October 2017

COMMUNICATIONS & DEMOCRACY

FACEBOOK BUILT VISION OF DEMOCRACY ON BAD MATH
[SOURCE: Wired, AUTHOR: Jason Tanz]
Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg took to Facebook to once more defend himself and his platform. Responding to a cavalierly-tweeted charge of anti-Trump bias from the President of the United States, Zuckerberg again repeated his claim that Facebook was “a platform for all ideas,” and that, contrary to unfolding public opinion, his company did much more to further democracy than to stifle it. These arguments rest on a simple equation: The amount of information that a population shares is directly proportional to the quality of its democracy. And, as a corollary: the more viewpoints that get exposed, the greater the collective empathy and understanding. This is what’s missing from Zuckerberg’s math—the transmutation of information into common myth. We have more data then ever before, but when you put it all together, it doesn’t add up to much.
benton.org/headlines/facebook-built-its-vision-democracy-bad-math | Wired
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CYBERWARFARE

CYBERWARFARE AND KOREA
[SOURCE: Washington Post, AUTHOR: Karen DeYoung, Ellen Nakashima, Emily Rauhala]
Early in his administration, President Donald Trump signed a directive outlining a strategy of pressure against North Korea that involved actions across a broad spectrum of government agencies and led to the use of military cyber-capabilities, according to US officials. As part of the campaign, US Cyber Command targeted hackers in North Korea’s military spy agency, the Reconnaissance General Bureau, by barraging their computer servers with traffic that choked off Internet access. The effects were temporary and not destructive, officials said. Nonetheless, some North Korean hackers griped that lack of access to the Internet was interfering with their work. A senior administration official said, “What I can tell you is that North Korea has itself been guilty of cyberattacks, and we are going to take appropriate measures to defend our networks and systems.”
benton.org/headlines/president-trump-signed-presidential-directive-ordering-actions-pressure-north-korea | Washington Post
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NETWORK NEUTRALITY

ISPS WANT SUPREME COURT TO KILL TITLE II
[SOURCE: ars technica, AUTHOR: Jon Brodkin]
Broadband industry lobby groups have appealed to the US Supreme Court in an attempt to kill the Federal Communications Commission's network neutrality rules. The groups want the Supreme Court to rule that the FCC exceeded its authority when it reclassified Internet providers in order to impose stricter regulations. Such a ruling could prevent future FCCs from implementing net neutrality rules as strict as the current ones, which outlaw blocking, throttling, and paid prioritization. A ruling for the industry could also prevent future FCCs from reviving other consumer protections that are likely to be overturned by the commission's current Republican majority. Lobby groups also allege that the FCC didn't do enough to justify its decision and that it didn't follow the required administrative procedures. But for potential long-term impact, the question of whether the FCC has the authority to classify broadband as a common carrier service is probably more significant. Whether the Supreme Court will actually decide to hear the case is far from certain.
benton.org/headlines/isps-want-supreme-court-kill-title-ii-net-neutrality-rules-now-and-forever | Ars Technica
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WOZNIAK & COPPS
[SOURCE: USAToday, AUTHOR: Steve Wozniak, Michael Copps]
[Commentary] One of us is the inventor of the personal computer, and the other a former commissioner at the Federal Communications Commission. We come from different walks of life, but each of us recognizes that the FCC is considering action that could end the internet as we know it. If FCC Chairman Ajit Pai’s majority permits fast lanes for the biggest internet service providers (ISPs like Comcast, Verizon and AT&T), companies could speed up or slow down the sites and services they prefer. That’ll be great for their business affiliates and corporate friends, but woe to the startup that wants to build the next great web service — it could find itself in the slow lane, unable to compete with established firms. And pity the local blogger who criticizes her ISP’s crummy service — the broadband gatekeeper would be free to slow or silence her. The path forward is clear. The FCC must abandon its ill-conceived plan to end net neutrality. Instead of creating fast lanes for the few, it should be moving all of us to the fast lane by encouraging competition in local broadband connectivity and pushing companies to deliver higher speeds at more affordable prices. It’s the right thing for us as consumers and as citizens.
[Steve Wozniak is a computer engineer who co-founded Apple Computer, Inc. with Steve Jobs. Michael Copps, a member of the Federal Communications Commission from 2001 to 2011, is a special adviser for Common Cause.]
benton.org/headlines/wozniak-copps-ending-net-neutrality-will-end-internet-we-know-it | USAToday
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PAI ACCUSED OF IGNORING INVESTMENT DATA IN PUSH TO END NET NEUTRALITY
[SOURCE: ars technica, AUTHOR: Jon Brodkin]
In his ongoing push to get rid of network neutrality rules, Federal Communications Commission Chairman Ajit Pai claimed in Sept that the rules caused capital investment in wireless networks to drop in 2016. But in doing so, Chairman Pai hasn't addressed data from earlier years that doesn't fit his anti-net neutrality narrative. Chairman Pai beat the drum again this week in the FCC's annual report on wireless competition, which emphasizes the investment drop in 2016. The current net neutrality rules were voted in by the FCC in February 2015 and took effect in June 2015. But investment also dropped between 2013 and 2015, before the current rules were in place, Democratic FCC Commissioner Mignon Clyburn pointed out. "The discussion of investment in the mobile wireless services industry is fundamentally flawed. By highlighting a decrease in investment between 2015 and 2016, this section was clearly written to support the false narrative that the 2015 Open Internet Order deterred wireless carriers from investing in their networks," Commissioner Clyburn said.
benton.org/headlines/chairman-pai-accused-ignoring-investment-data-push-end-net-neutrality | Ars Technica
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EMERGENCY COMMUNICATIONS

HURRICANE VICTIMS SHOULDNT RUN OUT OF CELL MINUTES
[SOURCE: The Atlantic, AUTHOR: Kriston Capps]
The lack of cellular phone service in Puerto Rico right now is contributing to the unfolding humanitarian crisis on the island. “We had consumers that were standing outside the mall, plugging in where they found power, and people were lined up to use their phones, our customers’ phones to make calls,” says Issa Asad, the CEO of Q-Link, a wireless cell provider. Q-Link is the third-largest U.S. provider of Lifeline, a Federal Communications Commission program that provides phones and service to low-income users, which means that the company is extending a vital service to some of the most vulnerable victims of these hurricanes. Emergency 911 calls on Q-Link’s Houston network spiked by 900 percent after Harvey, Asad says. Providing all that free bandwidth comes at a cost for Q-Link, of course. That’s one reason that Asad has proposed that the FCC require Lifeline providers to extend free coverage after disasters—and for the FCC to help out with the costs. “While Q-Link has undertaken these efforts voluntarily, we urge the Commission to consider whether a supplemental allotment of Lifeline support for additional minutes for consumers located in federally declared disaster or emergency areas should be a part of the Commission’s response to future disasters,” reads Asad’s presentation to the FCC, dated September 6. “We feel that the FCC should put a disaster-recovery plan in that enables us to help consumers,” Asad says. “Because right now one doesn’t exist.”
benton.org/headlines/hey-fcc-hurricane-victims-shouldnt-run-out-cell-minutes | Atlantic, The
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OWNERSHIP

HOUSE COMMERCE DEMS TO PAI: ANSWER OUR QUESTIONS ON SINCLAIR
[SOURCE: House of Representatives Commerce Committee, AUTHOR: Press release]
House Commerce Committee Democratic leaders wrote to Federal Communications Commission Chairman Ajit Pai requesting answers to a series of questions that he failed to address in his response to the lawmakers’ August 14th inquiry regarding Sinclair Broadcast Group. The letters focus on reports that Chairman Pai’s actions suggest preferential treatment towards Sinclair, and whether his interactions with the Trump Campaign, Administration, and Sinclair demonstrated inappropriate coordination. The follow-up letter, signed by Commerce Ranking Member Frank Pallone, Jr. (D-NJ), Oversight Subcommittee Ranking Member Diana DeGette (D-CO), and Communications Subcommittee Ranking Member Mike Doyle (D-PA), expresses the lawmakers’ concern that Chairman Pai failed to provide the requested correspondence between his office and Sinclair representatives. Additionally, the lawmakers still have questions about the timing of the reinstatement of the UHF discount rule and the review of the proposed merger between Sinclair and Tribune Media Company, as well as about the adequacy of the initial public comment periods for the proposed merger. “We received your September 8, 2017 letter, and we appreciate the efforts of Commission staff to collect the information included in your response, but the narrative you provided failed to respond to several of our specific questions and raised additional questions,” wrote Pallone, DeGette, and Doyle. “Your failure to provide the requested correspondence between your office and Sinclair representatives is most troubling. We reiterate our request that you provide all correspondence between you and members of your office and representatives of Sinclair, including any lobbyists and lawyers representing Sinclair, since November 8, 2016, regardless of whether it is subject to a FOIA request.”
benton.org/headlines/house-commerce-committee-democrats-fcc-chairman-pai-answer-our-questions-sinclair | House of Representatives Commerce Committee | B&C
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TELEVISION

GAO REPORT ON SET-TOP BOX REGULATION
[SOURCE: US Government Accountability Office, AUTHOR: Mark Goldstein]
Millions of households subscribe to cable, satellite, and telephone companies—known as multichannel video programming distributors (MVPDs)—for television, which is generally delivered via a set-top box attached to a television. Congress directed Federal Communications Commission to adopt regulations to assure a commercial market for devices to access MVPDs, and in February 2016, FCC proposed a rule intended to do so. Many industry stakeholders raised concerns about the proposal's potential effects, and FCC did not issue the proposed rule. This report examines: (1) the role of set-top boxes in accessing video programming content and (2) views of selected stakeholders and experts on the need for FCC regulation regarding set-top boxes and FCC's analysis of such need. GAO analyzed data from a media research group regarding the video market and interviewed 35 industry stakeholders including 12 MVPDs, 5 video content producers, 3 device manufacturers, 12 industry associations, and others; GAO selected stakeholders based on comments filed with FCC on its 2016 proposed rule. GAO also interviewed 11 industry analysts and experts selected based on industry coverage and publications. GAO recommends that FCC conduct a comprehensive analysis of how recent industry changes related to video services affect consumer choice for devices to access video services. The FCC agreed with GAO's recommendation and provided technical comments that GAO incorporated as appropriate.
benton.org/headlines/gao-report-fcc-should-conduct-additional-analysis-evaluate-need-set-top-box-regulation | US Government Accountability Office
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WIRELESS/SPECTRUM

NAB, APPLE DIVERGE OVER IPHONE FM CHIP CAPABILITY
[SOURCE: Broadcasting&Cable, AUTHOR: John Eggerton]
Federal Communications Commission Chairman Ajit Pai's call for Apple to activate the broadcast chips in iPhones has drawn some pushback from Apple suggesting Pai did not know its phones' capabilities, and a response from broadcasters suggesting Apple didn't either. Following Pai's public statement that the chips should be activated for the sake of public safety and accessing lifesaving broadcasts when cell service goes down, Apple suggested Chairman Pai was barking up the wrong tree. "IPhone 7 and iPhone 8 models do not have FM radio chips in them nor do they have antennas designed to support FM signals, so it is not possible to enable FM reception in these products," the company said. But the National Association of Broadcasters, which had celebrated Pai's call for Apple activation, suggested Apple was not shooting straight. "Since 2012 NAB has commissioned quarterly 'tear down' reports from ABI Research on a wide variety of Smartphones to discover their capabilities. ABI’s analysis reveals that every Apple iPhone built during that time, including the iPhone 7, has a chipset that includes support for FM radio," said NAB executive VP, communications, Dennis Wharton. "Apple also continues to sell an iPhone 6S with an FM chip that is not activated, and there are nearly 100 million iPhones in the marketplace with a deactivated FM chip. Like FCC Chairman Pai, we encourage Apple to activate this feature on their future handsets so Americans can have access to lifesaving information during emergency situations, something that many local radio stations provide. We welcome the opportunity to work with Apple to make that happen."
benton.org/headlines/nab-apple-diverge-over-iphone-fm-chip-capability | Broadcasting&Cable
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ADVERTISING
Bowing to the Inevitable, Advertisers Embrace Advocate Role

ADVERTISING AND ADVOCACY
[SOURCE: New York Times, AUTHOR: Sapna Maheshwari]
For decades, advertisers have striven to stay away from any topic that might prove controversial or divisive. Times have changed. The responsibility of companies, particularly advertisers, to advocate on social issues and to provide a moral compass in a fraught political environment came up repeatedly during Advertising Week New York, an annual industry conference in Manhattan. To be sure, advertising is not traditionally seen as a moral arbiter, but American companies are in a new postelection era, when advocating for diversity can be seen as a political statement.
benton.org/headlines/bowing-inevitable-advertisers-embrace-advocate-role | New York Times
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POLICYMAKERS

ONE VOTE COULD STOP INJUSTICE AT THE FCC
[SOURCE: Medium, AUTHOR: Cheryl Leanza]
[Commentary] The week of Oct 2, the Senate has a chance to make a profound difference for the 2.7 million children whose parents are incarcerated. Headlines covered victory after victory as the Federal Communications Commission woke from a 10-year sleep and began adopting rules to protect consumers from paying $17 for a 15-minute phone call to jail and eye-popping fees imposed on families when they deposit money to pay for calls. One federal appointee has changed all that — FCC Chairman Ajit Pai — and his confirmation vote is expected Oct 2. Senators who believe in leaders that follow the rules, act according to their conscience, put low-income people and children first, and who protect the First Amendment above all else should vote against Chairman Pai. Speak out now and call your senator to oppose Chairman Pai’s confirmation.
[Cheryl Leanza is the policy adviser for the United Church of Christ’s Office of Communication, Inc.]
benton.org/headlines/one-vote-could-stop-injustice-federal-communications-commission | Medium
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October 2017

Tension between Trump and the media? That’s nothing compared to journalism’s worst crisis.

Who Will Take Responsibility for Facebook?

Redressing the Privacy Balance for Internet Consumers

DC tech trade association staffs up in Europe

When a journalist is arrested covering a protest, what should the news outlet do

Facebook’s Safety Check page for the Las Vegas shooting promotes “alt-right news”

Facebook is hiring another 1,000 people to review and remove ads

Podcast: Don’t take Silicon Valley’s ‘free speech’ ideals at face value, Ellen Pao says

October 2, 2017 (Bad Math)

President Trump signed presidential directive ordering actions to pressure North Korea