BENTON'S COMMUNICATIONS-RELATED HEADLINES for MONDAY, APRIL 24, 2017
Today's Events
COMMUNICATIONS & DEMOCRACY
A scholar asks, ‘Can democracy survive the Internet?’
US media outlets look to bridge partisan divides
DOJ debating charges against WikiLeaks members in revelations of diplomatic, CIA materials
WikiLeaks docs detail UK role in developing CIA's TV hacking malware [links to Hill, The]
Trump lawyer: ‘No right’ to protest at rallies
The US government’s ‘witch hunt’ to root out a Trump critic has now sparked an investigation
Twitter Summons Triggers Internal Investigation at US Homeland Security Department [links to Wall Street Journal]
President Trump: 'Media will kill' success of first 100 days [links to Hill, The]
Floyd Abrams Sees Trump’s Anti-Media Tweets as Double-Edged Swords [links to Benton summary]
INTERNET/BROADBAND
FCC Chairman Pai Opens First Broadband Deployment Advisory Committee Meeting - speech
FCC's Broadband Deployment Advisory Committee Holds First Meeting [links to Benton summary]
Remarks of FCC Commissioner Mignon Clyburn, Broadband Deployment Advisory Committee Kickoff - speech [links to Benton summary]
FCC Commissioner O'Rielly Remarks at Broadband Deployment Advisory Committee Meeting - speech [links to Benton summary]
Accelerating Wireline Broadband Deployment by Removing Barriers to Infrastructure Investment - public notice [links to Benton summary]
Internet Access Service Report for data as of June 30, 2016 [links to Federal Communications Commission]
Estimating willingness-to-pay for broadband attributes among low-income consumers: Results from two FCC Lifeline pilot projects - research
International Efforts to Regulate the Internet Continue - Commissioner O'Rielly blog
President Trump Wants $200 Billion for Infrastructure, Budget Director Says [links to Bloomberg]
Sen Markey Gets Some Massachusetts Tech Support for Internet Fight [links to Benton summary]
Apple appears to be interested in the satellite internet business [links to Verge, The]
Public utility regulation of broadband: Lessons from the electricity industry - AEI op-ed [links to Benton summary]
Group of rural towns in Minnesota to become ‘gigabit communities’ [links to Daily Globe]
Dululth News Tribune Op-Ed: Like electricity, wired Internet needed so rural areas can thrive [links to Duluth News Tribune]
ELECTIONS AND MEDIA
Lessons Learned from the Trump Campaign - TVNewsCheck editorial [links to Benton summary]
OWNERSHIP
Sinclair Announces Station Takeover One Day After Trump's FCC Votes to Loosen Ownership Caps - Free Press press release
AT&T’s Words on Time Warner Deal Say ‘Underdog.’ Its Actions Speak Otherwise.
Democrats plan to press Trump’s competition cop on his ties to AT&T, tech giants [links to Vox]
SECURITY/PRIVACY
FTC Approves Final Consent Order with Online Company Charged with Deceptively Tracking Consumers Online and Through Mobile Devices [links to Federal Trade Commission]
Privacy messenger app Confide, used by some in White House, gets slapped with lawsuit that says it's not as secure as it claims [links to Benton summary]
WIRELESS/SPECTRUM
Smartphones are common in advanced economies, but digital divides remain - Pew research
Op-Ed: I'm not 'addicted' to my smartphone. I depend on it to survive [links to Los Angeles Times]
BROADCASTING
NAB CEO Gordon Smith On Broadcasters' Agenda In the Trump Era [links to Hollywood Reporter, The]
CIVIC ENGAGEMENT
How a social media campaign helped drive Bill O'Reilly out of Fox News [links to Los Angeles Times]
LABOR
Silicon Valley’s finest are finally developing a code of ethics [links to Benton summary]
Bannon to Ailes: Megyn Kelly 'the devil' and 'will turn on you' [links to Hill, The]
DIVERSITY
Cable News Morning Shows Drastically Skew White And Male - Media Matters for America research [links to Benton summary]
ADVERTISING
How Google Cashes In on the Space Right Under the Search Bar [links to New York Times]
GOVERNMENT AND COMMUNICATIONS
Op-Ed: It's time to bring government transparency processes into 2017 [links to Hill, The]
New Orleans Uses Targeted Approach to Spread Tech Awareness, Improve Digital Equity [links to Government Technology]
LOBBYING
Telecom giants spent $11m on first-quarter lobbying [links to Benton summary]
Facebook, Google and others are focusing some DC lobbying dollars on fighting President Trump [links to Benton summary]
POLICYMAKERS
Notice of Recruitment of Firstnet Board Members [links to Department of Commerce]
Democratic Sens Urge President Trump to Fill Top White House Science and Tech Spots [links to nextgov]
You’ve Never Heard of Tech Legend Bob Taylor, But He Invented ‘Almost Everything’ [links to Benton summary]
STORIES FROM ABROAD
As US prepares to gut net neutrality rules, Canada strengthens them
UK Delays Review of 21st Century Fox Deal for Sky [links to Benton summary]
As criminals adapt to new technology, so must international law [links to Brookings]
MORE ONLINE
A reckoning is coming for brick-and-mortar retailers, whose survival depends on learning more of the data-driven, tech-powered ways of their internet competitors [links to Wall Street Journal]
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COMMUNICATIONS & DEMOCRACY
CAN DEMOCRACY SURVIVE THE INTERNET?
[SOURCE: Washington Post, AUTHOR: Dan Balz]
Nathaniel Persily, a law professor at Stanford University, is among the many — academics, political practitioners, journalists, law enforcement officials and others — who are attempting to understand better the consequences of conducting campaigns and governance here and around the world in the Internet age. He has written about this in a forthcoming issue of the Journal of Democracy in an article with a title that sums up his concerns: “Can Democracy Survive the Internet?” The provocative title isn’t simply the result of Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election, though that is obviously a front-and-center issue. “I think it’s the shiny object that everyone understandably pays attention to right now, but the problem is bigger than that,” Persily said. The campaign of 2016 highlighted the degree to which elections are carried out on terrain far different from when television and traditional print organizations were the dominant media.
benton.org/headlines/scholar-asks-can-democracy-survive-internet | Washington Post
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BRIDGE THE PARTISAN DIVIDE
[SOURCE: Financial Times, AUTHOR: Shannon Bond]
Trust in traditional media is at an all-time low, as many people prefer to get information from friends and social media contacts, according to the Edelman Trust Barometer. Pew Research Center surveys show that ideological divisions have widened between Democrats and Republicans, more and less educated people, and older and younger adults. Since Donald Trump’s election, several news organisations have set out to bridge the rift between liberals and conservatives who inhabit distinct ideological bubbles that determine the media they consume and fuel an increasingly uncivil public discourse. Diversifying media diets is also the goal of apps such as Read Across the Aisle, which notifies users when their news reading skews too far to the left or right. A browser extension called Escape Your Bubble slips stories into your Facebook feed that contain political views challenging your own.
benton.org/headlines/us-media-outlets-look-bridge-partisan-divides | Financial Times
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DOJ DEBATING CHARGES AGAINST WIKILEAKS MEMBERS
[SOURCE: Washington Post, AUTHOR: Matt Zapotosky, Ellen Nakashima]
Federal prosecutors are weighing whether to bring criminal charges against members of the WikiLeaks organization, taking a second look at a 2010 leak of diplomatic cables and military documents and investigating whether the group bears criminal responsibility for the more recent revelation of sensitive CIA cyber-tools, apparently. The Justice Department under President Barack Obama decided not to charge WikiLeaks for revealing some of the government’s most sensitive secrets — concluding that doing so would be akin to prosecuting a news organization for publishing classified information. Justice Department leadership under President Trump, though, has indicated to prosecutors that it is open to taking another look at the case, which the Obama administration did not formally close. It is not clear whether prosecutors are also looking at WikiLeaks’ role in 2016 in publishing e-mails from the Democratic National Committee and the account of Hillary Clinton campaign chairman John D. Podesta, which US officials have said were hacked by the Russian government.
benton.org/headlines/doj-debating-charges-against-wikileaks-members-revelations-diplomatic-cia-materials | Washington Post | The Verge
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TRUMP LAWYER: 'NO RIGHT' TO PROTEST AT RALLIES
[SOURCE: Politico, AUTHOR: Kenneth Vogel]
President Donald Trump’s lawyers argued in an April 20 court filing that protesters “have no right” to “express dissenting views” at his campaign rallies because such protests infringed on his First Amendment rights. The filing comes in a case brought by three protesters who allege they were roughed up and ejected from a March 2016 Trump campaign rally in Louisville (KY) by Trump supporters who were incited by the then-candidate’s calls from the stage to “get 'em out of here!” Lawyers for Trump’s campaign have argued that his calls to remove the protesters were protected by the First Amendment. But the federal district court judge hearing the case issued a ruling late in March questioning that argument, as well as the claim that Trump didn’t intend for his supporters to use force. The ruling cleared the case to proceed into discovery and towards a trial. April 20’s filing by Trump’s campaign lawyers asks the judge to pause the proceedings and allow Trump’s legal team to appeal the ruling to a higher court “before subjecting the President to ‘unique’ and extraordinary burdens of litigation.”
benton.org/headlines/trump-lawyer-no-right-protest-rallies | Politico
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WITCH HUNT ON TRUMP CRITIC SPARKS INVESTIGATION
[SOURCE: Washington Post, AUTHOR: Craig Timberg]
The federal government’s effort to root out an anonymous critic of President Donald Trump’s immigration policies has sparked an investigation into whether officials abused their authority by demanding that Twitter reveal the identity of one of its users, according to a letter released April 21. The Twitter account was part of an explosion of anonymous online criticism of Trump that began shortly after his inauguration in January and appeared to emanate from within many federal agencies. The Department of Homeland Security’s effort to identify the user behind one of these accounts — @ALT_uscis, which uses the acronym for U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services — prompted a summons to Twitter demanding that the company reveal the identity of the user, who was thought to be a federal employee. The March 14 summons provoked a lawsuit from Twitter and sharp criticism from privacy advocates. Amid this backlash, federal officials rescinded the summons, and the company dropped its suit, appearing to resolve the case. But DHS Inspector General John Roth decided to investigate possible abuse of authority in this case, as well as “potential broader misuse of summons authority” within the department, he wrote in a letter to Sen Ron Wyden (D-OR), who had called the effort to unmask the Twitter user a “witch hunt.”
benton.org/headlines/us-governments-witch-hunt-root-out-trump-critic-has-now-sparked-investigation | Washington Post
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INTERNET/BROADBAND
PAI OPENS FIRST BROADBAND DEPLOYMENT ADVISORY COMMITTEE MEETING
[SOURCE: Federal Communications Commission, AUTHOR: FCC Chairman Ajit Pai]
As members of the Broadband Deployment Advisory Committee, your mission is to give the Federal Communications Commission recommendations on ways to spur broadband deployment and reduce barriers to investment. One important part of this work, which I previewed last fall, is to develop model codes for state and municipal governments that want to encourage deployment and competitive entry in their jurisdictions. In fact, the BDAC is being asked to develop two model codes—one for municipalities and another for states. In developing each, the goal should be guidelines that are forward-looking and fair, and that balance legitimate interests of state and local governments with the ever-growing demands of the American public for better, faster, and cheaper broadband. I look forward to seeing how you approach this challenge. The BDAC will also be asked to make recommendations on how to promote competitive access to broadband infrastructure, including utility poles. Another key issue is speeding up broadband deployment on Federal lands. The BDAC has a lot of work ahead of it. But I’m certain that this distinguished group is more than up to the task. And in the coming weeks, I expect to appoint more qualified nominees to round out the working groups, lending further support to the cause.
benton.org/headlines/chairman-pai-opens-first-broadband-deployment-advisory-committee-meeting | Federal Communications Commission
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RESULTS FROM TWO FCC LIFELINE PILOT PROGRAMS
[SOURCE: Telecommunications Policy, AUTHOR: Hyun Ji Leea, Brian Whitacre]
Recent studies have confirmed that broadband adoption (as opposed to simply having access to broadband infrastructure) is positively linked with economic growth. In light of this, federal policy efforts have switched from focusing mainly on the provision of infrastructure to more explicit adoption-oriented efforts. One of those efforts was the Federal Communications Commission's (FCC's) Low-income Broadband Lifeline Pilot Projects, which ran from 2013 to 2014. The program worked with 14 private telecommunications firms to subsidize household broadband adoption for low-income households by providing discounted monthly and equipment costs. Low-income households are an important component of the broadband adoption puzzle: between 2003 and 2013, the adoption gap between low-income and high-income households actually increased by 5% points. This paper focuses on two specific FCC Broadband Lifeline Pilot projects that allowed consumers to make choices among different options, such as data allowance, speed, and wireless vs. wired connections. Conditional logit models are used to develop estimates of consumer's willingness-to-pay for specific broadband attributes. The results indicate that low-income consumers have a preference for smartphone connections (versus aircards) – and that this effect is even more pronounced for those households earning less than $20,000; that low-income consumers have a preference for wired connections (versus wireless); and that there is evidence that low-income consumers are willing to pay for an extra GB of data each month – but not for the speed of their connection.
benton.org/headlines/estimating-willingness-pay-broadband-attributes-among-low-income-consumers-results-two-fcc | Telecommunications Policy
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INTERNATIONAL EFFORTS TO REGULATION THE INTERNET CONTINUE
[SOURCE: Federal Communications Commission, AUTHOR: FCC Commissioner Michael O'Rielly]
Over the last several years, we’ve been lectured by many that the US position on Internet governance was no longer sustainable in the larger, global community. So-called experts claimed that the US’s minimal government involvement in Internet issues was no longer a prudent approach. These “experts” added that if the US just ceded on our sound principles a little bit, authoritarian governments of the world would end their continued effort to seek increased government regulation and control of the Internet. In other words, they sought an appeasement strategy. We now have a recent case study of this exact approach, and it doesn’t seem to have worked. Instead, some foreign governments have renewed their disturbing calls for government involvement in the Internet via a number of forums. Accordingly, it’s time to reject appeasement, acknowledge the work ahead and redouble our efforts to quash these attempts using all appropriate means.
benton.org/headlines/international-efforts-regulate-internet-continue | Federal Communications Commission
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OWNERSHIP
SINCLAIR ANNOUNCES STATION TAKEOVER
[SOURCE: Free Press, AUTHOR: Timothy Karr]
On April 20, the Federal Communications Commission voted to reinstate an obsolete loophole called the UHF discount that will allow broadcast conglomerates to exceed congressionally mandated national TV audience coverage limits. April 21, Sinclair Broadcast Group, the nation’s largest television station conglomerate, announced a $240 million deal to buy 14 television stations owned by Bonten Media Group. Sinclair is also reported to be in negotiations to buy stations owned by Tribune Media Co., a move that would put Sinclair 30 percentage points over the national broadcast ownership cap, if not for the FCC’s move reinstating the UHF discount. The vote came following press reports by Bloomberg News that Chairman Pai had conducted meetings with Sinclair executives days after the Nov. 8 presidential election. Chairman Pai was subsequently tapped by the Trump administration to lead the agency that oversees broadcast ownership limits. Free Press CEO and President Craig Aaron said, “This is a scandal. Sinclair has been boosting Trump and wooing Pai for months — and it’s paying off in the form of the looser limits Sinclair has long sought on how many TV stations the company can own. Sinclair has a track record of taking over stations, gutting news departments and airing conservative propaganda produced far from the local community."
benton.org/headlines/sinclair-announces-station-takeover-one-day-after-trumps-fcc-votes-loosen-ownership-caps | Free Press
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AT&T’S UNDERDOG STAUTS
[SOURCE: New York Times, AUTHOR: Cecilia Kang]
In Washington (DC), AT&T has painted itself as an underdog that needs to merge with Time Warner in a blockbuster $85 billion deal to compete with powerful cable companies. But in several cities and states, AT&T’s actions send a different message. In Nashville and Louisville, AT&T has sued to make it harder for rival broadband providers to use utility poles. In Missouri, Tennessee and North Carolina, the company has pushed for laws that block municipal broadband providers. In San Francisco, AT&T has fought efforts to open up apartment buildings to more internet service providers. In other words, AT&T has positioned itself as the incumbent telecommunications juggernaut that has acted to hamper competitors locally. With its giant deal with Time Warner under review at the Justice Department, AT&T’s contrasting federal and local actions are glaring. While AT&T’s two-sided messaging follows a strategy used by many big companies, any evidence that the telecom company thwarts local rivals could make the deal review tougher and invite costly conditions, telecom antitrust experts said — even though they still expect the acquisition to be approved.
benton.org/headlines/atts-words-time-warner-deal-say-underdog-its-actions-speak-otherwise | New York Times | WSJ
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WIRELESS/SPECTRUM
SMARTPHONES ARE COMMON IN ADVANCED ECONOMIES, BUT DIGITAL DIVIDES REMAIN
[SOURCE: Pew Research Center, AUTHOR: Jacob Poushter]
When Pew Research Center surveyed 14 advanced economies in the spring of 2016, one thing was clear: In each of the countries surveyed, nearly all people reported owning a mobile phone. But the shares who own a smartphone vary considerably. Among the countries surveyed, people in Sweden, the Netherlands, Spain and Australia reported the highest smartphone ownership rates, at roughly eight-in-ten in each country. Nearly as many Americans (77%) said they owned a smartphone, a number that more than doubled since 2011. Rates of smartphone ownership were considerably lower in some of the other countries surveyed. About half in Poland (52%) owned a smartphone, though that figure is up significantly since the question was first asked in 2013, when only 21% reported owning a smartphone. And while pluralities in 13 of the 14 countries surveyed reported owning a smartphone, regular mobile devices are still fairly common in Greece (43%), Hungary (41%), and Poland and Japan (both 37%).
benton.org/headlines/smartphones-are-common-advanced-economies-digital-divides-remain | Pew Research Center
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STORIES FROM ABROAD
CANADA NET NEUTRALITY
[SOURCE: ars technica, AUTHOR: Jon Brodkin]
Canada is taking a much stronger stand against data cap exemptions than the United States. In the US, the Federal Communications Commission's new Republican leadership signaled that it won't enforce network neutrality rules against zero-rating, the practice of favoring certain Internet content by exempting it from customers' data caps. The FCC made that clear when it rescinded a determination that AT&T and Verizon Wireless violated net neutrality rules by letting their own video services stream without counting against customers' data caps while charging other video providers for the same data cap exemptions. Canada is also taking a case-by-case approach to zero-rating instead of banning it outright. But April 20, the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) ordered changes to one carrier's zero-rating program and announced that it will enforce stricter guidelines for determining whether zero-rating programs are discriminatory. Zero-rating "generally gives an unfair advantage or disadvantage to certain content providers and consumers," CRTC said in an announcement. The group said that it is "strengthen[ing] its commitment to net neutrality," and it also published detailed guidelines and its decision against Videotron, a telecom whose "Unlimited Music" program exempts certain online music providers from data caps of subscribers with certain mobile data plans.
benton.org/headlines/us-prepares-gut-net-neutrality-rules-canada-strengthens-them | Ars Technica
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