November 28, 2012 (UN and Net Regulation)

INTERNET/BROADBAND

UPCOMING ITU MEETING
[SOURCE: New York Times, AUTHOR: Eric Pfanner]
A commercial and ideological clash is set for next week, when representatives of more than 190 governments, along with telecommunications companies and Internet groups, gather in Dubai for a once-in-a-generation meeting. The subject: Control of the Internet, politically and commercially. The stated purpose of the World Conference on International Telecommunications is to update a global treaty on technical standards needed to, say, connect a telephone call from Tokyo to Timbuktu. The previous conference took place in 1988, when the Internet was in its infancy and telecommunications remained a highly regulated, mostly analog-technology business. Now the Internet is the backbone for worldwide communications and commerce. Critics of the International Telecommunication Union, the agency of the United Nations that is organizing the meeting, see a dark agenda in the meeting. The blogosphere has been raging over supposed plans led by Russia to snatch control of the Internet and hand it to the U.N. agency. That seems unlikely. Any such move would require an international consensus, and opposition is widespread.
benton.org/node/140117 | New York Times
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BAD CONNECTIONS
[SOURCE: New York Times, AUTHOR: David Cay Johnston]
[Commentary] Since 1974, when the Justice Department sued to break up the Ma Bell phone monopoly, Americans have been told that competition in telecommunications would produce innovation, better service and lower prices. What we’ve witnessed instead is low-quality service and prices that are higher than a truly competitive market would bring. After a brief fling with competition, ownership has reconcentrated into a stodgy duopoly of Bell Twins — AT&T and Verizon. Now, thanks to new government rules, each in effect has become the leader of its own cartel. The AT&T-DirectTV and Verizon-Bright House-Cox-Comcast-TimeWarner behemoths market what are known as “quad plays”: the phone companies sell mobile services jointly with the “triple play” of Internet, telephone and television connections, which are often provided by supposedly competing cable and satellite companies. And because AT&T’s and Verizon’s own land-based services operate mostly in discrete geographic markets, each cartel rules its domain as a near monopoly. The result of having such sweeping control of the communications terrain, naturally, is that there is little incentive for either player to lower prices, make improvements to service or significantly invest in new technologies and infrastructure. And that, in turn, leaves American consumers with a major disadvantage compared with their counterparts in the rest of the world. The remedy for anti-consumer practices is straightforward: bring back real competition to the telecom industry. The Federal Communications Commission, the Justice Department and lawmakers have long said this is their goal. But absent new rules that promote vigorous competition among telecom companies, it simply won’t happen.
benton.org/node/140113 | New York Times
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HOUSE DEMS RESPOND TO VERIZON
[SOURCE: Politico, AUTHOR: Eliza Krigman]
Top Democrats on the House Energy and Commerce Committee are holding a briefing Nov 28 to discuss Verizon’s “troubling” legal challenge to the Federal Communications Commission’s network neutrality rules. The forum for lawmakers and aides “will examine a troubling First Amendment argument being advanced as part of a case filed by Verizon to overturn the Open Internet Order adopted by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) in 2010,” according to a “dear colleague” letter from Democratic Reps. Henry Waxman, Anna Eshoo and Doris Matsui of California, Ed Markey of Massachusetts and Mike Doyle of Pennsylvania. Former FCC Chairman Reed Hundt will speak at the briefing. Hundt joined a friend-of-the-court brief to the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals opposing Verizon’s challenge. Verizon is challenging the FCC order at the appeals court. The court is expected to decide the case next year.
benton.org/node/140111 | Politico
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ISSA BILL
[SOURCE: The Verge, AUTHOR: TC Sottek]
Rep Darrell Issa (R-CA) is proposing a big legislative time-out in the form of a moratorium on new Internet regulations for the next two years. It's certainly a bizarre move considering that Congress typically doesn't vote away its ability to do its job, but it's a defensive tactic that could resonate with an Internet audience that expressed concern about having to play whack-a-mole with bad internet laws following SOPA. The bill, named The Internet American Moratorium Act (IAMA), is currently just a "discussion draft" — which means that it's got a long way to go before even being considered for a vote by Congress. The bill's provisions are extremely broad, and would pretty much put a stop to all internet lawmaking. A blanket ban on Internet legislation probably isn't a good thing, even if it gives Congress a little more time to educate itself on internet issues: the law would require both Congress and federal agencies, like the Federal Communications Commission, to put a halt on Internet regulation. That would mean the FCC's critically received Open Internet regulations would have to sit still for another two years (which might not be a problem for Republicans, like Rep Issa, who oppose network neutrality). It would also mean that the government would be unable to make new demands of companies like Facebook and Google to ensure the privacy of their customers through new regulations.
benton.org/node/140064 | Verge, The
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OWNERSHIP

POWELL ON FCC AND MERGER
[SOURCE: Broadcasting&Cable, AUTHOR: John Eggerton]
Former Federal Communications Commission Chairman Michael Powell, now president of the National Cable and Telecommunications Association, says the FCC needs to be relieved of its merger review authority and made to understand that it needs to take wireless into account when it is looking at the competitive broadband market. He argues the FCC’s role in merger reviews duplicates the efforts of Justice and the FTC for "trivial gains compared with the cost of the exercise.” He pointed out that reviews of mergers in other sectors -- like oil, gas or food -- some of which he suggested were even more important than communications mergers, were not subject to a similar dual gauntlet. He also suggested that the "dark side" of the FCC's merger review role was a sort of conditions "bazaar" created by the vague public interest standard. Powell got some pushback from panelist Blair Levin, now with the Aspen Institute, but formerly architect of the FCC's National Broadband Plan. Levin said that while wireless was a competitor for phone service, and that wireless broadband was obviously a big phenomenon, the broadband plan was skeptical that wireless would translate to cord-cutting, seeing most people as having both. He said he was not sure that, even with the incentive auctions, the FCC would be able to free up enough spectrum to allow wireless to compete in broadband, and added that usage caps could also make that competition problematic.
benton.org/node/140062 | Broadcasting&Cable
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NBC UNIVERSAL FOUNDATION
[SOURCE: TVNewsCheck, AUTHOR: ]
The NBCUniversal Foundation announced it is awarding $1.2 million in grants to 30 local nonprofit organizations nationwide, helping them implement innovative community programs as part of a newly launched initiative called 21st Century Solutions. In partnership with the NBC Owned Television Stations, 21st Century Solutions was designed to support high-impact, progressive programs in the categories of arts and media; civic engagement; community development; education; environment; jobs and economic empowerment; and technology. Launched in June, the 21st Century Solutions program aims to help communities identify opportunities for positive change and support non-profits that are putting new ideas into action. Inaugural year awardees include a storytelling program designed for students to address societal issues, a microsavings initiative aimed to help low-income working families develop a life-long savings habit and an employment program designed to expand opportunities for young people with disabilities by building the capacity of local employers. The competitive grant program accepted applications throughout the summer in the 10 markets served by NBC-owned stations: New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, Philadelphia, Dallas-Fort Worth, San Francisco Bay Area, Washington, D.C., South Florida, San Diego and Connecticut. Each of the stations promoted the grant program locally and created a panel to review and select the final grant recipients. One winning organization and two runners-up were awarded grants in each market.
benton.org/node/140056 | TVNewsCheck
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WIRELESS/SPECTRUM

SPECTRUM SHARING HEARING
[SOURCE: Broadcasting&Cable, AUTHOR: John Eggerton]
The House Communications Subcommittee wants industry input on how to allow spectrum users -- like broadcasters, wireless companies and the government -- to occupy increasingly close quarters without "stepping on each other's toes." That is according to a majority staff memo on a Nov. 29 hearing in the subcommittee on "The Role of Receivers in a Spectrum-Scarce World." The issue is growing in importance given a number of FCC initiatives to boost spectrum efficiency and use, including allowing unlicensed devices to share the so-called "white spaces" in the broadcast band, moving broadcasters to make room for wireless companies, the FCC's so far unsuccessful attempt to allow LightSquared to operate alongside GPS spectrum, and the FCC's recent move to loosen rules on terrestrial use of satellite spectrum. "Good fences make good neighbors," say the staffers, "but how do you know how high to build your fence or what materials to use if you don't know who your neighbors might be in the future or precisely what they will be doing on their lot?" They point out that the two main "fences" are guard bands on the spectrum side and filters and power limits on the transmitter/receiver side.
benton.org/node/140024 | Broadcasting&Cable
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ELECTIONS AND MEDIA

2016 FORECAST
[SOURCE: Politico, AUTHOR: Charles Mahtesian]
Mark Bernstein, who works for a small new media developer and publisher, takes a few guesses at what the new media and tech landscape will look like 4 years from now -- and how it might affect the 2016 presidential campaign. We’ll continue to depend more and more heavily on the Web.
Raw traffic numbers will be concentrated at a few incredibly large sites.
The most effective political persuaders will continue to be small, independent sites with a distinctive personal voice and specialized expertise. We’ll depend more on writers like Nate Silver, Juan Cole, and Nouriel Roubini, and less on horse-race pundits.
The personal media landscape, today dominated by Facebook and Twitter, will continue to change rapidly. We’ll continue to use something like these, but the features, technologies, business models, and companies may all change.
The separation of the political Web into Left and Right blogospheres will continue, and will continue to afflict the Right with a cacophony of infotainment and a dearth of grounded ideas.
Web advertising will continue to decline in effectiveness, but will remain common. Lots of alternative business models will support writers, reporters, and activists.
Concentration of Web and other media delivery in the hands of phone, cable, and satellite providers will provide ample scope for sabotage, vandalism, and chicanery. Cable franchise deals may emerge as a significant issue in town and neighborhood politics, and a variety of dirty tricks may disrupt campaigns.
benton.org/node/140053 | Politico
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LABOR

AGE BIAS IN SILICON VALLEY
[SOURCE: Reuters, AUTHOR: Sarah McBride]
A look at the pressures in Silicon Valley, where the start-up ethos extols fresh ideas and young programmers willing to toil through the night. Chief executives in their 20s, led by Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg, are lionized, in part because of their youth. Many investors state bluntly that they prefer to see people under 40 in charge. Yet the youth worship undercuts another of Silicon Valley's cherished ideals: that anyone smart and driven can get ahead in what the industry likes to think of as an egalitarian culture. To many, it looks like simple age discrimination -- and it's affecting people who wouldn't fit any normal definition of old.
benton.org/node/140027 | Reuters
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NET GUARD
[SOURCE: Wall Street Journal, AUTHOR: Sen Ron Wyden (D-OR), Andrew Rasiej]
[Commentary] When a disaster strikes, access to communications and high-tech infrastructure is critical for saving lives and mobilizing relief efforts. But as we saw a few weeks ago, Hurricane Sandy rendered inoperable the phone lines and computer networks that people needed to call for help and reach loved ones. In the storm’s aftermath many remained unable to access local and federal aid or even find out where they could get gasoline. It doesn’t have to be this way. Just as the National Guard can be called upon to provide emergency relief, there are thousands of technology professionals ready, willing and able to volunteer their skills to rebuild crucial technology infrastructure in times exactly like these. These men and women could help build emergency cellphone towers and set up mesh Wi-Fi networks. They could assist government agencies to build and maintain the information systems that are needed to locate, manage and deploy food and water, tents and electric generators, and to help health workers keep track of drugs and other critical medical supplies. They also can help small businesses, schools and nonprofit organizations get their own information networks back online and functioning quickly. NET Guard teams could also work with federal, state and local officials on emergency-communication plans that could be put into motion even before a major storm hit, or immediately after an unexpected disaster like an earthquake or terrorist attack. No one questions the need to keep the phone systems running—and it is equally critical that the nation has a means for getting Internet-based communications systems up and running when they go down after a disaster. Information technology is not just about cool smartphones, tablets and computers. Today it is also about providing and delivering crucial information that can save lives, save property, and help rebuild faster when it matters most. The Obama administration now has dramatic evidence of the need to set up a NET Guard to help victims of future disasters recover and reconstruct their lives.
benton.org/node/140109 | Wall Street Journal
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CONTENT

AUTHORS’ BOOK RIGHTS
[SOURCE: paidContent.org, AUTHOR: Jeff John Roberts]
A copyright law that lets authors break contracts after 35 years will start taking effect in January. The law, which is meant to give authors like Stephen King and Judy Blume a “second bite at the apple,” could provide yet another disruption for traditional publishers. While authors have the option to bolt their publisher, many may prefer to simply seek a sweeter deal rather than fly solo or risk triggering a lawsuit. And, as Law360 notes, there may be only a relative handful of works that are valuable enough to justify expending millions in legal fees.
benton.org/node/140022 | paidContent.org
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TELEVISION/RADIO

IDENTICAL “LOCAL” NEWS
[SOURCE: Washington Post, AUTHOR: Paul Farhi]
As the election loomed earlier this month, TV stations around the country were broadcasting the news. The same news. That is, the identical news. How exactly does this happen? And why does it keep happening? The answer is one of the little-known facts about “local” TV news: In some instances it isn’t local at all. Viewers typically have no idea that a seemingly local story has come from a centralized source. In addition to the major networks, which run their own affiliate services, syndicated shows such as “Entertainment Tonight” and “Access Hollywood” also provide local stations with ready-made scripts and interview packages for their local newscasts, says Mike Cavender, executive director of the Radio Television Digital News Association, a Washington-based trade association. The material not only gives a station in, say, Boise or Wichita a Hollywood connection but also promotes the syndicated show, which usually airs after a station’s 6 p.m. newscast. The canned TV packages are somewhat like the news service stories that many newspapers and Web sites publish, but with a key difference: Unlike news service material, which usually is labeled as such, TV stations typically run affiliate material without identifying its source. But the increasing use of such prepackaged news undermines “localism,” or community-based reporting, the Federal Communications Commission said last year in a wide-ranging report on the news media.
benton.org/node/140102 | Washington Post
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ELECTIONS AND THE AIRWAVES
[SOURCE: The Huffington Post, AUTHOR: Sue Wilson]
[Commentary] There is a little-known ritual that occurs in the election years when Democrats prevail: Big "Conservative" Media starts to pull progressive talk radio off the air. I documented this in my 2009 documentary film Broadcast Blues: After Democratic candidates made big gains in 2006, Clear Channel and other public airwaves radio licensees pulled several well-performing progressive talk radio stations off the air and replaced them with sports and other programming. It would be easier to understand if the new programs got big ratings bumps, but that didn't happen. The new shows' ratings are typically only half those of progressive talkers. True to form, Clear Channel Communications, which owns about 850 radio stations nationwide, took the progressive voices off the public airwaves in Portland (OR) just days after Democrats won big nationwide. So if it isn't about ratings, what other motive could the Bain Capital-owned Clear Channel have for denying access to progressive voices over the public airwaves, which we all own? The answer is found in Milwaukee, Wis., where five -- repeat: five -- local right-wing talkers on two stations directly supported Republican candidates from Scott Walker to Paul Ryan over our publicly owned airwaves 15 hours a day, five days a week. Republicans there boast that they win elections primarily due to the extraordinary promotion of these right-wing talk radio hosts, and pro-GOP business leaders are combing the state in search of yet more frequencies that they can find to air righty talk, because they know that that is what is winning elections.
benton.org/node/140097 | Huffington Post, The
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PRIVACY

DO NOT TRACK STRUGGLES TO KEEP MOMENTUM
[SOURCE: Washington Post, AUTHOR: Craig Timberg]
The two-year-old drive to give consumers a simple way to block companies from tracking their behavior as they move across the Internet has faltered, say participants in the process who are struggling to reconcile privacy concerns with an advertising model that pays for many free Internet services. The friction puts in peril the “Do Not Track” initiative that appeared to have widespread support at a White House event in February, when industry officials endorsed it in concept. Federal Trade Commission Chairman Jon Leibowitz, who also embraced the idea as central to the independent agency’s push for protecting personal data privacy, had predicted a deal by the end of the year. But meetings of a key working committee have turned acrimonious in recent months, and a co-chair of the effort plans to step down Nov 28. Participants now say a deal remains months away, and some say it may take federal action to limit Internet tracking.
benton.org/node/140105 | Washington Post
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GOVERNMENT AND COMMUNICATIONS

DEFENDING FREE SPEECH IN THE DIGITAL AGE
[SOURCE: Foreign Policy, AUTHOR: Lee Bollinger]
Freedom of speech is under threat around the world. On one side of this battle are governments and corporations seeking, to various degrees, to set limits on what is acceptable to say and what is not. On the other are ordinary citizens and activists demanding that their voices be heard -- voices that, in this new age of smartphones and social media, are harder than ever to silence, even as technology puts new implements of censorship into the hands of autocrats. In many cases, the battle is being joined in societies that are struggling with the powerful repercussions of free expression for the first time.
benton.org/node/140018 | Foreign Policy
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PRIVACY BILL
[SOURCE: The Hill, AUTHOR: Brendan Sasso]
Privacy advocates are pleased with the latest version of Sen Patrick Leahy's (D-VT) bill to require police to obtain a warrant before reading e-mails, Facebook messages and other forms of electronic communication. Sen Leahy released the latest version of his bill on Nov 26. The Senate Judiciary Committee, which Sen Leahy chairs, is scheduled to vote on the legislation on Nov 29. There had been speculation that Sen Leahy would water down the privacy protections after CNET, a technology news site, reported last week that a draft bill circulating on Capitol Hill included broad exceptions for civil investigations. The latest version does not include those exceptions, and Sen Leahy denied that he ever supported them.
benton.org/node/140028 | Hill, The
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CELLPHONE LOGS
[SOURCE: New York Times, AUTHOR: Joseph Goldstein]
When a cellphone is reported stolen in New York, the Police Department routinely subpoenas the phone’s call records, from the day of the theft onward. The logic is simple: If a thief uses the phone, a list of incoming and outgoing calls could lead to the suspect. But in the process, the Police Department has quietly amassed a trove of telephone logs, all obtained without a court order, that could conceivably be used for any investigative purpose. The call records from the stolen cellphones are integrated into a database known as the Enterprise Case Management System, according to Police Department documents from the detective bureau. Each phone number is hyperlinked, enabling detectives to cross-reference it against phone numbers in other files. The subpoenas not only cover the records of the thief’s calls, but also encompass calls to and from the victim on the day of the theft. In some cases the records can include calls made to and from a victim’s new cellphone, if the stolen phone’s number has been transferred.
benton.org/node/140035 | New York Times
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TELECOM

PRISON TELECOM CHARGES
[SOURCE: New York Times, AUTHOR: Editorial staff]
[Commentary] After nearly a decade of delay, the Federal Communications Commission is finally focusing on the private telephone companies that charge outrageously high rates for the calls that many of the nation’s 1.6 million prison inmates make to stay in contact with their families. The commissioners are considering a proposal to seek public comment on prison phone regulation. They need to act to end the burdensome charges that can make a single phone call from prison as expensive as an entire month of home phone service. Prison calls are so expensive because inmates must place them through independent companies that pay the state corrections departments a “commission,” essentially a legal kickback. A 15 minute call can cost a family as much as $17. For struggling families who want to keep in touch with loved ones behind bars, this can sometimes mean choosing between a phone call and putting food on the table. The FCC should move quickly to bring fairness to the system, and it should consider imposing rate caps on what the phone companies can charge.
benton.org/node/140108 | New York Times
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POLICYMAKERS

NEW HOUSE CHAIRMEN
[SOURCE: The Hill, AUTHOR: Molly Hooper]
House Republicans picked three new committee chairmen for the 113th Congress. The GOP Steering Committee selected Rep Michael McCaul (R-TX) to be the new Homeland Security Committee chairman, Rep. Lamar Smith (R-TX) to be the new Science Committee chairman and Rep. Ed Royce (R-CA) to chair the Foreign Affairs Committee. The Steering Committee also granted a waiver to Rep Paul Ryan (R-WI) to serve an additional term as chairman of the House Budget Committee. Other lawmakers were promoted to committee chairman positions in uncontested races, including Rep. Bob Goodlatte (R-VA) to be the new Judiciary Committee chairman, Rep. Bill Shuster (R-PA) to be the new Transportation Committee chairman and Rep. Jeb Hensarling (R-TX) to be Financial Services Committee chairman. At this point, it appears as if no women will chair House committees in the next Congress. House Speaker John Boehner (R-OH) has yet to make his selections for Ethics and House Administration committees.
benton.org/node/140051 | Hill, The
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November 28, 2012 (UN and Net Regulation)