BENTON'S COMMUNICATIONS-RELATED HEADLINES for THURSDAY, AUGUST 4, 2016
Today -- FCC Open Meeting August 2016 -- https://www.benton.org/node/233050
RESEARCH
Benton and Rhinesmith Continue Digital Inclusion Research Partnership - Adrianne B. Furniss editorial
ELECTIONS 2016
Democrats, Republicans and the Internet - Tim Karr op-ed
Hillary Clinton's 100-day plan will push tech buttons
Few Clinton or Trump Supporters Have Close Friends in the Other Camp - research [links to Benton summary]
Commentary: Donald Trump bans the press and can’t get enough of it [links to Washington Post]
Opinion: Presidential race coverage focusing solely on sensationalism [links to Hill, The]
U.S. Seeks to Protect Voting System From Cyberattacks [links to New York Times]
INTERNET/BROADBAND
NTIA’s Seventh Quarterly Report on the Transition of the Stewardship of the Internet Assigned Numbers Authority Functions [links to Benton summary]
Illinois Counties Wait for iFiber Network to Expand Beyond Anchor Institutions
Local lawmakers, residents eager for solution to broadband woes in Adirondacks
Internet of Things strategies are going from general to specialized and vertical [links to Vox Media]
OWNERSHIP
Time Warner takes a 10% stake in Hulu, boosting it to compete with Netflix
Sinclair Looks to Congress for Ownership Cap Relief [links to TVNewsCheck]
SECURITY/PRIVACY
Cameron Kerry: States lead Washington on consumer privacy laws [links to Brookings]
Cyber-Security Skills Shortage Leaves Companies Vulnerable [links to Information Week]
DOD Issues Final Rule to Avoid Counterfeit Electronics [links to nextgov]
Op-Ed: Can Encryption Protect Government Files Forever? [links to nextgov]
Frequent password changes are the enemy of security, FTC technologist says [links to Ars Technica]
How your period-tracking app could leak your most intimate information [links to Washington Post]
ACCESSIBILITY
FCC Seeks Input on Making Its Activities Accessible to People with Disabilities [links to Federal Communications Commission]
WIRELESS/SPECTRUM
Debunking a Few Myths about the FCC’s Incentive Auction - BroadcastLawBlog [links to Benton summary]
RADIO
CBO Scores Amateur Radio Parity Act [links to Congressional Budget Office]
CONTENT
Instagram Posts May Have Escalated Fatal Standoff, Police Say
U.S. Copyright Office Criticizes FCC’s Plan on Set-Top Boxes [links to Wall Street Journal]
Public Knowledge Responds to Copyright Office Attack on Set-top Box Competition [links to Public Knowledge]
Today my 2-year-old asked me why parents on Twitter are so smug [links to Washington Post]
JOURNALISM
Local news is still hard, so local news service Ripple is buying local news service Hoodline [links to Vox Media]
Woodward and Bernstein would be on Snapchat today [links to Huffington Post]
HEALTH
Senior citizens rarely consult Dr. Google for medical advice, study says [links to Benton summary]
How your period-tracking app could leak your most intimate information [links to Washington Post]
DIVERSITY
Apple makes slight progress on diversity while its rivals are making practically none [links to Washington Post]
GOVERNMENT PERFORMANCE
Make Algorithms Accountable - NYT op-ed [links to Benton summary]
CBO Scores GAO Access and Oversight Act [links to Congressional Budget Office]
POLICYMAKERS
Spotlight on NTIA: Jean Rice, Senior Broadband Program Specialist, and Don Williams, Senior Broadband Development Officer, Office of Telecommunications and Information Applications [links to National Telecommunications and Information Administration]
STORIES FROM ABROAD
Vodafone and Liberty Global win EU approval for Dutch merger [links to Benton summary]
Internet access is now a human right: part 2 [links to The Guardian podcast]
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RESEARCH
BENTON AND RHINESMITH CONTINUE DIGITAL INCLUSION RESEARCH PARTNERSHIP
[SOURCE: Benton Foundation, AUTHOR: Adrianne Furniss]
Just one year ago, Dr. Colin Rhinesmith joined the Benton Foundation as our Faculty Research Fellow. We want to aid both policymakers and practitioners in the design, implementation, and evaluation of digital inclusion and broadband adoption strategies. The goal is open, affordable, high-capacity broadband access, adoption and use for all Americans. Our partnership has produced important research and, we’re happy to announce, will continue for the next year. To date, Dr. Rhinesmith’s research has delved much deeper into broadband adoption barriers than large, national surveys have. Although many of these surveys have identified non-adopters’ belief that the Internet and broadband aren’t relevant to their lives as a major barrier, Colin’s interviews with low-income individuals and families revealed that they did indeed understand the value of broadband connectivity. Many people explained to Colin that cost remained the most significant barrier to their full adoption of broadband in the home. Consumers, you see, consider broadband service to be relevant if other barriers -- and, most notably price -- are overcome. Dr. Rhinesmith’s research showed that policymakers needed to address low-income consumers ability to pay for broadband rather than their willingness to pay. Frankly, the people Colin spoke with were making choices between broadband service and having enough money to feed their families.
https://www.benton.org/blog/benton-and-rhinesmith-continue-digital-inclu...
Foundation
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ELECTIONS 2016
DEMOCRATS, REPUBLICANS AND THE INTERNET
[SOURCE: Medium, AUTHOR: Tim Karr]
[Commentary] In 2016, for the first time, Internet policy is prominent in both major-party platforms. While there are distinct disagreements and differences in approach to tech policy, there are also areas of common ground — revealing potential openings for bipartisan action.
Access: When it comes to getting everyone connected there are some signs of accord. But neither party goes far enough to address the real obstacles to bridging the digital divide. The GOP seeks to “facilitate access to spectrum by paving the way for high-speed, next-generation broadband deployment and competition on the Internet and for internet services.” The Democrats want to deploy “next-generation wireless service that will… bring faster Internet connections to underserved areas.” The Republican platform encourages “public-private partnerships to provide predictable support for connecting rural areas so that every American can fully participate in the global economy.” The Democrats want government to take it one step further by working to “finish the job of connecting every household in America to high-speed broadband, increase Internet adoption, and help hook up anchor institutions so they can offer free Wi-Fi to the public.” While both platforms emphasize rural connections, they ignore the adoption gap in urban areas, as my colleague S. Derek Turner, research director at Free Press, explains. “The emphasis on rural is understandable, but the truth is we’ve made strides in rural areas,” Turner said, noting that there are both public and private initiatives to build out. “Rural areas have near-universal coverage; what they lack is multiple options at higher speeds. We’ve continued to ignore the competition problem, which impacts lower-income people and people of color the most.”
[Tim Karr advocates for universal access to open networks at Free Press and Free Press Action Fund]
benton.org/headlines/democrats-republicans-and-internet | Medium
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TECH PLAN
[SOURCE: Philadelphia Inquirer, AUTHOR: Jonathan Takiff]
While Hillary Clinton was short on details July 28 about her gung-ho, “first 100 days “ jobs building plan, the expansion of broadband accessibility, next generation wireless technology and and computer education will loom large. So pledged Sara Solow, domestic policy adviser for Hillary for America, at events earlier that day and throughout DNC Week in Philly. She underscored the campaign’s concern with “the homework gap” and committed to upgrading the National Broadband Plan written in 2010. The Clinton Campaign is opposed to “arbitrary caps” suggested by some Capitol Hill Republicans on the Lifeline service enabling low income families to get Internet service. And Clinton wants a re-write of the Broadband Plan “focused on our broadband deployment throughout the country,” said Solow. “By 2020 every household in America should be hooked up to high-speed internet sufficient to meet family’s needs.” To get there, “we should look at wireless solutions, we should look at microwave wireless solutions, we should look at satellite solutions too.” Cities and towns should be leaders in the cause – “fiber ready” and “more open to third and fourth broadband providers” which could include reforming exclusionary policies about burying and hanging lines.
benton.org/headlines/hillary-clintons-100-day-plan-will-push-tech-buttons | Philadelphia Inquirer
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INTERNET/BROADBAND
FIBER FOR ILINOIS
[SOURCE: Rockford Register Star, AUTHOR: Brian Leaf]
Competition for high-speed internet is so close that Adam Wykes can literally stand atop a fiber optic cable running through the village near the Butler Park water tower. It's getting it out of the ground that's the problem. The issue: Money. Three years after the $68.5 million iFiber broadband network was completed, Wykes is among the impatient. The nearly 900-mile fiber optic pipeline through nine northwest Illinois counties brought the promise of high speed connections to rural towns and more competition among providers in larger markets like Cherry Valley, where Comcast and AT&T are major players. But so far, the main users of iFiber are 500 schools, governments, police and fire departments, libraries, community colleges, health care providers and other community anchor institutions. Wykes wants iFiber for the people. He’s lobbied Cherry Valley Village Hall, started a petition to garner public support and reached out to service providers to see what it would take to tap into iFiber.
benton.org/headlines/illinois-counties-wait-ifiber-network-expand-beyond-anchor-institutions | Rockford Register Star
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FIBER FOR NEW YORK
[SOURCE: Sun Community News, AUTHOR: Pete Demola]
A narrow road runs parallel to the Adirondack Northway near Poke-O-Moonshine Mountain, the severe-looking peak located just south of Chesterfield. Dotted with pockets of homes and a summer camp, the road gives way to a series of arteries that snake between towering pines before eventually leading to Auger Lake. The site, about 22 miles south of Plattsburgh, is remarkable in both its beauty and frustration. For the past five years, Robin Gucker has been fighting an uphill battle: securing a steady internet connection. She estimates the cluster of parcels has “poor or no service 90 percent of the time” through the provider, Frontier Communications, which offers DSL service through a phone line. This lack of reliable service, said Nancy Gucker Birdsall, director of the nearby North Country Camps, has caused significant headaches, affecting everything from communicating with parents to the submission of financial invoices.
benton.org/headlines/local-lawmakers-residents-eager-solution-broadband-woes-adirondacks | Sun Community News
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OWNERSHIP
TIME WARNER TAKES A 10% STAKE IN HULU
[SOURCE: Los Angeles Times, AUTHOR: Meg James]
Media giant Time Warner has agreed to take a 10% stake in Hulu, becoming the fourth major media company to put its weight behind the increasingly popular online video-streaming service. The deal better positions Hulu to compete with industry leader Netflix by bulking up Hulu’s supply of high-quality programming. The move also accelerates Time Warner’s foray into video streaming, coming more than a year after the company launched the stand-alone HBO Now service to attract consumers who are not inclined to subscribe to a traditional cable TV package. Time Warner also owns the prominent Turner Broadcasting cable channels CNN, TBS, TNT and Cartoon Network. “This investment fits our strategy like a glove,” said Time Warner Chief Executive Jeff Bewkes. Hulu, which is headquartered in Santa Monica (CA), was launched nearly a decade ago by NBCUniversal, now owned by Comcast, and Rupert Murdoch’s 21st Century Fox. Walt Disney Co. later joined Hulu. Disney, NBCUniversal and Fox each own 30% of Hulu, giving Time Warner the smallest stake. Time Warner pledged about $583 million for its piece, which values Hulu at nearly $6 billion.
benton.org/headlines/time-warner-takes-10-stake-hulu-boosting-it-compete-netflix | Los Angeles Times | Revere Digital
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CONTENT
INSTAGRAM STANDOFF
[SOURCE: New York Times, AUTHOR: Daniel Victor]
Critics of the police have welcomed social media — especially live video — as a way to document their interactions with officers, hoping it would lead to better police behavior or eliminate conflicting stories. But in the case of Korryn Gaines, according to the police, it may have escalated the encounter. While the standoff with Gaines continued, the police in Baltimore County submitted a request to Facebook — which owns Instagram — to deactivate but not delete her accounts. Facebook cooperated, temporarily making her Facebook and Instagram posts inaccessible during the standoff. “It’s key for these trained negotiators to be able to interact with the subject without distraction, without interference from the outside,” Elise Armacost, a Baltimore County police spokeswoman, said. The episode highlights Facebook’s increasingly complicated role in documenting violence, and in some cases, its active place in the middle of it.
benton.org/headlines/instagram-posts-may-have-escalated-fatal-standoff-police-say | New York Times
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