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January 2015

Deborah Tate To Direct Administration of Tennessee Courts

Former Republican Commissioner of the Federal Communications Commission Debora Tate has been named director of the Tennessee Administrative Office of the Courts.

Tate exited the FCC in December 2008. She began her career in Tennessee state government as counsel and advisor to governors Don Sundquist and Lamar Alexander. She also chaired the Tennessee Regulatory Authority, the post she had when she was tapped by President George W. Bush for the FCC post.

Lacking Internet, Cubans Rely On 'The Package' For Entertainment

Without high-tech offerings, Cubans have found an ingenious way to get nearly real-time entertainment, as well as the latest magazines, apps and even video games. It's called the "Weekly Package," and it's passed, bought and sold hand-to-hand on external hard drives and memory sticks throughout the island.

It couldn't be simpler; all you need is a DVD player, which is legal on the island. The Package, downloaded from a satellite and usually about one terabyte of data, is sold for around $5.75. Smaller memory sticks full of pre-selected shows are cheaper. The Package does not include anything political or pornographic, which is why some speculate the government permits it.

January 5, 2015 (Sanctions; #NetNeutrality vote; ICANN; Spectrum)

BENTON'S COMMUNICATIONS-RELATED HEADLINES for MONDAY, JANUARY 5, 2015


PRIVACY/SECURITY
   US Says North Korea Sanctions Step 1 in Sony Response
   US: No alternate leads in Sony hack [links to web]
   If the Supreme Court tackles the NSA in 2015, it’ll be one of these five cases - analysis [links to web]
   Judiciary presses FBI on cellphone spying [links to web]
   Writers Say They Feel Censored by Surveillance

INTERNET/BROADBAND
   Get ready: The FCC says it will vote on network neutrality in February
   Republicans Lay Plans to Fight FCC’s Network Neutrality Rules
   Protect the Internet: Keep the contract with ICANN - Washington Post editorial [links to web]
   The Trouble With Sweeping Questions About the Internet - op-ed
   This was the Internet’s worst, best year ever - analysis
   North Dakota leads nation in fiber optic access [links to web]
   Kentucky broadband expansion begins [links to web]

WIRELESS
   The Sale of the Century? How the FCC Plans to Sell Off Part of the TV Band - analysis
   Marriott Says It Only Wants to Block Personal Wi-Fi in Conference, Meeting Spaces
   Brazen Attempts by Hotels to Block Wi-Fi - NYTimes editorial [links to web]
   How to Check if You're Eligible for Some of $160 Million in Cramming Refunds [links to web]

RESEARCH
   Here's What People Did Before They Could Google Things

CONTENT
   Qwant Wants to Be Alternative to Google [links to web]

ADVERTISING
   Firms turn to online 'influencers' to spread the word on social media [links to web]

TELEVISION
   76 Percent Of Homes Have DVR, Netflix Or Use Video-on-demand [links to web]

LABOR
   Writers Are Mixed Over Amazon Unlimited [links to web]

GOVERNMENT PERFORMANCE
   Supreme Court, in Big Leap, Plans to Put Filings Online [links to web]

2014/2015
   Tech's bad year in Washington [links to web]
   Tech's 2015 wish list [links to web]
   Five things that tech got right in 2014 - analysis [links to web]
   5 social trends you can expect to see in 2015 - analysis [links to web]

STORIES FROM ABROAD
   UK wants hot tech grads to do spy work before building startups [links to web]

MORE ONLINE
   “Smart” Cities and the Urban Digital Revolution - op-ed [links to web]

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PRIVACY/SECURITY

SANCTIONS ON NORTH KOREA
[SOURCE: Associated Press, AUTHOR: ]
The United States says its new round of sanctions against North Korea is just the opening salvo in its response to an unprecedented cyberattack on Sony. Yet there may be little else the US can do to further isolate a country that already has few friends in the world. Even the latest sanctions, handed down by President Barack Obama in an executive order, may not sting quite as badly as US would have hoped. After all, North Korea is already under a strict sanctions regime imposed by the US over the North's nuclear program. The new round of sanctions unveiled Jan 2 hit three organizations closely tied to the North's defense apparatus, plus 10 individuals who work for those groups or for North Korea's government directly. Any assets they have in the US will be frozen, and they'll be barred from using the US financial system. But all three groups were already on the US sanctions list, and officials couldn't say whether any of the 10 individuals even have assets in the US to freeze.
benton.org/headlines/us-says-north-korea-sanctions-step-1-sony-response | Associated Press | Executive Order
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SURVEILLANCE AND CENSORSHIP
[SOURCE: New York Times, AUTHOR: Jennifer Schuessler]
A survey of writers around the world by the PEN American Center has found that a significant majority said they were deeply concerned with government surveillance, with many reporting that they have avoided, or have considered avoiding, controversial topics in their work or in personal communications as a result. The findings show that writers consider freedom of expression to be under significant threat around the world in democratic and nondemocratic countries. Some 75 percent of respondents in countries classified as “free,” 84 percent in “partly free” countries, and 80 percent in countries that were “not free” said that they were “very” or “somewhat” worried about government surveillance in their countries.
benton.org/headlines/writers-say-they-feel-censored-surveillance | New York Times
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INTERNET/BROADBAND

NET NEUTRALITY VOTE EXPECTED IN FEBRUARY
[SOURCE: Washington Post, AUTHOR: Brian Fung]
The Federal Communications Commission will vote on new proposed network neutrality rules in February. FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler told fellow FCC commissioners before the holidays that he intends to circulate a draft proposal internally in February with an eye toward approving the measure weeks later, said one official who spoke on the condition of anonymity because the agency's deliberations are ongoing. The agency is scheduled to hold its monthly meeting on Feb. 26. The rules are meant to keep broadband providers such as Verizon and Comcast from speeding up or slowing down some Web sites compared to others. Analysts and officials close to the agency say that momentum has been building recently for far more aggressive regulations than Chairman Wheeler had initially proposed.
benton.org/headlines/get-ready-fcc-says-it-will-vote-network-neutrality-february | Washington Post | The Hill | Recode | The Wrap
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PLAN TO FIGHT NETWORK NEUTRALITY RULES
[SOURCE: Wall Street Journal, AUTHOR: Gautham Nagesh]
Newly fortified Republicans in Congress are considering a number of ways to stymie the Obama Administration’s planned regulations on broadband Internet providers in 2015, making Capitol Hill a new front in the fight over “net neutrality.” Concern about the rules is playing into Republican efforts to rein in what they say is regulatory overreach by the Federal Communications Commission. Dissension over the Internet rules is so rancorous that it could end up impeding progress on technology policy areas where there is potential for agreement, such as cybersecurity and the allocation of wireless spectrum, according to telecom lobbyists and congressional aides. In the House, a Republican staffer for the House Commerce Committee said lawmakers won’t know what steps they will take until they see the agency’s final plan. But all options are on the table, he said, including legislation to block reclassification and cutting the agency’s budget. Lawmakers also could try to implement a seldom-used law, the Congressional Review Act, which allows Congress to void major rules issued by federal agencies. Another option is legislation to preserve net neutrality without resorting to utility regulation. However, such legislation would be anathema to many Republicans who oppose any regulation of Internet access. Moreover, any legislation to override or undo the Internet rules would be a heavy lift in Congress.
benton.org/headlines/republicans-lay-plans-fight-fccs-network-neutrality-rules | Wall Street Journal
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THE TROUBLE WITH SWEEPING QUESTIONS ABOUT THE INTERNET
[SOURCE: The Atlantic, AUTHOR: Kentaro Toyama]
[Commentary] Confusion about the Internet’s role is endemic in today’s public sphere. And that’s in part because we keep asking the wrong questions. The wrong kind of question asks whether the Internet can cause positive social change. Unless you define “the Internet” as the technology together with everyone who uses it, the Internet is an inanimate tool, just a communication channel. The Internet is not, nor will ever be, the primary, systematic cause of real political change any more than lanterns -- “one if by land, two if by sea” -- were the primary cause of the American revolution. “Can technology X cause social change Y?” Answer “yes” and you’ve granted technology more agency than it has; answer “no” and you’re denying that technology has any role to play. These questions are loaded, because the key issue isn’t about technology at all but, rather, “What social, economic, and political conditions would change people en masse?" [Toyama is the W.K. Kellogg Chair Associate Professor at the University of Michigan School of Information]
benton.org/headlines/trouble-sweeping-questions-about-internet | Atlantic, The
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THIS WAS THE INTERNET'S WORST, BEST YEAR EVER
[SOURCE: Washington Post, AUTHOR: Nancy Scola]
[Commentary] 2014 was in many ways a mixed bag for the Internet. It showed the Internet at its strongest, reaching more people, more ways than at any point in the past. But at the same time, it has also never been more threatened by everything from hackers to censors to autocrats newly attuned to the power of the online world. Some key pieces of information: 32 of 65 countries surveyed in 2014 had declines in their Internet freedom. Even democracies abused the Internet, revealing a global "schizophrenic attitude" towards surveillance according to a report from the group Reporters Without Borders. However, the number of regular Internet users grew by about 250 million people in just the last 12 months. Overall, the fact that people seemed to have never been more passionate about the fate of the Internet is, perhaps, the one main lesson from this past year in the Internet's life. [Dec 31]
benton.org/headlines/was-internets-worst-best-year-ever | Washington Post
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WIRELESS

HOW THE FCC PLANS TO SELL OFF PART OF THE TV BAND
[SOURCE: Benton Foundation, AUTHOR: Andrew Jay Schwartzman]
[Commentary] In the Public Safety and Spectrum Act of 2012 (enacted as Title VI of the Middle Class Tax Relief and Job Creation Act of 2012, Public Law 112-96), Congress authorized the Federal Communications Commission to recover and auction a significant portion of the spectrum currently used by television broadcasters. This will be -- by far -- the most complex auction process ever undertaken anywhere, for any commodity, and poses unprecedented legal, political, engineering and technological questions. The auction is currently scheduled to take place in early 2016. The FCC has now promulgated rules for implementing the sale, and broadcasters are beginning to consider whether they should choose to participate. In addition, the National Association of Broadcasters has appealed several key aspects of the FCC’s new rules in a case which is receiving expedited consideration by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit. Interest in the forthcoming auction (actually, as explained below, there will be two related auctions) has surged in the wake of the FCC’s “AWS 3” auction, which began in November, 2014. That auction is for much less desirable mid-band spectrum than the low-band TV spectrum that will be at issue in the new auction. Even so, by the end of the year, the AWS 3 auction blew past the FCC’s $10.6 billion minimum “reserve” price, and bidding topped $44 billion after 139 bidding rounds. Given these developments, now is a good time to explore the history of spectrum auctions and the stunningly complicated process the FCC intends to employ. Bear in mind that this discussion is necessarily oversimplified.
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MARRIOTT SAYS IT ONLY WANTS TO BLOCK PERSONAL WI-FI IN CONFERENCE, MEETING SPACES
[SOURCE: Revere Digital, AUTHOR: Amy Schatz]
Hotel chain Marriott International tried to stem the flow of complaints about its personal Wi-Fi blocking plan, saying that it doesn’t want to limit guests’ ability to get online in their rooms but would like to block networks in its conference or meeting spaces. The company issued a statement trying to clarify its request to the Federal Communications Commission for permission to block Wi-Fi devices on its property. The hotel chain wants the leeway to block networks which might “pose a security threat to meeting or conference attendees or cause interference to the conference guest wireless network.” Critics of the plan argue that Marriott and the hotel industry are worried a lot less about malicious hacking than their ability to charge convention exhibitors big bucks for Internet access. [Dec 31]
benton.org/headlines/marriott-says-it-only-wants-block-personal-wi-fi-conference-meeting-spaces | Revere Digital
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RESEARCH

HERE'S WHAT PEOPLE DID BEFORE THEY COULD GOOGLE THINGS
[SOURCE: nextgov, AUTHOR: Hanna Quartz]
Before there was Google, there were librarians. When the people of yesteryear were curious about something, they frequently turned to their public library, seeking the answers to nagging queries and difficult dilemmas and even their etiquette questions. The library’s question-answering service still exists today. At AskNYPL, a team of nine librarians answer research and reference questions posed either by phone, chat, email, text, or snail mail. Many of the questions come from people who don’t necessarily have access to a computer or to the Internet. But sometimes their reason for coming to a librarian is more deliberate than that. It might be that Google has millions of possible answers to their question, while a librarian can provide specific guidance. The librarians help patrons to access databases, or tell them how to download e-books on the new e-readers they got for Christmas, or to help them resolve questions that modern search services don’t have many answers for. [Dec 31]
benton.org/headlines/heres-what-people-did-they-could-google-things | nextgov
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The Sale of the Century? How the FCC Plans to Sell Off Part of the TV Band

[Commentary] In the Public Safety and Spectrum Act of 2012 (enacted as Title VI of the Middle Class Tax Relief and Job Creation Act of 2012, Public Law 112-96), Congress authorized the Federal Communications Commission to recover and auction a significant portion of the spectrum currently used by television broadcasters. This will be -- by far -- the most complex auction process ever undertaken anywhere, for any commodity, and poses unprecedented legal, political, engineering and technological questions. The auction is currently scheduled to take place in early 2016. The FCC has now promulgated rules for implementing the sale, and broadcasters are beginning to consider whether they should choose to participate. In addition, the National Association of Broadcasters has appealed several key aspects of the FCC’s new rules in a case which is receiving expedited consideration by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit. Interest in the forthcoming auction (actually, as explained below, there will be two related auctions) has surged in the wake of the FCC’s “AWS 3” auction, which began in November, 2014. That auction is for much less desirable mid-band spectrum than the low-band TV spectrum that will be at issue in the new auction. Even so, by the end of the year, the AWS 3 auction blew past the FCC’s $10.6 billion minimum “reserve” price, and bidding topped $44 billion after 139 bidding rounds. Given these developments, now is a good time to explore the history of spectrum auctions and the stunningly complicated process the FCC intends to employ. Bear in mind that this discussion is necessarily oversimplified.

Writers Say They Feel Censored by Surveillance

A survey of writers around the world by the PEN American Center has found that a significant majority said they were deeply concerned with government surveillance, with many reporting that they have avoided, or have considered avoiding, controversial topics in their work or in personal communications as a result.

The findings show that writers consider freedom of expression to be under significant threat around the world in democratic and nondemocratic countries. Some 75 percent of respondents in countries classified as “free,” 84 percent in “partly free” countries, and 80 percent in countries that were “not free” said that they were “very” or “somewhat” worried about government surveillance in their countries.

Republicans Lay Plans to Fight FCC’s Network Neutrality Rules

Newly fortified Republicans in Congress are considering a number of ways to stymie the Obama Administration’s planned regulations on broadband Internet providers in 2015, making Capitol Hill a new front in the fight over “net neutrality.”

Concern about the rules is playing into Republican efforts to rein in what they say is regulatory overreach by the Federal Communications Commission. Dissension over the Internet rules is so rancorous that it could end up impeding progress on technology policy areas where there is potential for agreement, such as cybersecurity and the allocation of wireless spectrum, according to telecom lobbyists and congressional aides. In the House, a Republican staffer for the House Commerce Committee said lawmakers won’t know what steps they will take until they see the agency’s final plan. But all options are on the table, he said, including legislation to block reclassification and cutting the agency’s budget. Lawmakers also could try to implement a seldom-used law, the Congressional Review Act, which allows Congress to void major rules issued by federal agencies. Another option is legislation to preserve net neutrality without resorting to utility regulation. However, such legislation would be anathema to many Republicans who oppose any regulation of Internet access. Moreover, any legislation to override or undo the Internet rules would be a heavy lift in Congress.

Brazen Attempts by Hotels to Block Wi-Fi

[Commentary] Some large hotel chains want to block guests from using their own wireless Internet devices. It’s a blatant attempt to limit customer choice, and the Federal Communications Commission should say no. The FCC should not give hotels the power to block Wi-Fi devices that many customers rely on.

Protect the Internet: Keep the contract with ICANN

[Commentary] It’s bad enough that China and Russia repress online expression within their borders. They should not be let anywhere near the governance of the Internet’s global infrastructure. Yet the Commerce Department is proceeding with a plan to relinquish supervision of one crucial element of world Internet governance to an international body, which may not be sufficiently resistant to influence from the world’s many would-be censors.

If the situation doesn’t improve, Commerce should halt the march toward a formal turnover. Commerce still holds a trump card: It can renew its contract with Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN). The Obama Administration has said it will insist on adequate protections for freedom of speech before it lets go, and it must stick to that commitment. That could be hard: The Snowden revelations have put pressure on the Obama Administration. Yet the free and open Internet has thrived under existing arrangements. The United States should not allow other governments to use the leaks as a pretext to gain control of Internet governance.

Tech's 2015 wish list

The technology community has a wish list for the new 114th Congress. Many of the items are holdovers from past years.

1) Legislation to rein in so-called patent trolls.

2) Technology companies and privacy advocates remain hopeful about National Security Agency reform and some are already gearing up for the fight.

3) Internet Tax Freedom Act: A hard deadline to extend a ban on taxing Internet access could give senators the opportunity to finally remove the law’s expiration date.

4) Electronic Communications Privacy Act: Hundreds of lawmakers on both sides of the aisle, including the vast majority of the House, have signed their names to legislation to update a nearly three-decades-old law governing the protection of online communications.

5) Immigration reform: The technology sector has pushed Congress for years to enact immigration reform, specifically an increase on the cap for high-tech visas. But reform in the new Congress will be a tough sell even as the 2016 presidential election gets rolling.

Analysis

The Sale of the Century? How the FCC Plans to Sell Off Part of the TV Band

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