October 2017

COMMUNICATIONS & DEMOCRACY

TRUMP THREATENS FCC
[SOURCE: CNN, AUTHOR: Oliver Darcy, Brian Stelter]
President Donald Trump suggested that media companies which report critically on him should be punished by having their television station licenses revoked. In a tweet, the President decried the supposed "fake news coming out of NBC and the Networks." He asked, "At what point is it appropriate to challenge their License? Bad for country!" President Trump seems to have been furious over an NBC News report that said he wanted a tenfold increase in the US' nuclear arsenal. He claimed the story was "pure fiction" and "made up to demean." Trump's veiled threat may contribute to the increasingly-chilly atmosphere journalists in the US are working under during his Administration. But his threat is essentially toothless. First of all, there is no single license for NBC or any other national television network. Licenses are granted to individual local stations -- and NBC doesn't even own most of the stations that broadcast its content across the country. And it is extremely unusual for any station's license to be taken away for any reason, much less for a political vendetta. The licenses for local television stations are subject to review by the Federal Communications Commission every eight years. It would not be possible for President Trump or his allies to challenge all of the licenses held by NBC in one fell swoop. Individuals who reside in the areas the local channel airs would have to submit complaints to the FCC.
benton.org/headlines/president-trump-threatens-nbc-over-critical-coverage | CNN | Washington Post | The Hill | Vox | Broadcasting&Cable | Preet Bharara
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TRUMP: 'DISGUSTING' PRESS ABLE TO WRITE WHATEVER IT WANTS
[SOURCE: The Hill, AUTHOR: Jonathan Easley]
President Donald Trump said it is "disgusting the press is able to write whatever it wants to write" during remarks from the Oval Office, with Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau sitting by his side. Presdent Trump was asked about a report from NBC News that claimed he’d sought to dramatically expand the US nuclear arsenal. President Trump called the report “fake news” and said a ten-fold increase in the US nuclear arsenal would be “totally unnecessary” and that he merely wants US weapons programs to be in “tip top shape.” “It is frankly disgusting the press is able to write whatever it wants to write,” President Trump said. When asked, he said "no," he would not seek to limit what the press writes. "The press should speak more honestly," he said. "I've seen tremendously dishonest press. It's not even a question of distortion. Like the question that was just asked before about 10 times the nuclear capablity. I know the capability we have, believe me, and it is awesome. It is massive. So when they make up stories like that, that's just made up, and the generals will tell you that. And then they have sources that don't exist, they don't exist. They make up the sources. There are no sources."
benton.org/headlines/president-trump-disgusting-press-able-write-whatever-it-wants | Hill, The | WaPo Video
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PRESIDENT TRUMP THREATENS NETWORKS
[SOURCE: Los Angeles Times, AUTHOR: Noah Bierman, Brian Bennett]
President Donald Trump has threatened press freedoms before, but on Oct 11 he went a step further: suggesting that television networks lose their federal broadcast licenses for what he considers “fake news.” In comments to reporters in the Oval Office, President Trump said, “It is frankly disgusting the way the press is able to write whatever they want to write, and people should look into it.” The remarks alarmed 1st Amendment advocates for suggesting the use of government power to punish the media, recalling for many the threats of President Richard Nixon. “The founders of our nation set as a cornerstone of our democracy the 1st Amendment, forever enshrining and protecting freedom of the press," said Gordon Smith, president of the National Association of Broadcasters and a former Republican senator from Oregon. “It is contrary to this fundamental right for any government official to threaten the revocation of an FCC license simply because of a disagreement with the reporting of a journalist,” he said. Asked whether there should be limits on what journalists can write, President Trump softened his tone. “No. The press should speak more honestly,” he said. “I’ve seen tremendously dishonest press. It’s not even a question of distortion.”
benton.org/headlines/president-trump-threatens-networks-saying-its-disgusting-way-press-able-write-whatever | Los Angeles Times | The Hill
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STATIONS AREN’T SAFE
[SOURCE: The Wrap, AUTHOR: Susan Seager]
President Trump’s threat to pull NBC’s license doesn’t make sense for a lot of reasons — starting with the fact that NBC doesn’t have a license to begin with. But it is still alarming to news outlets, because federal regulations aren’t clear about whether federal regulators can intervene to stop “fake” news. You might assume the First Amendment protects all reporting. But current Federal Communications Commission language leaves open the possibility of government intervention, under certain narrow conditions. “The president has no authority to direct the FCC to revoke a broadcast license,” said former Federal Communications Commission lawyer Robert Corn-Revere. “The FCC is an independent regulatory agency.” But presidents can still exert influence — especially since they appoint all five FCC commissioners. And the FCC may exert influence, too. But no one can say for sure how heavy its hand might be. The FCC states on its website that it will investigate stations accused of deliberately distorting the news, but that the burden of proof is high. The commission says it will generally not intervene in cases in which viewers believe stations have “aired inaccurate or one-sided news reports or comments, covered stories inadequately, or overly dramatized the events that they cover” because “it would be inconsistent with the First Amendment to replace the journalistic judgment of licensees with our own.” The FCC’s policy on intentional “distortion” is a troubling one for television companies, according to Mark Schnieder, a former FCC lawyer and adjunct law professor at Georgetown University Law School.
benton.org/headlines/president-trump-cant-pull-nbcs-license-doesnt-mean-stations-are-safe | Wrap, The
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NBC NEWS DEFENDS TRUMP NUKE STORY AFTER WH DENIAL
[SOURCE: The Hill, AUTHOR: John Bowden]
NBC News is defending its report that President Donald Trump wanted a massive expansion of the US nuclear arsenal after Defense Secretary James Mattis pushed back on those claims. Courtney Kube, a national security producer for NBC News, said the report never said President Trump "called for" more nuclear weapons, rather only that he "said he wanted more." NBC reported earlier Oct 11 that Trump suggested dramatically expanding the country's nuclear capabilities — from roughly 4,000 to 32,000 warheads — after seeing data that showed the US weapons stockpile decreasing from that level since the 1960s. Defense Secretary James Mattis in a statement hit back at the NBC report, saying President Trump never "called for" an increase in the nuclear arsenal. "Recent reports that the President called for an increase in the U.S. nuclear arsenal are absolutely false. This kind of erroneous reporting is irresponsible,” Sec Mattis said.
benton.org/headlines/nbc-news-defends-trump-nuke-story-after-white-house-denial | Hill, The
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SEN MARKEY ASKS CHAIRMAN PAI TO REJECT TRUMP
[SOURCE: US Senate, AUTHOR: Sen Ed Markey (D-MA)]
Senator Edward J. Markey (D-MA) called on Federal Communications Commission Chairman Ajit Pai to reject any efforts by President Donald Trump or his administration to infringe on the First Amendment or undermine the independence of the FCC. On Oct 11, President Trump tweeted, “[w]ith all of the Fake News coming out of NBC and the Networks, at what point is it appropriate to challenge their License? Bad for country!” In his letter, Sen Markey asks Chairman Pai to provide any correspondence or communications from the White House or other members of the Trump administration that have encouraged the FCC to take action against a broadcaster.
benton.org/headlines/senator-markey-calls-fcc-reject-trump-threats-revoke-nbc-broadcast-license-undermine-fcc | US Senate
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BACKLASH SWIFT AFTER TRUMP TWEET ON NBC
[SOURCE: The Hill, AUTHOR: Harper Neidig]
President Donald Trump’s suggestion that NBC should potentially have its broadcast license challenged has prompted a wave of condemnation from both sides of the aisle, with many saying that such a move would violate the First Amendment. “The president’s threat against NBC and other media outlets is far from empty,” said Sen Brian Schatz (D-HI), referencing a similar proposal from President Nixon, who wanted to crack down on the Washington Post. “In confirmation hearings for Ajit Pai, we raised this possibility,” Sen Schatz said. “Now, the FCC must show that it is loyal to the law, not the president, and make clear that it rejects this kind of interference.” “This threat alone could intimidate the press and lead to skewed and unfair reporting,” said House Commerce Committee Ranking Member Frank Pallone, Jr. (D-NJ). “I therefore call on FCC Chairman Ajit Pai to immediately condemn this unwarranted attack. I also call on the Chair to announce publicly that he will not follow through on his orders from the President. Chairman Pai should not act in any way to undermine free speech on our airwaves.”
benton.org/headlines/backlash-swift-after-president-trump-tweet-nbc | Hill, The | Broadcasting&Cable
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TRUMP NBC THREAT DENOUNCED BY COPPS, SIKES
[SOURCE: The Wrap, AUTHOR: Jon Levine]
Two former commissioners with the Federal Communications Commission threw cold water on President Donald Trump’s suggestion to “challenge” the broadcast licenses of networks over news reports he considers to be “fake” and “bad for country.” “To me it’s just incomprehensible that because of the content of NBC News that somehow their license would be at risk,” said Alfred Sikes, a Republican who chaired the FCC under President George H.W. Bush. “Any kind of action would require a majority of commissioners and I find it very, very unlikely that based on arguments about the foundations of NBC News content that those licenses would be put up for review,” he added. Michael Copps, a Democrat who served as FCC commissioner from 2001 to 2011, was similarly disturbed by President Trump’s tweet, which followed criticism of a series of NBC News reports critical of his administration and whose facts he disputed. “If such a threat were carried out it would be a blatantly unacceptable intervention in the jurisdiction of an independent federal agency,” said Copps. “It would have a chilling effect not just on NBC but maybe even worse, small and independent stations who might not have the resources of NBC to fight back such an effort.”
benton.org/headlines/blatantly-unacceptable-trumps-threat-nbc-license-denounced-2-ex-fcc-commissioners | Wrap, The
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IS SOCIAL MEDIA A THREAT TO DEMOCRACY?
[SOURCE: Omidyar Group, AUTHOR: Anamitra Deb, Stacy Donohue, Tom Glaisyer]
It is becoming increasingly apparent that fundamental principles underlying democracy—trust, informed dialogue, a shared sense of reality, mutual consent, and participation—are being put to the test by certain features and attributes of social media. As technology companies increasingly achieve financial success by monetizing public attention, it is worth examining some of the key issues and unintended consequences arising as a result. The six key issues are:
Echo chambers, polarization, and hyper-partisanship
Spread of false and/or misleading information
Conversion of popularity into legitimacy
Manipulation by “populist” leaders, governments, and fringe actors
Personal data capture and targeted messaging/advertising
Disruption of the public square
benton.org/headlines/social-media-threat-democracy | Omidyar Group | Washington Post
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SHOULD FB AND TWITTER BE REGULATED UNDER FIRST AMENDMENT?
[SOURCE: Wired, AUTHOR: Lincoln Caplan]
[Commentary] Are social media platforms like Twitter subject to the First Amendment? Is there a right to free speech on social media owned by private corporations? The Knight First Amendment Institute thinks so. In July, the institute sued the president, his director of social media, and his press secretary to unblock the blocked. By banning these users based on views they expressed about tweets by the president, the Institute argues, Trump violated the users’ right to free speech because the blocks were based on disagreement with the users’ messages. Two weeks ago, as part of this litigation, lawyers for the president acknowledged that he personally blocked the Twitter users “because the Individual Plaintiffs posted tweets that criticized the president or his policies”—what free speech law calls “viewpoint discrimination.” In places where the First Amendment applies—such as public forums—it bars the government or its officials from such bias....As it stands, the country’s libertarian conception of free speech is allowing, and even ferociously feeding, an erosion of the democracy it is supposed to be essential in making work—and some government regulation of speech on social media may be required to save it.
[Lincoln Caplan is the Truman Capote Visiting Lecturer in Law at Yale Law School ]
benton.org/headlines/should-facebook-and-twitter-be-regulated-under-first-amendment | Wired
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FCC REFORM

FCC REAUTHORIZATION BILL REFERRED TO FULL COMMITTEE
[SOURCE: Multichannel News, AUTHOR: John Eggerton]
The House Communications Subcommittee on Oct 11 marked up a bipartisan discussion draft of legislation reauthorizing the Federal Communications Commission and made short work of it, voting unanimously to refer the draft to the full House Commerce Committee and taking less than a half hour to do it. It will be the first reauthorization of the agency in more than 25 years. Reauthorization is a chance to legislate various changes in how the FCC does business, including process reforms and, in one particular instance broadcasters are following closely, how it repacks TV stations post-auction. One reason for the smooth sailing is that some amendments will not be introduced until the full committee mark-up and the various provisions already in the draft include bills backed by Democratic Reps, including boosting public safety, wireless coverage data collection, cybersecurity, and bipartisan FCC process reform language that has twice passed the House. Rep Anna Eshoo's (D-CA) FCC Collaboration Act is also included, which would allow more than two commissioners to meet outside of public meetings so long as certain sunshine criteria are met. "I don’t know how many [times] I have introduced that in," Rep Eshoo said. "Maybe this is the magic year for that." Citing some of those provisions, Full Committee Ranking Member Frank Pallone (D-NJ) said in his opening statement that the draft was "a good first start," but added, "We still have critical work to do before I can support reporting this bill out of the full committee." Rep Mike Doyle (D-PA) said the bill was a good-faith, bipartisan effort by the majority, but also said it needed improving. That mark-up is likely to be longer and more contentious.
benton.org/headlines/fcc-reauthorization-bill-referred-full-committee | Multichannel News | Initial Press Release
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INTERNET/BROADBAND

10GBPS IN DOCSIS UPDATE
[SOURCE: ars technica, AUTHOR: Jon Brodkin]
Cable Internet with download and upload speeds of 10Gbps may eventually come to American homes thanks to a new specification for higher-speed, symmetrical data transmissions. The industry's R&D consortium, CableLabs, announced that it has completed the Full Duplex Data Over Cable Service Interface Specification, an update to DOCSIS 3.1. The completion of the 10Gbps full duplex spec comes 18 months after the project was unveiled. The completion of the spec doesn't mean you'll suddenly be getting multi-gigabit uploads and downloads, as commercial deployments may be at least a couple of years away and may not initially provide the maximum speeds allowed by the spec. The initial version of DOCSIS 3.1 was announced in 2013 and allowed 10Gbps downloads and 1Gbps uploads, but the first modems weren't certified until early 2016, and real-world implementations are still catching up. Comcast last year began offering gigabit download speeds over cable using DOCSIS 3.1, but the service limited uploads to 35Mbps. Comcast's only symmetrical gigabit service uses fiber-to-the-home instead of cable, as fiber technologies have supported symmetrical transmissions at gigabit speeds for years.
benton.org/headlines/10gbps-cable-internet-uploads-and-downloads-coming-docsis-update | Ars Technica
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SECURITY/PRIVACY

HOW ISRAEL CAUGHT RUSSIAN HACKERS SCOURING WORLD FOR US SECRETS
[SOURCE: New York Times, AUTHOR: Nicole Perlroth, Scott Shane]
It was a case of spies watching spies watching spies: Israeli intelligence officers looked on in real time as Russian government hackers searched computers around the world for the code names of American intelligence programs. What gave the Russian hacking, detected more than two years ago, such global reach was its improvised search tool — antivirus software made by a Russian company, Kaspersky Lab, that is used by 400 million people worldwide, including by officials at some two dozen American government agencies. The Israeli officials who had hacked into Kaspersky’s own network alerted the United States to the broad Russian intrusion, which has not been previously reported, leading to a decision in Sept to order Kaspersky software removed from government computers. The Russian operation, described by multiple people who have been briefed on the matter, is known to have stolen classified documents from a National Security Agency employee who had improperly stored them on his home computer, on which Kaspersky’s antivirus software was installed. What additional American secrets the Russian hackers may have gleaned from multiple agencies, by turning the Kaspersky software into a sort of Google search for sensitive information, is not yet publicly known.
benton.org/headlines/how-israel-caught-russian-hackers-scouring-world-us-secrets | New York Times
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DREAMWORKS AND THE DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE
[SOURCE: ars technica, AUTHOR: Cyrus Farivar]
Chief Judge Robert Morin of the District of Columbia Superior Court ruled largely in favor of DreamHost, saying that the Department of Justice overstepped when it initially sought 1.3 million IP addresses that were logged at a website that helped organize nationwide protests against President Donald Trump on his inauguration day. Federal authorities had initially obtained a warrant against DreamHost, the host of the disruptj20.org site, as part of its investigation into rioting and other violence on January 20, 2017. The ruling comes less than two months after government lawyers told the court it didn’t mean to seek so many IP addresses after all. Under new guidelines, DreamHost will not have to provide IP addresses or any other identifying information unless the government can show that a particular person was involved in alleged criminal behavior. Judge Morin ruled that while the DOJ could execute its warrant, "it does not have the right to rummage through the information contained on DreamHost's website and discover the identity of, or access communications by, individuals not participating in alleged criminal activity, particularly those who were engaging in protected First Amendment activities."
benton.org/headlines/court-significantly-reins-what-data-anti-trump-website-must-give-feds | Ars Technica
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ADVERTISING

HOW FB REWARDS POLARIZING POLITICAL ADS
[SOURCE: The Verge, AUTHOR: Casey Newton]
As the debate intensifies around Russian ad buys in the US election, a fundamental aspect of Facebook’s platform has gone mostly overlooked. Facebook’s auction-based system rewards ads that draw engagement from users by making them cheaper, serving them to more users for less money. But the mechanics that apply to commercial ads apply to political ones as well. Facebook has created a powerful system that dynamically, and unpredictably, changes the prices of political ads. The system also encourages polarization by incentivizing ads that users are predisposed to agree with. Unless Facebook makes its internal data public, it’s impossible to say which ads reach which audiences, or how much candidates spend to reach them.
benton.org/headlines/how-facebook-rewards-polarizing-political-ads | Verge, The
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POLICYMAKERS

TRUMP TO NOMINATE KIRSTJEN NIELSEN AS DHS SEC
[SOURCE: Politico, AUTHOR: Eliana Johnson, Andrew Restuccia, Daniel Lippman]
The White House announced that President Donald Trump will nominate Kirstjen Nielsen to run the Department of Homeland Security. Nielsen served as White House chief of staff John Kelly’s top aide during his time as DHS secretary and moved with him to the West Wing as his principal deputy chief of staff when he was appointed in July, leaving the Cabinet post vacant. Nielsen, 45, is a cybersecurity expert and an attorney with an extensive background in homeland security, including stints at the Transportation Security Administration and on the White House Homeland Security Council under President George W. Bush.
benton.org/headlines/president-trump-nominate-kellys-white-house-deputy-dhs-secretary | Politico
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PAI PRAISES REAGAN
[SOURCE: Federal Communications Commission, AUTHOR: FCC Chairman Ajit Pai]
As the Chairman of the Federal Communications Commission, I have a special interest in the progress that was made in communications and technology policy during the Reagan Administration. It was an executive order signed by President Reagan that first made the Pentagon’s Global Positioning (GPS) system available for civilian use. FCC Chairmen who served during the Reagan Administration were incredible leaders and visionaries. Mark Fowler and Dennis Patrick each did a fantastic job leading the agency. They moved aggressively to eliminate unnecessary rules and implement President Reagan’s deregulatory philosophy. They set a high bar for those who came after them—and I strive for that bar every day. The Reagan FCC eliminated the so-called Fairness Doctrine. This misnamed government dictate suppressed the discussion of controversial issues on our nation’s airwaves and was an affront to the First Amendment. The Reagan FCC also built the political foundation for auctioning licenses to spectrum—a free-market innovation blasted back then and widely accepted today. The Reagan FCC introduced “price cap” regulation, reducing government’s role in micromanaging profits and increasing consumer welfare. And the Reagan FCC set the stage for much of the innovation that we see today. In 1985, for example, it had the foresight to set aside what were generally thought to be “junk” airwaves for anybody to use—what we call “unlicensed” spectrum. And entrepreneurs put it to work. Thanks to the FCC’s vision, we now use unlicensed services every day, every time we access Wi-Fi or use Bluetooth or check a baby monitor. Consider this 1985 quote from Mark Fowler, President Reagan’s first FCC Chairman—a quote that applies today: “We want to eliminate, as much as we can, government regulation of the telecommunications marketplace so as to permit present players to provide new and innovative services to consumers and likewise permit new players to come in and compete.” That’s basically our approach today.
benton.org/headlines/chairman-pai-remarks-reagan-presidential-library | Federal Communications Commission
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October 2017

Sandberg: Russian ads should 'absolutely' be released

Facebook’s Sheryl Sandberg criticizes Twitter over political ad censorship

Amazon wants to hire 120,000 U.S. workers for the holidays

GAO Report: 2020 Census

NAB to FCC: ATSC 3.0 Future Is Now

To Teach Digital Citizenship Effectively, Educators Say It’s Time to Unblock Social Media

October 7-13, 2017

Weekly Digest

A New Salvo in President Trump’s Offensive on the Free Press

Benton Foundation Saddened U.S. is Leaving UNESCO

October 12, 2017 (Frankly Disgusting)

President Trump threatens networks, saying it's 'disgusting the way the press is able to write whatever they want'