Reporting

Second BDAC Member Quits Over Charges of Industry Influence

A second member has quit the Federal Communications Commission's Broadband Deployment Advisory Committee, also suggesting it has been carrying water for industry rather than drawing on a well of other sources to grow broadband deployment. Miguel Gamiño Jr., CTO of the New York City, said in a letter to FCC chairman Ajit Pai that after participating in 100 hours worth of calls, attending one all-day meeting in D.C.

AT&T-Time Warner Trial: Comcast Executive Says ‘No Reason’ to Believe Merger Will Change Leverage

A top executive at Comcast testified at the AT&T-Time Warner antitrust trial that he has “no reason” to believe that the massive merger will have an impact on their company’s negotiations for Turner channels or HBO.  A key argument in the Justice Department’s case is that the merger will give AT&T-Time Warner increased leverage to demand more onerous fees from distribution rivals, ultimately driving up prices for consumers.

Internal posts show Facebook workers condemning leakers and fearing 'spies'

Facebook employees are calling for a crackdown on suspected leakers and questioning whether “spies” have infiltrated the corporation, according to leaked internal posts that suggest the social media giant’s workforce is becoming defensive in the face of critical public scrutiny. The posts were a response to the leak of a memo by a senior Facebook executive who defended the social network’s negative effects on society.

‘Maybe someone dies’: Facebook VP justified bullying, terrorism as costs of network’s ‘growth’

In a 2016 employee memo that was leaked the week of March 26, a Facebook executive defended the company's questionable data mining practices and championed the growth of social media at any cost — apparently even death. "Maybe it costs a life by exposing someone to bullies,” company vice president Andrew Bosworth wrote in the memo. “Maybe someone dies in a terrorist attack coordinated on our tools. And still we connect people.

Watchdog groups file criminal complaint against Trump campaign, Cambridge Analytica and Bolton super PAC

Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW) and Democracy 21 filed a criminal complaint alleging that the Trump campaign and a super PAC controlled by President Trump's new national security adviser John Bolton worked with the consulting firm Cambridge Analytica to violate a law preventing foreign nations from participating in US elections. The groups allege that the John Bolton Super PAC, the Trump campaign and its former chairman Stephen Bannon were aware of Cambridge Analytica's nefarious activities.

Silicon Valley Warms to President Trump After a Chilly Start

Once one of President Trump’s most vocal opponents, Silicon Valley’s technology industry has increasingly found common ground with the White House. When President Trump was elected, tech executives were largely up in arms over a leader who espoused policies on immigration and other issues that were antithetical to their companies’ values. Now, many of the industry’s executives are growing more comfortable with the president and how his economic agenda furthers their business interests, even as many of their employees continue to disagree with President Trump on social issues.

Comcast supports ban on paid prioritization—with an exception

Comcast would support a ban on paid prioritization as long as there is an exception for "specialized services" that benefit consumers, said Comcast senior executive VP David Cohen. Cohen's suggestion of a paid-prioritization ban with an exception for specialized services is similar to an early version of network neutrality rules that was passed in 2010 but thrown out in court in 2014.

US to Seek Social Media Details From All Visa Applicants

The State Department wants to require all US visa applicants to submit their social media usernames, previous email addresses and phone numbers, vastly expanding the Trump Administration's enhanced vetting of potential immigrants and visitors. In documents to be published in March 30's Federal Register, the department said it wants the public to comment on the proposed new requirements, which will affect nearly 15 million foreigners who apply for visas to enter the US each year.

Facebook, longtime friend of data brokers, becomes their stiffest competition

Facebook was for years a best friend to the data brokers who make hundreds of millions of dollars a year gathering and selling Americans' personal information. Now, the world's largest social network is souring that relationship — a sign that the company believes it has overshadowed their data-gathering machine. 

WSJ Employees Say Senior Editor Tried To Pull Story For Political Reasons

Wall Street Journal employees circulated a letter that alleges a “senior editor” at the newspaper attempted to remove an already-published multimedia graphic that the senior editor deemed “not politically palatable.”  “This is censorship and it is beneath the standards of the Wall Street Journal. It isn’t the first time, either,” the letter reads. 

Democratic Sens Slam Chairman Pai for Proposed Limits to Lifeline Program

A group of Democratic Sens slammed Federal Communications Commission Chairman Ajit Pai over his proposal to cut down on a program that helps make broadband and phone service more affordable for low-income households. The Sens' letter targets a proposal introduced by Chairman Pai in November that would significantly curb the scope of benefits from the Lifeline program, which roughly 6.5 million people in poor communities rely on to get access to high-speed internet. Eight million people are eligible for the subsidy program.

Apple Revamps Privacy Controls to Comply With New European Law

Apple is revamping privacy controls for its devices and cloud services to comply with strict new European rules as Facebook faces a user privacy backlash. The iPhone maker said it will update its web page for managing Apple IDs in coming months to let users download a copy of all their data stored with the company. The site will also let customers correct personal information, temporarily deactivate their account, and completely delete it.

Facebook’s self-defense plan for the 2018 midterm elections

Facebook has a four-part plan to protect its platform from malicious attacks during the 2018 US midterm elections:

The government’s case against AT&T-Time Warner may hinge on this online survey

Federal officials sought to lay the groundwork March 29 for a key argument in its historic antitrust case against AT&T and Time Warner, attempting to show how the $85 billion megamerger could lead to sharp subscriber declines among AT&T's rivals in the TV business.

San Francisco Aims to Close the Digital Divide with Citywide Fiber Project

San Francisco (CA) plans to narrow its digital divide with a new network of high-speed fiber connectivity. The city is scheduled to begin the first phase of a three-year buildout in the first quarter of 2020, San Francisco Mayor Mark Farrell said. “We believe this is one of the most important broadband projects in our country today,” said Mayor Farrell, as he reiterated a need to bring affordable high-speed Internet access into every home and business.

USDA's Rural Utilities Service Takes a New Approach to Broadband Loan Applications

The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Rural Utilities Service (RUS) has begun accepting RUS broadband loan applications for fiscal year 2018. For years, the program has provided low-interest loans for broadband network construction and is currently operating based on parameters established in the 2014 Farm Bill. There are some changes to the RUS broadband loan application process effective immediately, however.

LA Councilmember Proposes Municipal Broadband Feasibility Study

Los Angeles Councilmember Paul Krekorian has introduced a motion to study the feasibility of a municipal broadband network that would provide at-cost high-speed Internet to the city's local businesses and residents. The motion calls for a study into the creation of a new public department to oversee what is essentially an effort to improve the city’s broadband capabilities.

Cambridge Analytica data on thousands of Facebook users still not deleted

Cambridge Analytica’s US campaign data, which was harvested from Facebook, is still circulating – despite assurances it has been deleted. The cache of campaign data from a Cambridge Analytica source, details 136,000 individuals in the US state of Colorado, along with each person’s personality and psychological profile. The data, which dates from 2014, was used by Cambridge Analytica to target specific messages at residents who would be most susceptible to them.

Local News Is Turning Into Trump TV, Even Though Viewers Don’t Want It

Sinclair Broadcast Group — a media company run by a family of multi-millionaire Republican donors — is on the cusp of owning enough local television stations to reach 70 percent of American households. On the day that Donald Trump was elected, it would have been all but impossible for any single broadcaster to claim that large a share of the local TV news market.

Cortez (CO) Council moves forward with broadband pilot

The Cortez (CO) City Council voted unanimously to approve the fees and costs for a broadband pilot program. Through the program, dubbed the Cortez Community Network Pilot, the city will install in-home wireless devices called GigaCenters, and provide fiber to connect some residents with the city’s existing network. Installation will cost $150, and participants in the pilot will pay $60 per month, plus a $10 rental fee for the device, to get internet speeds of up to 100 Mbps.

Justice Department Will Be Investigated Over Surveillance of Trump Campaign Official

The Justice Department’s inspector general, facing increasing political pressure from Republicans in Congress and Attorney General Jeff Sessions, said that his office would investigate the surveillance of a former Trump campaign official. The inspector general, Michael E. Horowitz, said he would examine whether law enforcement officials complied with the law and departmental policies in seeking permission from the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court to wiretap the former campaign adviser, Carter Page.

Why do people hand over so much data to tech companies? It's not easy to say 'no'

By now, most consumers understand that data collection is a core part of advertising-based businesses such as Facebook, Google and Snapchat. The practice can often be a boon to consumers: The more people share with the companies, the better they are able to serve up ads, search results, product recommendations and music and movie suggestions tailored to an individual's liking. Yet many remain unaware of the type of data collected and what companies ultimately do with it. While the answers often lie in privacy policies and terms of service agreements, few take the time to look them over.

Facebook Limiting Information Shared With Data Brokers

Facebook is curbing the information that it exchanges with companies that collect and sell consumer data for advertisers. The measures affect a group of so-called data brokers such as Acxiom Corp. and Oracle Data Cloud, formerly known as DataLogix, that gather shopping and other information on consumers that Facebook for years has incorporated into the ad-targeting system that is at the core of its business.

Turner Chief Pushes Back on Core Justice Department Argument

The head of Turner Broadcasting pushed back against one of the central arguments of the government’s case to block the AT&T and Time Warner merger, saying that his company’s channels would not be used as a weapon against rivals if the deal went through. The Justice Department has argued that Turner, which is owned by Time Warner, owns “must-have” channels like CNN and TNT that the merged company would use as leverage in negotiations with other cable and satellite TV operators.