May 2017

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NETWORK NEUTRALITY

NOT TOO LATE TO SAVE NN FROM A CAPTURED FCC
[SOURCE: The Nation, AUTHOR: Victor Pickard]
[Commentary] In many ways, network neutrality is a secondary problem. Until we confront core injustices stemming from unregulated monopoly power—which may worsen given the likelihood of massive media mergers—we can’t address issues like slow broadband speeds, outrageously high prices, digital red-lining, and the woeful lack of competition in Internet service markets. Killing net neutrality is a top-down corporate power grab. There’s absolutely no need to repeal it. The protection has tremendous public support. As the Federal Communications Commission serves a narrow corporate agenda, we must find a way to recapture it for the people. The Internet is too valuable to leave to the mercy of monopolies. The battle for net neutrality continues. It’s a battle we can and must win.
[Victor Pickard is an Associate Professor of Communication at the Annenberg School for Communication.]
benton.org/headlines/its-not-too-late-save-net-neutrality-captured-fcc | Nation, The
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BROADBAND INVESTMENT SLOWED BY $5.6B SINCE OPEN INTERNET ORDER
[SOURCE: Free State Foundation, AUTHOR: Michael Horney]
In his address on April 26, Federal Communications Commission Chairman Ajit Pai cited Free State Foundation research estimating that the Open Internet Order "has already cost our country $5.1 billion in broadband capital investment." Just two years after the FCC adopted the Open Internet Order, I estimate that broadband providers significantly slowed investment, despite the claims by the FCC that the opposite would occur. Taking into account the latest USTelecom investment data, I now estimate that foregone investment in 2015 and 2016 was about $5.6 billion, an amount providers likely would have invested in a business climate without Title II public utility regulation.
benton.org/headlines/broadband-investment-slowed-56-billion-open-internet-order | Free State Foundation
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MORE INTERNET/BROADBAND

PAI 100 DAYS SPEECH AT AEI
[SOURCE: Federal Communications Commission, AUTHOR: FCC Chairman Ajit Pai]
In my first 100 days, the Federal Communications Commission adopted 49 items. To put that number in perspective, during the prior two permanent Chairmen’s first 100 days, the Commission adopted 25 and 34 items...I thought it would be helpful this morning to highlight some of the actions we’ve taken and explain how they fit into a broader strategic vision. That vision includes five important goals: closing the digital divide, modernizing our rules, promoting innovation, protecting consumers and public safety, and improving the agency’s operations.
benton.org/headlines/fcc-chairman-ajit-pai-american-enterprise-institute-first-100-days-bringing-benefits | Federal Communications Commission | FCC Bullet List | B&C | The Hill
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PAI: WIRED, WIRELESS BROADBAND APPEAR VERY COMPETITIVE
[SOURCE: Broadcasting&Cable, AUTHOR: John Eggerton]
Federal Communications Commission Chairman Ajit Pai gave definite signals that the FCC may have a different answer the next time it weighs in on whether wireless broadband is a competitor to wired. The FCC under his predecessor consistently said wireless broadband was a potential competitor but not yet one for the purposes of disciplining wired Internet service provider prices. Chairman Pai was asked about that relative competitiveness by host and American Enterprise Institute visiting scholar Jeffrey Eisenach, who was a member of the Trump FCC transition team. Eisenach asked whether Pai thought that wireless is now a substitute for wireline. Chairman Pai said, for him, at least, "they are very competitive offerings." The "for him" is because the chairman is always careful to separate his views from what the FCC as a whole might conclude based on the fact record before it. But he suggested that fact record could be a strong one. Pai said that as 4G LTE and 5G networks get rolled out and the next generation of Wi-Fi is rolled out, "I think we are increasingly going to see that wireless is not this 'imperfect substitute' for wired connections. It is going to be the dominant means, the preferable means, by which people access the internet."
benton.org/headlines/chairman-pai-wired-wireless-broadband-appear-very-competitive-him | Broadcasting&Cable
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PAI INTERVIEW
[SOURCE: Vox, AUTHOR: Tony Romm]
A Q&A with Federal Communications Commission Chairman Ajit Pai. Pai and Tony Romm discussed the future of network neutrality, the role of the FCC in “boring” things like the country’s infrastructure, and the agency's role overseeing telecom giants as they gobble each other up. Asked, "What happens if we have millions and millions of Americans who file comments to the agency opposing the ideas [on net neutrality] that you’ve put forward?" Chairman Pai said, "Well, look, that’s part of the process. I wanted to make sure that we had a chance for the public to have its say. After that’s over, after that period is over, the agency takes stock of what’s in the record. Under the law, as enunciated by the DC Circuit Court of Appeals here, we have to have what’s called substantial evidence. We have to find in the record sufficient facts to justify what course of action we are going to take. There’s no numerical threshold that the courts have applied. They don’t say, “Okay, 51 percent say yes and 49 percent say no, then the decision is clear," or any proportion greater than that. They’ve said substantial evidence is the standard, so that’s the legal standard we’re going to apply going forward."
benton.org/headlines/full-transcript-fcc-chairman-ajit-pai-recode-decode | Vox
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ORIELLY AT ALEC
[SOURCE: Federal Communications Commission, AUTHOR: FCC Commissioner Michael O'Rielly]
The members of the American Legislative Exchange Council can serve an important role as the new Federal Communications Commission seeks to restore free market principles to broadband offerings. Many of you know all too well of the pressure on us to buckle and acquiesce to the whims of the misinformed screaming for Network Neutrality. You likely face it at your respective statehouses as you debate the various matters before you. The “progressive agenda” being pushed in so many settings is really an effort to use government as a means to redistribute hard earned assets from one group of people to favored interests. Do not let your voices go unheard as Net Neutrality advocates slowly, but surely, seek to drag the US economy toward socialism. This debate is just one component in a larger and much more pernicious effort to vanquish capitalism and economic liberty.
benton.org/headlines/remarks-commissioner-orielly-american-legislative-exchange-councils-spring-task-force | Federal Communications Commission | Broadcasting&Cable
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INTERNET ACCESS AS PART OF LIFE, BUT QUALITY CAN VARY
[SOURCE: Quartz, AUTHOR: Mark Surman]
[Commentary] In an ever-connected world, the internet has taken on a fundamental role. While internet access is not quite as essential as clean drinking water, it is starting to get close. Low-quality access often creates a substantial economic and social disadvantage. As Mozilla uncovered through recent research in Kenya, those with low-quality access more frequently fall prey to fake news and phishing than people with better access and more digital skills. They are limited to being content consumers, rather than creators. And, they are more likely to trade personal data for “free” products. Worse, the poorly-connected are already society’s most vulnerable: Low-income individuals with no higher education background. While big tech companies will continue to be a part of the access equation, continued community and government investment in better-quality access is essential. In fact, we should be growing investment in this area.
[Mark Surman is the executive director of Mozilla]
benton.org/headlines/internet-access-essential-part-life-quality-access-can-vary-wildly | Quartz
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SECURITY/PRIVACY

YOU CANNOT ENCRYPT YOUR FACE
[SOURCE: The Atlantic, AUTHOR: Alvaro Bedoya]
[Commentary] From the Boston Tea Party to the printing of Common Sense, the ability to dissent—and to do it anonymously—was central to the founding of the United States. Anonymity was no luxury: It was a crime to advocate separation from the British Crown. It was a crime to dump British tea into Boston harbor. This trend persists. Our history is replete with moments when it was a “crime” to do the right thing, and legal to inflict injustice. The latest crime-fighting tools, however, may eliminate people’s ability to be anonymous. Historically, surveillance technology has tracked our technology: our cars, our computers, our phones. Face recognition technology tracks our bodies. And unlike fingerprinting or DNA analysis, face recognition is designed to identify us from far away and in secret.
[Alvaro Bedoya is the founding executive director of the Center on Privacy & Technology at Georgetown Law. ]
benton.org/headlines/you-cannot-encrypt-your-face | Atlantic, The
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BUDGET

CPB ON CONSOLIDATED APPROPRIATIONS ACT OF 2017
[SOURCE: Corporation for Public Broadcasting, AUTHOR: Patricia Harrison]
The US Congress passed the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2017, which provides $445 million for the Corporation for Public Broadcasting's (CPB) FY 2019 advance appropriation, $50 million for upgrading and replacing the public broadcasting interconnection system and $25.741 million for the Department of Education’s Ready To Learn program. The legislation reaffirms that federal funding for public media is an investment that continues to deliver proven value and service to all Americans. On behalf of the millions of Americans who consume and connect with public media every day, CPB would like to thank Congress for its continued strong support. The federal appropriation provides the foundation of this unique public-private partnership, essential funding for the nearly 1,500 locally owned and operated public television and radio stations across the country. Federal funding ensures that public media serves rural, small town and urban communities alike, and makes possible stations’ service in early childhood education, public safety, connecting citizens to our history, and promoting civil discussions.
benton.org/headlines/corporation-public-broadcasting-statement-consolidated-appropriations-act-2017 | Corporation for Public Broadcasting
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WIRELESS

COMCAST-CHARTER
[SOURCE: Wall Street Journal, AUTHOR: Dana Mattioli, Shalini Ramachandran]
Apparently, Comcast and Charter will announce a wireless partnership, agreeing not to make a material merger or acquisition in wireless without the other’s consent for one year. That agreement could stoke Wall Street speculation among investors and analysts that the two largest U.S. cable companies together could decide to make a play for a carrier like T-Mobile US or Sprint. Neither company as a single entity could buy another wireless carrier for that time period as a result of that agreement without the other’s blessing or involvement.
benton.org/headlines/comcast-charter-strike-wireless-partnership | Wall Street Journal
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REGULATION

GOP AND THE CRA
[SOURCE: Politico, AUTHOR: Alex Guillén]
President Donald Trump’s inauguration gave congressional Republicans a once-in-a-generation opportunity to erase a spate of late Obama-era regulations — and they used it to make a significant dent before the legislative window closes in the coming week. Since February, Republicans have used a once-obscure 1996 law to quash 13 "midnight" regulations on topics such as coal mining pollution, gun rights, internet privacy, Planned Parenthood funding, retirement savings and even bear hunting in Alaska. A 14th rule-blocking resolution is heading toward Trump’s desk, and GOP lawmakers hope to kill at least one more rule, on methane pollution, before the clock runs out May 11.
benton.org/headlines/gop-onslaught-obamas-midnight-rules-comes-end | Politico
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STORIES FROM ABROAD

HOW PUBLIC PARTICIPATION SAVED CANADAS INTERNET
[SOURCE: Free Press, AUTHOR: Cynthia Khoo]
[Commentary] In addition to the US, Canada was also all abuzz with Network Neutrality news last week, and for the completely opposite reason: Our communications regulator, the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC), released a landmark decision that planted a flag for Net Neutrality, bolstering the future of online innovation, competition and affordable choice and allowing residents to meaningfully participate in today’s digital society. There are two key takeaways from this decision that should give Net Neutrality advocates and internet users in the United States some hope: First, public input was crucial to this victory.Over 55,000 people made their views known to the Commission in one way or another, and the CRTC took note. Second, persistence pays off. This fight isn’t a sprint or a marathon. It’s more like an obstacle course where you emerge exhausted and covered in mud — but know the effort was worth it. There’s always another battle to struggle through, but each one still takes you forward, even if it doesn’t seem like it at the time.
[Cynthia Khoo is a Toronto-based lawyer working on internet policy and digital rights, including acting as external counsel to OpenMedia.]
benton.org/headlines/how-public-participation-saved-canadas-internet | Free Press
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May 2017

Interview with News Voices: New Jersey Director Mike Rispoli

ProPublica: How We’re Learning To Do Journalism Differently in the Age of Trump

AEI: Why free data should be an essential part of health care

May 8, 2017 (It’s Not Too Late)

GOP onslaught on Obama’s ‘midnight rules’ comes to an end

Comcast, Charter to Strike Wireless Partnership

Bruce Kushnick: AT&T, ALEC, FCC. The FCC’s plans are based on AT&T’s Petition, which is from ALEC Model Legislation

Bruce Kushnick: FCC Commissioner O’Rielly Tells ALEC to Help Squash Net Neutrality

Francis Ford Coppola wrote a letter to FCC Chairman Pai urging him not to repeal the agency’s net neutrality rules

Sinclair Is Said to Be Near a Deal for Tribune Media