July 2014

BENTON'S COMMUNICATIONS-RELATED HEADLINES for FRIDAY, JULY 25, 2014

Do you get Benton’s weekly round-up newsletter? http://benton.org/headlines/weekly-roundup

GOVERNMENT & COMMUNICATIONS
   Meet Executive Order 12333: The Reagan rule that lets the NSA spy on Americans - op-ed
   Senator Leahy’s Bill Is Stricter on NSA Than House’s
   Senate NSA compromise likely to come next week [links to web]
   Why The NSA Keeps Tracking People Even After They're Dead [links to web]
   Wikipedia blocks anonymous edits (and trolling) from a congressional IP address

INTERNET/BROADBAND
   Chattanooga asks FCC for help in spreading broadband
   ISPs are spending less on their networks as they make more money off them
   Title II is the only path to net neutrality. Here’s why almost nobody thinks the FCC will take it - analysis
   Net neutrality sounds good, but it's worse - op-ed
   Major League Baseball Cries Foul on Net Neutrality Proposal
   Behind Comcast’s truthy ad campaign for net neutrality - analysis
   The IP Transition: Great Expectations Or Bleak House? - FCC Commissioner Pai speech

SPECTRUM/WIRELESS
   Dissenting Statement Of Commissioner Ajit Pai On Grain Waiver - press release
   TDG: Half of Adult Broadband Users Now Engage Mobile Video Apps at Least Once a Month - press release [links to web]

OWNERSHIP
   Statement On Order Conditionally Granting The Sinclair Allbritton Transaction - press release
   Statement Of FCC Commissioner Ajit Pai On Three TV Stations Going Dark Following Review Of The Sinclair/Allbritton Transaction - press release
   John Malone: Technology Companies Unlikely to Bid for Time Warner [links to web]

LABOR
   Demographics, tech, and the digital divide
   How can tech companies diversify their workforce?
   Tech companies’ diversity problems are even worse at the leadership level - analysis

PRIVACY/SECURITY
   This Republican wants to keep the FTC from regulating data security
   Statement from Assistant Secretary Strickling on Enhanced Privacy Notices Released by the Application Developers Alliance, Intuit and TRUSTe - press release [links to web]

TELEVISION
   Sen Rockefeller Wants to Revolutionize How You Watch TV
   Rep Barton: LPTV Bill Is 'Just Right' [links to web]

CONTENT
   Judge Troubled by Apple’s Proposed E-Books Settlement [links to web]
   DOJ: Make Unauthorized Streaming a Felony [links to web]
   When is news reporting fair use under copyright law? - analysis [links to web]

EDUCATION
   Report Backs Computer-Based Testing for Students [links to web]

HEALTH
   FTC Commissioner Brill warns on mobile health-data gathering [links to web]

POLICYMAKERS
   FCC Chairman Wheeler Announces Stolen Mobile Device Working Group Members - public notice [links to web]

COMPANY NEWS
   Facebook is Silicon Valley's new powerhouse [links to web]
   Comcast Steps Up Its Game on Internet Speeds [links to web]
   AT&T Preps Summer GigaPower Debut In Dallas/Ft. Worth [links to web]
   CEO: Startup Rural Broadband Services Corporation Has Big Plans [links to web]

STORIES FROM ABROAD
   Google Grants Majority of 'Right to Be Forgotten' Requests [links to web]
   Murdoch Consolidates European Pay-TV Assets Under BSkyB in £7.4 billion deal
   China’s digital transformation - research [links to web]

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GOVERNMENT & COMMUNICATIONS

MEET EXECUTIVE ORDER 12333: THE REAGAN RULE THAT LETS THE NSA SPY ON AMERICANS
[SOURCE: Washington Post, AUTHOR: John Tye]
[Commentary] Americans should be concerned about the collection and storage of their communications under Executive Order 12333 than under Section 215. Issued by President Ronald Reagan in 1981 to authorize foreign intelligence investigations, 12333 is not a statute and has never been subject to meaningful oversight from Congress or any court. Unlike Section 215, the executive order authorizes collection of the content of communications, not just metadata, even for US persons. Executive Order 12333 contains nothing to prevent the National Security Agency from collecting and storing all such communications -- content as well as metadata -- provided that such collection occurs outside the United States in the course of a lawful foreign intelligence investigation. No warrant or court approval is required, and such collection never need be reported to Congress. None of the reforms that President Barack Obama announced earlier this year will affect such collection. [Tye served as section chief for Internet freedom in the State Department’s Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights and Labor from January 2011 to April 2014]
benton.org/node/196705 | Washington Post
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NSA REFORM
[SOURCE: New York Times, AUTHOR: Charlie Savage]
Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Patrick Leahy said that next week he would file a new version of a bill aimed at ending the National Security Agency’s bulk phone records collection program after extensive negotiations with the Obama Administration and privacy groups. Leahy’s draft bill is said to make over a dozen changes to a version of the legislation, called the USA Freedom Act, that the House passed in May. Some privacy advocates who had denounced the House bill as too watered-down said they backed Leahy’s draft. Leahy’s bill tightens the language in the House version intended to prevent the bulk collection of business records about Americans.
benton.org/node/196958 | New York Times
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WIKIPEDIA BLOCKS ANONYMOUS EDITS (AND TROLLING) FROM A CONGRESSIONAL IP ADDRESS
[SOURCE: Washington Post, AUTHOR: Abby Phillip]
A Wikipedia administrator has blocked anonymous edits from a congressional IP address for 10 days because of "disruptive" edits being made by someone located in the House of Representatives, a spokesman for the Wikimedia Foundation confirmed. These otherwise anonymous edits were brought to light recently by the Twitter account @Congressedits which was set up to automatically tweet changes to Wikipedia pages made from within the Capitol. The Wikipedia community was notified of the block, according to Katherine Maher, chief communications officer for the Wikimedia Foundation. Maher said the "temporary, 10-day block on the IP address associated with the US Congress [was] due to disruptive editing originating from that address."
benton.org/node/196915 | Washington Post | The Wire
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INTERNET/BROADBAND

CHATTANOOGA ASKS FCC FOR HELP IN SPREADING BROADBAND
[SOURCE: Center for Public Integrity, AUTHOR: Allan Holmes]
City officials in Chattanooga (TN), petitioned the Federal Communications Commission to pre-empt a Tennessee law that bans the city from expanding its high-speed Internet network. The Electric Power Board, which runs the network, has received requests to expand its broadband service to nearby communities, said Danna Bailey, the board’s vice president of corporate communications. A state law passed in 1999, however, prohibits Chattanooga from offering Internet service beyond the area where it provides electric power. This restriction “frustrates” the intent of Congress, which is to ensure that every American has access to broadband, the petition said. The city asked the FCC to “pre-empt and declare unenforceable” the portion of the state law that prohibits the EPB’s broadband service from being offered outside its service area.
benton.org/node/196922 | Center for Public Integrity | ars technical | Read letter | The Hill
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ISPS ARE SPENDING LESS ON THEIR NETWORKS AS THEY MAKE MORE MONEY OFF THEM
[SOURCE: Washington Post, AUTHOR: Brian Fung]
It turns out that, as a percentage of the money they pull in, Internet service providers (ISPs) have generally spent less on infrastructure over time -- from a high of 37 percent of revenue in some cases to a low of around 12 percent more recently. This affects how reliable your connections are, what kind of speeds you get and the amount you pay for service each month. Some companies are building out fiber directly to the home. But not all; fiber is expensive. The question now is whether ISP spending will rise again to meet the new demand.
benton.org/node/196721 | Washington Post
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TITLE II IS THE ONLY PATH TO NET NEUTRALITY. HERE’S WHY ALMOST NOBODY THINKS THE FCC WILL TAKE IT
[SOURCE: GigaOm, AUTHOR: Jeff Roberts]
[Commentary] This is the Federal Communications Commission’s dilemma as it tries to design rules to prevent broadband providers from playing favorites when they deliver web traffic: It has a big stick, called “Title II,” but most people think the agency lacks the political juice to wield it against some very powerful companies. And while some have proposed “light touch” options to avoid a confrontation, that may be wishful thinking: FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler will have to go all-in and swing the Title II stick, or just it lay down altogether. Simply put, Chairman Wheeler won't wield his only weapon because Title II advocates just don’t have the money and lobbying firepower to challenge the telecom industry
benton.org/node/196719 | GigaOm
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NET NEUTRALITY IS WORSE
[SOURCE: San Francisco Chronicle, AUTHOR: Ev Ehrlich]
[Commentary] There’s nothing neutral about the Internet now. When Google caches its content around the world so that its stuff gets to you faster than its competitors, is that neutral? When Netflix buys - or perhaps one day builds - its own, faster private network to take its movies from its servers to your ISP so it can get a competitive advantage, is that neutral? In fact, by denying their competitors the opportunity to buy faster transit on the Internet - at a posted price that anybody can pay if they want - neutrality makes the Net less competitive, not more. The only thing neutral about neutrality is the price these big websites pay -- under Netflix's "strong neutrality" proposal, it would pay nothing to get access to you. And that means that you pay more than you should. There's an important agenda out there for working families - health care; a livable minimum wage; a fairer, progressive tax system; and better access to training and learning for the jobs of the future. But the idea that neutrality is part of that agenda is what the wolf said to the sheep while it was putting on their clothes.
[Ehrlich served in the Clinton Administration as Under Secretary of Commerce for Economic Affairs]
benton.org/node/196956 | San Francisco Chronicle
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MLB AND NETWORK NEUTRALITY
[SOURCE: Revere Digital, AUTHOR: Amy Schatz]
Major League Baseball is not wildly excited by Federal Communications Commission Chairman Tom Wheeler’s proposal to allow broadband providers to offer fast-lane Internet access to content companies. MLB’s digital media arm told the FCC that the controversial fast-lane network neutrality proposal was a bad idea for several reasons, one being that the added costs to content companies to use those fast lanes would likely ultimately be passed along to consumers. “Fast lanes would serve only one purpose: for Broadband ISPs to receive an economic windfall,” MLB’s Advanced Media unit wrote in a filing. “American consumers would be worse off as the costs of fast lanes are passed along to them in new fees or charges where there were none, or higher fees or charges where they existed.” MLB may be the only sports league to raise objections about the proposal.
benton.org/node/196953 | Revere Digital
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BEHIND COMCAST’S TRUTHY AD CAMPAIGN FOR NET NEUTRALITY
[SOURCE: Washington Post, AUTHOR: Brian Fung]
[Commentary] Comcast has been engaged in a public relations battle lately to convince policymakers and the public that it is all in favor of network neutrality, or the idea that Internet traffic should be treated equally by Internet service providers no matter where it came from or what's contained in it. In an ongoing ad campaign, Comcast touts that it's the only Internet service provider (or ISP) legally bound by "full" net neutrality and that the company wants to expand that commitment to even more people. None of what Comcast has claimed is factually untrue. But the company omits some facts in its advertising that gives the impression that it is unconditionally committed to "full" net neutrality, whatever that might mean, when the bigger picture is somewhat more complicated. What Comcast doesn't say is that its commitment to "full" net neutrality expires in 2018. After that, it will no longer be legally bound to follow the 2010 rules, and it'll be free to abandon that commitment literally overnight. Comcast does not note this detail in its ads; nor does it explain how its policies may change in 2018.
benton.org/node/196723 | Washington Post
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THE IP TRANSITION: GREAT EXPECTATIONS OR BLEAK HOUSE?
[SOURCE: Federal Communications Commission, AUTHOR: FCC Commissioner Ajit Pai]
The fact that the marketplace is embracing the IP Transition means we’re in the best of times. However, the government seems to be stuck in neutral when it comes to modernizing its regulatory framework to account for the IP Transition. What’s sidetracked us? Our efforts have been plagued by three critical mistakes. First, we are bogged down in brouhahas from the past. Second, we are failing to seize the present. When it comes to embracing the IP Transition, we can’t keep putting off until the unspecified future the things we can and should do today, starting with modernizing our rules. Third, we are becoming crippled by fear of the future. Embracing creative destruction means that something must be abandoned -- and that something is the PSTN.
benton.org/node/196713 | Federal Communications Commission
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SPECTRUM/WIRELESS

DISSENTING STATEMENT OF COMMISSIONER AJIT PAI ON GRAIN WAIVER
[SOURCE: Federal Communications Commission, AUTHOR: FCC Commissioner Ajit Pai]
The Federal Communications Commission jettisons this entire framework by waiving the attributable material relationship (AMR) rule -- for the benefit of Grain Management, a private equity firm that leases 100 percent of the spectrum capacity of all of its licenses to the two largest wireless carriers in the country. This decision cannot be justified under the FCC’s waiver law, since waiving the AMR rule here eviscerates -- rather than promotes -- the purpose of the rule. The FCC’s suggestion that the rationale underlying the AMR rule does not apply when an applicant obtained its spectrum licenses without the benefit of bidding credits simply cannot be squared with either the text of the rule or the reasoning of the FCC decision that adopted it. In addition, the FCC’s claim that Grain’s leasing agreements do not support any inference of undue influence flatly contradicts its determinations in the context of joint sales agreements among broadcast television stations. Finally, the decision will likely produce anomalous results, inject needless uncertainty into the FCC’s auction process, and invite arbitrageurs to make creative end-runs around our AMR rules -- all of which is unnecessary given the upcoming DE rulemaking. For all these reasons, I dissent.
benton.org/node/196910 | Federal Communications Commission
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OWNERSHIP

STATEMENT ON ORDER CONDITIONALLY GRANTING THE SINCLAIR ALLBRITTON TRANSACTION
[SOURCE: Federal Communications Commission, AUTHOR: William Lake]
The Federal Communications Commission’s Media Bureau adopted an Order approving the $985 million Sinclair/Allbritton transaction after the parties agreed to amend the proposal in three markets to comply with our ownership rules:
Consistent with Department of Justice review, Sinclair will divest the station in the Harrisburg market.
To comply with our local TV ownership rule, Sinclair will deliver the programming of stations in the Birmingham and Charleston markets via digital multicasting. This means that Sinclair will put the full programming of the stations on the digital signal of the stations it already owns. The licenses of the Allbritton stations that previously broadcast that programming will therefore be returned to the FCC. Most importantly, consumers will lose no programming currently available to them.
The originally proposed sidecar arrangements with Howard Stirk Holdings and Deerfield will not be included in the transaction.
To comply with our local TV ownership rule, Sinclair will terminate an improper sharing arrangement in the Charleston, South Carolina market.
[Lake is Chief of the FCC Media Bureau]
benton.org/node/196940 | Federal Communications Commission | B&C
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STATEMENT OF FCC COMMISSIONER AJIT PAI ON THREE TV STATIONS GOING DARK FOLLOWING THE FCC’S REVIEW OF THE SINCLAIR/ALLBRITTON TRANSACTION
[SOURCE: Federal Communications Commission, AUTHOR: FCC Commissioner Ajit Pai]
The Federal Communications Commission’s crackdown on joint sales agreements claims three more victims: two television stations in the Birmingham, Alabama market (WCFT and WJSU) and one television station in Charleston, South Carolina (WCIV). But because of the FCC’s new rules, the Media Bureau’s order requires them to go dark within sixty days. How does this outcome serve the cause of diversity? And how does this outcome serve the cause of competition? In Charleston, South Carolina, for example, WCIV would have been owned and operated by Howard Stirk Holdings, an African-American owned broadcast company. But apparently the FCC believes that it is better for that station to go out of business than for Howard Stirk Holdings to own the station and participate in a joint sales agreement with Sinclair. I strongly disagree.
benton.org/node/196937 | Federal Communications Commission
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LABOR

DEMOGRAPHICS, TECH, AND THE DIGITAL DIVIDE
[SOURCE: American Public Media, AUTHOR: Ben Johnson]
In the tech industry, one of the central debates has been over whether continued technological innovation can do much good for a wider group of people than just a narrow slice of the urban upper middle class. The “digital divide” -- the gaps between technology haves and have-nots -- is a real and pressing issue. The skewed demographics of the tech industry can also make using technology to improve social outcomes a challenge. “It creates a lot of anxiety and fear,” says Tessie Guillermo, CEO of the tech consulting company ZeroDivide. The ability to give digital literacy to these groups -- community organizations and underserved communities -- is difficult, and the demographics compound the challenge. Furthermore, the way the tech industry impatiently deals with these problems with quick fix improvements could be counterproductive, she said.
benton.org/node/196717 | American Public Media
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HOW CAN TECH COMPANIES DIVERSIFY THEIR WORKFORCE?
[SOURCE: American Public Media, AUTHOR: Noel King]
Like many tech companies, Twitter is falling is the latest to admit that it has fallen short on diversity. Kathryn Finney, the founder of DigitalUndivided, says for people of color, networking can be a stumbling block. "We're not part of those networks," Finney said. But people who work in tech say helping others break in is only part of the solution. Leigh Honeywell, a security engineer, administrator of the Geek Feminism wiki, and member of Double Union, a feminist hacker space, said women who make it through the pipeline and get jobs in tech are confronted by a culture that can be downright sexist. "It's really not cool to be encouraging all of these young girls and young people of color to enter a field where they are going to face discrimination," said Honeywell. "It's up to those of us that are here, both men and women to encourage attitude changes."
benton.org/node/196934 | American Public Media
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TECH COMPANIES’ DIVERSITY PROBLEMS ARE EVEN WORSE AT THE LEADERSHIP LEVEL
[SOURCE: Washington Post, AUTHOR: Brian Fung]
Twitter released a report showing what's become a very familiar story in Silicon Valley: That its workforce is mostly white and mostly male. But there is another story in the data that's less apparent, though, and it's about class. The data show that there's a big gap between the executives at the top of the pyramid and those who actually make the machines go. This is true for Twitter, but also at Yahoo, where women account for 37 percent of the workforce but only 23 percent of leadership positions. Whites make up only 50 percent of Yahoo's US employees, but as much as 78 percent of its US-based leadership. Asians make up more than a third of Facebook's overall workforce. Yet only 19 percent have made it into senior-level positions. There appears to be a ceiling at many of these companies that transcends demography.
benton.org/node/196914 | Washington Post
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PRIVACY/SECURITY

THIS REPUBLICAN WANTS TO KEEP THE FTC FROM REGULATING DATA SECURITY
[SOURCE: Washington Post, AUTHOR: Brian Fung]
House Oversight Committee Chairman Darrell Issa (R-CA) thinks the Federal Trade Commission shouldn't be allowed to sue companies for breaches of customer data using its main legal authority. In a hearing, Rep Issa slammed the agency for using what he called an "unlimited power" under Section 5 of the Federal Trade Commission Act. Section 5 is what gives the FTC the authority to take legal action against companies it believes has been behaving deceptively or unfairly. Now the scope of that authority is coming into question just as technology have opened up new risks of data-related crimes like fraud and identity theft.
benton.org/node/196928 | Washington Post
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TELEVISION

SEN ROCKEFELLER WANTS TO REVOLUTIONIZE HOW YOU WATCH TV
[SOURCE: National Journal, AUTHOR: Brendan Sasso]
Sen Jay Rockefeller (D-WV) is getting ready to settle into retirement. But before he does, he'd like to upend the entire television industry. His goal is to boost online video services like Netflix to allow them to become full-fledged competitors to cable giants like Comcast. Although his ambitious gambit is unlikely to pay off in the final few months of his 30-year career, it could lay the groundwork for future congressional action that could change how Americans watch TV.
benton.org/node/196729 | National Journal
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STORIES FROM ABROAD

BSKYB DEAL
[SOURCE: Financial Times, AUTHOR: Henry Mance]
BSkyB has agreed to pay up to £7.4 billion to acquire its European sister companies, opening the way to the biggest transformation in its 25-year history. The move will create one of Europe’s largest pay-TV providers, with the ability to invest more in internet technology and potentially to bid for sports and entertainment rights on a continent-wide basis. The deal comes after more than two months of negotiations with Rupert Murdoch’s 21st Century Fox, which will receive $7.3 billion from the deal as it looks to invest in US content business. BSkyB will pay £2.45bn for Fox’s 100 percent stake in Sky Italia, the Italian pay-TV business that has lost more than 200,000 customers since 2011. That includes £2.1 billion in cash and the transfer of BSkyB’s 21 per cent stake in the National Geographic Channel. BSkyB will also pay £2.9bn for Fox’s 57 percent stake in Sky Deutschland, the German operator. It will also offer €6.75 for each remaining Sky Deutschland share. The deal will require approval by a majority of BSkyB’s independent shareholders, because Fox owns 39.1 percent of the UK pay-TV company and is therefore considered a related party. It may also face scrutiny from European regulators.
benton.org/node/196944 | Financial Times | Bloomberg
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