September 2017

EMERGENCY COMMUNICATIONS AND HARVEY

HARVEY AND WEA
[SOURCE: Benton Foundation, AUTHOR: Robbie McBeath]
Hurricane Harvey hit the Texas coast on August 25. The Category 4 storm brought massive rainfall and unprecedented flooding to the Houston area and emergency procedures are underway for what may be the costliest natural disaster in U.S. history. One critical component of rescue operations is maintaining reliable communications networks, a key mission of the Federal Communications Commission. Large-scale crises often reveal the difficulties governments and residents have communicating critical information when networks are at peak use. For years, wireless carriers and policymakers have been debating updates to the Wireless Emergency Alerts (WEA) system, trying to craft policy that would better enable mobile devices to receive geographically-targeted, text-like messages alerting people of imminent threats to safety in their area. Even as first responders are working to rescue people at risk in South Texas, the disaster is returning attention to the WEA debate.
https://www.benton.org/blog/hurricane-harvey-and-wireless-emergency-alerts
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NETWORK NEUTRALITY

NET NEUTRALITY DEBATE FAR FROM DONE
[SOURCE: Motherboard, AUTHOR: Sam Gustin]
The reason why network neutrality is so important—and why this issue remains so fiercely contested—is that it amounts to the free speech principle for the internet. This open access concept is absolutely essential, net neutrality advocates argue, because the entire US economy—and indeed society—is now deeply rooted in internet connectivity. More than that, net neutrality ensures that US democracy will continue to thrive by allowing all voices—even unpopular ones—to be heard. "Net neutrality is what democracy looks like," said Winnie Wong, a veteran political activist involved in Occupy Wall Street, People For Bernie, and the Women's March on Washington. "Without it we can't tell the story of the struggle for social justice. If the government empowers corporate monopolies to dictate how and what we can share online, we'll never be able to advance our vision of racial justice, climate action, and economic equality." With so much at stake, US faith leaders are also getting involved. "An open internet is vital for our organizing efforts here in North Carolina, and around the country," said Rev. Dr. William J. Barber, II, a leading national justice organizer and President of Repairers of the Breach. Facing such strong public opposition to his net neutrality rollback, Federal Communications Commission Chairman Ajit Pai may punt the issue to Congress, which is actually what the nation's largest ISPs want. The broadband industry's real goal, according to many tech policy experts, is to move this battle to the Republican-led US Congress, where deep-pocketed ISPs can lobby to craft internet policy rules that favor themselves. If the ISPs are successful, look for a spirited net neutrality debate this fall featuring Rep. Marsha Blackburn (R-TN). This fight is far from over.
benton.org/headlines/comment-period-over-battle-net-neutrality-aint-done-yet | Motherboard
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COMMENT PERIOD WAS COMPLETE MESS
[SOURCE: Vox, AUTHOR: Jacob Kastrenakes]
After months of debate, protests, and disruptions, the Federal Communications Commission’s comment period on its proposal to kill network neutrality is now over. The commission stopped accepting comments closing out with nearly 22 million total replies — setting an immense new record. The FCC’s previous comment record was just 3.7 million, set during the last net neutrality proceeding. But the process of receiving all those comments was far from smooth this time around. The FCC’s website is fairly confusing. It’s also, apparently, susceptible to spam and other attacks, which we saw at multiple points across the past four months. All the while, the FCC’s chairman has been trying to explain that comments don’t really matter anyway, despite the commission’s requirement to act in the public interest and take public feedback. From the very beginning of the proceeding, FCC leadership laid out that it would be the quality, not the quantity, of the comments that made a difference. On the surface, that’s a reasonable argument, but it’s being set out as an excuse to ignore the overwhelming millions of comments in support of net neutrality in favor of few well-written filings by Comcast and the like. Now that the comment period has ended, the FCC will begin work on a revised version of its proposal, which it will then vote on and quite likely pass, making it official policy. The commission is supposed to factor public input into its revisions — and in fact, much of the original proposal was just a big series of open-ended questions — so it’ll probably be a little while before we see a final draft. It’s entirely possible that the commission will go ahead with its original, bare-bones plan to simply kill net neutrality and leave everything else up to internet providers to sort out. But if the commission does decide to put in place some sort of protections, then we’ll have another debate to run through — one over exactly how effective those rules might be, and exactly how many ways companies can weasel around them.
benton.org/headlines/net-neutrality-comment-period-was-complete-mess | Vox
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APPLE NN COMMENTS
[SOURCE: Vox, AUTHOR: Tony Romm]
Apple is breaking its silence on network neutrality, urging the Trump administration to preserve strong rules that prevent the likes of AT&T, Charter, Comcast and Verizon from blocking or interfering with web traffic. In its new comments to the Federal Communications Commission, the iPhone maker specifically urged FCC Chairman Ajit Pai not to roll back an existing ban against so-called “fast lanes,” which might allow broadband providers someday to charge for faster delivery of tech companies’ movies, music or other content. Apple doesn’t take an explicit position on the Title II legal issue at hand. Instead, Apple only shares its more general views about the need for net neutrality safeguards. “Broadband providers should not block, throttle, or otherwise discriminate against lawful websites and services,” Apple said . “Far from new, this has been a foundational principle of the FCC’s approach to net neutrality for over a decade. Providers of online goods and services need assurance that they will be able to reliably reach their customers without interference from the underlying broadband provider.”
benton.org/headlines/apple-fcc-protect-net-neutrality-and-dont-allow-online-fast-lanes | Vox | Apple's Reply Comments
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HOW THE FCC REDEFINED THE INTERNET
[SOURCE: Wall Street Journal, AUTHOR: Bruce Mehlman]
[Commentary] Is broadband internet an “information service,” as concluded repeatedly over two decades by Democratic and Republican commissioners, or a “telecommunications service” as a partisan majority decreed two years ago? This is a distinction with a profound legal difference under the Telecommunications Act of 1996. Telecommunications services are subject to the same restrictions and government controls that applied to the old Bell monopoly starting in the 1930s. Information services have far more freedom to compete and innovate. The real-world effects of this heavy vs. light regulation are dramatic, and they turn on the question of how consumers use broadband internet. 72% of U.S. adults frequently read or watch news, sports or other content online. Sixty-one percent use search engines; 52% purchase items online, and 48% check or post on social media. Smaller percentages store photos, grocery lists and other items. That broadband internet access that enables these activities is precisely what makes broadband an “information service” under the statute. It is impossible to make use of popular video-rich information applications on today’s internet using old-fashioned dial-up access because of the need for higher speeds and lower latency. Returning to the longstanding light-touch framework will offer many benefits to American consumers and encouraging Congress to do its job and modernize the Telecommunications Act for the broadband era, developing and passing bipartisan legislation that ensures the open internet, protects consumers and maintains investment in the nation’s high-speed broadband networks.
[Bruce Mehlman is a lobbyist for broadband service providers]
benton.org/headlines/how-fcc-redefined-internet | Wall Street Journal
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INTERNET/BROADBAND

FCC PROPOSES TO ‘FIX’ RURAL BROADBAND BY CHANGING THE DEFINITION
[SOURCE: Daily Yonder, AUTHOR: Harold Feld]
[Commentary] At the moment, the Federal Communications Commission defines home “broadband” as providing 25 mbps download and 3 mbps upload (“25/3”). Many communities can only get that speed from a cable provider – assuming they have one that serves their communities. If the FCC discovers that certain identifiable groups of people, like rural Americans, don’t have access to broadband that meets the standard, then the law requires the FCC to take steps to ensure that those left behind get the access they need. FCC Chairman Ajit Pai’s Proposal: Lower the Standard for Broadband So We Can Say Everyone Has Access. Rural Americans who care about getting real broadband not only need to file at the FCC, but also need to contact their Senators and members of Congress. Members of Congress from both parties have made it clear to the FCC that rural Americans continue to lack choices for affordable broadband that meets their needs.
[Harold Feld is senior vice president of Public Knowledge]
benton.org/headlines/fcc-proposes-fix-rural-broadband-changing-definition | Daily Yonder
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TELECOM

DOJ IMPLORES FCC TO COMBAT PRISON CELLPHONE PROBLEM
[SOURCE: Associated Press, AUTHOR: Meg Kinnard]
The US Department of Justice is pressing federal regulators to come up with a way of keeping inmates from using cellphones in the nation's prisons. In a letter, Assistant Attorney General Beth Williams told the Federal Communications Commission that addressing the security threat posed by contraband cellphones "should be a chief priority" of both the FCC and Justice, which oversees the federal Bureau of Prisons. The letter follows an appeal from South Carolina's prisons director to Attorney General Jeff Sessions in June, beseeching the top prosecutor for help pursuing FCC permission to jam cell signals of the phones, which are thrown over fences, smuggled by errant employees, even delivered by drone. A decades-old law says federal officials can grant permission to jam the public airwaves only to federal agencies, not state or local ones. Telecommunications companies are opposed, saying jamming cell signals could set a bad precedent and interfere with legal cell users nearby.
benton.org/headlines/doj-implores-fcc-combat-prison-cellphone-problem | Associated Press
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CABLE

COMCAST SUES VT TO AVOID BUILDING MILES OF CABLE LINES
[SOURCE: ars technica, AUTHOR: Jon Brodkin]
Comcast has sued the state of Vermont to try to avoid a requirement to build 550 miles of new cable lines. Comcast's lawsuit against the Vermont Public Utility Commission (VPUC) was filed Aug 28 in US District Court in Vermont and challenges several provisions in the cable company's new 11-year permit to offer services in the state. One of the conditions in the permit says that "Comcast shall construct no less than 550 miles of line extensions into un-cabled areas during the [11-year] term." Comcast would rather not do that. The company's court complaint says that Vermont is exceeding its authority under the federal Cable Act while also violating state law and Comcast's constitutional rights.
benton.org/headlines/comcast-sues-vermont-avoid-building-550-miles-new-cable-lines | Ars Technica
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FCC REFORM

FCC ANNOUNCES INITIAL LAUNCH OF NATIONAL LIFELINE ELIGIBILITY VERIFIER
[SOURCE: Federal Communications Commission, AUTHOR: Public notice]
By this Public Notice, the Federal Communications Commission announces the states that will be part of the initial launch of the National Lifeline Eligibility Verifier (National Verifier). The Commission established the National Verifier in the 2016 Lifeline Order to make eligibility determinations and perform a variety of other functions necessary to enroll subscribers into the Lifeline program. The National Verifier will verify Lifeline subscriber eligibility, conduct checks to prevent duplicate benefits, recertify subscriber eligibility, and calculate support payments to eligible telecommunications carriers (ETCs). In the 2016 Lifeline Order, the Commission set as an expectation that the Universal Service
Administrative Company (USAC) would deploy the National Verifier in at least five states by December 31, 2017.3 USAC has announced that the National Verifier will launch in six states – Colorado, Mississippi, Montana, New Mexico, Utah, and Wyoming – in December 2017. The National Verifier will have a soft launch date of December 5, 2017, and a hard launch date of March 13, 2018.
benton.org/headlines/fcc-announces-initial-launch-national-lifeline-eligibility-verifier | Federal Communications Commission
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FCC BILL COULD CURTAIL LEGITIMATE COMPLAINTS, CRITICS SAY
[SOURCE: Morning Consult, AUTHOR: Mariam Baksh]
An effort in Congress aimed at cutting down on repeat comments to the Federal Communications Commission’s consumer complaint database could end up limiting legitimate public input, lawmakers and allies say. House Communications Subcommittee Chairman Marsha Blackburn (R-TN) has drafted legislation to reauthorize the FCC, with the measure aimed at increasing transparency at the agency. But while the draft would officially require the agency to keep a database of consumer complaints — something the FCC is already doing and made publicly available last May — it specifically notes that the FCC would not be required to include “duplicative complaints.” The draft legislation language about “duplicative complaints” in the consumer complaint database set off alarm bells for Gigi Sohn, who served as counselor to then-FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler and is currently a fellow at the Institute for Technology Law & Policy at Georgetown University. “That’s not transparent at all,” she said. “If there are 1,000 complaints about something that Verizon or Comcast did, I as a consumer should have a right to see that there are 1,000 complaints.”
benton.org/headlines/fcc-bill-could-curtail-legitimate-complaints-critics-say | Morning Consult
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PHILANTHROPY

HOW GOOGLES MONEY REALLY INFLUENCES RESEARCH
[SOURCE: Fast Company, AUTHOR: Robert Levine]
[Commentary] The think-tank world has come to be dominated by a distinctly modern kind of doublethink, which combines a rational understanding that corporations spend money to influence public policy with an instinctual belief that some of the institutions that benefit from it–often those that employ the thinker or his friends–function with complete independence. The New America Foundation runs several programs, including the Open Technology Institute , which researches issues that affect Google directly. The scholars who work on those projects don’t think of themselves as Google shills, and it’s hard to believe that they significantly changed their opinions in order to secure think-tank gigs. But it’s also hard to believe that their research isn’t affected by the funding that allows them to do the work they do. Which leads us to the other big problem in the think-tank world–how the presence of so much corporate money distorts what work gets funded in the first place.
[Robert Levine is an author and journalist who writes about the media and technology businesses]
benton.org/headlines/heres-how-googles-money-really-influences-research | Fast Company
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LOBBYING

TECH LOBBYING
[SOURCE: Washington Post, AUTHOR: Brian Fung, Hamza Shaban]
A Washington Post analysis shows just how broad tech companies’ interests have become in the nation’s capital. According to corporate disclosures that were submitted to the Senate Office of Public Records and screened by the Center for Responsive Politics, some of these tech giants are regularly setting records in their spending on lobbying and are pushing as many as 100 issues — or more — every year. The proliferation of issues in Silicon Valley's lobbying portfolio helps illustrate the industry's growing influence on everyday consumer life. Most analyses of corporate lobbying focus on spending. And it’s true that Silicon Valley has devoted ever-increasing amounts of money to lobbying over the past decade. But as many longtime Washington hands can attest, lobbying involves much more than simply throwing money at a problem, which is why analyzing the range of issues a company lobbies on can be just as informative. It provides an indication of a company’s policy priorities, and evidence of how a company’s strategy is evolving over time. Lobbying shifts paint the portrait of an industry that’s evolved from its early days of providing new and relatively self-contained services into enormous, market-dominating behemoths that touch almost every aspect of our modern existence.
benton.org/headlines/want-understand-how-dominant-tech-companies-have-become-look-number-issues-they-lobby | Washington Post
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GOOGLE IS LOSING ALLIES ACROSS THE POLITICAL SPECTRUM
[SOURCE: ars technica, AUTHOR: Timothy Lee]
With so many Googlers in government, Google had an outsized influence on policymaking during the Obama years. But today, Google is in a different situation. Most obviously, Executive Chairman Eric Schmidt worked hard to get Hillary Clinton elected president, and Clinton lost. The issues don't end there. Given Silicon Valley's liberal views on social issues and Schmidt's love for Democratic politicians, it was probably inevitable that conservatives would sour on the search giant. But the larger problem for the search giant is that the company has been losing support among Democrats as well. A growing number of liberal thinkers believes that the concentration of corporate power was a major problem in the American economy. And few companies exemplify that concentration more than Google.
benton.org/headlines/google-losing-allies-across-political-spectrum | Ars Technica
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GOVERNMENT PERFORMANCE

FCC’S INSECURE API
[SOURCE: ars technica, AUTHOR: Sean Gallagher]
The Federal Communications Commission's website already gets a lot of traffic—sometimes more than it can handle. But thanks to a weakness in the interface that the FCC published for citizens to file comments on proposed rule changes, there's a lot more interesting—and potentially malicious—content now flowing onto one FCC domain. The system allows just about any file to be hosted on the FCC's site—potentially including malware. The application programming interface (API) for the FCC's Electronic Comment Filing System that enables public comment on proposed rule changes has been the source of some controversy already. It exposed the e-mail addresses of public commenters on network neutrality—intentionally, according to the FCC, to ensure the process' openness—and was the target of what the FCC claimed was a distributed denial of service (DDoS) attack. But as a security researcher has found, the API could be used to push just about any document to the FCC's website, where it would be instantly published without screening. Because of the open nature of the API, an application key can be obtained with any e-mail address. While the content exposed via the site thus far is mostly harmless, the API could be used for malicious purposes as well. Since the API apparently accepts any file type, it could theoretically be used to host malicious documents and executable files on the FCC's Web server.
benton.org/headlines/fcc-apology-shows-anything-can-be-posted-agency-site-using-insecure-api | Ars Technica
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September 2017

iHypocrisy: Non-Neutral, Non-Free, Non-Open Apple Is Now for Net Neutrality

Podcasts are becoming the left’s right-wing talk radio

TV Stations' Hurricane Relief Efforts in Full Force

Charter Commits $1.35M to Hurricane Harvey Relief Efforts

September 1, 2017 (Harvey and Telecom Policy)

How the FCC Redefined the Internet

Want to understand how dominant tech companies have become? Look at the number of issues they lobby on.

What a hurricane tells us about local news

FCC: Hurricane Harvey Communications Recovery Is Mixed Message

FCC Announces the Extension of Disaster Information Reporting System for Hurricane Harvey