December 2016

BENTON'S COMMUNICATIONS-RELATED HEADLINES for THURSDAY, DECEMBER 15, 2016

Today's Events:

• FCC Open Meeting (kinda sorta -- see news below) -- https://www.benton.org/node/250835
• Innovation Priorities for the Trump Administration, ITIF & TPI -- https://www.benton.org/node/250149

FCC AGENDA
   Emergency Alert System Revamp Pulled From FCC Agenda

SECURITY/PRIVACY
   Yahoo Says 1 Billion User Accounts Were Hacked
   Google just dodged a privacy lawsuit by scanning your emails a tiny bit slower
   Google publishes eight national security letters after US lifts gag order [links to Benton summary]
   Tech workers pledge to never build a database of Muslims [links to Benton summary]
   ITIF op-ed: Congress needs to check government hacking powers [links to Christian Science Monitor]
   FCC Announces Effective Dates of Broadband Privacy Rules [links to Benton summary]
   Ashley Madison settles with FTC over data security [links to Federal Trade Commission]
   FBI Arrests One Of America’s Most Wanted Cybercriminals [links to Vice]
   Google just dodged a privacy lawsuit by scanning your e-mails a tiny bit slower [links to Verge, The]
   Black Lives Matter Website Saw Over 100 DDoS Attacks in Seven Months [links to Vice]

TRANSITION
   Donald Trump Strikes Conciliatory Tone in Meeting With Tech Executives
   Critics bash Trump children’s presence at tech meeting [links to Hill, The]
   Source: Twitter cut out of Trump tech meeting over failed emoji deal [links to Benton summary]
   FCC's O'Rielly Shares Many Trump Policy Positions
   Trump is threatening to wreck our democracy. Blame the Republicans who are looking the other way. [links to Washington Post]
   Donald Trump follows anti-media campaign with anti-media transition [links to CNN Money]
   The Chosen: Who Trump Is Putting In Power [links to Pro Publica]
   Trump’s supporters admonish him for Twitter use but give him wide berth to govern [links to Washington Post]
   Newt Gingrich explains how Donald Trump expertly manipulates the media [links to Vox]

EMERGENCY COMMUNICATIONS
   FirstNet Outlines Operational Readiness, First 100-Days for Nationwide Public Safety Broadband Network - press release [links to Benton summary]

INTERNET/BROADBAND
   Legislators Pushes FCC to Extend Open Internet Order Transparency Waiver
   In letter she handed to Trump, Baltimore Mayor Catherine Pugh urges Broadband investment
   Akamai: Average US Peak Broadband Speed Hits 70.8 Mbps
   USTelecom: Broadband Capital Expenditures Down $1 Billion in 2015 [links to Benton summary]
   Gov Branstad (R-IA) unveils public-private partnership to improve broadband access [links to Benton summary]
   What Happened to the Most-Wired Town of the 1990s? [links to Verge, The]

ELECTION 2016
   U.S. Officials: Putin Personally Involved in U.S. Election Hack [links to NBC]
   Loath to Meddle in Election, President Obama Delayed Blaming Russia for D.N.C. Hack [links to New York Times]
   Op-ed: Putin Is Waging Information Warfare. Here’s How to Fight Back. [links to New York Times]
   Rep Don Beyer (D-VA) wants Electoral College vote delayed until after intelligence briefing [links to Hill, The]
   Did the media become a ‘de facto instrument of Russian intelligence’? - WaPo analysis [links to Benton summary]
   Why Some People Think a Typo Cost Clinton the Election [links to Benton summary]

JOURNALISM
   Gov Christie (R-NJ)-Backed Bill Would Devastate Newspapers That Hold His Feet To The Fire [links to Huffington Post]
   BuzzFeed, POLITICO editors: ‘It was worrisome’ that press corps didn’t stand up sooner for banned news outlets [links to Politico]
   Google Officials Promised To Stop Making Fake News Profitable, But One Month Later, They've Failed - Media Matters analysis [links to Benton summary]
   NAB Teams With Knight Foundation on News Initiatives [links to Broadcasting&Cable]

WIRELESS/SPECTRUM
   Yes, your mobile Internet is very slow [links to Benton summary]

TELEVISION
   PwC Study Finds Cord-Cutting Slowing [links to Broadcasting&Cable]

CONTENT
   On Twitter, a Battle Among Political Bots

OWNERSHIP
   CenturyLink Files Level 3 Merger With FCC
   Mossberg: Why the AT&T-Time Warner merger is dangerous - analysis [links to Benton summary]

LABOR
   Silicon Valley’s newest congressman wants tech giants like Apple to bring jobs to the Midwest - press release [links to Benton summary]

GOVERNMENT & COMMUNICATIONS
   Reince Priebus signals changes ahead for White House press corps
   Farhad Manjoo: Twitter Has the Right to Suspend Donald Trump. But It Shouldn’t. [links to New York Times]
   How Public Engagement is Evolving [links to Government Technology]
   Google extends conservative outreach [links to Benton summary]

COMPANY NEWS
   Total AT&T Fiber Markets Grow to 46 with New Additions [links to telecompetitor]
   Sprint Aims for 1 Gigabit-Per-Second Speeds as Soon as 2017 [links to Bloomberg]
   Comcast Business wins 15-year agreement to build Philadelphia institutional network [links to Fierce]
   Facebook says it’s in talks to buy its own video shows [links to Vox]

POLICYMAKERS
   MMTC Welcomes Dr Rikin Thakker as VP of Telecommunications and Spectrum Policy - press release [links to Benton summary]

STORIES FROM ABROAD
   YouTube blocks North Korean channel to avoid breaching sanctions [links to Washington Post]
   The New Privacy Debate: Ensuring Privacy in a 'mixed reality' world - ITU [links to Benton summary]
   Op-ed: Google quickens road to freedom in Cuba, but only for select few [links to American Enterprise Institute]

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FCC AGENDA

EAS REVAMP PULLED FROM FCC AGENDA
[SOURCE: Multichannel News, AUTHOR: John Eggerton]
Federal Communications Commission Chairman Tom Wheeler's Emergency Alert System (EAS) revamp has been pulled from the Dec 15 meeting agenda. In fact, the FCC has dispensed with almost all of the items that had been on its Dec 15 meeting agenda for vote, either having already been voted or in the case of EAS and one other, removing them from the lineup. That will provide time for some goodbyes since it is expected to be the last meeting of Democrat Jessica Rosenworcel and potentially FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler. The current January meeting is scheduled for Jan 20, after which Chairman Wheeler would no longer be chairman and probably will no longer be at the commission. The EAS item according to the FCC, "improves alerting organization at the state and local levels, builds stronger community-based alerting exercise programs, and protects the EAS against accidental misuse and malicious intrusion." It was also planning to vote on an EAS further Notice of Proposed Rulemaking seeking comment on "proposals to leverage technological advances to improve alerting and additional measures to preserve EAS security."
benton.org/headlines/emergency-alert-system-revamp-pulled-fcc-agenda | Multichannel News | FCC
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SECURITY/PRIVACY

YAHOO SAYS 1 BILLION USER ACCOUNTS WERE HACKED
[SOURCE: New York Times, AUTHOR: Vindu Goel]
Yahoo, already under a cloud from its summertime disclosure that 500 million user accounts had been hacked in 2014, disclosed that another attack a year earlier had compromised more than 1 billion Yahoo accounts. The newly disclosed attack involved more sensitive user information, including unencrypted security questions. Yahoo is forcing all of the affected users to change their passwords and it is invalidating the security questions. Yahoo had agreed to sell its core businesses to Verizon Communications for $4.8 billion. Verizon said that it might seek to renegotiate the terms of the transaction after the first hacking was disclosed. It’s unclear how the newest information will affect its view of the purchase.
benton.org/headlines/yahoo-says-1-billion-user-accounts-were-hacked | New York Times | Los Angeles Times | CNN
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GMAIL SCANS
[SOURCE: The Verge, AUTHOR: Russell Brandom]
Google tentatively agreed to a series of changes in the way it collects data from Gmail, as part of a proposed settlement in Northern California District Court. If the court approves the settlement, Google will eliminate any collection of advertising-specific data before an email is accessible in a user’s inbox. The result likely won’t be noticeable to users, but it represents a real change to the way Google’s systems work, brought about after a voluntary settlement rather than a legal ruling. The case, called Matera vs. Google, began in September 2015, when plaintiffs alleged the email scanning violated California and federal privacy law, calling it “the twenty-first-century equivalent of AT&T eavesdropping on each of its customers’ phone conversations, or of the postal service taking information from private correspondence.” The suit was specifically brought on behalf of non-Gmail users, who haven’t agreed to have their emails scanned under Google’s Terms of Service.
benton.org/headlines/google-just-dodged-privacy-lawsuit-scanning-your-emails-tiny-bit-slower | Verge, The
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TRANSITION

TRUMP STRIKES CONCILIATORY TONE IN MEETING WITH TECH EXECS
[SOURCE: Wall Street Journal, AUTHOR: Jack Nicas, Rolfe Winkler]
President-elect Donald Trump struck a conciliatory tone at the start of a high-profile meeting with top tech executives Dec 14, telling the Silicon Valley leaders that his goal is “to help you folks do well.” “We want you to keep going with the incredible innovation... Anything we can do to help this go along we’re going to be there for you,” he told the tech executives. “You call my people, you call me. It doesn’t make any difference.” President-elect Trump also told the executives that he would “do fair-trade deals” and said he was “going to make it a lot easier for you to trade across borders.” Trump has been a persistent critic of past trade deals, including the pending Trans Pacific Partnership. At the meeting, Trump was flanked by Vice President-elect Mike Pence and billionaire investor Peter Thiel, who is advising the president-elect. Tech executives present included Alphabet Chief Executive Larry Page, Apple CEO Tim Cook and Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella. About a dozen executives were scheduled to attend the meeting. The attendee list is a Who’s Who of tech, including Amazon.com CEO Jeff Bezos, Facebook Chief Operating Officer Sheryl Sandberg, Tesla Motors CEO Elon Musk, and chairman of Google parent Alphabet Eric Schmidt, apparently.
benton.org/headlines/donald-trump-strikes-conciliatory-tone-meeting-tech-executives | Wall Street Journal | CNN | The Hill | Morning Consult | Politico
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O'REILLY SHARES MANY TRUMP POLICY POSITIONS
[SOURCE: Broadcasting&Cable, AUTHOR: John Eggerton]
Republican Commissioner Michael O'Rielly of the Federal Communications Commission says he shares many of the policy positions of President-elect Donald Trump and advised that while the FCC still has important functions—like spectrum management—how those are handled going forward is an open question. What is not is whether a Republican FCC, if Commissioner O'Rielly has anything do about it, will take a whack at the regulatory underbrush and the Title II-related actions—on broadband privacy and zero rating, for example—of the current administration. Commissioner O'Rielly says the commission in a Trump Administration should focus on four main things: 1) remove regulatory underbrush, which he said were regulations that have been on the books "for a long time" but make no sense in the current marketplace; 2) undertake structural reforms of the commission itself, saying that structure has "broken down"; 3) undertake a pro-growth, pro-innovation agenda, for example antenna citing for wireless nets; and 4) undo bad and partisan policies, where he said he and his fellow Republican Commissioner Ajit Pai's input was not "even given the time of day."
benton.org/headlines/fccs-orielly-shares-many-trump-policy-positions | Broadcasting&Cable
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INTERNET/BROADBAND

LEGISLATORS PUSHES FCC TO EXTEND TRANSPARENCY WAIVER
[SOURCE: Broadcasting&Cable, AUTHOR: John Eggerton]
A bipartisan, bicameral group of legislators has asked Federal Communications Commission Chairman Tom Wheeler to extend the waiver the FCC granted to smaller cable operators in 2015 from the enhanced transparency requirements in the FCC's Open Internet Order. Those smaller operators have argued that the reporting—on network performance particularly—are an undue burden. The FCC's Consumer and Governmental Affairs Bureau granted the waiver in 2015 for systems under 100,000 subscribers and there were bills in the House and Senate to do the same, while upping the sub trigger to 250,000. But the bills did not make it into law, and the waiver expires Dec. 15 unless the FCC takes action. The legislators—including incoming House Commerce Committee Chairman Greg Walden (R-OR) and Sen Joe Manchin (D-WV)—urged the chairman to extend the waiver. "Without commission action, small businesses soon face regulatory uncertainty and will potentially be subject to burdensome requirements," they wrote. "Before the current extension expires, the Commission should extend the enhanced transparency exemption and begin the process of considering whether the definition of small business entities to which the exemption applies should be modified [i.e. expanded to match Congress' 250,000 or perhaps another figure]."
benton.org/headlines/legislators-pushes-fcc-extend-open-internet-order-transparency-waiver | Broadcasting&Cable
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BALTIMORE MAYOR URGES BROADBAND INVESTMENT
[SOURCE: Technically Baltimore, AUTHOR: Stephen Babcock]
Newly sworn-in Baltimore (MD) Mayor Catherine Pugh took the opportunity of a handshake in the bowels of M&T Bank Stadium during President-elect Donald Trump’s appearance at the Army-Navy game to hand-deliver a letter. Mayor Pugh is looking to get President-elect Trump’s attention politically, writing that the city is the “perfect place” to provide the big-dollar infrastructure spending that Trump said he will propose once he takes office. Referencing the Smarter Baltimore report completed during Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake’s term, she said the city schools system will be applying for $8 million in funding from the federal government’s E-rate program that could help install fiber Internet in public schools. “The plan will strategically use the E-rate program to both enhance the City’s educational capabilities, while also leveraging private and City funds, to lay additional fiber to spur economic development, job creation and more robust internet access,” she writes. “A cost-effective fiber network will lead to competition, lower Broadband costs and more connectivity for Baltimore residents and businesses.” She said the city also wants to apply for grants from federal departments like the Broadband Technology Opportunities Program.
benton.org/headlines/letter-she-handed-trump-baltimore-mayor-catherine-pugh-urges-broadband-investment | Technically Baltimore | read the letter
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AKAMAI: AVERAGE US PEAK BROADBAND SPEED HITS 70.8 MBPS
[SOURCE: telecompetitor, AUTHOR: Joan Engebretson]
The average US peak broadband speed was 70.8 Mbps in the third quarter of 2016 – an increase of 23% over the same period a year earlier, according to the latest Akamai “State of the Internet” report. The average peak connection speed is Akamai’s closest approximation to the actual speeds that end users’ connections can support. In comparison, overall average connection speed was considerably lower – measuring 16.3 Mbps for third quarter, a 30% increase over third quarter of 2015. Nearly 90% (88%) of Americans have service supporting speeds of at least 4 Mbps, including 61% who can connect at speeds of at least 10 Mbps and 39% who can connect at speeds of at least 15 Mbps, Akamai said. Average US peak broadband speed varied considerably by state, according to the Akamai State of the Internet report for the third quarter of 2016. Maryland had the highest average peak broadband speed, which measured 90.6 Mbps, Akamai said. The seven next highest states were also in the eastern US and all had average peak speeds of at least 81.7 Mbps. Those seven were Massachusetts, the District of Columbia (which Akamai counts as a state), Virginia, Delaware, Rhode Island, New Jersey and New York.
benton.org/headlines/akamai-average-us-peak-broadband-speed-hits-708-mbps | telecompetitor | read the report
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OWNERSHIP

CENTURYLINK FILES LEVEL 3 MERGER WITH FCC
[SOURCE: Broadcasting&Cable, AUTHOR: John Eggerton]
CenturyLink and Level 3 Communications have filed their merger (license transfer) applications with the Federal Communications Commission and their pre-merger notification to the Federal Trade Commission and Justice Department.
The merger is valued at $34 billion including debt. Along with the AT&T-Time Warner merger, it will be one of the first big media mergers to be vetted primarily under the Donald Trump Administration. Trump has talked about reducing regulations but also about blocking consolidation among media outlets. The FTC or DOJ—they divide those reviews but DOJ almost always handles media mergers—will vet the deal for antitrust issues and either give it a green light, a green light with conditions agreed to by the parties, or file suit to block it. The FCC will vet the deal for public interest issues that go beyond a straight antitrust review but will look at competition issues as well and consult with DOJ—they coordinate their reviews and stay in touch. As the companies pointed out, that is the first regulatory step toward the merger. Among the pro-consumer benefits the companies are touting are better service, more competition, more broadband deployment and investment.
benton.org/headlines/centurylink-files-level-3-merger-fcc | Broadcasting&Cable
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CONTENT

TWITTER BOTS
[SOURCE: New York Times, AUTHOR: Amanda Hess]
On social media, our political battles are increasingly automated. People who head to Twitter to discuss their ideals are, often unwittingly, conversing with legions of bots: accounts preprogrammed to spew the same campaign slogans, insults or conspiracy theories hundreds or thousands of times a day. And one of their most competitive battlegrounds is the prime digital real estate that opens up every time President-elect Donald J. Trump tweets. Any supporters or critics who reply quickly enough to Mr. Trump can see their own tweets showcased right beneath the biggest spectacle on Twitter. But in this fast-draw contest, propaganda bots always best human beings.
benton.org/headlines/twitter-battle-among-political-bots | New York Times
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GOVERNMENT & COMMUNICATIONS

PRIEBUS SIGNALS CHANGES AHEAD FOR WH PRESS CORPS
[SOURCE: Politico, AUTHOR: Hadas Gold]
Incoming White House Chief of Staff Reince Priebus suggested that major changes are coming to the White House press corps. Priebus said "many things have to change" in the White House's relationship and daily traditions with the media, including the daily briefing with the White House Press Secretary and the seating chart. "I think that it’s important that we look at all of those traditions that are great, but quite frankly, as you know, don’t really make news and they're just sort of mundane, boring episodes," Priebus said. "The point of all of this conversation is that the traditions, while some of them are great, I think it’s time to revisit a lot of these things that have been done in the White House, and I can assure you that change is going to happen, even on things that might seem boring like this topic, but also change as far as how we’re going to approach tax reform, the American worker, how we protect them and business all at the same time why skyrocketing our economy," Priebus said. Priebus said the White House team is currently discussing how to change things up, including where the press sits in the White House briefing room.
benton.org/headlines/reince-priebus-signals-changes-ahead-white-house-press-corps | Politico | Huffington Post
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