On the anniversary of the repeal of network neutrality, Federal Communications Commission Chairman Ajit Pai now proposes another goodie for carriers – classifying both short codes and text messages as Title I “information service” rather than a Title II telecommunications service. As this is even more ridiculous than 2017’s reclassification of broadband as Title I, the draft Order relies primarily on the false claim that classifying text messaging as Title I is an anti-robocall measure. As we at Public Knowledge pointed out a bunch of times when the wireless carriers first raised this argument back in 2008 – this is utter nonsense. Email, the archetypal Title I information service, is (as Pai himself pointed out) chock full of spam. Furthermore, as Chairman Pai pointed out in Oct, the rise in robocalls to mobile phones has nothing to do with regulatory classification and is primarily due to the carriers not implementing existing technical fixes. We should treat the claims by industry and the FCC that only by classifying text messaging as “information services” can we save consumers from a rising tide of spam for what they are – self-serving nonsense designed to justify stripping away the few remaining enforceable consumer rights.

The Communications Workers of America (CWA) and Writers Guild of America West (WGAW) have joined with Consumer Reports, Common Cause and others to call for House hearings on the proposed T-Mobile-Sprint merger in the next Congress. In letters to likely new House Commerce Committee Chairman Frank Pallone (D-NJ) and likely new House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jerrold Nadler (D-NY), the groups said that hearings in their respective committees would be an "excellent" first step toward the incoming Democratic Reps vision of stronger antitrust enforcement (something Rep Nadler has pushed for), and consumer protections, as well as toward standing up for workers. The groups said Rep. Pallone had correctly identified the committee's responsibility "to understand the potential effect of this merger on consumers, workers, and the communications market.” 

Amid growing concern over social media’s impact and influence on today’s youth, a new Pew Research Center survey of US teens finds that many young people acknowledge the unique challenges – and benefits – of growing up in the digital age. Roughly eight-in-ten teens ages 13 to 17 (81%) say social media makes them feel more connected to what’s going on in their friends’ lives, while around two-thirds say these platforms make them feel as if they have people who will support them through tough times. And by relatively substantial margins, teens tend to associate their social media use with positive rather than negative emotions, such as feeling included rather than excluded (71% vs. 25%) or feeling confident rather than insecure (69% vs. 26%). Close to half of US teens ages 13 to 17 say they are on the internet “almost constantly,” and more than nine-in-ten are social media users. These highly plugged-in youth, however, are just as likely as their less-connected peers to socialize regularly with their friends in person.

Young people also believe social media helps teens become more civically minded and exposes them to greater diversity – either through the people they interact with or the viewpoints they come across. Roughly two-thirds of teens say these sites help people their age interact with individuals from diverse backgrounds, find different points of view or show their support for causes or issues. And they see digital environments as important spaces for youth to connect with their friends and interact with others who share similar interests. For example, 60% of teens say they spend time with their friends online on a daily or nearly daily basis, and 77% say they ever spend time in online groups and forums.

The Justice Department unsealed charges against two Iranian criminal hackers who allegedly used ransomware to hit American hospitals, universities, government agencies and the city of Atlanta (GA), causing tens of millions of dollars in damages. More than 200 victims were affected, more than $6 million in ransom was collected and damages exceeded $30 million, officials said. Ransomware encrypts data on affected systems, with an offer to decrypt if a ransom is paid. A ransomware called SamSam was used in attacks against Atlanta, the Colorado Department of Transportation and several health-care institutions. The ransomware, first identified in 2015, gained prominence after it afflicted Atlanta in March, hobbling computers in the court system, shutting down the Wi-Fi at the international airport, preventing residents from paying their water bills online, and forcing police for several days to file police reports on paper instead of electronically. This is the first time federal prosecutors are charging hackers with using ransomware with Bitcoin exchanges. Bitcoin exchanges transfer traditional currencies into Bitcoin, or Bitcoin into traditional currencies. The 25-page indictment charges that the hackers’ scheme was for their personal profit, and was not government directed.

Over the last few years, Luarene Powell Jobs, an activist, investor and entrepreneur, has been investing in media companies through her social impact firm, Emerson Collective. Buying up a range of unusual properties, she seems to be making an effort to turbocharge storytelling in this fractured digital age. It’s an interesting experiment to watch, because the investments include a panoply of the cool, hip and fresh in a mostly glum content industry. On Nov 27, Emerson announced that it had bought Pop-Up Magazine Productions, which runs innovative and decidedly quirky “live magazine” events across the country and publishes The California Sunday Magazine. Emerson has also sprinkled money all over nonprofit journalism, including at ProPublica, Mother Jones, The Marshall Project, the Committee to Protect Journalists, StoryCorps, Lawfare, Texas Observer and Chalkbeat.

A Q&A with New York Times White House reporter Katie Rogers. 

When asked, "How do President Donald Trump and First Lady Melania Trump use tech?" Rogers said, "They’re an Apple couple. Both use their iPhones to interact with the outside world — sometimes to the chagrin of President Trump’s security advisers and critics. The president is not as technologically savvy as the first lady. His aides slip him paper copies of news articles, and when he travels on Air Force One, an aide is often spotted carrying around these mysterious-looking cardboard boxes. They are full of paper documents. The president will often sift through the papers when he needs to refer to something — which can be where that famous Sharpie of his comes into play."

When asked, "How have you seen White House tech evolve under President Trump?" She said, "The Trump White House also had journalists switch over to an in-house Wi-Fi network, which made some reporters understandably uncomfortable for security reasons. The West Wing has also made more use out of devices that scan for gadgets including phones — I can understand why Signal is so popular. I think the anxiety over surveillance is perhaps more heightened than it was under the Obama administration, which, by the way, did its part to pave the way for these types of procedures."