BENTON'S COMMUNICATIONS-RELATED HEADLINES for WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 12, 2016 (8)
Don’t forget the 34th Annual Everett C. Parker Ethics in Telecommunications Lecture and Awards tomorrow https://www.benton.org/calendar/2016-10-13
TELEVISION
Comcast To Pay $2.3 Million After Subscribers Complain Of Billing For Services and Equipment They Never Ordered - press release
Verizon’s McAdam: We would sell skinny bundles 'exclusively’ if programming deals would allow it [links to Fierce]
INTERNET/BROADBAND
Free Broadband Initiatives for Poor and Rural Areas, With Eye on Future
Remarks of Commissioner Pai on Need for a Digital Empowerment Agenda - speech [links to Benton summary]
AT&T Pulls More Fiber [links to Benton summary]
AT&T, WOW announce 1-gig deployments as battle over Huntsville, Ala. heats up [links to Benton summary]
Internet mysteries, explained: Why you’re getting unsolicited emails from a super-random place [links to Washington Post]
ELECTIONS 2016
Clinton camp appeared to have contacts with Department of Justice on e-mail case
John Podesta Says Russian Spies Hacked His Emails to Sway Election [links to New York Times]
White House says U.S. will retaliate against Russia for hacking [links to Politico]
How chatbots are colonizing politics
Op-ed: Donald Trump’s got his eye on the real prize — a new media network [links to Revere Digital]
Billy Bush out as co-host of NBC's 'Today' [links to Politico]
RNC Stopped Trump Mail Programs This Weekend [links to AdAge]
UltraViolet Action Petitions NBC, MGM to Release Trump Tapes [links to Benton summary]
CNN Panel Berates Trump's "Irresponsible," "Damaging" Attacks On The Media [links to Media Matters for America]
Twitter live stream viewership rises for second debate, TV viewership dropped [links to Hill, The]
NFL, Voter Fatigue Take a Bite Out of Trump-Clinton II Ratings [links to AdAge]
The presidential debates on Twitter are bigger than the NFL on Twitter [links to Revere Digital]
SURVEILLANCE
Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter Provided Data Access for a Surveillance Product Marketed to Target Activists of Color - press release
Facebook, Twitter block social media surveillance tool [links to CNNMoney]
SECURITY/PRIVACY
Federal Chief Information Security Officer Unveils Plans to 'Proportionally' Protect Data [links to Benton summary]
NSA could put undetectable “trapdoors” in millions of crypto keys [links to Ars Technica]
Hackers Can Listen In on Your Skype Calls [links to Atlantic, The]
Fact-Checking the FCC’s Fact Sheet on Broadband Consumer Privacy - IAPP op-ed [links to Benton summary]
FCC Privacy Rules Must Protect Where We Go and What We Do Online [links to Public Knowledge]
EMERGENCY COMMUNICATIONS
Few cellphones lost service during Hurricane Matthew [links to Benton summary]
Comcast Begins Cleanup Efforts in Wake of Hurricane Matthew [links to Multichannel News]
WIRELESS/SPECTRUM
Google introduces group plans for its Project Fi mobile network [links to Verge, The]
Poll: young people are stressed and distracted by constant smartphone connectivity [links to Vox]
Samsung ceases production of Galaxy Note 7, will discontinue the phone [links to Fierce]
PATENTS
Apple, Samsung to Argue Patent Case Before Supreme Court [links to Wall Street Journal]
Conundrum for Justices: Does a Design Patent Cover a Whole Smartphone? [links to New York Times]
OWNERSHIP
FCC Commissioner Tells Kansas Association of Broadcasters that Retaining Newspaper-Broadcast Cross-Ownership rule is a ‘Profound Mistake’ - Pai speech [links to Benton summary]
How Big of a Discount Should Verizon Get on Yahoo? [links to AdAge]
JOURNALISM
Covering tech? You might want to lighten up [links to Columbia Journalism Review]
HEALTH
Telehealth may help fill mental, behavioral health needs in rural Nebraska [links to Benton summary]
DIVERSITY
Beyond Awareness Campaigns: Innovative Approaches To Close The Tech Gender Gap [links to Fast Company]
Advertising agencies get a message on diversity [links to American Public Media]
CONTENT
National Labor Relations Board ruled that Northwestern football’s team handbook unlawfully restricts players’ ability to post on social media, discuss injuries and interact with the media [links to Wall Street Journal]
COMPANY NEWS
AT&T Strategy Aims to Disrupt Itself, Part I - telecompetitor analysis [links to Benton summary]
Sprint Seeks to Raise $3.5 Billion With Sale-Leaseback of Airwaves [links to Wall Street Journal]
Amazon is launching its own streaming music service [links to Associated Press]
STORIES FROM ABROAD
BBC falling short on reflecting older women, says UK media watchdog Ofcom [links to Guardian, The]
Newspaper Closes in Hungary, and Hungarians See Government’s Hand [links to New York Times]
Britain’s newspapers are ‘nasty’, says press regulator [links to Financial Times]
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TELEVISION
COMCAST TO PAY $2.3 MILLION AFTER SUBSCRIBER COMPLAIN
[SOURCE: Federal Communications Commission, AUTHOR: Press release]
The Federal Communications Commission’s Enforcement Bureau announced that Comcast Corporation will pay a $2.3 million fine to resolve an investigation into whether the company wrongfully charged cable TV customers for services and equipment that those customers never authorized. The Communications Act and the FCC’s rules prohibit a cable provider from charging its subscribers for services or equipment they did not affirmatively request, a practice known as “negative option billing.” Negative option billing burdens customers with the responsibility of contacting a cable company to dispute the charges and obtain refunds. The Communications Act and the FCC’s rules prohibit a similar practice by telecommunications carriers when unauthorized charges are placed on customers’ phone bills, an abuse known as “cramming.” The Commission received numerous complaints from consumers alleging that Comcast added charges to their bills for unordered services or products, such as premium channels, set-top boxes, or digital video recorders (DVRs). In some complaints, subscribers claimed that they were billed despite specifically declining service or equipment upgrades offered by Comcast. In others, customers claimed that they had no knowledge of the unauthorized charges until they received unordered equipment in the mail, obtained notifications of unrequested account changes by email, or conducted a review of their monthly bills. Consumers described expending significant time and energy to attempt to remove the unauthorized charges from their bills and obtain refunds. In response to these complaints, the FCC undertook an investigation of the company. Under the terms of the settlement, Comcast will pay the largest civil penalty assessed from a cable operator by the FCC and implement a five-year compliance plan.
benton.org/headlines/comcast-pay-23-million-after-subscribers-complain-billing-services-equipment-they-never | Federal Communications Commission | The Verge | Public Knowledge
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INTERNET/BROADBAND
FREE BROADBAND INITIATIVES FOR POOR AND RURAL AREAS, WITH EYE ON FUTURE
[SOURCE: New York Times, AUTHOR: Cecilia Kang]
There is an axiom in technology: New products typically go to wealthy customers first, before prices eventually fall to reach the masses. With broadband now classified as a utility, telecommunication and tech companies including Sprint, Comcast and Facebook are increasingly working to make high-speed Internet accessible to every American, not just a luxury. The companies are among those that have set their sights on bringing free or cheap high-speed Internet service to low-income and rural populations in the United States, spurred by philanthropy and, for some, the hope of turning Americans who are not online today into full-paying customers in the future. Those goals were on display, when Sprint announced that it plans to give one million low-income high school students a free device and a free high-speed data plan until graduation. Facebook is also working to bring to the United States a service known as Free Basics, which gives people free access to certain websites, including Facebook. Comcast recently loosened requirements for its low-cost broadband service, expanding it to anyone in public housing. These moves go toward closing what has been an intractable divide between broadband haves and have-nots. Low-income broadband programs have been vital to closing the digital divide, where half of all low-income Americans lack broadband, said Mignon Clyburn, a commissioner at the Federal Communications Commission. “Lowering the price for service has been instrumental in bringing millions online,” Commissioner Clyburn said.
benton.org/headlines/free-broadband-initiatives-poor-and-rural-areas-eye-future | New York Times | Sprint
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ELECTIONS 2016
CLINTON CAMP APPEARED TO HAVE CONTACTS WITH DOJ ON E-MAIL CASE
[SOURCE: The Hill, AUTHOR: Julian Hattem]
An e-mail stolen from Clinton campaign chairman John Podesta and posted on WikiLeaks indicates that an official within the campaign appeared to have discussions with sources inside the Department of Justice (DOJ) about ongoing open records lawsuits regarding Clinton’s e-mails. In May 2015, Clinton campaign spokesman Brian Fallon said that “DOJ folks” had “inform[ed]” him about an upcoming status conference in one of the lawsuits regarding Clinton’s private e-mail setup. The information about an upcoming court event would have been public knowledge and open for all to attend. And it’s unclear whether the people Fallon spoke to at the Justice Department were officials who regularly communicate with the public. However, the fact that Fallon — a former spokesman with the Department of Justice — remained in contact with anyone from the department is likely to renew allegations that the Obama Administration maintained an especially cozy relationship with the former Secretary of State’s presidential campaign.
benton.org/headlines/clinton-camp-appeared-have-contacts-department-justice-e-mail-case | Hill, The
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CHATBOTS AND POLITICS
[SOURCE: Politico, AUTHOR: Nancy Scola]
Chatbots, one of the hottest trends in consumer technology, are invading the 2016 election, with Democrats and progressives deploying the artificial intelligence-powered software to do things like register voters and keep supporters engaged with Hillary Clinton's campaign. Type a question or statement to an online chatbot, and it will attempt to respond like a human would. They can be pulled up with a few key strokes on popular services like Facebook Messenger or via SMS text. Though chatbot technology has existed for years, it's entering the mainstream thanks in part to products like Apple's Siri and Amazon's Echo, which have quickly taught people that having a conversation with a machine isn't all that strange. Now, some in politics are trying to harness the power of bots to influence the presidential election.
benton.org/headlines/how-chatbots-are-colonizing-politics | Politico
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SURVEILLANCE
FACEBOOK, INSTAGRAM, AND TWITTER PROVIDED DATA ACCESS FOR SURVEILLANCE
[SOURCE: American Civil Liberties Union, AUTHOR: Matt Cagle]
The American Civil Liberties Union of California has obtained records showing that Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram provided user data access to Geofeedia, a developer of a social media monitoring product that we have seen marketed to law enforcement as a tool to monitor activists and protesters. We are pleased that after we reported our findings to the companies, Instagram cut off Geofeedia’s access to public user posts, and Facebook has cut its access to a topic-based feed of public user posts. Twitter has also taken some recent steps to rein in Geofeedia though it has not ended the data relationship. Further steps are required if these companies are to live up to their principles and policies by protecting users of all backgrounds engaging in political and social discourse. So today the ACLU of California, the Center for Media Justice, and Color of Change are calling on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram to commit to concrete changes to better protect users going forward.
benton.org/headlines/facebook-instagram-and-twitter-provided-data-access-surveillance-product-marketed-target | American Civil Liberties Union | Washington Post | USA Today
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