Daily Digest 1/16/2018 (Hawaii Panics)

An early-morning emergency alert mistakenly warning of an incoming ballistic missile attack was dispatched to cellphones across Hawaii, setting off widespread panic in a state that was already on edge because of escalating tensions between the United States and North Korea. The alert, sent by the Hawaii Emergency Management Agency, was revoked 38 minutes after it was issued, prompting confusion over why it was released — and why it took so long to rescind. State officials and residents of a normally tranquil part of the Pacific, as well as tourists swept up in the panic, immediately expressed outrage.  Officials said the alert was the result of human error and not the work of hackers or a foreign government. The mistake occurred during a shift-change drill that takes place three times a day at the emergency command post, according to Richard Rapoza, a spokesman for the agency. “Someone clicked the wrong thing on the computer,” he said. State officials said that the agency and the governor began posting notices on Facebook and Twitter announcing the mistake, but that a flaw in the alert system delayed sending out a cellphone correction. As a result, they said a “cancellation template” would be created to make it easier to fix mistaken alerts. A new procedure was instituted Saturday requiring two people to sign off before any such alert is sent. In Washington, Lindsay Walters, a deputy press secretary, said that President Trump had been informed of the events. “The president has been briefed on the state of Hawaii’s emergency management exercise,” she said. “This was purely a state exercise.” Sen Brian Schatz (D-Hawaii) said the mistake was “totally inexcusable.” “The whole state was terrified,” he said. “There needs to be tough and quick accountability and a fixed process.”While the cellphone alerting system is in state authorities’ hands, the detection of missile launches is the responsibility of the United States Strategic Command and Northern Command. It was the military — not Hawaiian officials — that was the first to declare there was no evidence of a missile launch.

According to conversations in recent days with current and former Fox executives, producers, and hosts, President Donald Trump looms almost as large in the minds of employees as Roger Ailes did. Fox hosts regularly get calls from Trump about segments he likes—or doesn’t. “When you worked at Fox, you knew that at any moment Roger Ailes was watching. Every day was like a job interview with Ailes. Now it’s the same way for Trump,” says a veteran Fox News contributor. Apparently, President Trump doesn’t explicitly dictate talking points the way Ailes did, but over time, the effect can be similar. “What he usually does is he’ll call after a show and say, ‘I really enjoyed that,’” a former Fox anchor told me. “The highest compliment is, ‘I really learned something.’ Then you know he got a new policy idea.” But knowing President Trump always could be tuning in means the network is being programmed for an audience of one. “He has the same embattled view as a typical Fox viewer—that ‘the liberal elites hate me; they’re trying to bring me down,’” an executive said.

The Supreme Court agreed to reconsider one of the most contentious issues in the business world: whether online retailers must collect sales taxes. By taking on a law passed by South Dakota's legislature for the express purpose of testing its legality, the court will return to an issue it addressed 25 and 50 years ago, before consumers did nearly 10% of their shopping on the internet.

The clear signal from the justices is that they may be ready to reverse themselves and demand that online retailers collect and remit sales taxes, even in states where they have no physical presence. That would be a victory for states and traditional businesses, but a defeat for smaller online retailers who claim they cannot navigate dozens of state sales tax systems the way major players such as Amazon do.

Five federal policymakers offered their familiar visions of core regulatory issues, including spectrum policy and network neutrality, during Consumer Electronics Show sessions.  With Federal Communications Commission Chairman Ajit Pai absent because of death threats he has recently received, and Democratic commissioner Jessica Rosenworcel opting to skip the program, the sessions were largely status reports on activities at the FCC, the National Telecommunications & Information Administration and Federal Trade Commission. Julie Kearney, CTA’s VP-regulatory affairs, sat down for a chat with FCC commissioners Mignon Clyburn, Brendan Carr and Michael O’Rielly.  O’Rielly said he expects a “busy and exciting year” in which the Commission will eliminate rules “that no longer make any sense,” citing Pai’s intent to delete aging regulations. Carr predicted, “We’ll unleash more innovation and greater investment.” He also said he expects that the policies will lead to broadband expansion. Federal Trade Commission chair Maureen Ohlhausen assured the audience that the FTC is ready to play a larger role in enforcing Open Internet regulations that are part of the FCC’s repeal of Title II classification.

House Commerce Committee Chairman Greg Walden (R-OR), Communications Subcommittee Chairman Marsha Blackburn (R-TN), Digital Commerce and Consumer Protection Subcommittee Chairman Bob Latta (R-OH), and Oversight Subcommittee Chairman Gregg Harper (R-MS) sent a letter to Apple CEO Tim Cook expressing concern over recent reports that Apple throttles processor performance for older iPhone models. “In response to concerns over the belated disclosure of its performance-limiting software feature, Apple announced that it would offer battery replacements for out-of-warranty iPhones at a reduced cost and would be issuing an iOS update in early 2018 that will provide users with greater information on their iPhone’s battery performance. However, Apple has indicated to the Committee that, thus far, it is unable to ascertain whether it has taken the necessary steps to ensure that affected consumers will be able to obtain a replacement battery in a timely manner.  Apple has also indicated that it has yet to develop policies to protect consumers should it fail to develop alternative methods to prevent instantaneous iPhone shutdowns, other than limiting processor performance, by the time the term of its reduced-cost battery replacement program expires at the end of 2018,” they wrote. 

On Dec 19, 2017, Federal Communications Commission Chairman Ajit Pai wrote to several members of Congress who had expressed concern over Sinclair Broadcast Group's Proposed acquisition of Tribune Media. In his response, Chairman Pai wrote, "Consistent with our rules, the Commission will evaluate whether this proposed transaction is in the public interest. While I am unable to discuss the merits of this particular proceeding, I can assure you that the Commission is conducting an open and transparent process as required by FCC rules and regulations and that our decision will be based on a careful analysis of the robust record that has been developed."

Publics around the world overwhelmingly agree that the news media should be unbiased in their coverage of political issues, according to a new survey of 38 countries. Yet, when asked how their news media are doing on reporting different political issues fairly, people are far more mixed in their sentiments, with many saying their media do not deliver. And, in many countries, there are sharp political differences in views of the media – with the largest gap among Americans.  The survey finds that a median of 75% across 38 countries say it is never acceptable for a news organization to favor one political party over others when reporting the news. Just 20% say this is sometimes okay. People in Europe show the greatest opposition to political bias in their news, including 89% in Spain and 88% in Greece who think this is unacceptable. In the United States, 78% say the news media should never favor one political party over another. In only five countries do at least three-in-ten believe it is okay to favor one side.

There was a second speech Federal Communications Commission Chairman Ajit Pai canceled this week, apparently related to the ongoing threat level tied to his Restoring Internet Freedom order vote to roll back network neutrality. Apparently, Jay Schwarz, wireline advisor to Chairman Pai, was dispatched to the CEO Close-Up Conference of the National Rural Electric Cooperative Association (NRECA) in Palm Desert (CA) Jan 8. On Dec. 4, NRECA announced that Chairman Pai would be the keynote speaker at the conference's opening general session, but Schwarz spoke instead. "The Chairman did not attend the National Rural Electric Cooperative Association Conference," a spokesperson for Chairman Pai confirmed, but declined comment on the reason: "We do not comment on security measures or concerns."