BENTON'S COMMUNICATIONS-RELATED HEADLINES for TUESDAY, AUGUST 9, 2016
A Tour of Kansas City’s Digital Divide [links to Benton summary]
INTERNET/BROADBAND
The FCC Needs to Make Broadband Affordable for Schools, Hospitals, and Businesses - op-ed
American Cable Association Skewers Connect America Fund Proposals for Lacking Data, Avoiding Statutory Requirements
FilmOn X, Broadcasters Square Off in Ninth Circuit
What the broadband home of the future may look like - analysis [links to Benton summary]
Business Choice Awards 2016: Internet Service Providers [links to PC Magazine]
LOBBYING
Think Tank Scholar or Corporate Consultant? It Depends on the Day
ADVERTISING
How will the Internet change political advertising? - WaPo analysis
Here's Where Swing State TV Ad Spending Surged in July [links to AdAge]
Here's Exactly How Clinton and Pro-Clinton PACs Spent Nearly a Quarter Billion on Ads [links to AdAge]
SECURITY/PRIVACY
A new flaw puts nearly a billion phones at risk and shows Android security is still a patchwork mess [links to Benton summary]
The state of cyber security: we’re all screwed [links to Guardian, The]
Health files make for a juicy target for thieves, [links to Boston Globe]
David Lazarus: Want cheaper Internet access? Hand over your privacy [links to Los Angeles Times]
TELECOM
Republicans see fresh chance to overhaul telecom law
AT&T To Pay $7.75 Million For Letting Scammers Bill Consumers [links to Federal Communications Commission]
WIRELESS
FCC Signs Agreement to Streamline 5G Infrastructure Deployment - public notice
EMERGENCY COMMUNICATIONS
Some 911 Fees Go Unpaid by Phone Companies, Lawsuit Says
CONTENT
Hulu to End Free Streaming Service [links to Broadcasting&Cable]
Music industry hits regulatory static [links to Politico]
With a shrinking user base and executive exits, a watershed moment for Twitter [links to Columbia Journalism Review]
How USAID Thinks About Mobile Apps [links to nextgov]
ELECTIONS 2016
Hackers breach Latino advocacy group with Clinton campaign ties [links to Politico]
Balance, Fairness and a Proudly Provocative Presidential Candidate - analysis [links to Benton summary]
Jennifer Rubin: Media objectivity should not mean indifference to truth [links to Washington Post]
JOURNALISM
Roger Ailes Used Fox News Budget to Finance ‘Black-Room’ Campaigns Against His Enemies
John Oliver explains how the bleak future of local newspapers is on all of us [links to Vox]
John Oliver Should Solve Journalism Crisis, Says Newspaper Association of America [links to Wrap, The]
GOVERNMENT & COMMUNICATIONS
Federal Source Code Policy [links to White House, The]
What is 18F? [links to Government Technology]
STORIES FROM ABROAD
Iran bans Pokémon Go [links to Guardian, The]
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INTERNET/BROADBAND
FCC NEEDS TO MAKE BROADBAND AFFORDABLE FOR SCHOOLS, HOSPITALS, AND BUSINESSES
[SOURCE: Slate, AUTHOR: Michael Calabrese]
[Commentary] The Republican and Democratic party platforms may clash on most issues, but they do agree on one thing: Broadband access is critical. According to the Republican platform, America must “pav[e] the way for high-speed, next generation broadband deployment and competition.” The Democratic platform echoes this view, proclaiming: “High-speed Internet connectivity is not a luxury; it is a necessity for 21st century economic success, social mobility, education, health care, and public safety.” Like electricity, high-speed data connectivity has become vital to the production of virtually everything else in the economy. Businesses, hospitals, office buildings, schools and other institutions require significantly more bandwidth than you use at home—so they need a far fatter pipe that is always available, reliable, and secure. Seems logical, right? But currently the prices and terms for business broadband are often unreasonable and vary widely based on the number of competing providers. But there’s a chance this could change: Federal Communications Commission Chairman Tom Wheeler has promised to reform the broken market for enterprise-grade connections to the Internet in 2016, and Aug 9, is the deadline for public comments on proposals. Just as the FCC adopted strong network neutrality rules in 2014, reasoning that broadband access is increasingly essential to the rest of the economy, the commission should ensure businesses and other institutions pay a competitive market price for Internet access.
[Michael Calabrese is director of the Wireless Future Project, which is part of New America’s Open Technology Institute.]
benton.org/headlines/fcc-needs-make-broadband-affordable-schools-hospitals-and-businesses | Slate
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ACA SKEWERS CAF PROPOSALS FOR LACKING DATA, AVOIDING STATUTORY REQUIREMENTS
[SOURCE: Multichannel News, AUTHOR: Gary Arlen]
The first round of comments in the Federal Communications Commission's Connect America Fund (CAF) rulemaking have "strayed from the statute's 'reasonable comparability' requirement," according to the American Cable Association's reply comments on the competitive bidding program. The responses of the major telecommunication providers "not only ... downplay the statute, but [also discourage] many parties from participating in the auction, thereby limiting the cost-effective distribution of support," the ACA said. The FCC's final weighting of CAF Phase II bids must be based on the original statute and "an evolving level or service," ACA contended in its reply to the proposed rulemaking, which encompasses Rural Broadband Experiments. Many of the companies responding to the FCC "tended to emphasize the need to maximize the number of locations served within the budget," according to a statement from ACA president/CEO Matthew Polka. "The FCC should weight bids based on the statutory requirement that consumers in eligible areas receive reasonably comparable service to urban consumer preferences for broadband Internet access services over the 10-year timeframe of the program and that, to maximize participation, the deployment cost of bids in different performance tiers be normalized. Both of these factors can be determined using a methodology based on market data and are quantifiable," Polka said. The ACA filing urged the FCC to reject the weighting system proposed by earlier commenters.
benton.org/headlines/american-cable-association-skewers-connect-america-fund-proposals-lacking-data-avoiding | Multichannel News
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FILMON X, BROADCASTERS SQUARE OFF IN NINTH CIRCUIT
[SOURCE: Broadcasting&Cable, AUTHOR: John Eggerton]
TV networks took aim at FilmOn X Aug 4 in oral argument before the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, with much of the argument focused on whether the Internet is a communications channel under Congress' definition of a cable system eligible for a compulsory license under the 1976 Copyright Act. The argument was in front of the three-judge panel of Diarmuid O'Scannlain, Consuelo Callahan, and Johnnie Rawlinson. A compulsory license would allow FilmOn X to deliver TV station programming from the major networks at a government-set rate, rather than having to negotiate for it individually. FilmOn X (formerly Aereokiller), which streams video content online, says it is the equivalent of a cable system and should have the same compulsory license. Fair use groups Public Knowledge and the Electronic Frontier Foundation agree, having filed briefs in support of FilmOn. Fox and the other Big Four TV networks -- with the support of the National Association of Broadcasters and many others -- say it is not entitled to the license. US District Court Judge George Wu sided with FilmOn X, which prompted Fox and the networks to appeal to the Ninth Circuit to overturn that decision. In oral argument, the TV networks' lawyer, Neal Katyal of Hogan Lovells, said the fact that FilmOn X "now claims" that it is a cable system "contradicts the text of the Copyright Act, contradicts its purpose and contradicts what every judge looking at this found," except judge Wu.
benton.org/headlines/filmon-x-broadcasters-square-ninth-circuit | Broadcasting&Cable
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LOBBYING
THINK TANK SCHOLAR-LOBBYISTS
[SOURCE: New York Times, AUTHOR: Eric Lipton, Nicholas Confessore, Brooke Williams]
An examination of 75 think tanks found an array of researchers who had simultaneously worked as registered lobbyists, members of corporate boards or outside consultants in litigation and regulatory disputes, with only intermittent disclosure of their dual roles. With their expertise and authority, think tank scholars offer themselves as independent arbiters, playing a vital role in Washington’s political economy. Their imprimatur helps shape government decisions that can be lucrative to corporations. But the examination identified dozens of examples of scholars conducting research at think tanks while corporations were paying them to help shape government policy. Many think tanks also readily confer “nonresident scholar” status on lobbyists, former government officials and others who earn their primary living working for private clients, with few restrictions on such outside work. Largely free from disclosure requirements, the researchers’ work is often woven into elaborate corporate lobbying campaigns.
Over the many months that officials in Washington debated sweeping new regulations for internet providers, Jeffrey A. Eisenach, a scholar at the conservative American Enterprise Institute, was hard to miss. He wrote op-ed pieces, including for The New York Times, that were critical of the rules. He filed formal comments with the Federal Communications Commission, where he also met privately with senior lawyers. He appeared before Congress and issued reports detailing how destructive the new rules would be. “Net neutrality would not improve consumer welfare or protect the public interest,” Eisenach testified in September 2014 before the Senate Judiciary Committee. Intense advocacy by a think tank scholar is not notable in itself, but Eisenach, 58, a former aide at the Federal Trade Commission, has held another job: as a paid consultant for Verizon and its trade association.
benton.org/headlines/think-tank-scholar-or-corporate-consultant-it-depends-day | New York Times
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ADVERTISING
HOW WILL THE INTERNET CHANGE POLITICAL ADVERTISING?
[SOURCE: Washington Post, AUTHOR: Robert Gebelhoff]
[Commentary] The Internet is rapidly transforming our political campaigns. But as social media sites such as Facebook and Twitter further entrench people into “echo chambers” where they hear more and more of the things they already agree with, is that a good thing? There are a number of reasons a shift toward online advertising will have a huge impact on how people consume political media:
It’s cheap and easy to implement. Anyone, in theory, has equal access to having a voice online.
There’s no limit to airtime on the Internet. A candidate’s reach is bounded only by the following they can build.
Companies such as Alphabet and Facebook can use data to let sophisticated advertisers target voters at a granular level. As a result, advertisers can tailor their messages to closely fit voters’ perspectives viewpoints, which theoretically will let candidates effectively mobilize specific populations to spend money or vote.
So far, the Federal Election Commission has refused to expand its scope to regulating online ads. Political action committees are required to disclose who’s behind the ads only if they were bought on websites. At the moment, free online media accounts — such as YouTube, Facebook or Instagram — are fairly unregulated territory. The result is a media environment in which consumers receive information that’s increasingly designed specifically for them — but they might not be able to tell where it’s coming from.
benton.org/headlines/how-will-internet-change-political-advertising | Washington Post
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TELECOM
TELECOM ACT OVERHAUL
[SOURCE: The Hill, AUTHOR: David McCabe]
Republicans believe they are finally close to overhauling a landmark law that has been a cornerstone of tech and telecom regulation for decades. The effort to update the Communications Act, which gives the Federal Communications Commission its authority, has been years in the making and has powerful support. John Thune (R-SD), the chairman of the Senate Commerce Committee and veteran lawmakers on the House Commerce Committee are vowing to make changing the law a centerpiece of their 2017 agenda. Proponents of updating the law, first written in 1934 and last revised in 1996, say it's showing its age and is ill-suited to dealing with a world dominated by high-speed internet and mobile devices instead of phone service and traditional radio broadcasts.
benton.org/headlines/republicans-see-fresh-chance-overhaul-telecom-law | Hill, The
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WIRELESS
FCC SIGNS AGREEMENT TO STREAMLINE DEPLOYMENT FOR NEXT GENERATION 5G WIRELESS INFRASTUCTURE
[SOURCE: Federal Communications Commission, AUTHOR: Press release]
The Federal Communications Commission took another step to facilitate the deployment of infrastructure critical to ensuring American leadership on next-generation wireless service, or 5G. Building on previous infrastructure reforms, the Wireless Telecommunications Bureau signed an agreement to eliminate historic preservation review for small facility deployments across the U.S. that do not adversely impact historic sites and locations. The agreement was signed with the Advisory Council on Historic Preservation (ACHP) and the National Conference of State Historic Preservation Officers (NCSHPO). The new exclusions lay the groundwork for 5G service by reducing the cost, time, and burden associated with deployment, and by providing opportunities to make existing networks denser at low cost and with very little impact. The agreement, which amends an earlier agreement among the same parties, expands exclusions from the federal review process for DAS and small cell deployments, fulfilling a directive in the October 2014 Infrastructure Report & Order to further streamline review of these installations.
benton.org/headlines/fcc-signs-agreement-streamline-5g-infrastructure-deployment | Federal Communications Commission | read the Public Notice | Commissioner Pai | Commissioner O’Rielly
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EMERGENCY COMMUNICATIONS
911 FEES
[SOURCE: Wall Street Journal, AUTHOR: Ryan Knutson]
Local officials in several states have filed dozens of lawsuits saying phone companies, such as AT&T and Verizon, are doling out discounts to businesses at the expense of 911 emergency services. Telecom operators are required by local laws to charge a 911 fee, typically about $1 for each phone line to support local 911 dispatch centers, including salaries, training and equipment for call takers. But with heated competition for business customers, phone companies have been undercutting one another by lowering those 911 fees for big businesses, resulting in less money for local authorities, the lawsuits allege. Officials in many of the affected counties arrived at the conclusion with help from Roger Schneider, an entrepreneur from Huntsville (AL), who stumbled across the issue 12 years ago. At that time, a representative from BellSouth, now part of AT&T, offered his small business such a discount without realizing that he was a member of the local 911 oversight board. Nationwide, local governments spent more than $3.1 billion on 911 services in 2014, while collecting $2.5 billion in 911 fees, leaving a $600 million funding shortfall, according to the most recent data from the Federal Communications Commission. Only a dozen states reported to the FCC that they collected enough fees to cover their 911 spending for the year, though not all states reported complete data.
benton.org/headlines/some-911-fees-go-unpaid-phone-companies-lawsuit-says | Wall Street Journal
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JOURNALISM
AILES USED FOX NEWS BUDGET TO FINANCE 'BLACK-ROOM' CAMPAIGNS AGAINST HIS ENEMIES
[SOURCE: New York Magazine, AUTHOR: Gabriel Sherman]
As Rupert Murdoch seeks to stabilize Fox News in the wake of Roger Ailes’s ouster, a crucial question remains unanswered: How was Ailes able to spend millions of dollars to settle sexual-harassment claims without setting off alarm bells? Apparently, part of the answer is that there were few checks on Ailes when it came to the Fox News budget. “It was the culture,” one Fox executive said. “You didn’t ask questions, and Roger wouldn’t entertain questions.” One former News Corp executive explained that because Fox made more than $1 billion in annual profits, the funds that were used for settlements amounted to little more than “a rounding error.” But with Ailes gone, Fox executives are now looking closely at how Ailes spent Fox money. And what they are discovering is that, beyond the sexual-harassment claims, Ailes was also able to use portions of the Fox budget to hire consultants, political operatives, and private detectives who reported only to him, apparently. Recently, Fox News dismissed five consultants whom Ailes had hired to do work that was more about advancing his own agenda than Fox’s. One of the consultants, Bert Solivan, ran negative PR campaigns against Ailes’s personal and political enemies out of Fox News headquarters.
benton.org/headlines/roger-ailes-used-fox-news-budget-finance-black-room-campaigns-against-his-enemies | New York Magazine
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