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April 2017

April 7, 2017 (Pai's Net Neutrality Plan)

Don Rickles, Equal Opportunity Offender of Comedy

BENTON'S COMMUNICATIONS-RELATED HEADLINES for FRIDAY, APRIL 7, 2017

The FCC Should Preserve Broadband Access for All Schools


GOVERNMENT & COMMUNICATIONS
   Trump Administration seeks to unmask Trump dissident on Twitter, lawsuit reveals
   Trump: Media Would Eat GOP Alive for Filibustering [links to Broadcasting&Cable]
   This federal agency’s homepage just went dark. Really dark. Literally as black as coal. [links to Washington Post]

INTERNET/BROADBAND
   FCC Chief Ajit Pai Develops Plans to Roll Back Net Neutrality Rules
   Piecemeal Lifeline Reform Efforts Unlikely to Fix Its High Costs - Technology Policy Institute analysis [links to Benton summary]

WIRELESS/SPECTRUM
   Comcast is going to start selling wireless phone service
   Can This Dumb Phone Free Us from Smartphone Addiction? [links to Technology Review]

PRIVACY
   The Regulatory Wrecking Ball - NYTimes editorial [links to Benton summary]
   Democratic Sens offer bill to restore internet privacy rules
   At least three states are trying to replace the online privacy rules nixed by Trump [links to Vox]
   Montana joins other states in effort to bolster internet privacy [links to Benton summary]
   The FCC’s broadband privacy regulations are gone. But don’t forget about the Wiretap Act. - Orin Kerr analysis [links to Benton summary]
   What did Congress just do to my digital privacy? [links to Vox]
   Babette Boliek: Finding the best way forward on internet privacy [links to American Enterprise Institute]

ELECTIONS
   CIA Had Evidence of Russian Effort to Help Trump Earlier Than Believed [links to New York Times]
   Hillary Clinton Says Russia Used Hacking ‘to Great Effect’ in Her Defeat [links to New York Times]
   Internet Activists Plot 2018 Electoral Revenge Against Republican Privacy Sellouts

ADVERTISING
   FCC Asked to Review Neil Gorsuch Ads [links to Benton summary]
   YouTube will no longer allow creators to make money until they reach 10,000 views [links to Verge, The]
   As Anger at O’Reilly Builds, Activists Use Social Media to Prod Advertisers [links to New York Times]

CONTENT
   Facebook to offer users tips on identifying fake news [links to Hill, The]
   Dead presidents are mouthing off on Twitter. Nixon won’t shut up. [links to Washington Post]
   Twitter unveils low-data 'Lite' service [links to CNN]
   I Surfed the Wholesome Web of the 1990s at This Historically Accurate Internet Cafe [links to Vice]

TELEVISION
   FilmOn X Appeals Ninth Circuit Panel Decision to Full Court [links to Benton summary]

JOURNALISM
   How “News Literacy” Gets Web Misinformation Wrong [links to Medium]
   Op-Ed: Unless The Government Acts Soon, Fake News Will Produce Deep Information Inequality [links to Huffington Post]

LABOR
   Can Hack but Not Shoot? FBI May Ease Entry for Cyber Agents [links to Associated Press]

SECURITY
   Giuliani Cyber Task Force Hammers Down Focus Issues [links to nextgov]

FCC REFORM
   Will Chairman Pai resurrect economics at the Federal Communications Commission? - AEI op-ed [links to Benton summary]

POLICYMAKERS
   Democratic Sens block Gorsuch consideration, paving way for Senate rules change [links to Benton summary]
   Democrats Raise First Amendment Concerns As Gorsuch Confirmation Looms [links to Benton summary]
   House Intelligence Chairman Devin Nunes recuses himself from Russia probe
   Ethics panel opens investigation into Nunes [links to Hill, The]
   In Battle for Trump’s Heart and Mind, It’s Bannon vs. Kushner [links to New York Times]
   FCC Announces The Membership and First Meeting of the Broadband Deployment Advisory Committee - public notice
   New Docket Established for Broadband Deployment Advisory Committee [links to Federal Communications Commission]
   The traditional think tank is withering. In its place? Bankers and consultants. - WaPo op-ed [links to Benton summary]
   Web’s Inventor Tim Berners-Lee Wins ACM Turing Award, the Nobel Prize of Computing [links to Technology Review]
   Donald Trump Jr. talks about running for governor of New York [links to New York Post]

STORIES FROM ABROAD
   Russia Is Trying to Copy China's Approach to Internet Censorship [links to New America]
   Russia Bans Images of Putin in Makeup [links to New York Times]
   North American CTOs highlight importance of 5G standardization [links to International Telecommunication Union]
   City of London to upgrade its free wifi service [links to Financial Times]

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GOVERNMENT & COMMUNICATIONS

TRUMP ADMINISTRATION SEEKS TO UNMASK TRUMP DISSIDENT ON TWITTER, LAWSUIT REVEALS
[SOURCE: The Guardian, AUTHOR: Julia Carrie Wong]
The Trump Administration sought to unmask the identity of an anonymous Twitter account criticizing its policies, according to a lawsuit filed by the social media platform April 6. Customs and Border Patrol (CBP), a division of homeland security, issued a summons to Twitter on March 14 seeking records including the phone number, mailing addresses, and IP addresses associated with @ALT_USCIS, an account that purports to convey the views of dissenters within the government. The account @ALT_USCIS, whose handle refers to the US citizenship and immigration services, is one of dozens of “alternative” Twitter accounts established following the inauguration of Donald Trump. These alternative accounts claim to provide the uncensored view of civil servants dissenting from Trump’s policies, but they are generally anonymous and unverifiable. The government’s attempt to break that anonymity was revealed when Twitter filed suit in federal court seeking to block the summons, citing the first amendment.
benton.org/headlines/trump-administration-seeks-unmask-trump-dissident-twitter-lawsuit-reveals | Guardian, The | CNN | The Hill
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INTERNET/BROADBAND

NET NEUTRALITY PLAN
[SOURCE: Wall Street Journal, AUTHOR: John McKinnon]
Apparently, Federal Communications Commission Chairman Ajit Pai laid out preliminary plans to roll back the agency’s network neutrality rules in a meeting with trade associations. The conversation shows that the FCC chairman is inching closer to making his plans public, possibly as soon as April. The plans appear aimed at preserving the basic principles of net neutrality but shifting enforcement to the Federal Trade Commission, while undoing what Republican critics regard as the regulatory overreach of the FCC’s rules. Pai’s plans likely would reverse the reclassification of broadband Internet access service as a telecommunications service, so the FTC again would have jurisdiction over the telecommunications carriers. To preserve the basic tenets of net neutrality, the plans would require broadband providers to pledge to abide by net neutrality principles such as no blocking or paid prioritization of internet traffic. That would allow the FTC to go after violators for deceptive or unfair trade practices. Chairman Pai also is believed to be considering provisions to restore FTC oversight of broadband providers’ consumer privacy protections. GOP lawmakers, with the backing of Chairman Pai, recently passed a measure repealing an Obama-era FCC privacy rule that broadband providers criticized as unfairly restrictive. Pai’s plans could begin to be adopted as soon as the FCC’s monthly meeting in May, although the June meeting remains possibility.
benton.org/headlines/fcc-chief-ajit-pai-develops-plans-roll-back-net-neutrality-rules | Wall Street Journal
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SECURITY/PRIVACY

DEMOCRATIC SENS OFFER BILL TO RESTORE INTERNET PRIVACY RULES
[SOURCE: The Hill, AUTHOR: Harper Neidig]
Democratic Sens introduced legislation April 6 that would reinstate internet privacy rules repealed earlier this week. The new legislation, introduced by Sen Ed Markey (D-MA), would undo the repeal and reinstate the regulations, which were set to go into effect later in 2017. “Thanks to Congressional Republicans, corporations, not consumers, are in control of sensitive information about Americans’ health, finances, and children,” Sen Markey said. “The Republican roll-back of strong broadband privacy rules means ISP no longer stands for Internet Service Provider, it stands for ‘Information Sold for Profit.’” The bill is being co-sponsored by Sens Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), Bernie Sanders (I-VT), Jeff Merkley (D-OR), Martin Heinrich (D-NM), Tom Udall (D-NM), Patrick Leahy (D-VT), Tammy Baldwin (D-WI), Chris Van Hollen (D-MD) and Al Franken (D-MN).
benton.org/headlines/democratic-sens-offer-bill-restore-internet-privacy-rules | Hill, The | Broadcasting&Cable
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ELECTIONS MEDIA

2018 ELECTORAL REVENGE AGAINST PRIVACY SELLOUTS
[SOURCE: Vice, AUTHOR: Sam Gustin]
Open internet advocates are developing political strategies and street-level tactics designed to hold Republicans accountable in the 2018 midterm elections for what privacy watchdogs are calling one of the most brazen corporate giveaways in recent US history. "The [Federal Communications Commission] privacy rollback bill is going to be a big 2018 campaign issue," said Gigi Sohn, a Fellow at the Open Society Foundations who previously served as a top counselor to former FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler. "You can't put lipstick on this pig. It's profoundly anti-consumer." "Broadband privacy won't simply be a big issue in 2018, it will be one of the biggest," said Malkia Cyril, executive director of the Center for Media Justice. "Those members of Congress who recently took a big bite out of the protections that allow internet users to browse the web safely can expect that we will expose their positions, protest at their headquarters, and pressure all those that support them."
benton.org/headlines/internet-activists-plot-2018-electoral-revenge-against-republican-privacy-sellouts | Vice
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WIRELESS/SPECTRUM

COMCAST WIRELESS PHONE SERVICE
[SOURCE: Washington Post, AUTHOR: Brian Fung]
Comcast leapt into the cutthroat market for cellphone service by unveiling Xfinity Mobile, a move that other cable companies are expected to follow as consumers' rising Internet consumption increasingly pits providers of home and mobile broadband against each other. The company will offer its Xfinity customers two wireless options: one for unlimited data that costs from $45 to $65 per line a month, and a pay-as-you-go plan for $12 per gigabyte. The service will be available to customers starting in the second quarter, Comcast said. The new offering is aimed at helping Comcast compete outside the home as Americans' Internet usage increasingly shifts to mobile devices. The cable company's service relies primarily on Comcast's network of 16 million public Wi-Fi hotspots for connectivity, allowing users to surf the Web, watch video and listen to streaming music on their phones without paying for cellular data. Where the company's WiFi signals are unavailable, Xfinity Mobile will connect to the traditional cellular network owned by Verizon, which Comcast is using as a result of an airwaves agreement signed several years ago.
benton.org/headlines/comcast-going-start-selling-wireless-phone-service | Washington Post | Vox
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POLICYMAKERS

ANNOUNCEMENT ON BROADBAND DEPLOYMENT ADVISORY COMMITTEE
[SOURCE: Federal Communications Commission, AUTHOR: Public notice]
Federal Communications Commission Chairman Ajit Pai announced the appointment of 29 members to the FCC’s newly created Broadband Deployment Advisory Committee (BDAC), which will meet for the first time on April 21, 2017. The BDAC’s inaugural meeting will focus on member introductions, directing initial assignments to committee members, and providing additional information about BDAC working groups. In addition, the group will begin initial discussions on strategies for accelerating the deployment of broadband.
Chairman Pai has named Elizabeth Pierce, CEO of Quintillion Subsea Operations and Quintillion Networks, to serve as Chair of the BDAC, and Kelleigh Cole, Director of the Utah Broadband Outreach Center in the Utah Governor’s Office of Economic Development, to serve as Vice Chair. As the BDAC gets underway, it will have five working groups tackling projects critical to promote broadband deployment.
Model Code for Municipalities.—Douglas Dimitroff of the New York State Wireless Association will serve as Chair of this working group, and the Honorable Sam Liccardo, Mayor of San Jose, California, will serve as Vice Chair.
Model Code for States.—Kelly McGriff of Southern Light will serve as Chair of this working group, and the Honorable Karen Charles Peterson, Commissioner, Massachusetts Department of Telecommunications and Cable, for the National Association of Regulatory Utility Commissioners will serve as Vice Chair.
Competitive Access to Broadband Infrastructure.—Ken Simon of Crown Castle will serve as Chair of this working group, and Brent Skorup of the Mercatus Center at George Mason University will serve as Vice Chair.
Removing State and Local Regulatory Barriers.—Robert DeBroux of TDS Telecom will serve as Chair of this working group, and Kim Keenan of the Multicultural Media, Telecom and Internet Council will serve as Vice Chair.
Streamlining Federal Siting.—Jonathan Adelstein of the Wireless Infrastructure Association will serve as Chair of this working group, and Valerie Fast Horse of the Coeur d’Alene Tribe will serve as Vice Chair.
benton.org/headlines/fcc-announces-membership-and-first-meeting-broadband-deployment-advisory-committee | Federal Communications Commission | Broadcasting&Cable | GN Docket No. 17-83
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Democrats Raise First Amendment Concerns As Gorsuch Confirmation Looms

Sen Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY) took the floor of the Senate to call for a filibuster and voice concerns over how Judge Neil Gorsuch might handle First Amendment cases in light of President Trump’s calls to “open up” libel laws.

“Voting rights, workers’ rights, reproductive rights, even our First Amendment speech rights, which President Trump has threatened by saying he wants to ‘open up libel laws against the press’–if any of these cases make it to the Supreme Court, they will all be decided in part by the next Supreme Court justice,” Sen Gillibrand said. She added that the judge’s record “does not give me confidence that he will be a justice whose rulings would bolster those individual rights.”

The Regulatory Wrecking Ball

[Commentary] For all of President Trump’s boasts that he is a man of action, he is likely to close out his first 100 days with no major legislation to his credit. That may actually be for the best, since his most significant effort so far would have destroyed the Affordable Care Act. And yet, even without a big win, President Trump has done significant damage with smaller-bore measures, whose cumulative impact will be felt for a very long time. Specifically, he has signed into law 11 regulatory rollback measures, passed by Republican majorities using the Congressional Review Act — a law that lets lawmakers use fast-track procedures to repeal rules completed in the last six months or so of a previous administration. Two more repeal measures await Trump’s signature, and 20 that have been introduced in Congress could be passed before fast-track procedures expire. At least there will be no more ugly surprises, since the deadline for introducing new rollback measures under the Congressional Review Act passed on March 30. The wreckage has been extensive. Nor is the damage easily undone. When a regulation is repealed using the Congressional Review Act, agencies are blocked from issuing “substantially similar” rules without express authorization from Congress.

FCC Chief Ajit Pai Develops Plans to Roll Back Net Neutrality Rules

Apparently, Federal Communications Commission Chairman Ajit Pai laid out preliminary plans to roll back the agency’s network neutrality rules in a meeting with trade associations. The conversation shows that the FCC chairman is inching closer to making his plans public, possibly as soon as April.

The plans appear aimed at preserving the basic principles of net neutrality but shifting enforcement to the Federal Trade Commission, while undoing what Republican critics regard as the regulatory overreach of the FCC’s rules. Pai’s plans likely would reverse the reclassification of broadband Internet access service as a telecommunications service, so the FTC again would have jurisdiction over the telecommunications carriers. To preserve the basic tenets of net neutrality, the plans would require broadband providers to pledge to abide by net neutrality principles such as no blocking or paid prioritization of internet traffic. That would allow the FTC to go after violators for deceptive or unfair trade practices. Chairman Pai also is believed to be considering provisions to restore FTC oversight of broadband providers’ consumer privacy protections. GOP lawmakers, with the backing of Chairman Pai, recently passed a measure repealing an Obama-era FCC privacy rule that broadband providers criticized as unfairly restrictive. Pai’s plans could begin to be adopted as soon as the FCC’s monthly meeting in May, although the June meeting remains possibility.

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