February 2014

Broadcast networks and their affiliate associations have teamed up with broadcast groups, mobile digital broadcasters and others to launch TVfreedom.org, which will advocate for broadcast retransmission consent rights in the ongoing battle with cable operators in Washington.

The National Association of Broadcasters has taken the lead on pushing back against cable operator arguments that retransmission blackouts are a growing trend and an example of an unfair system skewed toward broadcasters. That argument has been made mostly by the American Television Alliance (ATVA) which includes Time Warner Cable and satellite operators, among others. The National Cable & Telecommunications Association recently signaled it was moving from the sidelines to take a more active role in the retransmission debate. Now broadcasters are launching an ATVA-like coalition to add more firepower on their side of the contentious fight. ATVA has cited blackouts to argue for retransmission changes including mandatory arbitration and standstills, as well as pushing the FCC to crack down on joint sales and services agreements it argues are end runs around local ownership rules in service of joint retransmission bargaining that unfairly favors broadcasters. The group made no secret of their effort to counter ATVA. "Time Warner Cable, DirecTV and DISH, among other pay-TV providers, initiated an intense public relations campaign aimed at getting government assistance to bypass the existing system that, today, fairly compensates broadcasters," the group said in announcing their formation.

Senate Commerce Committee Chairman John (Jay) Rockefeller IV is asking six data brokers for information on the compilation and sale of products that identify consumers based on their financial vulnerability or health status.

Chairman Rockefeller brought attention to this industry practice during the Committee’s December 18, 2013, hearing titled, “What Information Do Data Brokers Have on Consumers, and How Do They Use It?”, and it was also highlighted in the majority staff report released at the hearing. “I am concerned that data brokers are categorizing vulnerable consumers based on their economic and health challenges, and selling that information without consumer knowledge or consent,” Chairman Rockefeller said. “As I said during the hearing in December, I want to know which companies are buying these types of products to target their marketing to these groups of consumers.” Chairman Rockefeller sent letters to six companies, including two -- NextMark and MEDbase200 -- that were highlighted in testimony presented at the hearing as data brokers that produce lists of consumers exhibiting certain financial and health characteristics, such as “Empty Wallets,” “African American Pay Day Loan Responders,” and “Dementia Sufferers”. Four other letters were issued to Acxiom, Epsilon, Experian, and Lexis Nexis -- companies that were part of Chairman Rockefeller’s initial inquiry into data brokers that sell products focused on consumers’ financial circumstances. Chairman Rockefeller noted that the letters sought information “necessary for the Committee’s assessment of the potential consumer harms and benefits associated with data broker practices.” The Chairman pointed out that despite repeated requests, three of the largest data brokers -- Acxiom, Experian, and Epsilon -- have refused to provide information related to both purchasers and sources of their consumer data.

The Chaos Computer Club (CCC), one of the oldest hacker collectives in the world and still Europe’s largest, has filed a criminal complaint against the German government and heads of Germany’s intelligence agencies.

Alongside the New York-based International League for Human Rights (ILHR), the 32-year-old hacker group accuses the government and three intelligence agencies of “illegal and prohibited covert intelligence activities, of aiding and abetting of those activities, of violation of the right to privacy and obstruction of justice in office by bearing and cooperating with the electronic surveillance of German citizens by [National Security Agency] and [Government Communications Headquarters].” The CCC wants to call Edward Snowden as a witness. It wants him to be able to travel safely to Germany, without risk of extradition to the US, from Russia, where he has been stranded since the US cancelled his passport while he was in transit to Ecuador.

[Commentary] HR 3982, the Open Internet Preservation Act, a bill introduced by Reps Henry Waxman (D-CA) and Anna Eshoo (D-CA) to reverse the DC Circuit Court’s order vacating the Federal Communication Commission’s Open Internet Order (OIO), is a symbolic measure that has no realistic chance of passing the House.

The bill simply raises a flag and rallies the troops. We appreciate the energy and enthusiasm shown by the sponsors of H. R. 3982, but we would encourage them to focus on the conditions that led the court to vacate the FCC’s rules. Congress has not provided the FCC with clear guidance regarding Internet policy, and this lack of direction has forced the agency to improvise both in regards to policy and jurisdiction. The Internet is in no immediate crisis; there is, however, increasing friction between the silos model of regulation in the Communications Act and the nature of the Internet ecosystem. Pretending that the Internet is no different from the traditional telephone network will not resolve this problem. The Communications Act is past due for revision. Rather than writing symbolic bills to address hypothetical problems, Congress should develop a holistic vision of the Internet. The new Communications Act must recognize that the Internet is not a finished product. We will see the rise of new services that require specialized support from broadband networks, and we will see new business models developing.

[Richard Bennett is a visiting fellow at AEI]