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  2. June 2017

June 2017

Rep Nunes-led House Intelligence Committee asked for ‘unmaskings’ of Americans

The Republican-controlled House Intelligence Committee asked US spy agencies late in 2016 to reveal the names of US individuals or organizations contained in classified intelligence on Russia’s meddling in the 2016 election, engaging in the same practice that President Donald Trump has accused the Obama Administration of abusing, current and former officials said. The chairman of the committee, Rep Devin Nunes (R-CA), has since cast the practice of “unmasking” of US individuals and organizations mentioned in classified reports as an abuse of surveillance powers by the outgoing Obama Administration.

President Trump has argued that investigators should focus their attention on former officials leaking names from intelligence reports, rather than whether the Kremlin coordinated its activities with the Trump campaign, an allegation he has denied. “The big story is the ‘unmasking and surveillance’ of people that took place during the Obama administration,” Trump tweeted June 1.

British Prime Minister Theresa May calls for internet regulation after violent attack

British Prime Minister Theresa May is calling for tighter internet regulation in the wake of a deadly terror attack in and around London Bridge. The British PM said in a statement that technology serves as a breeding ground for terrorism and extremism. “We cannot allow this ideology the safe space it needs to breed,” May said. “Yet that is precisely what the internet and big companies that provide internet-based services provide. We need to do everything we can at home to reduce the risks of extremism online.”

May called on democratic governments to “reach international agreements that regulate cyberspace to prevent the spread of extremist and terrorism planning.” A UK parliamentary report from May alleges that social media companies have prioritized profit margins at the expense of the public’s safety by giving home to illegal content.

June 5, 2017 (DC Appeals Court Puts UHF Discount on Hold)

BENTON'S COMMUNICATIONS-RELATED HEADLINES for MONDAY, JUNE 5, 2017

This week’s events https://www.benton.org/calendar/2017-06-04--P1W

OWNERSHIP
   Sinclair-Tribune Merger Faces Roadblock as Court Puts Hold on FCC Station Ownership Rule
   FCC to Court: UHF Stay Request Flunks Tests

COMMUNICATIONS & DEMOCRACY
   White House orders agencies to ignore Democrats’ oversight requests
   Media groups call for congressional investigation of Gianforte over 'body slam' [links to Benton summary]
   Democrats cry foul as House intelligence chairman issues ‘unmasking’ subpoenas [links to Washington Post]
   Rep Pelosi: Rep Nunes violating recusal in Russia probe [links to Hill, The]
   Recapping the “Can Technology Rescue Democracy” Essay Series at The Atlantic [links to Technology Academics Policy]

INTERNET/BROADBAND
   Heading Together Toward the Future - Chairman Pai blog [links to Benton summary]
   FCC to Court: FTC Common Carrier Exemption Is Activity Based [links to Benton summary]
   President Trump to leave infrastructure out of tax reform [links to Hill, The]
   ISPs denied entry into apartment buildings could get help from FCC [links to Benton summary]
   NCTA Pushes FCC for Opt-Out Electronic Notifications [links to Benton summary]
   A Technical Issue Made People Think Comcast Had Brought on the Post-Net Neutrality Apocalypse [links to Vice]
   The world is running out of domain names—what will we do when they’re all gone? [links to Quartz]

JOURNALISM
   New NJ bill would create fund for local journalism [links to USAToday]
   This Is Your Chance, New Jersey [links to Free Press]
   Op-Ed: It’s Time For Cable News To Unplug The White House Press Briefings [links to Huffington Post]
   Facebook shareholders are not happy with how it’s handling fake news [links to Washington Post]
   Charity doubles as a profit stream at the Daily Caller News Foundation [links to Washington Post]

SECURITY/PRIVACY
   The BROWSER Act: A privacy misstep - AEI op-ed [links to Benton summary]

TELECOM
   FTC Obtains Court Judgments Against California-based Robocallers Who Placed Billions of Illegal Calls [links to Federal Trade Commission]
   After bomb threats, FCC proposes letting police unveil anonymous callers [links to Benton summary]

ADVERTISING
   Google prepares publishers for the release of Chrome ad-blocking [links to Benton summary]

CONTENT
   Chatbots move public sector towards artificial intelligence [links to Brookings]

ENERGY
   Tech world blasts withdrawal from Paris agreement [links to Hill, The]

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OWNERSHIP

SINCLAIR-TRIBUNE MERGER FACES ROADBLOCK
[SOURCE: Variety, AUTHOR: Ted Johnson]
The DC Circuit Court of Appeals put on hold the Federal Communications Commission’s plans to restore a key media ownership rule that allowed major station groups to expand through mergers and acquisitions. The ruling could prove to be a roadblock to Sinclair Broadcast Group’s pending $3.9 billion acquisition of Tribune Media TV stations. The court issued a stay to the FCC’s decision in April to restore the so-called UHF discount, which has allowed major media companies to exceed restrictions on the number of stations that they can own. The court said that the stay will give them an opportunity to review the merits of the case. Apparently, the temporary stay granted on June 1 extends through June 7, and the real test will come next week after the review is completed by a three-judge panel.
benton.org/headlines/sinclair-tribune-merger-faces-roadblock-court-puts-hold-fcc-station-ownership-rule | Variety | Broadcasting&Cable
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FCC TO COURT: UHF STAY REQUEST FLUNKS TESTS
[SOURCE: Broadcasting&Cable, AUTHOR: John Eggerton]
Federal Communications Commission lawyers have told a DC federal court that opponents of the April 20 decision to reinstate the UHF discount have not met the high bar for an emergency stay of that decision. The discount means that UHF TV station ownership only counts for half of their audience reach toward the 39% national ownership cap. The US Court of Appeals for the DC Circuit has granted an administrative stay of the June 5 effective date of the return of the discount but only so it can review the FCC's defense to an emergency stay request sought by opponents of the decision and the response from those opponents, which include Free Press and Prometheus. In opposing the emergency stay, the FCC says the commission simply concluded the agency had erred in a previous order—under then-chairman Tom Wheeler—that repealed the discount without also adjusting the cap. It did grandfather ownership groups for which the change would have pushed them over the 39% limit, though that grandfathering would not extend to sales of those stations.
benton.org/headlines/fcc-court-uhf-stay-request-flunks-tests | Broadcasting&Cable
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COMMUNICATIONS & DEMOCRACY

WH ORDERS AGENCIES TO IGNORE DEMOCRATS' OVERSIGHT REQUESTS
[SOURCE: Politico, AUTHOR: Burgess Everett, Josh Dawsey]
The White House is telling federal agencies to blow off Democratic lawmakers' oversight requests, as Republicans fear the information could be weaponized against President Donald Trump. At meetings with top officials for various government departments this spring, Uttam Dhillon, a White House lawyer, told agencies not to cooperate with such requests from Democrats, according to Republican sources inside and outside the administration. It appears to be a formalization of a practice that had already taken hold, as Democrats have complained that their oversight letters requesting information from agencies have gone unanswered since January, and the Trump administration has not yet explained the rationale. The declaration amounts to a new level of partisanship in Washington, where the president and his administration already feels besieged by media reports and attacks from Democrats. The idea, Republicans said, is to choke off the Democratic congressional minorities from gaining new information that could be used to attack the president.
benton.org/headlines/white-house-orders-agencies-ignore-democrats-oversight-requests | Politico
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Heading Together Toward the Future

As we move from the networks of today to those of tomorrow, the Federal Communications Commission wants to work collaboratively with everyone affected—particularly Tribal partners. That’s why, later in June, I’ll hit the road to discuss this transition with Tribal Nations. Some FCC coworkers and I have been kindly invited to attend the Mid-Year Session of the National Conference of American Indians (NCAI), which is the “oldest, largest, and most representative American Indian and Alaska Native organization” serving Tribal interests. We’ll be participating in consultation sessions with a number of Tribes (and in addition to these NCAI sessions, dedicated FCC staff are already doing outreach to Tribes on both conference calls and visits to Indian Country).

I believe that the FCC and Tribal Nations share the same goal—ensuring high-speed Internet access to anyone who wants it, while respecting and preserving sites with historic, religious, and cultural significance to Tribes. To achieve this goal, the FCC needs to and wants to exchange perspectives with Tribes on the full range of issues associated with the deployment of wireless broadband infrastructure. I invite the leaders of the 567 federally-recognized Tribes and Native Hawaiian Organizations to join this important conversation.

Media groups call for congressional investigation of Gianforte over 'body slam'

Four press freedom advocacy groups filed an ethics complaint on June 2 against Rep-elect Greg Gianforte (R-MT) for allegedly assaulting a reporter on the eve of Montana's special election. The Society of Professional Journalists, Reporters Without Borders, Free Press Action Fund and PEN America asked the Office of Congressional Ethics (OCE) to investigate whether Rep Gianforte violated House rules by both assaulting Ben Jacobs, a reporter for The Guardian, and by issuing a statement defending his conduct that was contradicted by eyewitness accounts and an audio recording. Gianforte was charged with misdemeanor assault last week on the night before he won the special election to fill Montana’s vacant House seat. Jacobs had tried to ask Gianforte his opinion on the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office analysis of the House GOP’s legislation to partially repeal and replace the health care law.

ISPs denied entry into apartment buildings could get help from FCC

Exclusive deals between broadband providers and landlords have long been a problem for Internet users, despite rules that are supposed to prevent or at least limit such arrangements. The Federal Communications Commission is starting to ask questions about whether it can do more to stop deals that impede broadband competition inside apartment and condominium buildings.

FCC Chairman Ajit Pai released a draft Notice of Inquiry (NOI) that seeks public comment “on ways to facilitate greater consumer choice and to enhance broadband deployment in multiple tenant environments (MTEs).” The commission is scheduled to vote on the NOI at its June 22 meeting, and it would then take public comments before deciding whether to issue new rules or take any other action.

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