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November 2016

The Nitty-Gritty Details About the Big Privacy Win at the FCC

Recently, Internet users won a huge victory for online privacy at the Federal Communications Commission. At its October meeting, the Commission took a tremendous stride forward and voted 3–2 to adopt broadband-privacy rules. As we’ve written, these rules stand on the same legal foundation as Net Neutrality, built on the reclassification of broadband Internet access providers as telecommunications carriers under Title II of the Communications Act. Properly treating these providers as carriers means restoring people’s rights, under the law, to service that’s affordable, nondiscriminatory — and protected from the carriers’ prying eyes.

On Nov 2 the FCC released the full text of its new broadband-privacy rules and here’s what we know so far: ISPs must now get their customers’ permission before they surveil, sell or share any of their sensitive information for marketing purposes. The FCC reported almost a quarter-million filings in the docket — with the vast majority of them in favor. The decision isn’t perfect, and the details will continue to be tweaked over the next year. We’ll be there to ensure that these privacy safeguards stay strong and reflect the will of the people who demanded them.

The Media Has To Own Donald Trump Now

[Commentary] So now we have had two years of ‘balanced’ coverage of Donald Trump. He may very well move into the White House because of that ‘balance’. No one has been ‘alienated’, no viewers lost. Ratings have never been better. If Trump gets elected, the journalists and media companies will have no one to blame but themselves. Where is a High Court when you need one?

[Michael Rosenblum is the Founder of Current TV, Past President NY Times TV]

Donald Trump leaves the press behind, again

Once again, Donald Trump left his traveling press pool behind while on the campaign trail. Trump, who regularly chastises the press and calls out specific reporters, claiming they don't cover him fairly and don't show the crowds in attendance, showed up 10 minutes early to his rally in Concord (NC). But while Trump gets the benefit of a motorcade that can skip traffic, his accompanying press pool, whose travel is organized by the campaign but paid for by the individual media companies, do not. So, they were at least 15 minutes late to the rally.

For media with cameras, that means there's almost no time to set up (local media, and those who arranged their own travel, were likely already on site, which means the GOP nominee still got some coverage). Unlike all other modern-day candidates, Trump does not allow the press pool to travel with him on his plane. As a result, the press are not necessarily always within the Secret Service "bubble" and do not get the benefit of the motorcade. Though Clinton does travel with her press pool, they are not considered a full "protective pool" and are therefore not with her at all times.

FCC Seeks Public Comment in 2016 Biennial Review of Telecommunications Regulations

The Federal Communications Commission is in the process of conducting its comprehensive 2016 biennial review of telecommunications regulations. The law requires the FCC to (1) review biennially its regulations “that apply to the operations or activities of any provider of telecommunications service,” and (2) “determine whether any such regulation is no longer necessary in the public interest as the result of meaningful economic competition between providers of such service.”

The law directs the FCC to repeal or modify any regulation that it finds are no longer in the public interest. The FCC seeks input from the public as to what rules should be modified or repealed as part of the 2016 biennial review. Submissions should identify with as much specificity as possible the rule or rules that the commenting party believes should be modified or repealed, and explain why and how the rule or rules should be modified or repealed.
Comments due Dec 5; reply comments Jan 3, 2017.

FCC Designates License Renewal For Entercom's KDND/Sacramento For Hearing Over Fatal Contest

The Federal Communications Commission has designated the 2005 and 2013 license renewal applications of Entercom for Top 40 KDND (107.9 The End)/Sacramento for hearing over the "Hold Your Wee For A Wii" contest in 2007 that led to the water intoxication death of contestant Jennifer Lee Strange. The notice of designation for hearing says, "Information now before the Commission raises serious questions as to whether Entercom operated Station KDND in the public interest during the most recent license term. As discussed below, the record suggests that Entercom formulated, promoted, conducted and aired over the station an inherently dangerous contest in which one listener-contestant died of water intoxication and many others suffered serious physical distress. This information could lead to the conclusion that ENTERCOM failed to serve the public interest with the Station during the previous license term, warranting denial of the above-captioned renewal applications." The FCC noted that the "pre-contest announcements did not mention any risks associated with the Contest in general or water intoxication (hyponatremia) specifically."

Remarks of Commissioner O'Rielly on Protecting Consumer Privacy and Promoting Innovation in the Internet Era

The Federal Communications Commission recently adopted rules that impose new burdens on supposed “rogue” Internet Service Providers under the guise of protecting consumer privacy. The three-to-two vote fell along party lines, placing me in the non-winning camp once again. While the text of the item is not available at the moment – a flaw in the Commission procedures – I am free to express my thoughts and views on the item and the topic as a whole.

From my perspective, the biggest substantive areas of concern are (1) the ill-conceived definition of sensitive information, which includes web browsing history and application usage and thus requires consumer opt-in mechanisms; (2) the unreasonable limitations on first-party marketing; and (3) the effective establishment of a new Commission regime to review consumer privacy trades.

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