BENTON'S COMMUNICATIONS-RELATED HEADLINES for TUESDAY, DECEMBER 20, 2016
Louis Harris, Pollster at Forefront of American Trends
ELECTION 2016
Electoral College Settles Donald Trump’s Victory, but Little Else [links to New York Times]
Sinclair Broadcast Group Denies Trump Campaign Claim of ‘Deal’ for Favorable Coverage [links to Variety]
Bill Clinton: FBI Director James Comey 'cost' my wife the election [links to Hill, The]
TRANSITION
Trump team plans for infrastructure ‘task force’ to advance top spending priority
Ross’ To-Do-List Comes Together at Commerce
SoftBank touts first $1B investment as a part of pledge to Trump
INTERNET/BROADBAND
Broadband Competition Policy: The Final Thoughts and First Principles - Jon Sallet speech
Ensuring a Fair and Competitive Marketplace - speech
OWNERSHIP
Vlad Savov: Trump’s tech summit exposed the rotten heart of Silicon Valley [links to Verge, The]
GOVERNMENT & COMMUNICATIONS
CenturyLink Snags Senate Contract
Boston Invites Smart City Providers to the Table [links to Government Technology]
CONTENT
Where fake news came from — and why some readers believe it [links to Los Angeles Times]
Online Shopping and E-Commerce - Pew research
The Great AI Awakening [links to Benton summary]
SECURITY/PRIVACY
House Oversight and Government Reform Committee urges clearer guidance on cellphone technology [links to Benton summary]
Google facing FTC scrutiny over privacy — yet again [links to Benton summary]
The Hidden Power of the Privacy Policy, the Text We All Ignore [links to Benton summary]
WIRELESS/SPECTRUM
AT&T and Verizon try to fend off net neutrality case before Trump takes over [links to Benton summary]
Everything the U.S. Government Is Doing to Help the Private Sector Build the Internet of Things - ITIF press release [links to Benton summary]
ADVERTISING
Omnicom, Publicis Subpoenaed In DOJ Production Investigation [links to Benton summary]
Google To Shutter And Relaunch Contributor Subscription Ad Service [links to Benton summary]
TELEVISION
AT&T made a chatbot for lonely TV binge watchers [links to Verge, The]
JOURNALISM
News organizations defend off-the-record event with Donald Trump at Mar-a-Lago [links to Benton summary]
Journalist Deaths Down Worldwide [links to Broadcasting&Cable]
As Trump era nears, is the media ready for the challenge? - Margaret Sullivan analysis [links to Benton summary]
LABOR
Uncertainty over Trump's immigration policy leads foreign engineers to ditch startups [links to Benton summary]
Tech titans, it’s time to use your power for good [links to Washington Post]
TELECOM
FCC, TIGTA Issue IRS Impersonation Phone Scam Advisory - public notice
AGENDA
FCC Commissioner Clyburn Releases Draft #Solutions2020 Action Plan - public notice
POLICYMAKERS
Sunlight will endure - press release [links to Benton summary]
STORIES FROM ABROAD
Indigenous people are left poor as tech world takes lithium from under their feet [links to Benton summary]
Apple Hits Back Over EU Irish-Tax Decision [links to Wall Street Journal]
The importance of local content for increasing global internet connectivity - AEI op-ed [links to Benton summary]
German law would fine social media sites “publishing” fake news [links to Ars Technica]
back to top
TRANSITION
INFRASTRUCTURE TASK FORCE
[SOURCE: Washington Post, AUTHOR: Juliet Eilperin, Steven Mufson]
President-elect Donald Trump is preparing to create an infrastructure “task force” that will help carry out the ambitious federal spending program he intends to undertake upon taking office, according to several individuals briefed on his plans. Key members of Trump’s team — including his son-in-law Jared Kushner, senior counselor Stephen K. Bannon, senior adviser Stephen Miller and Gary Cohn, whom Trump has tapped to head the National Economic Council — are all involved in the discussions. The task force head is “not Cabinet level,” but would play a critical role in coordinating among federal, state and local officials as well as private investors as the new administration prepares to inject hundreds of billions of dollars into projects across the country. The task force would also have to help identify what qualifies as infrastructure, a word that has been used to describe everything from roads to broadband, from bike trails to electric transmission lines.
benton.org/headlines/trump-team-plans-infrastructure-task-force-advance-top-spending-priority | Washington Post
Share: Twitter | Facebook
back to top
ROSS' TO-DO LIST COMES TOGETHER AT COMMERCE
[SOURCE: Politico, AUTHOR: ]
Commerce Department transition briefing documents lay out actions, issues and potential conflicts of interest that Wilbur Ross will have to deal with in his first 100 days, assuming he is confirmed to lead the sprawling agency. The documents, which appear to have been prepared for members of Trump's Commerce landing team, shed some light on how the agency is framing a number of issues, including at the United States Patent and Trademark Office and the National Telecommunications and Information Administration. For the first 100 days of the Trump Administration, the document raises the following for NTIA: 1) broadband and two possible bills concerning infrastructure and tax reform, 2) FirstNet, 3) a revision of the Telecommunications Act of 1996, 4) passage of the Mobile Now Act, 5) oversight of Internet governance, and 6) next generation 911 legislation.
benton.org/headlines/ross-do-list-comes-together-commerce | Politico
Share: Twitter | Facebook
back to top
SOFTBANK TOUTS FIRST $1 BILLION INVESTMENT
[SOURCE: The Hill, AUTHOR: Ali Breland]
SoftBank will invest $1 billion in One Web, a broadband access company based in Arlington (VA), as part of a pledge to President-elect Donald Trump to invest $50 billion in American companies. “Earlier this month I met with President-Elect Trump and shared my commitment to investing and creating jobs in the U.S. This is the first step in that commitment,” the Japanese tech giant’s CEO, Masayoshi Son, said. President-elect Trump announced after meeting with Son earlier this month that SoftBank would invest $50 billion in U.S. businesses and create 50,000 new jobs domestically. The president-elect said Son made the pledge as a direct result of his presidential election victory.
benton.org/headlines/softbank-touts-first-1b-investment-part-pledge-trump | Hill, The
Share: Twitter | Facebook
back to top
INTERNET/BROADBAND
BROADBAND COMPETITION POLICY
[SOURCE: Department of Justice, AUTHOR: Jon Sallet]
Each of these themes runs through the topic of these remarks: how the law, as I have seen it develop at the Antitrust Division and the Federal Communications Commission, has and can create and protect economic opportunity in the marketplace of broadband Internet access services provided to individual consumers. I’d like to structure this discussion around four primary themes:
First, competition is the best driver of innovation and consumer benefits in the Internet ecosystem; that ecosystem in which broadband connectivity is a critical component. Thus it is important to understand the state of competition, especially in those high speed connections that provide today the platform for so many complementary services provided by what we now call “the edge.”
Second, both antitrust law and public policy must rest upon a sound understanding of the incentives and abilities of broadband providers to artificially shape competition not only in the markets for residential Internet access but also in complementary markets across the Internet ecosystem. Here it is valuable to reflect upon the decades-long conclusion that telecommunications networks hold gatekeeper power that can be used to threaten competition.
Third, government should protect competition from artificial constraint that injures consumers and, especially in dynamic markets, threatens the future of innovation. The shared, overlapping jurisdiction of the FCC and the division focuses on the review of telecommunications mergers. Such reviews should be carried out always with a clear- eyed vision of the impact of market conditions on consumers today and innovation tomorrow.
Finally, the FCC has determined that an Open Internet advances economic and social goals so important that they must be preserved in the face of both obvious and subtle threats; threats that have long-been identified as well as those that are nascent or novel.
benton.org/headlines/jon-sallet-remarks-broadband-competition-policy-final-thoughts-and-first-principles | Department of Justice | B&C
Share: Twitter | Facebook
back to top
FAIR AND COMPETITIVE MARKETPLACES
[SOURCE: The White House, AUTHOR: President Barack Obama]
President Obama discussed the importance of fair competition in the marketplace. The principle of fair competition isn’t a Democratic or a Republican idea – it’s an American idea. Over the past eight years, the Obama Administration has taken many actions to keep the marketplace fair, including: defending a free, open, and accessible internet; cracking down on conflicts of interest by making sure professionals who give retirement advice do so in the consumer’s best interest; and – just this week – standing up for beef, pork, and poultry growers when they’re treated unfairly. The President believes our free-market economy only works when there’s competition and rules are in place to keep it fair, open, and honest. That’s what this is all about – ensuring that everyone has a chance to compete by leveling the playing field and keeping the rules clear and consistent. President Obama defended his network neutrality legacy: "My administration has done a lot to keep the marketplace fair. We defended a free, open, and accessible internet that doesn't let service providers pick winners and losers."
benton.org/headlines/ensuring-fair-and-competitive-marketplace | White House, The
Share: Twitter | Facebook
back to top
TELECOM
IRS IMPERSONATION PHONE SCAM ADVISORY
[SOURCE: Federal Communications Commission, AUTHOR: Public notice]
Telephone fraudsters posing as Internal Revenue Service (IRS) agents have bilked tens of thousands of American consumers out of millions of dollars. This scam, the largest impersonation scam in the history of the IRS, has cost victims more than $50 million. The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) and the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration (TIGTA) are committed to quashing the scam, prosecuting the individuals behind the scam, and protecting consumers from future fraud and harassment.
benton.org/headlines/fcc-tigta-issue-irs-impersonation-phone-scam-advisory | Federal Communications Commission
Share: Twitter | Facebook
back to top
GOVERNMENT & COMMUNICATIONS
CENTURYLINK SNAGS SENATE CONTRACT
[SOURCE: Broadcasting&Cable, AUTHOR: John Eggerton]
CenturyLink has secured an $11.4 million contract (three years at $3.8 million per year) to provide VoIP service to the state offices of US Senators. The contract covers hardware, software, training and help desks for more than 450 offices. Yes, there are still only 100 senators, but many have multiple state offices. The contract is with the Senate Sergeant at Arms, who handles the telecommunication and tech support for senators' state offices as well as their DC home base. The contract could actually total $26 million if the government picks up four one-year options.
benton.org/headlines/centurylink-snags-senate-contract | Broadcasting&Cable
Share: Twitter | Facebook
back to top
CONTENT
ONLINE SHOPPING AND E-COMMERCE
[SOURCE: Pew Research Center, AUTHOR: Aaron Smith, Monica Anderson]
Americans are incorporating a wide range of digital tools and platforms into their purchasing decisions and buying habits, according to a Pew Research Center survey of US adults. The survey finds that roughly eight-in-ten Americans are now online shoppers: 79% have made an online purchase of any type, while 51% have bought something using a cellphone and 15% have made purchases by following a link from social media sites. When the Center first asked about online shopping in a June 2000 survey, just 22% of Americans had made a purchase online. In other words, today nearly as many Americans have made purchases directly through social media platforms as had engaged in any type of online purchasing behavior 16 years ago. But even as a sizeable majority of Americans have joined the world of e-commerce, many still appreciate the benefits of brick-and-mortar stores. Overall, 64% of Americans indicate that, all things being equal, they prefer buying from physical stores to buying online.
benton.org/headlines/online-shopping-and-e-commerce | Pew Research Center
Share: Twitter | Facebook
back to top
AGENDA
#SOLUTIONS 2020 ACTION PLAN
[SOURCE: Federal Communications Commission, AUTHOR: Public Notice]
Federal Communications Commission member is seeking public comment on her #Solutions2020 Call to Action Plan which includes:
Comprehensive Reform of Inmate Calling Services
Streamlined Access to Lifeline Service
Deployment of Next-Generation Communications Services
Empowering Communities to Deploy Communications Infrastructure Where the Market has Not
Ensuring Tribal Voices are Heard at the FCC
Passage of the Making Opportunities for Broadband Investment and Limit Excessive and Needless Obstacles to the Wireless Act, or MOBILE NOW Act
Identifying Spectrum Bands Suitable for Unlicensed Use
Promoting Efficient and Collaborative Infrastructure Siting Policies
Advancing Policies to Promote 5G Deployment in Rural America
Promoting Security and Reliability in Communications Networks
Enhancing Consumer Protections Expanding Provider Access to the FCC’s Healthcare Connect Fund
Adopting a Public Notice to Support Adoption and Accessibility of Broadband-Enabled Health Care Solutions Promoting Remote Patient Monitoring Programs
Promoting a More Diverse Media Landscape
Comment is sought by January 11, 2017; a final report will be issues during the first quarter of 2017.
benton.org/headlines/fcc-commissioner-clyburn-releases-draft-solutions2020-action-plan | Federal Communications Commission
Share: Twitter | Facebook
back to top
