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April 2017

Spectrum Hearing Reveals Raw Wounds From Broadband Privacy Rule Rollback

The House Communications Subcommittee held a hearing on wireless spectrum and the economy, but it had to wait for Democratic and Republican lawmakers to air out their grievances over the passage last week of the Congressional Review Act (CRA) resolution rolling back Federal Communications Commission broadband privacy regulations. The back-and-forth was particularly heated and even personal, illustrating the widening political divide on Capitol Hill.

Subcommittee Ranking Member Mike Doyle (D-PA) and full Committee Ranking Member Frank Pallone (D-NJ) used their opening statements to weigh in on Republicans "ramming" the CRA down the "public's throat," as Rep Doyle put it. Rep Doyle also called out CTIA (though not by name)—a CTIA witness, the only association witness, was at the table—for supporting the CRA, saying the industry association had acted in a "selfish and irresponsible way." He said he expected more from it and its members, and the American people did as well. Saying that CTIA's support for the CRA meant that there were no privacy protections, Rep Doyle said: "Believe me, my constituents and your customers are not happy about this." House Commerce Committee Chairman Greg Walden (R-OR) shot back that the issue had been "horribly spun" and that the FCC created the problem when it reclassified ISPs under Title II and took over regulation of broadband privacy form the Federal Trade Commission.

'Connectivity' Bills from Democratic Reps Targets 'Fake News' Retaliation

House Democrats have released a suite of "connectivity" bills April 5 that would, among other things, prevent the Federal Communications Commission from targeting broadcasters "or anyone else" on the basis of viewpoint, toughen FCC political ad disclosure rules, and boost broadcast diversity.

The Protecting Dissenting Viewpoints and Voices Act (HR 1574), introduced by Rep Ben Jay Luján (D-NM), stems from FCC Chairman Ajit Pai's decision not to weigh in on President Donald Trump's branding of news outlets as "fake news" and in the shadow of the President's ongoing threats, or perceived threats, including invoking potential changes in libel laws or, as a candidate, suggesting his Administration should bock a deal involving Time Warner, which owns one of his main targets, CNN. The bill would prevent the FCC from revoking any license, denying a license transfer, or taking action against an individual for their viewpoints on issues of public importance. The bill would also prevent the President from directing an agency from retaliating over a broadcast viewpoint.

The Keeping Our Campaigns Honest (KOCH) Act (HR 1439), whose name is a reference to the Koch brothers, who are big Republican donors, was introduced by Reps John Yarmuth (D-KY), Peter Welch (D-VT) and Luján. It would "direct the FCC to revise its sponsorship identification rules to require that the true identity of individuals behind anonymous campaign ads be disclosed."

The Expanding Broadcast Ownership Opportunities Act, introduced by Rep GK Butterfield (D-NC) would boost data and reporting requirements for ownership diversity, restore the tax certificate program and establish a minority incubator program (see separate story).

The Connected Government Act which would require government websites to be optimized for mobile.

The Family Telephone Connection Protection Act (HR 1184) which would require the FCC to regulate prison phone rates.

Education’s Top Chief Technology Officers Look Ahead

Amidst a sea of suits, Melissa Dodd, Chief Technology Officer of San Francisco Unified School District, became the second woman named as the top CTO of the year by the Consortium for School Networking (CoSN). Most provocative was Tom Wheeler, former chairman of the Federal Communications Commission, who CoSN lauded for his public service.

Wheeler shared his pride in helping oversee the changes the FCC made in managing E-rate, the program that funds internet connectivity to schools. "Remember your ABCs: Access benefits children," Wheeler said. He also shared his fears about the current FCC's directions, particularly the impact of moving to a per-pupil reimbursement policy. Here's what Wheeler proposed the current FCC ask:
1. What will be the impact of per-pupil reimbursement on rural schools? Urban areas typically have four times as many students as their rural counterparts.
2. How will per-pupil reimbursement affect fiber installation? About 3,700 U.S. schools still lack adequate bandwidth, Wheeler pointed out, and need fiber.
3. How will the administration continue to incentivize states to step up and support connectivity? Forty-two state governors have made connecting schools a priority. States have provided $200 million in matching funds to support the work. But if the federal government scales back, will states continue to step up?
4. What kind of fiscal deficit will the FCC's new policy create, especially for rural schools?

The future of net neutrality in Trump’s America

Now that President donald Trump has signed legislation repealing landmark federal privacy protections for Internet users, many in Washington are trying to decipher what the move could mean for network neutrality.

President Trump's role in repealing the rules is likely to be small; the real center of gravity lies outside the White House. Congress could intervene on net neutrality by writing a bill that repeals and replaces the FCC policy. But a legislative deal does not appear imminent. Republicans, lacking a filibuster-proof majority in the Senate, need some Democratic support for any such bill. And Democrats have declined to play ball unless the legislation preserves the FCC's ability to regulate Internet providers like legacy telephone companies, something Republicans have strongly resisted. Despite a federal court ruling upholding the FCC rules in the summer of 2016, industry advocates are still pushing to have the regulations overturned by a fresh judicial hearing. If the US Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit agrees to rehear the net neutrality case — a decision that could be announced this spring — Internet providers will have another shot at knocking down the rules. FCC Chairman Ajit Pai could make things even easier for the industry by not defending the suit, something he has already done in at least one separate case involving low-cost broadband access. If the court rules against the FCC, the regulations are as good as dead.

No, Republicans didn’t just strip away your Internet privacy rights

[Commentary] Let’s set the record straight: First, despite hyperventilating headlines, Internet service providers have never planned to sell your individual browsing history to third parties. That’s simply not how online advertising works. And doing so would violate ISPs’ privacy promises. Second, Congress’s decision last week didn’t remove existing privacy protections; it simply cleared the way for us to work together to reinstate a rational and effective system for protecting consumer privacy. We need to put the nation’s most experienced and expert privacy cop back on the beat, and we need to end the uncertainty and confusion that was created in 2015 when the Federal Communications Commission intruded in this space. The Obama Administration fractured our nation’s online privacy law, and it is our job to fix it. We pledge to the American people that we will do just that.

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