December 2015

BENTON'S COMMUNICATIONS-RELATED HEADLINES for THURSDAY, DECEMBER 3, 2015

Broadcasting ownership is on today’s agenda https://www.benton.org/calendar/2015-12-03

NETWORK NEUTRALITY
   Eight Questions About the Net Neutrality Hearing
   Provision Killing Net Neutrality Threatens Must-Pass Spending Bill
   AT&T: We’ve Shelved Ideas Thanks to Network Neutrality Rules
   Court Preview: Activists Expose Net Neutrality’s Biggest Legal Problems [links to Scott Cleland]
   Arrested development: How policy failure impairs Internet progress - Richard Benentt
   The FCC vs. Your Retirement - AEI op-ed

MORE INTERNET/TELECOMMUNICATIONS
   Parks Associates: Faster Speed Is Biggest Broadband Churn Driver
   Town that has no cell phone service loses its primary Internet provider [links to Ars Technica]
   FCC Chairman Wheeler's Response to Members of Congress Regarding Inmate Calling Services [links to Federal Communications Commission]

SPECTRUM/WIRELESS
   House Communications and Technology Subcommittee approves bill that push feds to relinquish airwaves
   FCC Chairman Wheeler's Response to Senator Manchin Regarding the Mobility Fund [links to Federal Communications Commission]

SECURITY/PRIVACY
   11th Circuit deepens the circuit split on applying the private search doctrine to computers - op-ed
   Sen Cotton unveils new bill to stall NSA reforms [links to Benton summary]
   DHS to Silicon Valley: Tell us how to secure this “Internet of Things”
   Opinion: It's time to rethink polarizing encryption debate [links to Christian Science Monitor]
   Mossberg: An Encryption ‘Backdoor’ Is a Bad Idea [links to Revere Digital]
   Daniel Castro: Privacy advocates exploit European Safe Harbor ruling to revive rejected ideas [links to Hill, The]
   Are Activists' Asking the Wrong Questions About YouTube Kids? - David Kleeman op-ed [links to Benton summary]
   Google: No, We’re Not Snooping on Students With Our Chromebooks, Apps [links to Revere Digital]

OWNERSHIP
   Ergen Tells FCC to Deny Charter-TWC Merger [links to Broadcasting&Cable]
   T-Mobile Says FCC Must Penalize Dish, DE's [links to Broadcasting&Cable]

TELEVISION
   Public Knowledge Asks FCC to Ensure that Retransmission Consent System Protects Viewers [links to Public Knowledge]
   NCTA to FCC: Blocking Online Content Is Bad Faith [links to Broadcasting&Cable]
   ACA: FCC Should Boot Bundling From Retransmission Tactics [links to Broadcasting&Cable]
   Affiliates to FCC: Leave Retransmission Bargaining Test Alone [links to Broadcasting&Cable]
   CBS To FCC: Inaction on Retransmission is Best Course [links to Broadcasting&Cable]
   More Consumers Plan to Cut Pay-TV Cord [links to Broadcasting&Cable]

DIVERSITY
   Secret Meeting Of Hollywood Leaders Proposes “Gender Parity Stamp” Of Approval For TV, Movies
   The Reason Why There Aren’t more Black Engineers in Silicon Valley [links to Fast Company]

JOURNALISM
   At the Paris climate talks, media coverage takes a turn [links to Columbia Journalism Review]
   The San Francisco Chronicle, once imperiled, is profitable — and growing its digital business [links to Poynter]
   Is the media starting to get to Donald Trump -- just a little? - analysis [links to Benton summary]
   Donald Trump is right: The media are looking very hard for a Donald Trump alternative [links to Washington Post]

LOBBYING
   Uber goes right to users' phones to get lawmakers to jump [links to Bloomberg]

COMPANY NEWS
   Here’s How Zuckerberg is Giving Away 99% of His Facebook Shares But Staying in Control [links to Fast Company]
   Zuckerberg’s Letter to His Newborn Daughter [links to Fast Company]

STORIES FROM ABROAD
   GCHQ admits for the first time to 'persistent' hacking in the UK and abroad
   Chinese government has arrested hackers it says breached OPM database
   China blamed for 'massive' cyber attack on Australia’s Bureau of Meteorology [links to Australian Broadcasting Corporation]
   Facebook's European data transfers under scrutiny [links to Benton summary]
   Facebook bows to Belgian privacy ruling over cookies
   UK Small businesses struggle with poor Internet [links to Financial Times]

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NETWORK NEUTRALITY

NET NEUTRALITY HEARING
[SOURCE: New York Times, AUTHOR: Cecilia Kang]
The Federal Communications Commission will head to court on Dec 4 to defend its network neutrality rules against opponents who want to overturn the broadband regulations. The hearing may help determine how consumers get access to content on the web. Kang asks and answers a few questions:
I still don’t get what “net neutrality” means. Explain.
The current FCC rules on net neutrality were approved in February. How do they differ from past versions?
What makes the FCC think it can win this time?
Does the Title II classification slap many more rules onto Internet service providers?
For all the hypothesizing of net neutrality violations, are there any examples of those problems today?
Does the FCC think T-Mobile and Comcast violated net neutrality rules?
What should we watch on Friday?
What next? And is the future of the Internet really at stake here?
benton.org/headlines/eight-questions-about-net-neutrality-hearing | New York Times | National Journal | The Hill
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PROVISION KILLING NET NEUTRALITY THREATENS MUST-PASS SPENDING BILL
[SOURCE: Huffington Post, AUTHOR: Amanda Terkel]
Republican lawmakers have tucked an anti-network neutrality rider into a government spending bill that would block the Federal Communications Commission from enforcing its open Internet rules. The provision is just one of many riders in the financial services appropriations bill currently being hashed out by House and Senate negotiators. But as dozens of these unrelated policy measures are dropped, this one is sticking around -- a fact that is especially troubling to net neutrality advocates, who worry it may make its way into a final must-pass spending bill, known as an omnibus. The federal government is currently running on a stopgap funding measure, which will run out on Dec 11. If Congress doesn't reach a new agreement, the government will shut down. Rep Barbara Lee (D-CA), a member of the House Appropriations Committee, said that Republicans are "trying to use a procedural backdoor to supersede the [Federal Communications Commission] and ignore the nearly four million Americans that submitted public comments concerning the FCC’s Net Neutrality rulemaking."
benton.org/headlines/provision-killing-net-neutrality-threatens-must-pass-spending-bill | Huffington Post
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AT&T: WE’VE SHELVED IDEAS THANKS TO NET NEUTRALITY RULES
[SOURCE: Politico, AUTHOR: Kate Tummarello, Alex Byers]
The Federal Communications Commission’s new network neutrality rules have created enough legal uncertainty that AT&T has paused plans to offer some new services, AT&T Senior Vice President Bob Quinn said. He didn’t provide any details. There’s no way AT&T would have been able to first offer something like T-Mobile’s Binge On video streaming plan, since the company couldn’t predict how the FCC would respond, Quinn said at the Phoenix Center’s annual symposium. “Since the Open Internet order came out we've had weekly calls with the business units and literally 15 lawyers who are all trying to figure out whether that stuff we've invested in ... would be a violation of the order," he said. "We've had to shelve a bunch of stuff because we've got to wait and see.”
benton.org/headlines/att-weve-shelved-ideas-thanks-network-neutrality-rules | Politico | ars technica
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ARRESTED DEVELOPMENT: HOW POLICY FAILURE IMPAIRS INTERNET PROGRESS
[SOURCE: American Enterprise Institute, AUTHOR: Richard Benentt]
The Internet and related networking technologies have fueled unprecedented, disruptive change. While the technical elements of Internet convergence have been fully developed for nearly 20 years, policy, law, and regulation have failed to keep pace with technology. Experts agree that the Internet must be a deregulated space in which competition rather than regulation would provide market discipline, yet regulators have refused to embrace the opportunities provided by Internet convergence. The Internet has reached an impasse because of inappropriate regulation. Restoring the Internet’s dynamic character will require regulators to be as committed to innovation as the Internet engineering community is.
benton.org/headlines/arrested-development-how-policy-failure-impairs-internet-progress | American Enterprise Institute
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THE FCC VS YOUR RETIREMENT
[SOURCE: US News and World Report, AUTHOR: Roslyn Layton, Frank Louthan]
[Commentary] At the behest of President Barack Obama, in a highly unusual intervention with an independent agency, commissioners of the Federal Communications Commission voted 3-2 along party lines to impose utility regulation on the Internet. Historically, cable and telecommunications were stable investment vehicles. Providers made long-term investments, and consumers purchased subscriptions. This ensured reliable deliverable of dividends, important for people living on fixed incomes and pensions. Such stability was enabled in large part by a light but consistent regulatory framework. It's strange then why the FCC would throw a monkey wrench into a system that drives 5 percent of the S&P 500 and put millions of Americans' retirement plans at risk. But the agency is under siege by activists who don't trust private enterprise and want all of America's networks to be under government control because they believe they can do it better than the market. Incidentally, the rules they imposed allow the government more ease to surveil citizens under the premise of protecting their "privacy" and the ability to add new fees to broadband subscriptions. Unless Congress acts, the lawsuits and long litigation progress against the FCC probably will cost savers, taxpayers and petitioners at least $1 billion. That's a lot of money that could go to upgrade and expand networks, particularly in rural areas. A better path is for Congress to put an end of the litigation and do its job to make the proper communications laws for the digital age.
[Roslyn Layton is a visiting fellow at the American Enterprise Institute. Frank Louthan is managing director at Raymond James financial advisors]
benton.org/headlines/fcc-vs-your-retirement | US News and World Report
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MORE INTERNET/TELECOMMUNICATIONS

PARKS ASSOCIATES: FASTER SPEED IS BIGGEST BROADBAND CHURN DRIVER
[SOURCE: telecompetitor, AUTHOR: Joan Engebretson]
The opportunity to boost broadband speed drives more broadband households to switch providers, or broadband churn, than do lower fees, according to new research results from Parks Associates. Nine percent of US broadband households switched providers in the past 12 months. Thirty-five percent of them switched to get faster broadband service, while 18 percent switched to take advantage of lower prices at comparable speeds, Parks highlights. More than one-quarter of US broadband households believe their broadband speed is faster than what’s needed, however, according to Parks’ "360 View Update: The Need for Speed: Broadband and Data Consumption." Ten percent intend to upgrade to a more expensive, faster service. "Very high speed services, including gigabit-speed offerings, will be the next stage of competition among operators," said Brett Sappington, Parks' director of research. "Though few consumers today actually need that level of throughput, consumers are willing to pay to ensure that they do not encounter slowdowns or other performance problems."
benton.org/headlines/parks-associates-faster-speed-biggest-broadband-churn-driver | telecompetitor
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SPECTRUM/WIRELESS

COMMUNICATIONS AND TECHNOLOGY SUBCOMMITTEE APPROVES BILL THAT PUSHES FEDS TO RELINQUISH AIRWAVES
[SOURCE: The Hill, AUTHOR: David McCabe]
The House Commerce Committee’s Subcommittee on Communications and Technology signed off on legislation meant to expand access to mobile and broadband Internet. The Subcommittee approved a bill to coax federal agencies into giving up some of their wireless spectrum and a package of reforms aimed at making it easier to build the infrastructure that forms the backbone of Internet service. Members on both sides of the aisle praised the Federal Spectrum Incentive Act, which says that federal agencies that auction off their spectrum to the private sector can receive some of the proceeds from the sale. Some say that wireless frequencies controlled by federal agencies, like the Department of Defense, could be better used by wireless carriers, who are trying to meet the demand for wireless data fueled by the adoption of smartphones. The bill’s supporters say it would make it easier for federal agencies to surrender some of their airwaves. Rep Doris Matsui (D-CA), the primary Democratic sponsor of the bill, called it a “critical next step” in efficiently allocating spectrum. “We know that the federal government is one of the largest users of spectrum and that spectrum is essential for many federal agencies’ missions,” she said. “Our bipartisan bill creates a new approach to spectrum management by offering incentives for federal users to relinquish or share spectrum.” The panel also approved draft legislation that would require federally funded highway projects to include laying broadband conduit. Also included in the package are measures to speed up the approval process for certain types of broadband infrastructure.
benton.org/headlines/house-communications-and-technology-subcommittee-approves-bill-push-feds-relinquish | Hill, The | B&C | B&C – reaction
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SECURITY/PRIVACY

11TH CIRCUIT DEEPENS THE CIRCUIT SPLIT ON APPLYING THE PRIVATE SEARCH DOCTRINE TO COMPUTERS
[SOURCE: Washington Post, AUTHOR: Orin Kerr]
[Commentary] On Dec 1, the 11th Circuit handed down a new computer search decision, "United States v. Johnson", that both sharpens and deepens the circuit split on how the private search doctrine of the Fourth Amendment applies to computers. "Johnson" isn’t a likely candidate for Supreme Court review. But it does leave the private search doctrine in computer searches ripe for Supreme Court review in other cases working their way through the courts. Here’s a quick summary of the issue, which I first wrote about in detail in a 2005 article. Because the Fourth Amendment applies only to the government and its agents, the Fourth Amendment is not triggered when private parties not associated with the government conduct searches. When a private party conducts a search and finds evidence of crime, the private party often goes to the police and voluntarily shows the police what she has found. The Supreme Court uses what I have called the “private-search reconstruction” doctrine to regulate what the police are allowed to see without a warrant. The police can reconstruct the private party search, seeing what the private party saw, but they can’t exceed the search the private party conducted. The 11th Circuit went on to conclude that the violation made no difference because the warrant eventually obtained was based on the other evidence and not that one video. But "Johnson" further deepens the split on how the private search doctrine applies, making it now pretty ripe for Supreme Court review in another case in the not-too-distant future.
[Orin Kerr is the Fred C. Stevenson Research Professor at The George Washington University Law School]
benton.org/headlines/11th-circuit-deepens-circuit-split-applying-private-search-doctrine-computers | Washington Post
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DHS TO SILICON VALLEY: TELL US HOW TO SECURE THIS "INTERNET OF THINGS"
[SOURCE: ars technica, AUTHOR: Sean Gallagher]
The US Department of Homeland Security has announced that its Silicon Valley Office (SVO) -- the agency's liaison point with the technology industry -- will hold an event on December 10 to kick off a recruiting drive for startups and "non-traditional small businesses" interested in latching onto government funding. The Industry Day, being held at the Menlo Park (CA) offices of SRI International, will be focused on the current leading source of worry for DHS officials: the "Internet of Things" (IoT). The DHS posting describes the three-hour event as a time to: 1)Describe the homeland security challenges associated with IoT, 2) Describe the benefits of the SVO Innovation Program to startups, 3) Show you how to apply for funding. And IoT is high on the DHS' funding list. Earlier in 2015, DHS's Science and Technology Directorate launched a Cyber Physical Systems Security (CPSSEC) program intended to spur development of security measures as part of the design process for IoT devices. In an amendment to a DHS five-year procurement program, the S&T Directorate described the crux of the problem: the "cyber physical" systems hitting the market now have largely "not been subjected to comprehensive threat analyses, have both known and unknown vulnerabilities, and lack security as an integral part of design." The more IoT devices that are deployed, the bigger the problem will be, DHS officials noted.
benton.org/headlines/dhs-silicon-valley-tell-us-how-secure-internet-things | Ars Technica
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DIVERSITY

SECRET MEETING OF HOLLYWOOD LEADERS PROPOSES "GENDER PARITY STAMP" OF APPROVAL FOR TV, MOVIES
[SOURCE: Deadline, AUTHOR: David Robb]
A secret meeting of 44 top Hollywood movers and shakers has come up with a four-point plan “for solving the gender parity issue that plagues Hollywood.” The two-day meeting, held October 14-15 but only now coming to light, was hosted by Women in Film and the Sundance Institute at the Pacific Design Center in Los Angeles (CA). The plan includes gender bias training, a sponsor/protégé program, an ambassador program to spread the word that the industry is serious about change and a “gender parity stamp” to be placed on films and TV shows that embrace gender equality. “We are at an economic, social and cultural tipping point and sustainable change is within reach,” said Cathy Schulman, president of Women in Film Los Angeles. “The time to act is now. Hollywood is surprisingly late in coming to this party and this is the time for conversion.”
benton.org/headlines/secret-meeting-hollywood-leaders-proposes-gender-parity-stamp-approval-tv-movies | Deadline
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STORIES FROM ABROAD

GCHQ ADMITS FOR THE FIRST TIME TO 'PERSISTENT' HACKING IN THE UK AND ABROAD
[SOURCE: The Verge, AUTHOR: James Vincent]
The United Kingdom's digital spy agency, GCHQ, has admitted for the first time in court that it hacks computers, smartphones, and networks in the UK and abroad. GCHQ's use of hacking -- known in official parlance as computer network exploitation or CNE -- has been an open secret since the Edward Snowden revelations in 2013, but a legal case brought by Privacy International and seven Internet service providers has confirmed the agency's methods. The case was initiated in May 2014 and alleges that GCHQ's use of hacking lacks oversight and breaks both domestic laws and the human rights act. In evidence published the week of Nov 30, GCHQ says it undertakes "persistent" hacking, leaving monitoring software on targeted devices. Ben Jaffey, the lawyer for Privacy International and the ISPs, told the court that this gathers up far more information than traditional surveillance. Hacking a smartphone, he said, was "equal to carrying a bug everywhere I go," reports The Financial Times. “If CNE were carried out on my mobile you would get all the meetings I attend by turning on the microphone and access to all my chamber’s files, bank details, my passwords, all my personal material and all my photos," said Jaffey. GCHQ also admitted that it does not need to seek individual warrants before hacking a target device. Instead, the agency primarily relies on "thematic" or "class" warrants, which give permission to intercept communications from "a defined group or network."
benton.org/headlines/gchq-admits-first-time-persistent-hacking-uk-and-abroad | Verge, The
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CHINESE GOVERNMENT HAS ARRESTED HACKERS IT SAYS BREACHED OPM DATABASE
[SOURCE: Washington Post, AUTHOR: Ellen Nakashima]
The Chinese government recently arrested a handful of hackers it says were connected to the breach of Office of Personnel Management’s database earlier in 2015, a mammoth break-in that exposed the records of more than 22 million current and former federal employees. The arrests took place shortly before a state visit in late September by China President Xi Jinping, and US officials say they appear to have been carried out in an effort to lessen tensions with Washington. The identities of the suspects -- and whether they have any connection to the Chinese government -- remain unclear. If the individuals detained were indeed the hackers, the arrests would mark the first measure of accountability for what has been characterized as one of the most devastating breaches of US government data in history. But officials said it has been difficult so far to independently confirm whether the people rounded up were actually connected to the OPM breach.
benton.org/headlines/chinese-government-has-arrested-hackers-it-says-breached-opm-database | Washington Post
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FACEBOOK COOKIES
[SOURCE: BBC, AUTHOR: Chris Baraniuk]
Facebook has said that it will respond to a privacy ruling in Belgium by requiring users to log in to view pages on the site. The original ruling, made by the Belgian Privacy Commissioner (BPC) in November, relates to Facebook cookies that track the activity of non-users. The company expects to receive an order soon, which it will contest. But in the meantime, cookies will not be set for non-users and accounts will be needed to access content.
benton.org/headlines/facebook-bows-belgian-privacy-ruling-over-cookies | BBC
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