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[Commentary] The facts of the Department of Justice’s press intrusions are clear and uncontested. We know Justice has seized records of reporters, that Attorney General Eric Holder himself signed onto a warrant that suggested a journalist was a "co-conspirator" in a national-security leak. We also know that government has violated its own guidelines on probing journalists. So this is a scandal that can't be ignored or dismissed as a Republican witch hunt.
Moreover, it is a scandal that has, for once, outraged two groups that President Barack Obama deeply depends on for his political success: the press and liberal activists. Since the AP story broke, the Beltway media have been doing a passable impression of a credible Fourth Estate. White House press secretary Jay Carney's daily briefings now resemble "Survivor" episodes, with journalists firing off questions, rejecting answers, and even rolling their eyes at responses. The White House's evasiveness on the press scandal has suddenly got the press corps wondering what else this administration isn't being straight on. Will it last? That may depend on how many more revelations about press intrusions come to light. But the notable thing is that President Obama has lost the media's loyalty at this critical moment of his presidency, as other scandals over the IRS and Benghazi continue to swirl. The left and the press have always been with President Obama when it really mattered, and that may well remain the case. The particular significance of Justice's press scandal is that it has deprived Mr. Obama of support at a time when he is vulnerable on so much else. Who knows what will come of that?
A Double-Trouble Scandal for Obama
[Commentary] After a firestorm of criticism, the Obama administration is suggesting that it will make amends for its aggressive pursuit of journalists suspected of receiving leaks of classified information. But airy affirmations of the importance of a free press and vague promises of a new look at Justice Department regulations aren't enough.
The administration needs to commit itself in specific terms to stronger protections for news gathering that will be embodied in a federal statute. Previous administrations have recognized that the 1st Amendment contemplates a division of labor in which government may seek to keep information secret while the press sets out to uncover secrets in its efforts to keep the public informed about the actions of its leaders. In its zeal to plug leaks of classified information, the Obama administration upended that traditional understanding. It must show by deeds as well as words that it recognizes where it went wrong.
Shielding journalists, by law
Dish Network launched a tender for shares of Clearwire, throwing a wrench into a planned purchase of the broadband company by Sprint Nextel.
The last-minute move complicates a three-way merger aimed at turning Sprint into a stronger competitor in the U.S. wireless market. Sprint, which agreed to buy the roughly 50% of Clearwire it doesn't already own, also agreed to be bought for $20 billion by SoftBank of Japan. Clearwire delayed its shareholder vote as a result of the bid until June 13, while Sprint's shareholders will vote on the deal with SoftBank on June 12. While Dish stands little chance of taking over Clearwire given Sprint's big shareholdings, it could in theory win enough of a minority stake to create unwanted headaches for Sprint and SoftBank as they try to knit the companies together.
Dish Makes a Play For Clearwire That May Stymie Sprint
The House Judiciary Committee will hold a hearing June 6 to consider legislation that would legalize cellphone unlocking, which allows consumers to switch carriers.
The hearing, which will be held by the subcommittee on Courts, Intellectual Property and the Internet, will consider the Unlocking Consumer Choice and Wireless Competition Act, which is sponsored by full committee Chairman Bob Goodlatte (R-VA). The subcommittee has yet to announce the witnesses. Because of a Library of Congress decision last year, customers must obtain their carriers' permission to legally unlock their phones even after they have completed their contract. Goodlatte's bill, which is co-sponsored by subcommittee Chairman Howard Coble (R-NC) and ranking member Mel Watt (D-NC), would overturn the library's decision but would not amend the underlying copyright law. Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Patrick Leahy (D-VT) has introduced companion legislation in the upper chamber. Reps. Zoe Lofgren (D-CA), Thomas Massie (R-KY), Anna Eshoo (D-CA) and Jared Polis (D-CO) have sponsored a more aggressive bill that would amend the Digital Millennium Copyright Act to permanently legalize cellphone unlocking.
House panel to take up cellphone unlocking bill
The Federal Communications Commission told the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit May 30 that a court decision Verizon presented to the circuit recently to buttress its challenge of network neutrality rules is not on point.
In a January filing to the court, the FCC said that Verizon and other broadband providers "do not engage in speech; they transport the speech of others, as a messenger delivers documents containing speech." It drew the distinction between that and "cable systems, newspapers and other curated media," saying that broadband providers "do not exercise editorial discretion." In a filing with the court last week, attorneys for Verizon pointed to National Association of Manufacturers [NAM], et al. v. National Labor Relations Board [NLRB], decided by the D.C. Circuit May 7, to argue that the FCC was wrong. In that decision, the court pointed to what it said were "some firmly established principles of free speech law," including the fact that "the dissemination of messages others have created is entitled to the same level of protection as the 'creation' of messages." In its response, the FCC said that Open Internet rules do not resemble the regulation in the NLRB case, which was a requirement that employers post notices of collective bargaining rights. "The notice was written by the government, with a list of required statements in a specified format," said the FCC, which the court concluded was compelled speech "like a compulsory flag salute or the mandatory display of a license-plate motto."
"The Open Internet rules do not resemble that regulation," the FCC said. "Broadband providers need not convey any specific message, let alone a government-designated one. Providers must only refrain from blocking access to web sites of their customers' choice. Indeed, because Internet access service serves principally as a conduit for Internet content, broadband providers are not speakers at all... The Open Internet rules thus affect only the conduct of Internet service providers, not their speech."
FCC Refutes Verizon Network Neutrality Argument
The incentive auctions continue to breed unusual alliances.
First there was the National Association of Broadcasters and wireless companies teaming on a band plan, and now the National Association of Broadcasters and the Consumer Electronics Association, which have battled over the relative value of spectrum in the hands of broadcasters and those wireless companies, have joined to ask the Federal Communications Commission to create a working group on international coordination.
The US will have to coordinate the repacking of TV stations after the auction with Canada and Mexico to avoid border interference issues. Broadcasters have been pushing the commission to resolve those issues before the auctions. "We are pleased that the Commission has recently reached out to Canada to begin this [coordination] process," they wrote in a letter to acting FCC Chair Mignon Clyburn. "We believe that the Commission can go one step further, however, and immediately create a joint working group consisting of public and private officials to expedite this critical process."
NAB/CEA Urge FCC to Create Spectrum Coordination Task Force
[Commentary] Facebook belatedly moved to further restrict hate speech that glorified violence against women after an organized social media campaign caused some companies like Nissan, the automaker, to withhold advertising from the site. The companies said they acted after they became aware that their ads might have appeared next to the offensive content.
It was only after advocacy groups like Women, Action & the Media and The Everyday Sexism Project mounted a campaign, sending 5,000 e-mails to Facebook advertisers and coordinating petitions signed by more than 200,000 people, that the company reacted publicly. The company’s slow response may be indicative of a deeper problem in technology and Internet-based companies — most of them are primarily run by men. Facebook is, of course, a notable exception in that its chief operating officer is Sheryl Sandberg, who recently wrote the book “Lean In: Women, Work, and the Will to Lead.” This episode shows that sexism is a deeply entrenched problem that society has to battle collectively because individual voices far too often go unheeded.
Hate Speech on Facebook
Emergency operators in New York City have been forced on at least three occasions recently to resort to using pen and paper to record 911 calls and dispatch workers after their computer system went dark.
Officials were quick to say that every call was answered and emergency workers continued to be dispatched across the city. However, the problem — which officials said halted the relaying of electronic messages between 911 operators and the dispatchers who send out police, fire and emergency workers — came on the first truly hot day of the year, when there is usually a spike in calls. As a result, calls were being prioritized to ensure that the most serious cases were dealt with first, according to fire officials. Police Commissioner Raymond W. Kelly, whose department is responsible for oversight of the 911 system, said every call that came in had been answered.
New York City’s 911 Operators Use Pen and Paper as Computers Fail
Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY), the libertarian-leaning Republican eying a 2016 presidential campaign, is making calls this week at Google and other Silicon Valley companies, part of his effort to make inroads among groups not associated with the GOP.
The Kentuckian is also visiting Facebook and eBay during a California fundraising swing that will tap wealthy tech donors. On May 30, Sen Paul held a private town hall for employees at Google's Mountain View, Calif., campus. The senator is betting his policy views—he believes decisions about gay marriage should be left to the states and is a strong supporter of civil liberties—could play well with an industry that pushes a laissez-faire approach to the Internet.
Rand Paul Seeks Silicon Valley Funds
Acting Federal Communications Commission Chairwoman Clyburn appointed P. Michele Ellison, currently chief of the Enforcement Bureau, as Chief of Staff. Dave Grimaldi will serve as Chief Counsel and Senior Legal Advisor. She also named legal advisors, including Louis Peraertz for wireless, international, and public safety issues; Rebekah Goodheart for wireline issues; and Sarah Whitesell, currently Deputy Bureau Chief of the Media Bureau, for media issues. Drema Johnson will serve as Confidential Assistant. Dorothy Givens-Terry will serve as Special Assistant. Carol Lott and DeeAnn Smith will serve as Staff Assistants.
- Ellison previously served as Chief of the FCC’s Enforcement Bureau, which is responsible for effectively carrying out the agency’s rules and orders. Previously, Ellison was Acting General Counsel of the agency, where she served as primary legal counsel to the Commission and prior to that, she served as Deputy General Counsel for twelve years. She has counseled the Commissioners and other senior staff on legal issues related to the regulation of the various communications industries, including advising on litigation risks associated with rulemaking and adjudicatory decisions.
- Grimaldi previously served as Chief of Staff in then Commissioner Clyburn’s office after serving as Senior Counsel to House Majority Whip James E. Clyburn (D-SC) on technology and telecommunications, foreign affairs, and financial services regulation. He previously counseled corporate, financial and non-profit clients as Senior Counsel at The Raben Group and served as Legislative Counsel to Representative Ed Towns (D-NY), on the House Commerce Committee and its Subcommittee on Telecommunications and the Internet.
- Peraertz joined then Commissioner Clyburn’s staff in October 2009. Prior to this, he served as Special Counsel in the Wireless Telecommunications Bureau focusing on competition, spectrum allocation, and infrastructure policy issues. Peraertz began his communications career in the Office of General Counsel where, among other things, he represented the Commission in several cases before courts of appeal.
- Goodheart has worked at the Commission since January 2008. She served as Deputy Director of the Technology Transitions Policy Task Force and Associate Chief of the Wireline Competition Bureau. Goodheart previously served as a Senior Policy Advisor for the Omnibus Broadband Initiative, developing many of the recommendations in National Broadband Plan. She also served as Assistant Division Chief in the Industry Analysis Division of the Media Bureau.
- Whitesell previously served as Deputy Bureau Chief of the Media Bureau, where she shaped policies for the media marketplace on broadcast ownership, children's issues, and media transactions, among other matters. Prior to joining the Bureau in 2005, she served as Associate Chief of the Office of Strategic Planning and Policy Analysis, Associate Chief of the Cable Bureau, Acting Legal Advisor to Commissioner Jonathan Adelstein on media issues and Legal Advisor to Commissioner Gloria Tristani for common carrier issues. Whitesell has also served as a member of the Telecommunications Task Force for the Department of Justice's Antitrust Division.
- Johnson is responsible for managing the office as well as the Acting Chairwoman’s personal schedule and travel arrangements. She previously served as Special Assistant to former House Speaker Thomas S. Foley and as Confidential Assistant to former FCC Chairman William Kennard.
- Smith joined the agency in 2009 and will continue to assist in carrying out the mission of the Clyburn office and the agency. She has an extensive administrative background, including experience in the legal and marketing industries.
- Terry is an experienced researcher, interviewer, reporter and entrepreneur. She spent a number of years at Pepco Holdings, Inc., Computing Technologies, on the Hill and in the newsrooms of two daily papers.
- Carol Lott brings more than 26 years of administrative and office management experience to the Acting Chief of Staff as a Special Assistant. The Administrative Management Specialist in the Enforcement Bureau previously served as a senior staff assistant in the Chairman’s office, the Executive Administrator and Office Manager for Temple Strategies and an Executive Assistant in the Office of General Counsel.
FCC Acting Chairwoman Mignon Clyburn Makes Staff Announcements Acting FCC Chairwoman Clyburn Announces Staff (Multichannel News) FCC's Clyburn announces leadership team (The Hill)