August 2016

ELECTIONS 2016

TRUMP’S MEDIA DOMINANCE HURTING HIM NOW
[SOURCE: Washington Post, AUTHOR: Greg Sargent]
[Commentary] One of the most cherished assumptions about this race, one explicitly voiced by Donald Trump and even entertained by some neutral observers: Trump can win through sheer media dominance alone. In a recent episode, Trump gained enormous amounts of media attention by publicly hallucinating about video of the cash transfer to Iran. But did he really gain anything from all that attention, other than widespread ridicule, at a time when his poll numbers are tanking? Press coverage tends to get harsher when a candidate gets weaker, and that’s what this episode brought. Trump himself has repeatedly said, in various ways, that his strategy is premised on sucking up all the media oxygen. After Melania Trump’s convention speech was revealed as plagiarism, Trump said that all the publicity devoted to the speech was a positive, because “all press is good press.” Before that, Trump flatly stated that he had an advantage in the general election because “I have the loudspeaker.” But it’s becoming increasingly obvious that “the loudspeaker” is turning voters against Trump, perhaps to a point from which there will be no coming back. Trump’s ongoing battle with the Khan family drew enormous media scrutiny, but, given that it brought with it widespread media coverage of Republicans and military figures criticizing his conduct, all this attention has been simply awful for him. Indeed, the Clinton team is now explicitly premising its strategy on the idea that all the coverage has grown so lethal that its best play is to get out of the way and let it continue. The idea that Trump’s media ubiquity is largely a positive for him is merely a subset of larger myths about this race — that everything he does is shrewdly calculated and a reflection of his ingenious media manipulation, or even worse, that he possesses some species of Magical Trumpian Political Powers that allow him to defy the conventional rules of politics. Trump could still win, of course. But as of now, all of this has been thoroughly discredited.
benton.org/headlines/trump-thought-he-could-win-through-sheer-media-dominance-reality-its-killing-him | Washington Post
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DARRELL ISSA
[SOURCE: Politico, AUTHOR: Li Zhou]
Election 2016 isn't all about the White House so Politico is rolling out a series on congressional contests in which prominent techies are facing stiff competition. First up is Rep. Darrell Issa (R-CA). An entrepreneur by trade who chairs the House subcommittee on Courts, Intellectual Property and the Internet, Rep Issa is getting an unexpectedly strong challenge from Doug Applegate (D-CA), an attorney and former US Marine who took 45 percent of the vote in a top-two-advance primary on June 7, while Rep Issa captured 51 percent. The incumbent has held the seat, covering parts of San Diego and Orange counties, since 2001, and proven to be a stalwart Republican presence in a state where Democrats dominate. During his time in Congress, Rep Issa has become known for his tech-savvy background and support for innovation, notably defending internet platforms during the SOPA fight in 2012 and backing Apple in its clash over backdoor encryption. Rep Issa has also proposed legislation to update H1-B visa policies, promote open data in government, and protect intellectual property. Because of his tech-friendly efforts, he's been lauded by industry groups like the Internet Association and CTA (Issa was once Chairman of the Board, back when the organization was still called CEA). Rep Issa also has made a name for himself -- not always in a positive way -- for his aggressive, partisan chairmanship of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, where he garnered national headlines for going after the Obama Administration over issues ranging from the Benghazi attack to the "Fast and Furious" botched gun operation. But he never won a slam-dunk victory in any of his partisan crusades and eventually drew criticism even from within his own party. His successor at the helm of House Oversight, Rep. Jason Chaffetz (R-Utah), needled Rep Issa for a look-at-me leadership style that emphasized "big press releases" over hard-hitting reports. "Darrell Issa didn't do many reports," Chairman Chaffetz said in Dec 2014 , noting that his style would be different: "It's not the 'Jason Chaffetz Show.'" Donald Trump's long shadow may not be a safe place for a Republican to reside in a blue state this fall. Rep Issa has previously called the candidate an "obvious choice" for President.
benton.org/headlines/rep-darrell-issas-race | Politico
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THERE'S ANOTHER CHOICE
[SOURCE: The Hill, AUTHOR: Gary Johnson]
[Commentary] When it comes to electing their next president, Americans want a candidate to vote for — not just someone to vote against. American voters want the perspective of an outsider who can bring an entrepreneurial perspective to the White House. They aren't opposed to experience in governing — so long as it doesn't bring with it an addiction to crony capitalism and the fruits thereof. And they want a candidate who looks after American interests and doesn't use war to destabilize already volatile regions of the world like the Middle East. I’m running for President to offer that alternative. I'm a strong believer in our Constitutional rights to civil liberties and privacy. Our government should not be spying on the electronic communications of American citizens. Nor should our iPhones or Android devices be subject to unreasonable searches and seizures. One of the biggest concerns that many voters have with both Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump, but particularly with Clinton, is the sense that she uses government power to advance her personal and political interests. Having been governor of New Mexico, I know that legislation gets passed to benefit those who have money and influence. Then they buy more money and influence. That’s one reason why, as governor, I vetoed more than 750 bills and thousands of line items. I did it to keep crony capitalism away from government. Americans can find sanity and principle by voting Johnson/Weld in 2016.
[Gary Johnson is the Libertarian Party's presidential nominee. His running mate is former Massachusetts Gov Bill Weld]
benton.org/headlines/gary-johnson-op-ed-theres-another-choice | Hill, The
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SECURITY/PRIVACY

JUDGE CRITICIZES NSL RULES
[SOURCE: Washington Post, AUTHOR: Ellen Nakashima]
In a recent ruling, U.S. District Judge James E. Boasberg for the District of Columbia criticized new rules regarding how long the government can demand secrecy from companies when it requests data on national security cases. These demands, called national security letters (NSLs), are administrative subpoenas issued by FBI officials without having to seek judicial approval. They are generally accompanied by orders forbidding the recipients from disclosing the NSL’s existence. Judge Boasberg is the first judge to publicly assess new gag-order rules issued by the attorney general as mandated by the USA Freedom Act of 2015. These require the government to revisit gag orders when an investigation ends or on the three-year anniversary of the original subpoena. But Judge Boasberg said the rules contain “several large loopholes.” And thus, he said, they “give the court some pause” as to whether they comply with the law. He rejected the open-ended nature of the gag order, which accompanied requests for data on two of the company’s customers. Such “an indefinite bar . . . seems inconsistent with the intent of the law,” he wrote. He required that officials reconsider the need for the order’s secrecy every three years or until the gag is no longer necessary.
benton.org/headlines/judge-criticizes-secrecy-rules-surrounding-fbi-requests-companies-data | Washington Post
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WHEELER: PRIVACY SHOULDN’T BE A LUXURY ITEM
[SOURCE: Washington Post, AUTHOR: Brian Fung]
Should your online privacy depend on whether you've paid your Internet provider a little extra this month? That's one of the key policy questions concerning the future of the Web. And the nation's top telecom and broadband regulator, Tom Wheeler, signaled that he's not a fan of the idea. Talking to reporters, the head of the Federal Communications Commission implied that the Internet risks becoming divided into privacy haves and have-nots, if companies such as AT&T and Comcast can dangle discounts in front of consumers in exchange for slurping up their search and browsing histories for advertising purposes. "I would hope that privacy doesn't become a luxury item," Chairman Wheeler said. The FCC is waist-deep in crafting a set of privacy regulations for Internet service providers (ISPs). Some, such as Comcast, have met with the FCC to ask that it not restrict the ability of ISPs to tinker with a discount-for-data business model. "Low-income consumers have less disposable income with which to pay for privacy-protective plans, and therefore are much more likely to give up their privacy in exchange for access to the Internet," wrote Eric Null, a policy lawyer at the New America Foundation's Open Technology Institute. "Low-income consumers should not have to decide between internet access and privacy, but pay-for-privacy forces that decision upon them."
benton.org/headlines/your-internet-privacy-shouldnt-be-luxury-item-fcc-chairman-wheeler-says | Washington Post
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INTERNET/BROADBAND

HOW TO BRING BROADBAND TO RURAL AMERICA
[SOURCE: New York Times, AUTHOR: Cecilia Kang]
A look at a trend unfolding in hard-to-reach rural spots nationwide. For years, such communities have largely been left out of the digital revolution because they had only intermittent internet access, often through a patchwork of satellite, dial-up or wireless service. Telecom and cable companies shunned the areas because it was too expensive to bring equipment and service over long distances to so few people. Now high-speed internet is finally reaching these remote places, but not through the telecom and cable companies that have wired most of urban America. Instead, local power companies are more often the broadband suppliers — and to bring the service, they are borrowing techniques and infrastructure used to electrify the United States nearly a century ago. In some cases, rural municipalities are also using electrification laws from the early 1900s to obtain funds and regulatory permissions reserved for utilities, in order to offer broadband.
benton.org/headlines/how-give-rural-america-broadband-look-early-1900s | New York Times
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BROADBAND AS A PUBLIC GOOD
[SOURCE: Minneapolis Star Tribune, AUTHOR: Lee Schafer]
[Commentary] Broadband isn’t a public good. The term public good comes from economics and definitely doesn’t mean what politicians are talking about when they insist that something needs to be done for “the good of the public.” A pure public good is something that pretty much only government will supply, and they are pretty few in number. A textbook example is light from a street lamp, because the benefit one homeowner gets from that light doesn’t cause anyone else on the street any less benefit. Immunizing kids is often thought of as another public good. An economic case for subsidizing broadband isn’t even as strong as organized garbage collection, although the electric utility analogy comes into play here, too. Fast internet access isn’t a nice-to-have, advocates say, it’s a must-have like the electricity it takes to run a refrigerator or keep the lights on. Here the problem is not too many competitors going after the same lucrative customers, and eliminating the risk of competition by forming local monopolies. It’s having so few potential customers in sparsely populated areas that no company can justify the capital investment. I may have missed it when I went looking through the list of “market failures” published in my handy economics reference book, but it was hard to come up with one that seemed to apply here. It could be as simple as the local provider correctly assumed customers in a low-density area wouldn’t pay what it would really cost to bring broadband there.
benton.org/headlines/its-amazing-what-we-now-call-public-good | Minneapolis Star Tribune
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BUSINESS DATA SERVICES AND RURAL AREAS
[SOURCE: The Hill, AUTHOR: Christopher Mitchell]
[Commentary] The high-capacity broadband lines that connect our banks, airlines, schools, libraries and hospitals, referred to as “business data services”, are critical to each and every community. But today, 97 percent of this high-capacity broadband market is controlled by one — and sometimes two — providers. Roughly one-fifth of all Americans live in rural areas where wireless broadband coverage – and competitive options – is severely limited. Though smart policies can heal this gap over time, they are currently stuck with few choices and no real hope for more investment in the short term. For well over a decade, groups like mine have urged the Federal Communications Commission to fix this broken market because we have seen the impact it has on businesses and residents looking to compete in the 21st century economy. In our advocacy, we’ve faced roadblock after roadblock from the largest entrenched telephone companies that have very little incentive to deliver high-speed Internet to the rural communities. However, after ten years of battles with these dominant Internet and cable companies, we are hopeful for an important victory. The FCC has undergone a proceeding that can make an immediate difference, requiring that the big monopolies charge reasonable rates for the connections that libraries, schools, and even smaller Internet Service Providers need to keep their doors open. In many small communities, the only path out to the greater Internet is via the big telephone companies’ networks. Following the most exhaustive data collection in the FCC’s history, the Commission is poised to introduce a technology neutral framework that will promote broadband competition and investment to the benefit of all Americans. The gatekeepers are not going quietly and are engaging in a last ditch Hail Mary effort to derail the FCC’s progress and protect their profits. Although great for their shareholders, these profits are estimated to have cost the U.S. economy $150 billion in the last five years. That is money that should have stayed in local communities, supporting main street businesses.
[Christopher Mitchell is the Director of the Community Broadband Networks Initiative at the Institute for Local Self-Reliance and the Policy Director at Next Century Cities]
benton.org/headlines/building-competitive-broadband-marketplace-rural-america | Hill, The
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GOOGLE OUTPACES FACEBOOK ON GETTING INDIA CONNECTED TO INTERNET
[SOURCE: Bloomberg, AUTHOR: Saritha Rai]
When it comes to connecting India’s population to the Internet, Google Chief Executive Officer Sundar Pichai is having better luck than his Facebook counterpart, Mark Zuckerberg. Google began offering free Wi-Fi at about two dozen train stations in the country earlier in 2016, and now has 2 million people using the service each month, Pichai said. Millions more will gain access as the service expands to 100 locations by the year end. The search provider’s goal is to reach 400 stations. Facebook had also sought in 2015 to get people online by covering the cost for mobile users to connect to select websites and services on their phones. That effort, called Free Basics, was blocked in February by India’s telecommunication regulator. The ban was a setback for Zuckerberg, who had visited India to promote the program, which was designed for people who can’t afford expensive mobile-data charges. Google, Facebook and other providers of web services are all flocking to India to amass their next billion users and get them to adopt their products first. By targeting train stations and offering unfettered access, Google has been able to leap ahead. Both are seeking to maximize eyeballs for their revenue-generating ads in the country of 1.3 billion, according to C.S. Rao, chairman of QuadGen Wireless Solutions Inc., a wireless engineering services company which has more than 2,000 public Wi-Fi hotspots in the country. “Their popular apps are seen to have huge growth potential in a country with youthful demographics and good technology literacy,” Rao said.
benton.org/headlines/google-outpaces-facebook-getting-india-connected-internet | Bloomberg
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August 2016

August 8, 2016 (How to Give Rural America Broadband?)

How to Give Rural America Broadband? Look to the Early 1900s

It's amazing what we now call a public good

Researchers or Corporate Allies? Think Tanks Blur the Line

As Donald Trump continues his stream of outrageous and disquieting statements, journalists must grapple with how to cover him — and if, or when, to abandon the rules of traditional reporting.

Hillary Clinton's campaign expects to have a significant technologic advantage over Donald Trump in targeting voters and luring them to the polls

Roger Ailes Used Fox News Budget to Finance ‘Black-Room’ Campaigns Against His Enemies

CBS Prime Time Diversity – How Did the Network fall Behind?

The opening ceremony of the 2016 Olympics in Rio drew 26.5 million viewers on NBC, a 35% decline from the record-setting audience for London’s opener in 2012

Year after Google’s parent unveiled transformation — and new name — key decisions have yet been made