BENTON'S COMMUNICATIONS-RELATED HEADLINES for TUESDAY, OCTOBER 11, 2016 (9)
Advisory Committee for Cyberinfrastructure https://www.benton.org/calendar/2016-10-11
ELECTION 2016
Hillary Clinton vs. Donald Trump on broadband: She has a plan, he doesn’t
We’re finally starting to see what Trump’s stance on tech might look like
Cameron Kerry -- Bridging the internet-cyber gap: Digital policy lessons for the next administration [links to Brookings]
Second debate draws more than 63 million viewers, a one-third decline from the first [links to Politico]
Debate shatters social media records [links to Hill, The]
Trump dominates social media during second presidential debate [links to Hill, The]
Univision chair, a Clinton donor, urged campaign to hit Trump on immigration [links to Washington Post]
Political Campaigns Need to Embrace Digital Media, If They Haven't Already [links to AdWeek]
Threat to Jail Clinton Smacks of ‘Tin-Pot Dictators,’ Experts Say [links to New York Times]
Trump recording tests L.A. Times standards, deadlines [links to Los Angeles Times]
Mark Burnett: We can't release 'Apprentice' tapes [links to Politico]
NBC and Mark Burnett's fraught dance with Donald Trump [links to Los Angeles Times]
PRIVACY
Yahoo story reinforces need for online user bill of rights - editorial
Thor Benson -- Privacy, the forgotten issue: Apathy is making Americans vulnerable [links to Salon]
SECURITY
ISIS Media Output Drops as Military Pressure Rises, West Point Study Says [links to New York Times]
TELEVISION
How Vice and HBO are remaking the evening news for millennials [links to Revere Digital]
COMPANY NEWS
Yahoo shuts off email-forwarding feature, making it harder for users to leave [links to Associated Press]
STORIES FROM ABROAD
2G or Not 2G? Implications for the Digital Divide
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ELECTION 2016
BROADBAND PLANS
[SOURCE: ars technica, AUTHOR: Jon Brodkin]
The 2016 presidential election is likely to have a major impact on how the US government tries to expand broadband deployment and how it regulates Internet service providers. But while we have a pretty good idea of how a President Hillary Clinton would approach the broadband industry, there’s very little to go on when predicting broadband policy under a President Donald Trump. Clinton’s technology plan includes several initiatives designed to “deliver high-speed broadband to all Americans,” and it promises to defend network neutrality rules that prevent ISPs from discriminating against online services. There are questions about how Clinton would implement the plan and whether it's aggressive enough to achieve 100 percent broadband deployment, and her campaign has declined to provide more specifics. But the mere fact that Clinton has outlined some clear broadband goals sets the Democratic nominee apart from the other candidates. Republican nominee Donald Trump doesn’t seem to have any plan for increasing access to broadband, and there are indications that he would not support new consumer protection regulations.
benton.org/headlines/hillary-clinton-vs-donald-trump-broadband-she-has-plan-he-doesnt | Ars Technica
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TRUMP’S TECH GUY
[SOURCE: Washington Post, AUTHOR: Brian Fung]
Trump's transition team has tapped Jeffrey Eisenach, a visiting scholar at the conservative-leaning American Enterprise Institute, for advice on tech and telecom policy. A closer look at Eisenach's policy papers signals how Trump might try to shape the digital economy of the future, should he be elected as president. Here are some arguments Eisenach has put forward over the years. Eisenach thinks there may be legitimate concerns about Internet providers wielding their "market power", but he doesn't believe network neutrality rules are the right way to address them. In fact, he views net neutrality more as a regulatory gift to online businesses who lobbied hard for the rules. "It is best understood as an effort by one set of private interests [the tech industry] to enrich itself by using the power of the state to obtain free services from another [Internet providers]," Eisenach told a Senate committee in 2014, "a classic example of what economists term 'rent seeking.'" Eisenach and Trump are both pointing to a system that, in a sometimes flawed manner, allows businesses and wealthy individuals to extract gains by outmaneuvering their fellow peers in the policy arena. This view basically holds that so long as the system is set up this way, it is perfectly legitimate to seek out advantages within it; the government just shouldn't grant any new ones. On net neutrality, for example, Eisenach's preferred approach is to forgo any proactive regulation, letting companies and regulatory agencies duke out their disputes with big lawsuits. This should also please Trump, a businessman who has not been shy about litigation.
benton.org/headlines/were-finally-starting-see-what-trumps-stance-tech-might-look | Washington Post
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PRIVACY
USER BILL OF RIGHTS
[SOURCE: San Jose Mercury News, AUTHOR: Editorial staff]
[Commentary] The United States, home of Silicon Valley, remains the only major developed nation without fundamental online user protections, and that is appalling. Congress has to establish clear privacy protection of personal data, both from unwarranted government intrusion and from tech companies’ widespread sharing of personal data for profit. President Barack Obama tried twice, in 2012 and 2015, to introduce a Consumer Privacy Bill of Rights, but each time tech companies argued that it would stifle innovation. That’s the politically acceptable buzzword. They also fear their profits will be affected if they can’t monetize customers’ private data at will. Basic privacy protection of personal information should be a fundamental right of Americans. Can’t we just get it done?
benton.org/headlines/yahoo-story-reinforces-need-online-user-bill-rights | San Jose Mercury News
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STORIES FROM ABROAD
2G OR NOT 2G? IMPLICATIONS FOR THE DIGITAL DIVIDE
[SOURCE: International Telecommunication Union, AUTHOR: Lucy Spencer]
An Indian government-funded project to provide 2G mobile coverage to unserved areas in India’s North-East Region received no bids from telecom operators. An estimated INR53.36 billion (USD798 million) was made available from the Universal Service Obligation Fund to help support the roll-out, which would have helped connect some of the more than 9,000 villages currently not connected to a mobile network. India has made rapid strides in the rollout of 3G, as well as 4G, particularly in urban areas where many operators are choosing to invest more heavily due to higher average revenue per user and lower infrastructure costs. Yet in India – as in many other emerging markets – 2G remains important for connecting citizens and improving lives, especially in unconnected rural areas.
benton.org/headlines/2g-or-not-2g-implications-digital-divide | International Telecommunication Union
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