February 27, 2015 (News from an Historic FCC Meeting)
CORRECTION: On Feb 26 Headlines attributed “Net neutrality victory is civil rights history in the making” http://benton.org/headlines/net-neutrality-victory-civil-rights-history-... to “Richard Robinson”. Rashard Robinson, the executive director of ColorOfChange.org, wrote the op-ed for The Hill. We regret our error.
BENTON'S COMMUNICATIONS-RELATED HEADLINES for FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 27, 2015
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NEWS FROM AND REACTION TO THE FCC MEETING
FCC Adopts Strong, Sustainable Rules To Protect The Open Internet - press release
The Net Neutrality Vote: FCC Commissioners in their Own Words [links to web]
After the FCC’s Net Neutrality Vote, Everyone Has an Opinion [links to web]
FCC Grants Petitions to Preempt State Laws Restricting Community Broadband in North Carolina, Tennessee - press release
The Community Broadband Vote: FCC Commissioners in their Own Words [links to web]
After FCC Lifts Municipal Broadband Restrictions, the Reaction Flows In [links to web]
Good News for Consumers, Innovators and Financial Markets - press release
A Victory for Everyone Who Uses the Internet - Charles Benton, Amina Fazlullah editorial
Benton Salutes FCC’s Move to Bring More Fiber to More Communities, Sooner - editorial
FCC Chairman Wheeler: President Obama didn't dictate Web rules
FCC Republicans warn of 'fundamental shift' at agency
Chairman Wheeler: Stay of Title II Rules Is High Hurdle [links to web]
FCC Commissioner O'Rielly: I'm Not Holding Up Title II Order Release [links to web]
There’s already a conspiracy theory brewing over net neutrality
Net Neutrality Fight Rife With Interests Connected to Commissioners
Senate panel to grill FCC on Internet rules [links to web]
The new GOP split on net neutrality
House Republicans call for vote to block net neutrality rules [links to web]
Bill Introduced to Block FCC Municipal Broadband Preemption [links to web]
Protect the Open Internet - Rep Hank Johnson (D-GA) op-ed [links to web]
Finally, Net Neutrality - Vikas Bajaj /NYTimes editorial [links to web]
Welcome to the Obamanet - WSJ editorial [links to web]
The FCC has acted on net neutrality. Now it's Congress' turn - Jon Healey/LA Times editorial [links to web]
We Won the Internet! What’s Next? - Engine op-ed
The Next Fight for Net Neutrality - analysis
What Happens Now With Net Neutrality? - Public Knowledge analysis [links to web]
Net Neutrality May Face an Uphill Battle If History Tells Us Anything - analysis [links to web]
Net neutrality's stunning reversal of fortune: Is it John Oliver's doing? [links to web]
How We Won Net Neutrality - Craig Aaron/Free Press op-ed
Why Everyone Was Wrong About Net Neutrality - Tim Wu op-ed
Broadband Investors Should Wake Up to Net Neutrality - Miriam Gottfried analysis
FCC vote could be game changer for Internet privacy - analysis
Outflanking Network Neutrality: The Ubiquitous Broadband Strategy - op-ed
Net neutrality: Long-term implications loom for Internet of Things [links to web]
Net neutrality should apply to mobile networks - Joshua Gans analysis [links to web]
Net neutrality will apply to cell networks. Here's the best case for why it shouldn't - Timothy Lee analysis [links to web]
How “net neutrality” won and “Obamacare for the Internet” lost (on social media) - analysis [links to web]
Dutch Offer Preview of Net Neutrality [links to web]
MORE ON BROADBAND
What happens when the Internet goes out? This Arizona town found out [links to web]
FCC REFORM
Senate Commerce Passes FCC Consolidated Reporting Bill
OWNERSHIP
90,000 Californians Sign Petition Calling on PUC to Block Comcast Merger - press release [links to web]
CONTENT
Google to Bring Paid Search Results to Google Play Apps [links to web]
GOVERNMENT PERFORMANCE
Putting the Power of Data to Work for America - Chief Data Scientist DJ Patil press release [links to web]
ELECTIONS AND MEDIA
Surveillance-based manipulation: How Facebook or Google could tilt elections - op-ed [links to web]
DIVERSITY
There’s Room: Six Ways to Support a Diverse Work Culture - op-ed [links to web]
COMPANY NEWS
Former White House Press Secretary Jay Carney to Amazon [links to web]
Aereo's Assets Sold for Peanuts at Bankruptcy Auction [links to web]
Google Puts European Operations Under a Single Executive [links to web]
STORIES FROM ABROAD
Will cell phones help insurgents? Or the regimes they oppose? - op-ed [links to web]
Technology Startups Take Root in Tehran [links to web]
Why You're Still Paying So Much to Use Your Phone Overseas [links to web]
Google Puts European Operations Under a Single Executive [links to web]
European privacy policy is not a cynical anti-competitive plot - Henry Farrell, Abraham Newman op-ed [links to web]
NEWS FROM AND REACTION TO THE FCC MEETING
FCC ADOPTS NET NEUTRALITY RULES
[SOURCE: Federal Communications Commission, AUTHOR: Press release]
Ending lingering uncertainty about the future of the Open Internet, the Federal Communications Commission set sustainable rules of the roads that will protect free expression and innovation on the Internet and promote investment in the nation’s broadband networks. The Commission enacts strong, sustainable rules, grounded in multiple sources of legal authority, to ensure that Americans reap the economic, social, and civic benefits of an Open Internet today and into the future. These new rules are guided by three principles: America’s broadband networks must be fast, fair and open -- principles shared by the overwhelming majority of the nearly 4 million commenters who participated in the FCC’s Open Internet proceeding. The Order protects consumers no matter how they access the Internet, whether on a desktop computer or a mobile device. The first three rules ban practices that are known to harm the Open Internet:
No Blocking: broadband providers may not block access to legal content, applications, services, or non-harmful devices.
No Throttling: broadband providers may not impair or degrade lawful Internet traffic on the basis of content, applications, services, or non-harmful devices.
No Paid Prioritization: broadband providers may not favor some lawful Internet traffic over other lawful traffic in exchange for consideration of any kind -- in other words, no “fast lanes.” This rule also bans ISPs from prioritizing content and services of their affiliates.
A Standard for Future Conduct: Because the Internet is always growing and changing, there must be a known standard by which to address any concerns that arise with new practices. The Order establishes that ISPs cannot “unreasonably interfere with or unreasonably disadvantage” the ability of consumers to select, access, and use the lawful content, applications, services, or devices of their choosing; or of edge providers to make lawful content, applications, services, or devices available to consumers. This Order ensures that the FCC will have authority to address questionable practices on a case-by-case basis, and provides guidance in the form of factors on how the FCC will apply the standard in practice.
Greater Transparency: The rules described above will restore the tools necessary to address specific conduct by broadband providers that might harm the Open Internet. But the Order recognizes the critical role of transparency in a well-functioning broadband ecosystem. In addition to the existing transparency rule, which was not struck down by the court, the Order requires that broadband providers disclose, in a consistent format, promotional rates, fees and surcharges and data caps. Disclosures must also include packet loss as a measure of network performance, and provide notice of network management practices that can affect service. To further consider the concerns of small ISPs, the Order adopts a temporary exemption from the transparency enhancements for fixed and mobile providers with 100,000 or fewer subscribers, and delegates authority to our Consumer and Governmental Affairs Bureau to determine whether to retain the exception and, if so, at what level. The Order also creates for all providers a “safe harbor” process for the format and nature of the required
disclosure to consumers, which the Commission believes will lead to more effective presentation of consumer-focused information by broadband providers.
Reasonable Network Management: For the purposes of the rules, other than paid prioritization, an ISP may engage in reasonable network management. This recognizes the need of broadband providers to manage the technical and engineering aspects of their networks.
In assessing reasonable network management, the Commission’s standard takes account of the particular engineering attributes of the technology involved -- whether it be fiber, DSL, cable, unlicensed Wi-Fi, mobile, or another network medium.
However, the network practice must be primarily used for and tailored to achieving a legitimate network management -- and not business -- purpose.
[Much more at http://transition.fcc.gov/Daily_Releases/Daily_Business/2015/db0226/DOC-...
benton.org/headlines/fcc-adopts-strong-sustainable-rules-protect-open-internet | Federal Communications Commission | New York Times | Wall Street Journal | ars technica | LA Times | USAToday | Revere Digital | The Hill | The Verge | Vox | telecompetitor | GigaOm | Politico | Center for Public Integrity | Bloomberg
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FCC GRANTS PETITIONS TO PREEMPT STATE LAWS RESTRICTING COMMUNITY BROADBAND
[SOURCE: Federal Communications Commission, AUTHOR: Press release]
The Federal Communications Commission opened the door for two community broadband providers to expand service, preempting state laws in Tennessee and North Carolina that prevented these and similar broadband providers in the two states from meeting local demand for broadband service. A Memorandum Opinion and Order adopted by the Commission finds that provisions of the laws in North Carolina and Tennessee are barriers to broadband deployment, investment and competition, and conflict with the FCC’s mandate to promote these goals. The state laws had effectively prevented the cities from expanding broadband service outside their current footprints despite numerous requests from neighboring unserved and underserved communities.
FCC votes 3-2 to override state bans of municipal broadband
benton.org/headlines/fcc-grants-petitions-preempt-state-laws-restricting-community-broadband-north-carolina | Federal Communications Commission | The Verge | The Hill | Washington Post | ars technica
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CHAIRMAN WHEELER RELEASE
[SOURCE: Federal Communications Commission, AUTHOR: FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler]
Thank you to the over four million Americans who participated in the Open Internet proceeding. Thanks to them, this decision on Internet openness was itself the most open proceeding in the history of the Federal Communications Commission. As a result, the FCC has taken an important step that should reassure consumers, innovators and the financial markets about the broadband future of our nation. Consumers now know that lawful content will not be blocked or their service throttled. Today’s action puts in place bright line rules to ban these practices outright. Innovators now know they will have open access to consumers without worrying about pay-for-preference fast lanes. This, too, is a bright line rule to ban paid prioritization. Financial markets now know that rate regulation, tariffing and forced unbundling -- the old-style utility regulation -- has been superseded by a modernized regulatory approach that has already been demonstrated to work. The rules under which the wireless industry invested $300 billion to build a vibrant and growing business are the pro-investment model for the rules we adopted Feb 26. Today is a red letter day both for an Open Internet, and for a broadband future of investment and expansion.
benton.org/headlines/good-news-consumers-innovators-and-financial-markets | Federal Communications Commission
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A VICTORY FOR EVERYONE WHO USES THE INTERNET
[SOURCE: Benton Foundation, AUTHOR: Charles Benton, Amina Fazlullah]
[Commentary] February 26, 2015 marks the greatest commitment ever made to preserve and protect an open and free Internet. On this day, the Federal Communications Commission has acted decisively to protect the rights of Internet users to employ any legal applications, content, devices, and services of their choosing on the broadband networks they rely on. Today, the FCC has made sure that the Internet remains a platform for all consumers, content creators, and innovators, regardless of their ability to pay infrastructure owners special fees for special access. Ten years after the FCC first adopted a policy statement on the Open Internet, we now have strong, enforceable network neutrality rules, consistent with the nation’s core values. The FCC’s action today demonstrates that there is a public interest at stake across all communications media – be they telephone networks, broadcast stations, wireless, or today’s networks of computer networks. At the Benton Foundation, we have always focused on closing the digital divide and supporting digital inclusion, so the most vulnerable populations can participate fully in a diverse media system and in our democracy. Today, the FCC took action to make this a reality.
Strong, enforced net neutrality means access.
Strong, enforced net neutrality means diversity.
Strong, enforced net neutrality means equity.
Strong, enforced net neutrality will enhance our democracy.
Strong, enforced net neutrality rules are crucial for our most-vulnerable communities.
Strong, enforced net neutrality means innovation.
Today’s actions are the result of real-life democracy and the interplay between the American people and the institutions that serve them. Academics, public interest advocates, foundation leaders, legal scholars, members of Congress, and representatives of associations and corporations were able to express their opinions and debate this issue in detail through public comments and visits with FCC policymakers, at FCC round tables and hearings. Best of all, millions of Americans made their voices heard over the past 13 months, writing the FCC to insist on strong, enforceable net neutrality rules. Positions were modulated, changed, refined. And yes, the President weighed in. The Benton Foundation salutes this vital democratic process and the end result which is a victory for everyone who uses the Internet.
https://www.benton.org/blog/victory-everyone-who-uses-internet
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BENTON SALUTES FCC’S MOVE TO BRING MORE FIBER TO MORE COMMUNITIES, SOONER
[SOURCE: Benton Foundation, AUTHOR: Charles Benton, Amina Fazlullah]
[Commentary] Today, the Federal Communications Commission sided with community-based solutions. Today, the FCC sided with choice. Today, the FCC sided with bringing better broadband everywhere. The FCC today voted to approve the petitions of community broadband providers in Chattanooga, Tennessee, and Wilson, North Carolina, which asked that the FCC to pre-empt provisions of state laws preventing expansion of their very successful networks. The Benton Foundation thanks the FCC for this action. In too many communities around the U.S. – and especially in rural communities – no commercial Internet service providers are offering broadband – and do not plan to. State restrictions on community broadband mean that rural communities have no options at all to build the networks needed to participate in the digital economy. These laws stop localities from finding creative ways to work with private investors and chill the kinds of partnerships and experimentation that should be happening to close the digital divide. Today’s FCC action could bring broadband service to communities where there is none and competition in areas where it does not exist. FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler recognizes that meaningful competition for high-speed wired broadband is lacking. To take advantage of today’s new services, and to incentivize the development of tomorrow’s innovations, Americans need more competitive choices for faster and better Internet connections. Today’s FCC action means that the broadband marketplace will have to be more responsive to competitive forces.
https://www.benton.org/blog/benton-salutes-fccs-move-bring-more-fiber-mo...
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FCC CHAIRMAN WHEELER: PRESIDENT OBAMA DIDN'T DICTATE WEB RULES
[SOURCE: The Hill, AUTHOR: Julian Hattem]
Federal regulators did not need President Barack Obama to arrive at the network neutrality rules that it voted to issue, according to Federal Communications Commission Chairman Tom Wheeler. After the agency voted to issue tough new rules that fell largely in line with those the President wanted, Chairman Wheeler countered Republican concerns that the White House put any undue pressure on the legally independent agency. “I’m quite comfortable that we made this decision with independence and wisdom and based on the record,” he told reporters after the vote. “The President has been well-known -- on record for a long time in favor of net neutrality,” Chairman Wheeler said. “So have I.” “Presidents always communicate their opinions to the FCC,” he added. “That’s nothing new.”
benton.org/headlines/fcc-chairman-wheeler-president-obama-didnt-dictate-web-rules | Hill, The
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FCC REPUBLICANS WARN OF 'FUNDAMENTAL SHIFT' AT AGENCY
[SOURCE: The Hill, AUTHOR: Julian Hattem]
Partisan tensions over the drafting of new network neutrality rules might not fade so quickly on the Federal Communications Commission. Feb 26’s 3-2 vote on the rules came after months of accusations of misconduct and antipathy from the commission’s two Republicans, and they don’t appear entirely confident that everything can be smoothed over. “I don’t hold out hopes that we’re going to have many Kumbaya moments going forward, but let’s hope that’s the case,” said Michael O’Rielly, one of the Republican commissions on the five-member FCC. Chairman Tom Wheeler has overseen a “fundamental shift for the agency,” he added, and made no effort to include input from the two GOP commissioners throughout the course of the process. “Here they not only asked us to violate our principles, they ran over our principles,” he added. Commissioner Ajit Pai said, “I like Chairman Wheeler, I get along with him personally and I hope that we have a collaborative spirit going forward,” he said. “But to this point, by and large, Commissioner O’Rielly and I have been shut out on matters of significance.”
benton.org/headlines/fcc-republicans-warn-fundamental-shift-agency | Hill, The
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CONSPIRACY THEORIES
[SOURCE: Washington Post, AUTHOR: Brian Fung]
It's been less than 24 hours since the Federal Communications Commission voted to approve strict new regulations on Internet providers, but here’s the leading question coming from its critics – “Why won't they release the rules?!?!” Conservatives are demanding that the FCC release a full copy of the regulations that it's planning to impose on companies such as Comcast and Verizon -- and taking the agency's silence as evidence of a cover-up. Let's stop this nonsense right here. It's a stretch to think the FCC is withholding anything. While it was certainly within FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler's power to release his draft proposal before it came to a vote, the regulations now must go through a formal process before they become official. And say what you will about bureaucratic inefficiency, but that's the chief reason the FCC won't be releasing the rules for some time. It's easy to see how all this "secrecy" could be confusing. Once a vote takes place and the gavel drops, shouldn't that be the moment when the world changes? After all, it's more or less how elections work, right? Well, rulemaking is a little bit different.
benton.org/headlines/theres-already-conspiracy-theory-brewing-over-net-neutrality | Washington Post
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NET NEUTRALITY FIGHT RIFE WITH INTERESTS CONNECTED TO COMMISSIONERS
[SOURCE: Center for Responsive Politics, AUTHOR: Clark Mindock]
The two Republican members of the Federal Communications Commission who have asked for a delay in the FCC's Feb 26 vote on net neutrality rules both have past connections to big money interests opposed to the rules. On the other hand, so does FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler, whose proposal is on the table. Commissioner Ajit Pai, for his part, used to be a lawyer for Verizon, a company that has been on the front lines fighting FCC net neutrality guidelines in the past. Commissioner Michael O’Reilly’s previous positions were in the public sector, where his bosses were favored recipients of campaign cash by companies opposing the current proposal. Each of the elected officials Commissioner O’Reilly worked for count broadband cable companies among their top 20 donors. But money and past ties don’t always rule the day. Democratic Chairman Wheeler spent much of his career heading the National Cable and Telecommunications Association and the Cellular Telecommunications and Internet Association, both of which oppose his current proposal. Chairman Wheeler’s position, though, has evolved -- he was previously in favor of an approach more to the Internet service providers’ liking.
benton.org/headlines/net-neutrality-fight-rife-interests-connected-commissioners | Center for Responsive Politics
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GOP SPLIT
[SOURCE: Politico, AUTHOR: Kate Tummarello, Alex Byers]
Republicans have always insisted that the federal government keep its hands off the Internet. But the Federal Communications Commission’s landmark vote to create net neutrality rules has left Republicans with a split over what to do next, with some conservatives wanting to use every tactic to fight the FCC, and more establishment GOP lawmakers trying to get Democrats to agree to an alternative, weaker set of rules. Some House Republicans want to follow the same course they did back in 2011, after the FCC adopted its previous open Internet plan, and officially condemn the agency’s decision with a resolution of disapproval. Many conservatives oppose the very idea of net neutrality rules to ensure all Web traffic is treated equally, calling it government interference in the private sector. But the party’s telecom leaders are trying to convince centrist Democrats to cooperate on net neutrality legislation they say represents a more acceptable and less heavy-handed approach than what the FCC has adopted. That’s made them hesitant to take part in a scorched-earth response to the agency’s rules -- a move that would inflame partisan tensions. Republicans in Congress are united in opposing FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler’s rules, which would tighten regulation of broadband and treat it like a utility. The division in the GOP comes down to tactics in responding to the agency’s order.
benton.org/headlines/new-gop-split-net-neutrality | Politico
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WE WON THE INTERNET! WHAT'S NEXT?
[SOURCE: Revere Digital, AUTHOR: Evan Engstrom]
[Commentary] SOPA/PIPA and network neutrality both showed that the tech world can effectively mobilize and react when confronted with existential threats. But if the tech community wants to take the next step in shaping the political landscape in which it operates, we must be willing and able to set the agenda. To do this, we must engage with Washington more regularly, and pay closer attention to seemingly smaller issues that nonetheless impact how the Internet functions. Be proactive. Stay at the table. Small startups speak with a big voice. Forge partnerships outside of tech. With net neutrality, the tech world has emphatically proven that its voice can move mountains in Washington. If we want to put that voice to more regular use, the opportunity is limitless. Now it’s on all of us to figure out how we want to use it next.
[Evan Engstrom is the Policy Director of Engine]
benton.org/headlines/we-won-internet-whats-next | Revere Digital
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THE NEXT FIGHT FOR NET NEUTRALITY
[SOURCE: Bloomberg, AUTHOR: Noah Feldman]
The congressional battle over net neutrality may be over, and the Federal Communications Commission has voted to regulate the Internet as a public utility. But that just means the fight over net neutrality will likely move back to the courts. And this time, expect the First Amendment to be front and center. Thus far, legal battles surrounding net neutrality have focused on the FCC’s authority to regulate. Now that the political process has established a statutory responsibility, opponents of net neutrality -- primarily Internet service providers -- need a constitutional argument to ask the courts to reverse the result. Their best bet is to claim that Internet traffic is a form of speech, and the ISPs that carry those messages are speakers. According to this theory, the best metaphor to describe ISPs isn’t utilities delivering electricity or gas to all consumers on the same footing. Instead, the ISPs would ask the courts to think of them as news organizations, conveying the stories and advertising that they choose. If Internet service providers could persuade the courts to think of them as modern news disseminators, rather than as purveyors of a content-neutral commodity, that would bring to bear the full body of free-speech jurisprudence that the Supreme Court has developed over the last century. \
[ Feldman is a professor of constitutional and international law at Harvard University]
benton.org/headlines/next-fight-net-neutrality | Bloomberg
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HOW WE WON NET NEUTRALITY
[SOURCE: Huffington Post, AUTHOR: Craig Aaron]
[Commentary] Credit Federal Communications Commission Chairman Tom Wheeler for listening to his critics and changing his mind about how to best protect the open Internet. Praise President Barack Obama for using his bully pulpit. Thank John Oliver for coining the memorable phrase "cable company f--kery." But know that none of this happens without a relentless push from the grassroots. The real story here was dozens of public interest groups, new civil rights leaders and netroots organizers coordinating actions online and off, inside and outside Washington. Artists, musicians, faith leaders and legal scholars bolstered their efforts. And about a dozen mostly unsung advocates in DC pushed back daily against the phone and cable lobby. This diverse coalition broke the FCC's website, jammed switchboards on Capitol Hill, and forged new alliances that are transforming how telecom and technology policy is made. With this victory, and the ones like SOPA that came before it, a new political force has awakened. But we've only just scratched the surface of what a well-organized Internet constituency can accomplish. Now we must figure out how to turn this exciting moment into a lasting political movement.
[Craig Aaron is the President and CEO of Free Press]
benton.org/headlines/how-we-won-net-neutrality | Huffington Post
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WHY EVERYONE WAS WRONG ABOUT NET NEUTRALITY
[SOURCE: New Yorker, AUTHOR: Tim Wu]
Let’s begin with the most obvious incorrect prediction, namely that passage of a strong rule (a Title II rule in telecommunications jargon) would be politically impossible. The point was echoed by political cynics who believe that federal regulatory agencies like the Federal Communications Commission tend to become captured and obey the bidding of whoever spends the most to lobby them. The predictions were wrong. Why, exactly, is subject to debate. It may have been the unexpected effectiveness of Internet-based activist groups, who protested the FCC and helped convince millions of people to write and send comments about the potential rules. It may have been the White House and the personal involvement of President Barack Obama himself. Or maybe people just misunderstood the character of the FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler. Whatever the explanation, the most pessimistic theories of lobbyist power clearly need be revised.
benton.org/headlines/why-everyone-was-wrong-about-net-neutrality | New Yorker
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INVESTORS AND NET NEUTRALITY
[SOURCE: Wall Street Journal, AUTHOR: Miriam Gottfried]
[Commentary] After years of fearing it like the boogeyman, Wall Street may have gotten a bit too comfortable with the government’s latest version of network neutrality. But investors, beware: Broadband’s new status opens the door to the possibility of a future that is far less lucrative and more uncertain for the companies that provide it. The long-term bull case for cable relies on two main factors: The ability to grow market share of residential broadband and the ability to raise prices. The latter rests on the idea that broadband providers’ pricing power will increase over time, an assumption that could be called into question if the reclassification stands. While the FCC will “forbear” from parts of Title II that would call for companies to get approval for specific pricing in advance, it will still be able to weigh in on whether providers’ prices are “just and reasonable.” The agency will also have the power to determine whether any of their business practices constitute “unreasonable discrimination.”
benton.org/headlines/broadband-investors-should-wake-net-neutrality | Wall Street Journal
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TITLE II AND PRIVACY
[SOURCE: Los Angeles Times, AUTHOR: David Lazarus]
[Commentary] Largely overlooked in the debate over the Federal Communications Commission’s network neutrality rules is the impact they will have on privacy. This could be a game changer, requiring Internet service providers to seek customers' permission before monitoring or sharing personal information. "Potentially, this could apply to every Web request you make," said Marc Rotenberg, head of the Electronic Privacy Information Center. "If the same safeguards that now apply to phone services are applied to broadband, this could have major implications for Internet service providers," he said. At issue is Section 222 of the Communications Act. It requires that telecom companies protect customers' "proprietary information," such as how you use their services. In the context of telephones, for which the provision was created, Section 222 is relatively benign. It empowers a telecom company to market different services to you based on, say, how many long-distance calls you make. In the context of the Internet, however, Section 222 takes on more sweeping significance, covering almost everything you might do online, from the sites you visit and searches you perform to the things you buy. "Clearly, where you go and what you do on the Internet qualifies as proprietary information under the law," said Ryan Calo, an assistant law professor at the University of Washington who specializes in Internet privacy. "This potentially covers a lot of ground."
benton.org/headlines/fcc-vote-could-be-game-changer-internet-privacy | Los Angeles Times
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OUTFLANKING NETWORK NEUTRALITY: THE UBIQUITOUS BROADBAND STRATEGY
[SOURCE: Wired, AUTHOR: John Laprise]
[Commentary] Established telecommunications companies are committing their reserves of financial, legal and political power to stop the advance of new Internet companies in their tracks. The latter however have a broader vision. For them, network neutrality is an important issue but a feint; it draws the attention of telecommunications companies away from the bigger threat and the greater prize. Over the past few years, Internet companies Google, Facebook, Amazon have announced a series of investments in unconventional broadband access points mounted on drones, blimps, and satellites as well as more conventional fiber and wireless. Internet companies are betting that demand for broadband along with consumer unhappiness with established telecommunications companies will fuel demand for alternate connectivity. Deployed, these technologies will enable Internet companies to overcome the last mile advantage held by telecommunications companies and deal directly with consumers while taking on the costs of administering a network. This is the real prize and promise of ubiquitous broadband. By avoiding the use of terrestrial infrastructure, Internet companies avoid two local problems: terrestrial infrastructure and filtering.
[John Laprise is an assistant professor in residence at Northwestern University in Qatar]
benton.org/headlines/outflanking-network-neutrality-ubiquitous-broadband-strategy | Wired
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FCC REFORM
FCC CONSOLIDATED REPORTING ACT
[SOURCE: Broadcasting&Cable, AUTHOR: John Eggerton]
The Senate Commerce Committee approved the Federal Communications Commission Consolidated Reporting Act of 2015 (S. 253), which now heads to the Senate floor for a vote. The bill, introduced by Sen. Dean Heller (R-NV) is the Senate version of a House bill that passed that body 411 to zip. The bill consolidates eight separate FCC reports to Congress, including the FCC's Sec. 706 report, into a single report on the state of the communications marketplace. It also gets rid of some outdated reports, including one on competition to the telegraph.
benton.org/headlines/senate-commerce-passes-fcc-consolidated-reporting-bill | Broadcasting&Cable
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