December 2014

Adoption of an emergency mid-year rate adjustment for Internet Protocol Relay service

The Federal Communications Commission adopts, based on emergency circumstances, a mid-year adjustment of the per-minute rate of compensation from the Interstate Telecommunications Relay Service Fund for the provision of Internet Protocol Relay service.

The TRS Fund administrator shall compensate eligible providers of IP Relay service: (1) for the period from November 15, 2014, through May 15, 2015 at the rates of $1.37 per completed conversation minute for a provider’s first 300,000 monthly minutes and $1.67 per completed conversation minute for monthly minutes above 300,000; and (2) for the period from May 15, 2015, through June 30, 2015, at the rate of $1.37 per completed conversation minute. The purpose is to ensure that the remaining provider is reasonably compensated for providing service, including service to users who migrate from the departing provider, and that IP Relay service will continue to be provided without interruption to eligible consumers, especially those who rely on IP Relay as their sole or primary source of functionally equivalent telephone service.

Spotlight on NTIA: Mike Dame, Program Director, State and Local Implementation Grant Program

In his current role, Mike Dame is leading a program that has provided grants to states to help them prepare for the launch of a nationwide broadband network for public safety, which is being developed by the First Responder Network Authority (FirstNet).

The FirstNet network will provide police officers, firefighters and other local, state, tribal and federal first responders with 21st century tools to help them do their jobs more effectively. Dame joined NTIA in late 2012 just as SLIGP was being launched following the passage of the federal law creating FirstNet and SLIGP. Dame said he finds it exciting to be involved at the start of such an important milestone for public safety. Prior to joining NTIA, Dame spent four years at the Department of Homeland Security in the Office of Emergency Communications, where he focused on public safety communications. Before landing at DHS, he spent a decade at the Department of Justice working in its Office of Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS Office), which is focused on improving relations between local police departments and the communities they serve.

"Dynamic Idea Factory" Preps Thoughtful Solutions for New Congress

House Commerce Committee Chairman Fred Upton (R-MI) released "GOP Solutions: A Compilation of Policy Proposals from the House Committee on Energy and Commerce". The committee previously launched The Policy Paper Series to support its legislative work with policy development and analysis, combining historical review, data, and assessment of current policies to help make the case for creative new solutions to major public policy challenges.

These papers, many of which are highlighted in the compilation, offer a foundation on which to build policy work in the coming years. "Good Process Makes Good Policy: Reforming the FCC" recommends ensuring the FCC engages in judicious policymaking that is a fair, transparent process coupled with rigorous analysis demonstrating the need for regulation before intervening in the marketplace. "Making the Most of America's Airwaves: Government Spectrum Policy" aims at determining methods to repurpose spectrum to increase the amount available to commercial users, including extracting additional spectrum from less efficient uses for more innovative and productive purposes.

American Cable Association: Comcast/Time Warner Conditions Should Last At Least Nine Years

The American Cable Association asked the Federal Communications Commission to impose what it calls "targeted" conditions on the proposed Comcast/Time Warner Cable merger and associated Charter system spin-offs for at least nine years, perhaps more, to prevent potential anticompetitive harms.

ACA is particularly concerned with the number of video subscribers the combined company and Charter would negotiate on behalf of, which ACA says would increase from 21 million to 31.4 million. Comcast is spinning off some systems to Charter to keep the total sub count below 30 million, but ACA is counting the subscribers negotiated for on behalf of Bright House Networks and Midcontinent Communications. ACA wants improved baseball style arbitration and nondiscriminatory access conditions. ACA also says Comcast should be prohibited from negotiating programming agreements on behalf of Bright House or Midcontinent and that Charter and Comcast-affiliated programmers should "be prohibited from interfering with a third-party programmer’s ability to provide any prices, terms, or conditions to an MVPD (pay-TV company)".

Consumer Electronics Association, Others Advise Court To Reject Broadcaster Auction Challenge

The Consumer Electronics Association, CTIA: The Wireless Association, Competitive Carriers Association, and the Expanding Opportunities for Broadcasters Coalition have weighed in with a federal district court on the National Association of Broadcasters and Sinclair challenges to the Federal Communication Commission's incentive auction framework.

In an FCC filing Dec. 23, the associations, which back the FCC in the suit, told the court that broadcasters' criticisms of the FCC's methodology for calculating interference are unpersuasive and irrelevant and that holding an effective incentive auction would be "impossible" using the "antiquated software the broadcasters want." CEA et al. told the court that Sinclair lacks standing to challenge the repacking deadline, and in any event such challenge is meritless. "The FCC’s repacking deadline exceeds the deadlines several broadcasters (including NAB) proposed, reasonably accounts for the challenges the repacking process entails, and accommodates 'delays or unexpected challenges' by providing for temporary facilities and extensions in appropriate cases," the groups argue.

Data & Civil Rights: What Do We Know? What Don't We Know?

[Commentary] What does the intersection of data and civil rights look like? When can technology be used to enable civil rights? And when are technologies being used in ways that undermine them? For the last 50 years, civil rights has been a legal battle. But with new technologies shaping society in new ways, perhaps we need to start wondering what the technological battle over civil rights will look like.

We're releasing all of the write-ups from the workshops and breakouts we held at the invite-only Data & Civil Rights conference, the videos from the level-setting opening, and an executive summary of what we learned. We learned a lot during this process, but we don't have clear answers about what the future of data and civil rights will or should look like. Instead, what we learned in this process is how important it is for diverse constituencies to come together address the challenges and opportunities that face us.

Aereo Allowed to Auction Web TV Technology

Judge Sean Lane of the US Bankruptcy Court in Manhattan said Aereo can auction its TV streaming technology after the company struck a deal with broadcasters over the sale process.

Facebook will have to face lawsuit over scanning of users' messages

US District Judge Phyllis Hamilton ruled that Facebook will have to face a class action lawsuit alleging it violated users’ privacy when it scanned the content of messages for advertising purposes.

Judge Hamilton denied Facebook’s bid to dismiss the lawsuit, which was filed by Facebook users Matthew Campbell and Michael Hurley in 2013. The suit alleges that until October 2012, when the social network says it stopped the practice, it scanned the content of private messages sent between users for links to websites, which were then used for delivering targeted advertising. The complaint alleges that this violated the federal and state privacy laws by “reading its users’ personal [and] private Facebook messages without their consent."

Amid protests, social media's role is praised and scrutinized

Protests around the country following the police killings of Michael Brown, Eric Garner and others have been amplified by the use and ubiquity of social media.

Platforms such as Twitter have been hailed as a boon for activists while some have criticized them as rumor mills that have heightened tensions. Activists say the speed at which information flows has made platforms including Twitter into effective organizing tools, while also giving people a sense of a collective, uncensored voice. Law enforcement in Missouri and New York have made broader use of the tool, while realizing the importance of choosing their message carefully.

[Dec 27]

Rock stars amp up in digital music copyright war

2015 is likely to bring more rock stars to Washington, each looking to make their mark on the growing debate over the future of music.

Industry lobbying groups say they’re planning to increasingly leverage the name recognition of recording artists and songwriters to add firepower to traditional lobbying efforts as they ramp up advocacy campaigns for musicians’ rights. The efforts -- which this year brought artists like Rosanne Cash, Lady Antebellum and Steven Tyler to DC -- reflect a growing tumult in the music industry, as listeners shift preferences from hard-copy music toward downloads and the streaming marketplace.

[Dec 26]

Benton

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