bitcoin gets an industry-backed advocacy group [links to web]
MORE ONLINE
Gov. Brown Signs California's Blockbuster TV, Film Tax Credits Into Law [links to web]
Oracle’s Larry Ellison steps down as chief executive [links to web]
NETWORK NEUTRALITY
OPEN INTERNET SUBMISSIONS
[SOURCE: Federal Communications Commission, AUTHOR: David Bray]
September 15 concluded the second round of comments for the Federal Communications Commission's Open Internet Proceeding. During the last four months, the FCC has received a large number of comments from a wide range of constituents via three methods. Throughout the two rounds of public comment, and despite the age of the FCC’s IT systems, the FCC IT team worked around the clock and implemented workaround solutions to scale the large volume of comments in order to keep the system up and running, ensuring the public could submit feedback to the FCC leading up to the comment deadline. The record number of comments the FCC received on this proceeding underscores the importance of the open Internet.
benton.org/headlines/update-volume-open-internet-comments-submitted-fcc | Federal Communications Commission
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PROCRASTINATION AND PUBLIC COMMENTS
[SOURCE: Washington Post, AUTHOR: Nancy Scola]
John Oliver may have gotten heaps of attention for his 13-minute early-June jeremiad on network neutrality that called viewers to contact the Federal Communications Commission to urge it to protect the Internet. But new data from the FCC reveals that Oliver's call-to-arms pales in comparison to that other great force in American life: dilly-dallying. There was, indeed, a spike in comments submitted through the FCC’s electronic comment system after the June 1 segment; there were just 612 on the Saturday before the show, 9,673 on the Sunday it aired, and 14,899 that Monday. (Insert here the necessary 'correlation is not causation' caveat. It's also worth noting that Oliver show, in fact, had little noticeable effect on the number of comments filed by e-mail, rather the commission's Web-based system.) And Oliver seems to have set off a long-lasting ripple effect; nearly three weeks elapsed before the level of comments dropped down to pre-show levels. But a far bigger upsurge was triggered by a natural regulatory deadline: the July 15 deadline for the first round of comments. On that day -- despite the fact that the FCC's Web site largely stopped responding under the weight of contributors first filing and then search for their own comments -- some 18,740 comments were submitted. And on the next day, after the comment deadline was extended, a full 52,353 poured in.
benton.org/headlines/network-neutrality-procrastination-even-more-powerful-force-john-oliver | Washington Post
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NET NEUTRALITY COMMENTS ONE-SIDED
[SOURCE: New York Times, AUTHOR: Edward Wyatt]
A large percentage of the 3.7 million network neutrality comments received by the Federal Communications Commission came in the guise of form letters -- but a smaller proportion than might be expected. A study by the Sunlight Foundation, which advocates for government transparency, found that at least 60 percent of a set of 800,000 net neutrality comments released in bulk by the FCC were form letters written by organized campaigns. The foundation said that was “actually a lower percentage than is common for high-volume regulatory dockets.” In highly debated federal rule-making often more than 80 percent of comments come in form-letter format. Over all, the comments studied were overwhelmingly one-sided. Less than 1 percent were clearly opposed to net neutrality. And about 5 percent had anti-regulation messages, although those included seemingly contradictory camps, one calling for consumer freedom and another advocating freedom for Internet service providers.
benton.org/headlines/net-neutrality-comments-fcc-overwhelmingly-one-sided-study-says | New York Times
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ESHOO ON NET NEUTRALITY
[SOURCE: The Hill, AUTHOR: Julian Hattem]
Rep. Anna Eshoo (D-CA), the top Democrat on the House Communications and Technology Subcommittee, wants to make sure that new rules for Internet service providers can withstand a challenge in court. She seemed to warn the Federal Communications Commission against making a move that could land it back in a courtroom for years. “I think a lot of time has been wasted. At this stage of the game ... ten years or more in the 21st century is too long on one thing,” she added. Proponents of net neutrality have said the only way to protect consumers is for the FCC to reclassify broadband Internet service under the same legal umbrella as traditional wired phone lines. Rep Eshoo has said that the FCC should reclassify broadband Internet but only use one of the legal authorities it would have at its disposal.
benton.org/headlines/rep-eshoo-make-sure-web-rules-can-pass-courts | Hill, The
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WIRELESS AND NET NEUTRALITY
[SOURCE: The Hill, AUTHOR: Julian Hattem]
CTIA-The Wireless Association is are pushing back against an effort to ban them from slowing or blocking people’s access to the Internet. CTIA head Meredith Attwell Baker sent a letter to members of Congress telling them to pressure the Federal Communications Commission not to extend its network neutrality rules to wireless. Baker’s group includes phone giants AT&T, Verizon, Sprint and T-Mobile as well as device manufacturers, Dish Network and other companies. Their service has “physical limitations and policy constraints,” she wrote, which means that “mobile networks may need to subject different uses or users to differentiated treatment on a real-time basis to provide all consumers with the level of service they have come to expect."
benton.org/headlines/wireless-companies-dont-put-fast-lane-rules-us | Hill, The | Multichannel News
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TITLE II VS CURRENT MODEL
[SOURCE: Vox, AUTHOR: Timothy Lee]
The National Cable and Telecommunications Association posted a hilarious tweet depicting Internet service providers (ISPs) waiting in line to ask the government for permission to increase speeds and offer new services. The problem is that to many people, it already seems like Comcast and other large broadband providers are acting like arrogant monopolies. At the heart of the network neutrality debate is a disagreement about the relationship between regulation and monopoly. The liberal view is that big broadband providers are de facto monopolies, and that regulations are needed to prevent them from abusing their monopoly power. The conservative response is that regulations cause monopolies. More regulations will make the problem worse, while deregulation will promote competition and innovation.
benton.org/headlines/big-cables-nightmare-scenario-looks-lot-dealing-comcast-now | Vox
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MORE ON INTERNET/BROADBAND
BROADBAND AND PRODUCTIVITY
[SOURCE: Washington Post, AUTHOR: Brian Fung]
A new study finds that access to next-generation Internet speeds may be connected to better economic growth. According to a report by the Analysis Group, cities that offer broadband at 1 gigabit per second -- roughly 100 times the national average of 10 megabits per second -- report higher per-capita GDP compared to cities that lack those Internet speeds. Of course, all the normal caveats apply: It's hard to draw a causal inference from the study, and it's possible there's something else about the 14 gigabit cities that made them better off to begin with. Still, the paper's methodology seems relatively straightforward. Drawing from federal statistics, the Analysis Group identified 14 metropolitan areas where over half of the population had access to gigabit speeds in 2011 and 2012. Then the researchers compared those areas against 41 neighboring cities where gigabit Internet wasn't widely available. Cities with gigabit connections reported 1.1 percent higher per-capita GDP than their slower counterparts, the study found. That might not sound like much, but consider that per-capita GDP in the entire United States has been growing at a pace of one to two percent a year since the recession, according to the World Bank.
benton.org/headlines/study-cities-super-fast-internet-speeds-are-more-productive | Washington Post | telecompetitor
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INTERNET TAXES
[SOURCE: National Journal, AUTHOR: Dustin Volz]
Uncle Sam may start charging you for the right to access the Internet. Or you might soon find yourself paying a sales tax on purchases made at online retailers like Amazon and eBay. Depending on whom you ask, the two issues are either completely unrelated or close cousins. The first is a sort of doomsday scenario that would come to pass if a long-standing federal ban on charging a tax for Internet access isn't renewed by Congress. The second will become reality if an online-sales-tax bill, supported by brick-and-mortar retailers, gets passed as a piggyback measure to the ban. Before Congress flees Washington to begin its final burst of election-season campaigning, it must address the ban on federal, state, and local taxes on Internet access due to expire on Nov. 1. This ban prevents localities and all but seven states from charging you a sales tax for your Internet hookup in your monthly bill. Few in Congress want that ban to expire, but in the face of the looming deadline, lawmakers have decided to do what they do best: Punt.
benton.org/headlines/congress-about-decide-whether-tax-your-internet | National Journal
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OWNERSHIP
OPPOSITION TO AT&T/DIRECTV
[SOURCE: ars technica, AUTHOR: Jon Brodkin]
AT&T’s proposed $48.5 billion acquisition of DirecTV will reduce competition for TV subscribers, increase AT&T’s “incentive to discriminate against online video services,” and give AT&T more reasons to neglect its aging copper network, consumer advocacy groups argue in a petition to deny the merger. AT&T has claimed the merger would help it expand fiber buildouts to an additional two million locations, but this claim is unverifiable because AT&T hasn’t said how much fiber it will deploy if the merger is not approved, says the petition filed by Public Knowledge and the Institute for Local Self-Reliance. In “markets where AT&T and other telecommunications companies have begun to offer fixed wireless service as an alternative to traditional telephone service, there have been customer complaints about the lack of maintenance to the copper network and reports of high-pressure sales techniques that push customers to a wireless product even though the wired product may suit their needs better,” the petition said.
benton.org/headlines/attdirectv-merger-boosts-incentive-kill-copper-service-opponents-say | Ars Technica
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MICROSOFT LIKES AT&T/DIRECTV
[SOURCE: Multichannel News, AUTHOR: John Eggerton]
In a filing at the Federal Communications Commission, Microsoft said that the AT&T/DirecTV deal would help deploy broadband infrastructure critical to innovation. Microsoft points out that AT&T has committed to increasing broadband deployment by boosting its fiber to the premises wireline service to two million more customer locations, and to deploying fixed-wireless local loop technology, boosting broadband speeds to 15-20 Mbps to 13 million mostly rural customers outside AT&T's current footprint or where current customers don't get the U-Verse bundle of broadband and video. And while Microsoft gave the FCC credit for advancing deployment through the Universal Service Fund and E-rate subsidies, it suggested the deal would be a good venue for expanding on that.
benton.org/headlines/microsoft-backs-attdirectv-deal | Multichannel News
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ELECTIONS AND MEDIA
POLITICAL AD DISCLOSURE
[SOURCE: The Hill, AUTHOR: Julian Hattem]
Reps. Henry Waxman (D-CA) and Anna Eshoo (D-CA) and Sen. Bill Nelson (D-FL) are putting pressure on the Federal Communications Commission to require that more companies post their records about political advertising online. The FCC is currently weighing a request to require cable, satellite and radio stations to put their records online so that people can easily see which campaigns and groups are buying political ads on their airtime. “The 2014 election is projected to be the most expensive midterm election cycle in U.S. history,” the lawmakers wrote to FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler. “Given this trend, it’s imperative that the FCC expand its online filing requirement to cable and satellite operators, as well as broadcast radio licensees.”
benton.org/headlines/lawmakers-want-public-data-political-ads | Hill, The | Multichannel News
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BROADCAST DISCLOSURE REQUIRMENTS
[SOURCE: Government Accountability Office, AUTHOR: Mark Goldstein]
The Government Accountability Office was asked to assess disclosure requirements and practices of television and radio broadcast stations that air content intended to influence Congress. This report (1) describes the disclosure requirements for broadcasters that air advertisements or programming that affect their interests and may be intended to influence Congress, and any requirements to air opposing views, and (2) assesses what is known about the number and fair market value of these advertisements, and those of opposing views, aired from 2007 through 2012. To conduct the work, GAO reviewed relevant statutes, regulations, and Federal Communications Commission orders and interviewed agency officials and stakeholders, such as industry associations. GAO also procured and analyzed private data on television and radio advertisements on selected issues affecting broadcasters. Data from 2012 were the most current data available when we conducted our review.
benton.org/headlines/disclosure-requirements-broadcasted-content | Government Accountability Office
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PRIVACY/SECURITY
NATIONAL PRIVACY RESEARCH STRATEGY
[SOURCE: Networking and Information Technology Research and Development, AUTHOR: Suzanne Plimpton]
Agencies of the Federal Networking and Information Technology Research and Development (NITRD) Program are planning to develop a joint National Privacy Research Strategy. On behalf of the agencies, the Cyber Security and Information Assurance Research and Development Senior Steering Group seeks public input on the vital privacy objectives that should be considered for the goals of the strategy. The National Privacy Research Strategy will be used to guide federally-funded privacy research and provide a framework for coordinating research and development in privacy-enhancing technologies. To be considered, submissions must be received no later than October 17, 2014.
benton.org/headlines/request-information-national-privacy-research-strategy | Networking and Information Technology Research and Development
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GOVERNMENT & COMMUNICATIONS
LOCAL GOVERNMENT AND SOCIAL MEDIA
[SOURCE: Bloomberg, AUTHOR: Susan Crawford]
[Commentary] In the age of Michael Brown's death in Ferguson, Missouri, and Eric Garner's in New York, when police abuses can be easily documented by citizens wielding smartphones, relationships between police departments and the communities they serve can quickly become strained. And social media use by the police runs the risk of being initially dismissed as a publicity stunt. But after decades of losing the trust of important New York City communities, this step may help the department gain civic support. To build the citizen support that they need -- and to get the information they need to be effective -- local governments will have to give their employees the discretion to question and to respond with their own voices online.
[Crawford is the John A. Reilly Visiting Professor in Intellectual Property at Harvard Law School]
benton.org/headlines/ferguson-officerfriendly | Bloomberg
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