Daily Digest 3/27/2019 (Net Neutrality Bill Moves Forward)

Benton Foundation
Table of Contents

Broadband

House Communications Subcommittee Votes to Refer the Save the Internet Act to Full Committee  |  Read below  |  John Eggerton  |  Multichannel News
DC Stakeholders Square Off Over Net Neutrality Bill Markup  |  Read below  |  John Eggerton  |  Multichannel News
FCC claims on broadband access under scrutiny  |  Read below  |  Harper Neidig  |  Hill, The

Privacy/Security

FTC Seeks to Examine the Privacy Practices of Broadband Providers  |  Read below  |  Press Release  |  Federal Trade Commission
Analysis: US and Europe's divergent attitudes on Huawei could damage alliance, officials warn  |  Washington Post

Platforms/Ownership

The tragedy of tech companies: Getting the regulation they want  |  Read below  |  Tom Wheeler  |  Analysis  |  Brookings
Analysis: Apple's push into subscriptions raises new competition concerns, antitrust experts say  |  Washington Post
Opinion: It’s time to break up Apple  |  Fast Company
Facebook shuts down thousands of fake pages in its latest crackdown  |  USAToday
Shoshana Zuboff on surveillance capitalism  |  Vox

Telecommunications

FTC Crackdown Stops Operations Responsible for Billions of Illegal Robocalls  |  Read below  |  Press Release  |  Federal Trade Commission
Arkansas legislature advances bill to charge robocallers with a felony  |  Arkansas Democrat Gazette

Wireless/Spectrum

Rural Groups Push FCC C-Band Auction  |  Multichannel News
Verizon refuses to admit that its “first to 5G” commercials are misleading  |  Ars Technica

Television

House Judiciary Committee Seeks STELAR Renewal Info From Direct Broadcast Satellite Companies  |  Broadcasting&Cable

Journalism

For Local News, Americans Embrace Digital but Still Want Strong Community Connection  |  Read below  |  Research  |  Pew Research Center
Most Americans – especially Republicans – say local journalists shouldn’t express views on local issues  |  Pew Research Center
Margaret Sullivan: Serious journalists should be proud of — not bullied over — their Russia reporting  |  Washington Post

Communications and Democracy

President Trump slams media for coverage of investigations into 'all time favorite duly elected President'  |  Hill, The
House leaders pay homage to C-SPAN on 40th anniversary  |  Hill, The

Company News

Apple infringes a Qualcomm patent, judge says, recommending iPhone import ban  |  Bloomberg

Labor

Companies that use a “digital network” to dispatch workers like Uber does could label them contractors rather than employees  |  New York Times

Stories From Abroad

Europe’s controversial overhaul of online copyright receives final approval  |  Vox
New copyright rules could curb access to online media in Europe  |  Bloomberg
Public Knowledge Strongly Opposes Misguided EU Copyright Reform  |  Public Knowledge
Europe is worried about 5G security, but it isn’t banning Huawei yet  |  Vox
More than 110,000 Australians caught up in September's Facebook cyber-attack  |  Guardian, The
Today's Top Stories

House Communications Subcommittee Votes to Refer the Save the Internet Act to Full Committee

John Eggerton  |  Multichannel News

The House Communications Subcommittee has voted 18 to 11 along party lines to refer the Save the Internet Act (HR 1644) to the full committee, where it is also expected to be favorably reported out. The Save the Internet Act restores the Federal Communications Commission's 2015 Open Internet Order that created strong network neutrality rules. Full Committee Chairman Frank Pallone (D-NJ) said of the Title II-restoring bill: "Failure to move forward on this legislation is simply not an option." "[N]et neutrality is not Title II," said Full Committee Ranking Member Greg Walden (R-OR). "Net neutrality does not need the harmful, heavy-handed approach of Title II." The only amendment came from Ranking Member Walden, which would provide an exemption for small ISPs from the enhanced transparency requirements that the bill would also restore. Walden withdrew the amendment after getting assurance from Subcommittee Chairman Mike Doyle (D-PA) and others that they would work with him to find some middle ground on the issue before committee markup. The Democrats support some kind of relief for smaller operators, but how much and for how long remain issues. The hearing once again showed that Democrats and Republicans remain at odds over fundamental issues, like Title II. 

DC Stakeholders Square Off Over Net Neutrality Bill Markup

John Eggerton  |  Multichannel News

Reaction was swift to the House Communications Subcommittee's referral of the Save the Internet Act to the full House Commerce Committee, the first step in its likely passage by the House. NCTA-The Internet & Television Association said, “With today’s action, the subcommittee has stubbornly insisted on a partisan path that leads to a dead end. The result of allergically resisting a bipartisan approach to resolving this decades-old issue is that consumers will fail to receive the net neutrality protections that are generally accepted and industry will not get the certainty it needs to invest more boldly...There is a real path to bipartisan compromise on a set of strong, enforceable net neutrality rules, but any approach is doomed that insists on bolting on expansive powers that allow the government to control and regulate the internet more broadly. Congress does not need Title II in order to adopt strong rules that survive judicial review, as the Commission arguably did."

But there were plenty of net neutrality activists who saw the path leading to restored consumer protections from ISPs abuses. “Free Press Action thanks the Communications and Technology Subcommittee for passing the Save the Internet Act, and taking the first step toward restoring Net Neutrality and other vital broadband protections," said campaign director Candace Clement. "People need strong Net Neutrality rules to protect their online civil rights, and that’s exactly what this bill delivers." “Today's vote by the Subcommittee to approve the Save the Internet Act is a critical step for Congress to restore strong net neutrality consumer protections," said Public Knowledge senior policy counsel Phillip Berenbroick. "Members of the Subcommittee have carefully weighed the issues and listened to the more than 80 percent of Americans who consistently say they support restoring the protections the FCC adopted in the 2015 Open Internet Order."

FCC claims on broadband access under scrutiny

Harper Neidig  |  Hill, The

The Federal Communications Commission is being scrutinized over its claims that its deregulatory agenda has led to record gains in the private sector’s efforts to expand access to high-speed internet in rural and underserved communities. In Feb, FCC Chairman Ajit Pai circulated a draft of the agency’s annual progress report on broadband deployment. He touted data showing that the number of Americans without access to broadband fell by more than 25 percent and that a record number of homes had received new fiber connections in 2017. Chairman Pai’s conclusions and the numbers that he based them on quickly came under scrutiny. “This is just not credible. Studies show that 162 million Americans do not use the internet at broadband speeds,” FCC Commissioner Jessica Rosenworcel said. “The simple fact is that the FCC needs to come clean about its numbers — serious questions have been raised about the FCC’s data that demand answers.”

FTC Seeks to Examine the Privacy Practices of Broadband Providers

Press Release  |  Federal Trade Commission

The Federal Trade Commission issued orders to seven US Internet broadband providers and related entities seeking information the agency will use to examine how broadband companies collect, retain, use, and disclose information about consumers and their devices. The orders seek information about the companies’ privacy policies, procedures, and practices. The orders were sent to: AT&T, AT&T Mobility, Comcast Cable Communications doing business as Xfinity, Google Fiber, T-Mobile, Verizon, and Cellco Partnership doing business as Verizon Wireless. The FTC is initiating this study to better understand Internet service providers’ privacy practices in light of the evolution of telecommunications companies into vertically integrated platforms that also provide advertising-supported content.  The FTC is seeking information from the companies that includes:

  • The categories of personal information collected about consumers or their devices, including the purpose for which the information is collected or used; the techniques for collecting such information; whether the information collected is shared with third parties; internal policies for access to such data; and how long the information is retained;
  • Whether the information is aggregated, anonymized or deidentified;
  • Copies of the companies’ notices and disclosures to consumers about their data collection practices;
  • Whether the companies offer consumers choices about the collection, retention, use and disclosure of personal information, and whether the companies have denied or degraded service to consumers who decline to opt-in to data collection; and
  • Procedures and processes for allowing consumers to access, correct, or delete their personal information.

The Commission is authorized to issue the Orders to File a Special Report by Section 6(b) of the FTC Act. 

The tragedy of tech companies: Getting the regulation they want

Tom Wheeler  |  Analysis  |  Brookings

American technology companies today find themselves in a conundrum Oscar Wilde identified: “There are only two tragedies in life: one is not getting what one wants, and the other is getting it.” The tech companies—both networks and the platform services that ride on them—have run the table in Washington as multiple government agencies and Congress repeatedly walked away from regulatory oversight. The result has been the digital companies’ discovery of Wilde’s second tragedy. 

For over a decade, tech companies have spread the fiction that “digital is different,” and would be hampered by public interest regulation. The consequences of the success of the companies’ anti-regulation efforts are now becoming obvious: the cartelization of what should be competitive markets. Having achieved their goal of keeping government oversight away, the digital companies are discovering that winning everything can be a curse, just like Wilde warned. As a result, the very same companies that championed a no-regulation agenda are now asking Congress for federal rules—albeit rules on the companies’ terms. The reason: the digital companies have had such a total victory at the federal level as to leave a policy void in protecting consumers and competition. That void is being filled by the states. The realization that the complete absence of rules could actually not be in the best interest of the digital companies has moved them from a “do not touch us” position to one of “we need uniform rules.” Now that the companies have abandoned the spin that regulation hurts innovation, the opportunity arises to explore meaningful regulation.

[Tom Wheeler is the former chairman of the Federal Communications Commission]

FTC Crackdown Stops Operations Responsible for Billions of Illegal Robocalls

Press Release  |  Federal Trade Commission

Four separate operations responsible for bombarding consumers nationwide with billions of unwanted and illegal robocalls pitching auto warranties, debt-relief services, home security systems, fake charities, and Google search results services have agreed to settle Federal Trade Commission charges that they violated the FTC Act and the agency’s Telemarketing Sales Rule (TSR), including its Do Not Call (DNC) provisions. The settlements are part of the agency’s ongoing efforts to combat the scourge of illegal robocalls. Under the court orders announced today, the defendants are banned from robocalling and most telemarketing activities, including those using an automatic dialer, and will pay significant financial judgments. The defendant in one of these cases provided the software platform that resulted in more than one billion illegal robocalls.

For Local News, Americans Embrace Digital but Still Want Strong Community Connection

Research  |  Pew Research Center

The digital era is making its mark on local news. Nearly as many Americans today say they prefer to get their local news online as say they prefer to do so through the television set. The 41% of Americans who say they prefer getting their local news via TV and the 37% who prefer it online far outpace those who prefer a printed newspaper or the radio (13% and 8%, respectively). The degree to which the public accesses each type of provider digitally versus non-digitally varies a great deal. To start, the vast majority of Americans who get news from local TV stations primarily do so the old-fashioned way: from the television set (76%), not from the stations’ websites or social media accounts (22%). Radio is similarly tied to its traditional form. But most other providers have a substantial share of their audience accessing them online. For example, 43% of daily newspaper consumers tend to get that news digitally, as do 49% of those who rely on community newsletters or listservs.

The study also highlights a widespread lack of awareness about the revenue challenges facing many local news media operations. Even amid declining revenues and staffing, about seven-in-ten Americans think their local news outlets are doing very or somewhat well financially (71%). When it comes to their own financial support of the industry, just 14% of American adults say they have paid for local news in the past year, either through subscription, donation or membership. When those who don’t pay were asked why, the widespread availability of free content tops the list (49%). Only 10%, on the other hand, said concerns about quality of coverage was the top reason for not paying

 

Submit a Story

Benton (www.benton.org) provides the only free, reliable, and non-partisan daily digest that curates and distributes news related to universal broadband, while connecting communications, democracy, and public interest issues. Posted Monday through Friday, this service provides updates on important industry developments, policy issues, and other related news events. While the summaries are factually accurate, their sometimes informal tone may not always represent the tone of the original articles. Headlines are compiled by Kevin Taglang (headlines AT benton DOT org) and Robbie McBeath (rmcbeath AT benton DOT org) — we welcome your comments.


© Benton Foundation 2019. Redistribution of this email publication — both internally and externally — is encouraged if it includes this message. For subscribe/unsubscribe info email: headlines AT benton DOT org


Kevin Taglang

Kevin Taglang
Executive Editor, Communications-related Headlines
Benton Foundation
727 Chicago Avenue
Evanston, IL 60202
847-328-3049
headlines AT benton DOT org

Share this edition:

Benton Foundation Benton Foundation Benton Foundation

Benton Foundation

The Benton Foundation All Rights Reserved © 2018