Daily Digest 2/6/2018 (More Net Neutrality News)

New Jersey will join nearly two dozen other states in a lawsuit seeking to block the Trump administration's contentious repeal of network neutrality rules, said Gov Phil Murphy (D-NJ). Gov Murphy also signed an executive order requiring internet providers hired by the state adhere to the principles of net neutrality. Gov Murphy said the repeal of net neutrality rules is a "dangerous overreach that harms our consumers and businesses and gives an out-sized ability of a few big companies to control the free flow of information for profit."  Under the executive order, all providers that sign or renew a state contract after July 1 must follow the principles of net neutrality.

Lawmakers in Rhode Island have introduced legislation to counter the repeal of federal network neutrality rules. RI state Rep Aaron Regunberg (D-Providence), introduced a bill to allow Rhode Island to preserve net neutrality as much as possible following the Federal Communications Commission’s repeal of the policy. State Rep Regunberg, lieutenant governor candidate, says it would require internet access purchased or funded by the state be provided in an unbiased manner, consistent with net neutrality principles. He says he’s working closely with state Sen Louis DiPalma (D-RI), who introduced a bill to require providers to follow internet service neutrality requirements.

Ajit Pai had a dilemma when overseeing the creation of the Federal Communications Commission's new Broadband Deployment Report. Anyone who is familiar with the FCC chairman's rhetoric over the past few years could make two safe predictions about this report. The report would conclude that broadband deployment in the US is going just fine and that the repeal of network neutrality rules is largely responsible for any new broadband deployment. But the FCC's actual data—based on the extensive Form 477 data submissions Internet service providers must make on a regular basis—only covers broadband deployments through December 2016. Chairman Pai wasn't elevated from commissioner to chairman until January 2017, and he didn't lead the vote to repeal the net neutrality rules until December 2017. And, technically, those rules are still on the books because the repeal won't take effect for at least another two months. During the Obama presidency, the FCC regularly found that broadband deployment wasn't happening quickly enough. But in the first deployment report since Pai became chairman, the FCC "conclude[s] that advanced telecommunications capability is being deployed to all Americans in a reasonable and timely fashion." The current data on deployment hardly matters to the FCC's conclusion that broadband deployment is happening in a reasonable and timely fashion. The FCC's conclusion was based on the changes it expects in future data, not on any data that exists today. FCC Commissioner Mignon Clyburn blasted the majority for "bas[ing] its finding of timely broadband deployment... on projected deployment based off a laundry list of actions the FCC took in 2017." "Critical progress reports should not rely on the 'hypothetical' when it comes to reaching a conclusion," Commissioner Clyburn said. "Indeed, the deployments the majority loudly touts pale greatly in comparison to the deployments that occurred in the year after the adoption of the 2015 Open Internet Order. But if you are desperate to justify flawed policy, I think the straw-grasping conclusions contained in this report [are] for you."

The Schools, Health & Libraries Broadband (SHLB) Coalition, a broad-based membership organization that includes health providers and telehealth networks, filed comments with the Federal Communication Commission asking for an increase in funding for the Rural Health Care (RHC) program to improve the quality of health care in rural markets across the United States. The RHC program is currently facing an unprecedented crisis. Applications for funding exceeded the funding cap for both FY 2016 and FY 2017. This funding shortage has resulted in health providers canceling or downgrading broadband connections and reducing services to the public. The backlog of applications is becoming worse than ever -- the Universal Service Administrative Company (USAC) has not yet released its decisions for FY 2017 applications. Several telehealth networks put their plans to expand into rural markets on hold due to the uncertainty around future funding. The SHLB Coalition offers four main recommendations to reform the Universal Service Fund program: 1) Increase the cap to meet the current demand; 2) Encourage the formation of consortia in the Healthcare Connect Fund; 3) Establish funding tiers to ensure funds are distributed to the most rural areas; and 4) Improve administrative efficiency, transparency, and protection against waste, fraud, and abuse.

The New York Times is asking the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court to unseal secret documents related to the wiretapping of Carter Page, the onetime Donald Trump campaign adviser at the center of a disputed memo written by Republican staffers on the House Intelligence Committee. The motion is unusual. No such wiretapping application materials apparently have become public since Congress first enacted the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act in 1978. That law regulates electronic spying on domestic soil — the interception of phone calls and emails — undertaken in the name of monitoring suspected spies and terrorists, as opposed to wiretapping for investigating ordinary criminal suspects. Normally, even the existence of such material is a closely guarded secret. While applications for criminal wiretaps often eventually become public, the government has refused to disclose the contents of applications for intelligence wiretaps — even to defendants who are later prosecuted on the basis of information derived from them. But President Donald Trump lowered the shield of secrecy surrounding such materials on Feb 2, by declassifying the Republican memo about Page, after finding that the public interest in disclosing its contents outweighed any need to protect the information. Because President Trump did so, the Times argues, there is no longer a justification “for the Page warrant orders and application materials to be withheld in their entirety,” and “disclosure would serve the public interest.”

[Commentary] Just seven years after the $30 billion mega-merger between Comcast and NBCUniversal, the behemoth company has been freed from the temporary rules the Federal Communications Commission imposed to prevent it from discriminating against its competitors. Whether you’re a TV consumer, another cable company or a content provider, there’s good reason to be concerned. Comcast-NBCU has found ways to leverage its assets in ways that harm consumers and competition, and some of these moves have violated the FCC's conditions. Just 17 months after the merger, the FCC took enforcement action against Comcast for failing to provide consumers with stand-alone, affordable broadband internet service. That same year, the FCC stepped in to prevent the company from discriminating against rival Bloomberg Television. The FCC should extend the Comcast-NBCU merger conditions, or impose new rules suited to the present marketplace. At a minimum, the agency must strengthen the program access rule, a regulation established by Congress to prevent unfair practices by cable operators that own programming – companies such as Comcast-NBCU or AT&T-Time Warner. It would also be appropriate for the Justice Department to investigate the anticompetitive threat consumers will face if Comcast-NBCU is allowed operate without basic rules of the road. But Americans should be able to count on the FCC to ensure that competition flourishes. [Sen Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), FCC Commissioner Mignon Clyburn]

To accelerate the benefits of 5G, we need elected leaders at every level of government to adopt smart policies that support the deployment of new infrastructure. Fortunately, policymakers are already moving in the right direction. Leaders on both sides of the aisle and across the federal government have sent strong signals that it’s time to double down on America’s future in 5G, and time to start finding ways to accelerate deployment, remove regulatory barriers, connect local communities and close the digital divide. Just recently, Congress has introduced a flurry of new infrastructure bills, the impetus for the hearing noted above. Additionally, there is broad bipartisan support for including broadband in any new federal infrastructure bill. We’re excited by these first steps, and encourage policymakers to push these efforts forward. Working together, we can modernize our infrastructure and make the promise of next-generation technologies a reality. Verizon is excited to be working with communities across America to deliver the networks of tomorrow today. Pro-investment infrastructure policies at every level of government coupled with cutting-edge next-generation networks are key components of ensuring America’s continued global leadership in broadband technology. 

Rep Eric Swalwell (D-CA), a member of the House Intelligence and Judiciary committees, introduced the Journalist Protection Act to make a federal crime of certain attacks on those reporting the news. The Journalist Protection Act makes it a federal crime to intentionally cause bodily injury to a journalist affecting interstate or foreign commerce in the course of reporting or in a manner designed to intimidate him or her from newsgathering for a media organization. It represents a clear statement that assaults against people engaged in reporting is unacceptable, and helps ensure law enforcement is able to punish those who interfere with newsgathering. The bill is supported by the Communications Workers of America (CWA) and by News Media for Open Government, a broad coalition of news media and journalism organizations working to ensure that laws, policies and practices preserve and protect freedom of the press, open government and the free flow of information in our democratic society.