October 2017

BENTON'S COMMUNICATIONS-RELATED HEADLINES for WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 4, 2017

Together, Sallet, Riedl, and Benton Working for Fast, Fair, and Open Broadband for All

COMMUNICATIONS & DEMOCRACY
   Jared Kushner's personal email moved to Trump Organization computers amid public scrutiny
   Hundreds of White House e-mails sent to third Kushner family account [links to Benton summary]
   Did Trump’s White House staff break the law by using private email? I asked 7 legal experts. [links to Vox]

ELECTIONS
   Russians took a page from corporate America by using Facebook tool to ID and influence voters
   Hard Questions: Russian Ads Delivered to Congress - Facebook press release [links to Benton summary]
   Russia-Linked Facebook Pages Pushed Divisions After Election, Including on Charlottesville [links to Wall Street Journal]
   Opinion: How we got played by the Russians on Facebook [links to Washington Post]
   Twitter and Facebook haven’t stopped Russia-backed RT from advertising on their websites [links to Vox]

FCC AGENDA
   FCC Announces Tentative Agenda For October 2017 Open Meeting - press release
   Chairman Pai Announces Proposal To Assist Efforts To Restore Communications Networks In Puerto Rico And U.S. Virgin Islands - press release [links to Benton summary]
   Commissioner O'Rielly Statement on the CBRS Notice of Proposed Rulemaking [links to Federal Communications Commission]

INTERNET/BROADBAND
   Why Does Verizon Care About Telephone Poles? - NYT op-ed
   Ajit Pai Is Preserving A World Where The Digital Divide, And ISP Profits, Can Grow - Fast Company op-ed
   Wired: Connecting Equity to a Universal Broadband Strategy - Roosevelt Institute research
   Fred Campbell: Maybe We Should 'End The Internet As We Know It' [links to Forbes]

NET NEUTRALITY
   More Than 80% Of All Net Neutrality Comments Were Sent By Bots, Researchers Say [links to Benton summary]
   For the good of all, Congress must ensure net neutrality - Crain’s Chicago Business op-ed [links to Benton summary]

SECURITY/PRIVACY
   Yahoo says every account — all 3 billion of them — was affected by 2013 breach
   ‘This is a travesty’: Lawmakers grill former Equifax chief executive on breach response [links to Washington Post]
   A series of delays and major errors led to massive Equifax breach [links to Ars Technica]
   Op-ed: Homeland Security searching some social media doesn't violate privacy [links to Hill, The]

CONTENT
   MPAA: Kodi Abusers Are Growing Video Piracy Threat [links to Broadcasting&Cable]
   CDA Section 230’s Asymmetric Accountability Produces Predictable Problems [links to Scott Cleland]
   History tells us that more regulation means less free speech and increased market power - AEI op-ed [links to Benton summary]

WIRELESS/SPECTRUM
   Intelsat, Intel Propose C-Band 5G Solution [links to Benton summary]
   Information Technology Industry Council: National IOT Strategy Dialogue [links to Information Technology Industry Council]
   Comcast Has About 200K Xfinity Mobile Subscribers [links to Multichannel News]

TELECOM
   FCC Proposes $3.9 Million Fine Against Neon Phone Service For Slamming and Cramming - press release [links to Benton summary]

TELEVISION
   ACA to FCC Chairman Pai: Blackouts Are Bad-Faith Bargaining Tactics [links to Benton summary]

OWNERSHIP
   Washington failed to regulate Big Tech—and now it’s about to discover that it can’t [links to Benton summary]
   Google critic Barry Lynn takes on tech giants [links to Benton summary]
   No, a T-Mobile-Sprint merger wouldn’t be good for consumers [links to Benton summary]

JOURNALISM
   Google and Facebook Failed Us
   History proves how dangerous it is to have the government regulate fake news - WaPo op-ed [links to Benton summary]

EDUCATION
   CoSN and Center on Technology and Disability Unveil New, Updated Tools to Improve Digital Accessibility in Education [links to Consortium for School Networking]

HEALTH
   To foster health information exchange, revise HIPAA and HITECH [links to Brookings]

CHILDREN & MEDIA
   For Children, The New Bedtime Story Is a Podcast [links to New York Times]

DIVERSITY
   Why Tech Leadership Has a Bigger Race than Gender Problem [links to Wired]

EMERGENCY COMMUNICATIONS
   Hurricane Maria Communications Status Report for Oct. 3 [links to Federal Communications Commission]

GOVERNMENT & COMMUNICATIONS
   Watchdog: UN Ambassador Haley violated federal law by retweeting President Trump endorsement [links to Benton summary]
   Startup in Residence Program to Expand to Washington, D.C. [links to Government Technology]
   As Federal Data Disappears, New Tool Gives Power to Cities [links to Wired]

POLICYMAKERS
   Democrats for FCC Chairman Pai?
   FCC Reactions to Chairman Pai's Confirmation for Second Term [links to Benton summary]
   FCC's Pai Gets Industry Welcome for Return Engagement [links to Broadcasting&Cable]
   FCC Commissioner Carr names Chief of Staff - press release [links to Benton summary]
   Steve Forbes: A model regulator, Ajit Pai deserves easy re-confirmation as FCC chair [links to Hill, The]

COMPANY NEWS
   Charter Plans New HQ in Stamford (CT) [links to Multichannel News]
   Anthony Scaramucci Announces Mystery Media Venture [links to Benton summary]

STORIES FROM ABROAD
   European Union courts to hear case that could hobble Facebook
   EU to hit Amazon with bill for Luxembourg back taxes [links to Benton summary]
   EU Court to Examine Latest Rule on U.S. Data Storage and Privacy [links to Wall Street Journal]

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COMMUNICATIONS & DEMOCRACY

KUSHNERS PERSONAL E-MAIL MOVED TO TRUMP ORG COMPUTERS
[SOURCE: USAToday, AUTHOR: Brad Heath]
President Donald Trump's son-in-law Jared Kushner and daughter Ivanka Trump moved their personal e-mail accounts to computers run by the Trump Organization as public scrutiny intensified over their use of private e-mails to conduct White House business, internet registration records show. The move, made just days after Kushner’s use of a personal e-mail account first became public, came shortly after special counsel Robert Mueller asked the White House to turn over records related to his investigation of Russia's interference in the 2016 election and possible collusion with Trump associates. It also more closely intertwines President Trump’s administration with his constellation of private businesses. Kushner, who is a senior adviser to the president, first faced scrutiny for his private e-mail use on Sept. 24, when his lawyer confirmed that he had occasionally used a personal e-mail account to communicate with other White House officials. Kushner's contacts with Russians during the presidential campaign have drawn the attention of federal investigators. According to internet registration records, Kushner and his wife Ivanka Trump, who is also a senior adviser, switched the location of their e-mail accounts to a server operated by the Trump Organization on either Sept. 26 or 27, as attention from the media and lawmakers intensified.
benton.org/headlines/jared-kushners-personal-email-moved-trump-organization-computers-amid-public-scrutiny | USAToday
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ELECTIONS

RUSSIANS TOOK A PAGE FROM CORPORATE AMERICA TO INFLUENCE VOTERS
[SOURCE: Washington Post, AUTHOR: Elizabeth Dwoskin, Craig Timberg, Adam Entous]
Russian operatives set up an array of misleading Web sites and social media pages to identify American voters susceptible to propaganda, then used a powerful Facebook tool to repeatedly send them messages designed to influence their political behavior, apparently. The tactic resembles what American businesses and political campaigns have been doing in recent years to deliver messages to potentially interested people online. The Russians exploited this system by creating English-language sites and Facebook pages that closely mimicked those created by US political activists. The Web sites and Facebook pages displayed ads or other messages focused on such hot-button issues as illegal immigration, African American political activism and the rising prominence of Muslims in the United States. The Russian operatives then used a Facebook “retargeting” tool, called Custom Audiences, to send specific ads and messages to voters who had visited those sites, apparently. People caught up in this web of tracking and disinformation would have had no indication that they had been singled out or that the ads came from Russians.
benton.org/headlines/russians-took-page-corporate-america-using-facebook-tool-id-and-influence-voters | Washington Post
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FCC AGENDA

FCC ANNOUNCES TENTATIVE AGENDA FOR OCT OPEN MEETING
[SOURCE: Federal Communications Commission, AUTHOR: Press release]
Federal Communications Commission Chairman Ajit Pai announced that the following items are tentatively on the agenda for the October Open Commission Meeting scheduled for Tuesday, October 24, 2017:
Support for Puerto Rico and U.S. Virgin Islands – The Commission will consider an Order to clarify the use of high-cost universal service support and permit forward funding of support to aid in reconstruction of telecommunications networks damaged by Hurricane Maria in Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands. (WC Docket No. 10-90)
Exemption to Calling Number Identification Service – The Commission will consider a Report and Order that would enable law enforcement and security personnel to obtain quick access to blocked Caller ID information needed to investigate threatening calls. It also would amend the Commission’s rules to allow non-public emergency services, such as private ambulance companies, to obtain blocked Caller ID information associated with calls requesting assistance. (CC Docket No. 91-281)
Nationwide Number Portability – The Commission will consider a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking and Notice of Inquiry that proposes to amend the Commission’s rules as well as seeks comment on industry models to move toward complete nationwide number portability to promote competition between all service providers and increase network routing efficiencies. (WC Docket No. 17-244; WC Docket No. 13-97)
Promoting Investment in the 3550-3700 MHz Band – The Commission will consider a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking that would seek comment and propose changes to the Priority Access License rules in the 3550-3700 MHz (3.5 GHz) band to increase incentives for investment, encourage more efficient spectrum use, and promote faster and more widespread network deployments. (GN Docket No. 17-258)
Hearing Aid Compatibility and Volume Control – The Commission will consider a Report and Order and Order on Reconsideration on hearing aid compatibility (HAC) that would update the volume control standard for wireline telephones, extend wireline HAC requirements to cover telephones used with advanced communications services, adopt a volume control rule for wireless handsets, and delete from the Commission’s rules an obsolete wireless HAC standard. (CG Docket No. 13-46, WT Docket Nos. 07-250, 10-254)
Part 43 Reporting Requirements for U.S. Providers of International Services – The Commission will consider a Report and Order that would: (1) eliminate the Traffic and Revenue Reports and (2) streamline the Circuit Capacity Reports. (IB Docket Nos. 17-55 and 16-131)
Elimination of Main Studio Rule – The Commission will consider a Report and Order eliminating the rule that requires each AM, FM, and television broadcast station to maintain a main studio located in or near its community of license. (MB Docket No. 17-106)
Updates to Rules Governing Ancillary/Supplementary Services and Broadcast Public Notices – The Commission will consider a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking that seeks comment on updates to Section 73.624(g) of its rules, which imposes certain reporting obligations for broadcasters relating to the provision of ancillary or supplementary services, and Section 73.3580, which requires public notice of the filing of broadcast applications, including through newspapers. (MB Docket Nos. 17-264, 17-105)
benton.org/headlines/fcc-announces-tentative-agenda-october-open-meeting | Federal Communications Commission
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INTERNET/BROADBAND

WHY DOES VERIZON CARE ABOUT TELEPHONE POLES?
[SOURCE: New York Times, AUTHOR: Sam Liccardo]
[Commentary] Public street poles may not look like much, but to wireless service providers, they’re valuable real estate. Companies like Verizon want low-cost access to them to install equipment to handle the rapidly growing demand for mobile data. But poles are owned locally, and cities and counties aren’t eager to give away access at below-market rates. Doing so would essentially subsidize an already wealthy industry — nationwide, as much as $2 billion a year, money that could otherwise go to expanding low-cost broadband access. As a result, the industry is waging a war for those poles, at all levels. Big Telecom and its allies in the White House have quietly carried out a campaign to secure rapid and cheap access to those poles, at taxpayer expense. If the industry wants the same access to taxpayer-funded infrastructure that public utilities enjoy, it should bear the concomitant responsibility to make its services available to everyone in that jurisdiction. Alternatively, if Big Telecom doesn’t want the responsibility of deploying broadband in low-income neighborhoods, then the states and the Federal Communications Commission should continue to allow cities to charge market-rate fees and leases to generate municipal dollars needed to broaden access, as San Jose is doing in several low-income neighborhoods.
[Sam Liccardo is the mayor of San Jose (CA) and a member of the Federal Communications Commission’s Broadband Development Advisory Committee.]
benton.org/headlines/why-does-verizon-care-about-telephone-poles | New York Times
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PAI IS PRESERVING A WORLD WHERE DIGITAL DIVIDE, AND ISP PROFITS, CAN GROW
[SOURCE: Fast Company, AUTHOR: Maya Wiley]
[Commentary] The Federal Communications Commission Chairman, Ajit Pai, a former Verizon lawyer, has spoken eloquently about the “digital divide” and his commitment to resolving it. His solution? Creating the same market conditions that fueled the divide in the first place. Pai’s approach is a field of dreams that suggests, “If we let them (internet service providers, or ISPs), they will provide it.” But that business model, at least for many of the large incumbents, has left far too many offline. Pai has suggested that broadband deserts are created by the boogie man of government regulation. But ISPs will invest only when they need to and they likely don’t see the need to right now. The problem we face is getting service to those who are too costly to serve. Pai needs to see that the pattern of exclusion in broadband results from the failure of business models, not merely the presence of regulations.
[Maya Wiley is a Henry J. Cohen Professor of Urban Policy & Management at The New School.]
benton.org/headlines/ajit-pai-preserving-world-where-digital-divide-and-isp-profits-can-grow | Fast Company
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EQUITY AND BROADBAND
[SOURCE: Roosevelt Institute, AUTHOR: Rakeen Mabud, Marybeth Seitz-Brown]
In this case study, we argue that barriers to broadband access, one aspect of the digital divide for low income communities of color, stem from a myriad of factors including deregulation of the telecommunications industry and a history of segregation of and disinvestment in neighborhoods of color. Specifically:
The deregulation of the telecommunications sector in the 1990s allowed sweeping consolidation of the industry and created a broadband market with significantly less competition between firms, steeper prices, and slower speeds compared to other industrialized nations.
Regulators do not hold internet service providers (ISPs) accountable to universal build out requirements, which the government enacted in exchange for granting monopolies in the market. This monopolized and deregulated environment has allowed ISPs to upgrade digital infrastructure in the most profitable, high-income areas first. The persistence of de facto racial segregation of neighborhoods means such investments (and lack thereof) result in digital redlining of a disproportionate number of neighborhoods of color and rural areas of all races.
benton.org/headlines/wired-connecting-equity-universal-broadband-strategy | Roosevelt Institute
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SECURITY/PRIVACY

YAHOO SAYS EVERY ACCOUNT WAS AFFECTED BY 2013 BREACH
[SOURCE: Los Angeles Times, AUTHOR: Ben Muessig]
All 3 billion Yahoo accounts were affected by a 2013 data breach — three times as many as the company first reported. In December, Yahoo disclosed that hackers stole information that could be connected to more than 1 billion accounts, an incident that was then believed to be the most users affected in a single breach. The company updated that tally Oct 3, saying on its website that outside forensic experts analyzed “recently obtained additional information” that shows “all accounts that existed at the time of the August 2013 theft were likely affected.” The stolen data could include names, email addresses, phone numbers, dates of birth, passwords that have been scrambled, or “hashed,” and encrypted or unencrypted security questions or answers, the company said.
benton.org/headlines/yahoo-says-every-account-all-3-billion-them-was-affected-2013-breach | Los Angeles Times
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JOURNALISM

GOOGLE AND FACEBOOK FAILED US
[SOURCE: The Atlantic, AUTHOR: Alexis Madrigal]
In the crucial early hours after the Las Vegas mass shooting, it happened again: Hoaxes, completely unverified rumors, failed witch hunts, and blatant falsehoods spread across the internet. But they did not do so by themselves: They used the infrastructure that Google and Facebook and YouTube have built to achieve wide distribution. These companies are the most powerful information gatekeepers that the world has ever known, and yet they refuse to take responsibility for their active role in damaging the quality of information reaching the public. BuzzFeed’s Ryan Broderick found that Google’s “top stories” results surfaced 4chan forum posts about a man that right-wing amateur sleuths had incorrectly identified as the Las Vegas shooter. This is playing an active role in the spread of bad information, poisoning the news ecosystem. The machines have shown they are not up to the task of dealing with rare, breaking news events, and it is unlikely that they will be in the near future. More humans must be added to the decision-making process, and the sooner the better.
benton.org/headlines/google-and-facebook-failed-us | Atlantic, The | BuzzFeed
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STORIES FROM ABROAD

EU COURTS HEAR CASE THAT COULD HOBBLE FACEBOOK
[SOURCE: The Hill, AUTHOR: Joe Uchill]
The European Union courts will hear a case with a massive impact on Facebook and other American internet service companies. The case, which an Irish court on Oct 3 referred to the Court of Justice of the European Union, revolves around where companies can store personal information. Max Schrems is suing Facebook under the claim that, so long as the United States allows bulk surveillance programs, the US cannot guarantee that data stored on servers located on its shores abides by the EU’s stringent personal data protections laws. Currently, Facebook and other companies use what are known as “standard contractual clauses” to assure European users that their personal information is being protected. Schrems launched a similar case against an earlier treaty between the United States and European Union to cover cross-boarder data storage known as Safe Harbor, which the European courts eventually nixed. Safe Harbor was replaced by a new treaty, Privacy Shield, which is undergoing similar challenges. If courts continue to find US protections for European Citizens data insufficient, it could result in US internet service companies being unable to do business with Europe without setting up specialized servers there.
benton.org/headlines/european-union-courts-hear-case-could-hobble-facebook | Hill, The
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POLICYMAKERS

DEMOCRATS FOR PAI?
[SOURCE: Politico, AUTHOR: John Hendel]
As expected, the Senate formally confirmed Federal Communications Commission Chairman Ajit Pai for a new, five-year term in a largely party-line 52-41 vote. But Chairman Pai did win votes from four of the six Democrats who voted in favor of the procedural vote on his confirmation: Senators Gary Peters (D-MI), Joe Manchin (D-WV), Claire McCaskill (D-MO) and Jon Tester (D-MT). (Sens. Chris Coons and Tom Carper, both Delaware Democrats, had voted to proceed to Pai’s reconfirmation vote but ultimately rejected his renomination.) So why did these four buck Democratic colleagues? “I disagree with him on net neutrality, but the president has a right to the chairman because he won the election,” said Sen McCaskill. “I have worked with him closely on the Lifeline issues and found him to be easy to work with on those issues — and he’s qualified.” Sen Peters echoed her on Pai’s qualifications and also cited his interest in working with Chairman Pai to address the Lifeline program. The senators like his broadband views. “I just need a lot of help in West Virginia, and he’s been moving in that direction,” Sen Manchin said, lauding Pai’s work in “trying to get the rural broadband fund moving.” Chairman Pai is “working with us,” Sen Manchin said. Sen Peters also mentioned rural broadband, singling out Michigan’s Upper Peninsula as an area in need: “I found him very receptive to ways to expand broadband access.” But like Sen McCaskill, Sen Manchin is “still very concerned about net neutrality,” as is Sen Peters. Pai’s move to roll back net neutrality regulations dominated the Democrats’ opposition on the floor. Sen Peters said he “will hold him accountable” and try to ensure “the internet is free and open.”
benton.org/headlines/democrats-fcc-chairman-pai | Politico
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