June 3, 2013 (Glass Ceiling Shattered at FCC)
BENTON'S COMMUNICATIONS-RELATED HEADLINES for MONDAY, JUNE 3, 2013
A look at this week’s agenda http://benton.org/calendar/2013-06-02--P1W/
POLICYMAKERS
Glass Ceiling Shattered at FCC: The Clyburn Chairmanship Begins - analysis
Commissioner McDowell: Filling FCC Seats Could Take a While
LOBBYING
Online poker lobby wants more GOP lawmakers at table
Small Internet Businesses Head to Hill With Mozilla Topping Agenda
Google’s Washington Insider [links to web]
INTERNET/BROADBAND
Broadband cord cutters? If this is a thing, ISPs, regulators and Silicon Valley have utterly failed - analysis
Sec Hagel calls out China on cyberattacks [links to web]
President Obama likely to walk softly with China on cyber-snooping
WIRELESS/SPECTRUM
ISS Backs Sprint’s Deal With SoftBank [links to web]
SoftBank-Sprint Deal Opposed by Investor Adviser Egan-Jones [links to web]
US Cellular to start selling a home phone service that still uses the mobile network [links to web]
Report: Americans Spend Almost an Hour a Day Using Smartphones [links to web]
PRIVACY
Sen. Paul defends Google, Facebook on privacy
Small Internet Businesses Head to Hill With Mozilla Topping Agenda
TELEVISION
Broadcast, Broadband and Bundle Bloat - analysis
Appeals Court Affirms Decision to Deny Nexstar Injunction Against Time Warner Cable [links to web]
CBS Gains Full Ownership Of TV Guide Digital [links to web]
A Battle Over Broadcast [links to web]
CONTENT
Trial on E-Book Price-Fixing Puts Apple in Spotlight
Apple Secures Warner Music Streaming Rights
EDUCATION
How online learning is reinventing college [links to web]
Online college course experiment reveals hidden costs
GOVERNMENT & COMMUNICATIONS
Protect the watchdog press – from Obama - op-ed
AP, Fox News not isolated First Amendment controversies for DOJ [links to web]
Google ordered to turn over data to FBI
US allows export of communication devices, software, and services to IranWhy the US needs Huawei more than Huawei needs the US - analysis
RESEARCH
Why Big Data Is Not Truth [links to web]
POLICYMAKERS
GLASS CEILING SHATTERED
[SOURCE: Benton Foundation, AUTHOR: Kevin Taglang]
[Commentary] On July 11, 1934, Eugene O. Sykes became the first chairman of the Federal Communications Commission. He held the post until March 8, 1935 when Anning S. Prall rose to be chair. Since then, each succeeding FCC chair has been a man – that is, until May 20, 2013, when Mignon Clyburn became the Acting Chairwoman of the commission. Chairwoman Clyburn becomes the third FCC chair of the Obama presidency after Acting Chairman Michael Copps and Julius Genachowski. The “glass ceiling” is a concept that betrays America’s most cherished principles. It is the unseen, yet unbreachable barrier that keeps minorities and women from rising to positions of leadership, regardless of their qualifications or achievements. Sadly, it took nearly 79 years for a woman to become chair of the FCC and this first chairwoman has "Acting" in front of her title. Nevertheless, the move suggests progress and we are excited to track Chairwoman Clyburn’s record.
http://benton.org/node/152929
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MCDOWELL ON THE COMMUNICATORS
[SOURCE: Broadcasting&Cable, AUTHOR: John Eggerton]
Former Federal Communications Commission member Robert McDowell warned that the replacements for former FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski and himself might not be installed until late fall, if then. He said he was not looking for a speedy confirmation and pointed to the "trifecta of scandals" the administration was currently dealing with that could lead to holds on FCC and other nominees until certain documents were presented. The nominations of current commissioners Ajit Pai and Jessica Rosenworcel were both held up for months by Sen. Charles Grassley (R-Iowa). McDowell was asked whether he thought the Acting Chairwoman Mignon Clyburn would push forward with major moves on the broadcast incentive auctions. He suggested that she may have to if the commission wants to keep the process moving.
benton.org/node/152978 | Broadcasting&Cable
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LOBBYING
ONLINE POKER LOBBY
[SOURCE: The Hill, AUTHOR: Kevin Bogardus]
Lobbyists who advocate legalizing online poker are on the prowl for a new Republican to champion their cause in the Senate. Former Sen. Jon Kyl (R-AZ) had been a reliable supporter of online poker, but he retired last year after making a last-ditch effort to pass legislation with Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV). Gambling interests are eager to revisit Internet poker legalization — a top priority for Reid’s casino-dominated home state — but lobbyists for the gaming industry doubt the effort will succeed until a Republican ally is found from outside Nevada who can broaden the issue’s appeal. “That's important to do. We want to make sure that this is not Nevada-centric. It's important to find someone who sees the wisdom of going forward with the federal bill,” said Frank Fahrenkopf, president and CEO of the American Gaming Association. “It just makes sense that this important legislation has bipartisan support.” The House will also see action on Internet gambling this year.
benton.org/node/152979 | Hill, The
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INTERACTIVE ADVERTISING BUREAU
[SOURCE: AdWeek, AUTHOR: Katy Bachman]
Small Internet publishers have been to Washington before to tell their story, but this time they are gathering with a singular purpose: to persuade lawmakers to put more pressure on Mozilla to change its plans for blocking third-party advertisers cookies by default in its Firefox browser. As many as 60 small Web companies will be visiting lawmakers June 3 and 4 as part of the Interactive Advertising Bureau’s (IAB) annual Long Tail Alliance Fly-In. Even though it's the group's fifth year on the Hill, this year they are more determined than ever to be heard. Although Mozilla announced earlier this month that it wouldn't implement the default cookie blocker in its July release until it did more testing, small Internet websites still feel threatened.
benton.org/node/152977 | AdWeek
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INTERNET/BROADBAND
BROADBAND CORD CUTTERS
[SOURCE: GigaOm, AUTHOR: Stacey Higginbotham]
[Commentary] The story in the Wall Street Journal on the one percent of people who have reportedly cut their wireline broadband subscriptions to use wireless instead is a hot mess that requires some careful rebuttal. But first, that the Wall Street Journal is even writing about this issue at all, as a possible “thing,” and doing so without directly citing the high cost of wired broadband until the fifth paragraph is rage-inducing. The WSJ minces around the cost issue by distracting readers with the chimera of more Wi-Fi hotspots and better cellular coverage as the reason people are cutting the wireline cord. But its examples show cost is the issue for most people. And if cost is the primary reason people are electing to ditch their wireline service we have two problems. One, wireline broadband costs too much, and the second is wireline can’t convincingly differentiate its value from the current LTE-wireless offerings.
benton.org/node/152988 | GigaOm | WSJ
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CYBERSECURITY ON OBAMA AGENDA
[SOURCE: Politico, AUTHOR: Tony Romm]
President Obama appears unlikely to threaten new punishments when he meets his Chinese counterpart this week in California — or else the White House might risk long-term progress on cybersecurity while hamstringing cooperation on issues like human rights and North Korea. Still, the Beltway’s biggest defense hawks are itching to strike. Members of Congress are weighing whether to limit Chinese visas or erect new market barriers for Chinese companies unless the country stymies its notorious hackers. It’s a stark contrast with the more diplomatic prelude to Obama’s face-to-face sit-down with Chinese President Xi Jinping — but one that might ultimately be to Obama’s long-term advantage.
benton.org/node/153012 | Politico
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PRIVACY
PAUL DEFENDS GOOGLE, FACEBOOK
[SOURCE: The Hill, AUTHOR: Jennifer Martinez]
Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY) came to Google and Facebook's defense when asked about their commitment to protecting users' privacy. Sen Paul, who is currently on a fundraising trip to Silicon Valley, took issue with Wired reporter Spencer Ackerman's comments about the two Web giants making money off of people's personal information, and their mixed reputation on protecting users' online privacy. "That’s not exactly true. I don’t entirely accept that premise. What I would say is you can track with Google, and share some information to get a service. It’s an exchange," Sen Paul told Ackerman. "As long as it’s part of an exchange and they uphold your contract, I’m all for that." Pivoting from talking about the companies' track record on online privacy, Sen Paul said he worries about the government using the Patriot Act to obtain a sweeping amount of people's information from companies — all with immunity from future lawsuits.
benton.org/node/152982 | Hill, The | Wired
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TELEVISION
BROADCAST, BROADBAND AND BUNDLE BLOAT
[SOURCE: Free Press, AUTHOR: Derek Turner]
Consumers aren’t the only ones who are force-fed bundles of pay-TV channels they don’t want just to get the ones they are interested in. Cable providers are in the exact same position. Consider, for example, the recent dispute between Cablevision and Viacom. Cablevision wanted to carry Viacom’s popular “must-have” channels aimed at children (Nickelodeon), young adults (MTV), African-American audiences (BET) and comedy audiences (Comedy Central). Viacom told Cablevision that to get these channels it also had to purchase and place on its entry-level tier more than a dozen unpopular channels (such as CMT Pure Country, TeenNick, and VH1 Soul). Viacom doesn’t care that VH1 Soul’s ratings declined by 75 percent from 2010–2012. Viacom simply told Cablevision that if it wanted only the popular channels, it could have them — for one billion dollars more than the price of the entire bundle. The cable industry calls this practice “wholesale bundling.” But antitrust law has another term for it: illegal product tying. It’s easy to see why large programmers like Viacom are so enamored of the wholesale bundling model. Because its fees are not directly related to the size of each channel’s viewing audience, programmers can earn healthy profit margins simply by repackaging low-cost content and forcing distributors to carry these low-demand channels on their entry-level tier.
benton.org/node/152967 | Free Press
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CONTENT
E-BOOK TRIAL
[SOURCE: New York Times, AUTHOR: Brian Chen, Julie Bosman]
Government lawyers are set to face off against Apple in a Manhattan courtroom, trying to prove that the company conspired with publishers to raise prices in the e-book market. But the evidence in the case will not just determine whether Apple has violated antitrust laws. It will also tell a broader story of how the introduction of e-books created upheaval in the publishing industry — with guest appearances by major players like Amazon and Barnes & Noble and e-mails from the late Steven P. Jobs, Apple’s former chief executive. In the case, brought a year ago, the Justice Department accused Apple and five book publishers of conspiring to raise e-book prices. The idea, the government said, was to allow publishers to set their own prices rather than letting retailers do so. Their motivation, according to the Justice Department, was to defend themselves against Amazon, which was setting the price of most new e-books at $9.99 and becoming increasingly dominant in the market. Simon & Schuster, HarperCollins and the Hachette Book Group settled the day that charges were filed; Penguin and Macmillan settled months later. Complaints by Amazon, which now controls at least 60 percent of the e-book market, are widely believed to have incited the investigation.
benton.org/node/153014 | New York Times | WSJ | Bloomberg | Washington Post
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MUSIC STREAMING RIGHTS
[SOURCE: Wall Street Journal, AUTHOR: Hannah Karp]
Apple is inching closer to a new streaming music service for iTunes, according to people familiar with the matter. On June 2, Apple inked a licensing deal with Warner Music Group for the rights to its recorded music and music publishing, agreeing to terms on the publishing side that other major music publishers have been seeking, according to people familiar with the matter. Under the deal, Apple will give Warner Music Group's publishing arm 10% of ad revenue—more than twice what Internet radio giant Pandora Media—pays major music publishers. Warner's terms with Apple could pave the way for other major publishing deals to follow.
benton.org/node/153013 | Wall Street Journal
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EDUCATION
ONLINE COURSES’ HIDDEN COSTS
[SOURCE: Oakland Tribune, AUTHOR: Katy Murphy]
About two weeks into San Jose State's online education experiment at an Oakland charter school, it became clear that something was wrong. Some of the students in the college's for-credit math courses weren't even logging on. It turned out some of the low-income teens didn't have computers and high-speed Internet connections at home that the online course required. Many needed personal attention to make it through. The final results aren't in yet, but the experiment exposed some challenges to the promise of a low-cost online education. And it showed there is still a divide between technology-driven educators and the low-income, first-generation college hopefuls they are trying to reach. To make it work, the institute had to issue laptops to students, set aside class time for them to focus on the online course, and assign teachers to make sure they stayed on task.
benton.org/node/153006 | Oakland Tribune
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GOVERNMENT & COMMUNICATIONS
PROTECTING THE PRESS
[SOURCE: The Christian Science Monitor, AUTHOR: Jonathan Zimmerman]
[Commentary] Did the White House misrepresent the Benghazi, Libya, attacks to cover up its own ineptitude? Did the Internal Revenue Service purposefully target conservative groups for scrutiny? Americans rely on journalists to cast light on these thorny issues. But if reporters can’t do their jobs, everyone else will most likely remain in the dark about serious government mistakes. That’s why all Americans should be deeply alarmed about the Obama administration’s recent investigations of news organizations, which have drawn far less ink than the Benghazi or IRS scandals. And that’s exactly backward. The most worrisome threat right now is to the people who actually produce the ink: US journalists. [Zimmerman teaches history and education at New York University]
benton.org/node/153010 | Christian Science Monitor, The
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GOOGLE DATA
[SOURCE: Associated Press, AUTHOR: Paul Elias]
A federal judge has ordered Google to comply with FBI warrantless demands for customer data. U.S. District Court Judge Susan Illston on May 28 rejected Google's argument that the so-called National Security Letters were unconstitutional and unnecessary. Google could appeal the decision. The company declined to comment. The order omits any mention of Google and the proceedings have been closed to the public. The order references a separate case in New York federal court that the "petitioner" is involved in another lawsuit with the government over similar disclosures.
benton.org/node/153008 | Associated Press
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EXPORTS ALLOWED
[SOURCE: IDG News Service, AUTHOR: John Ribeiro]
The US government has lifted sanctions on the export of a variety of consumer communications devices, software, and services including mobile phones to Iran ahead of elections in that country. The US Department of the Treasury, in consultation with the U.S. Department of State, has issued a license authorizing the export to Iran of certain personal communications services, software, and hardware. Exports of the devices to Iran had been blocked since the 1990s, but the U.S. government now holds that the new license aims to empower the Iranian people as their government intensifies its efforts to stifle their access to information. The export of the equipment to the Iranian government or to any individual or entity on a Specially Designated Nationals list continued to be prohibited. "As the Iranian government attempts to silence its people by cutting off their communication with each other and the rest of the world, the United States will continue to take action to help the Iranian people exercise their universal human rights, including the right to freedom of expression," according to a statement by the two U.S. departments. The license, which came into effect May 30, allows for the export and re-export from the U.S. of fee-based services, software and hardware required for personal communications over the Internet, including instant messaging, email, chat, social networking, sharing of photos and movies, web browsing and blogging.
benton.org/node/152968 | IDG News Service
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HUAWEI AND THE US
[SOURCE: GigaOm, AUTHOR: Kevin Fitchard]
Huawei has done quite well for itself without landing a single major U.S. infrastructure deal. Domestic operators may have resisted Huawei’s allure, but carriers in Canada, Europe, Asia, Latin America and Africa certainly haven’t. By some measurements, Huawei has already surpassed Ericsson as the largest telecom vendor in the world. Huawei may not need the U.S. to be successful, but the U.S. needs Huawei if it wants to keep the telecom equipment market competitive.
benton.org/node/152973 | GigaOm
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