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Ahead of Trump meeting, tech leaders prioritize civil liberties

A coalition of tech entrepreneurs and investors called for a “safeguarding of civil liberties”, ahead of a meeting with President-elect Donald Trump.

In the letter, startup founders, entrepreneurs and venture capitalists say civil liberties are “inextricably linked with our global competitiveness and success.” Citing “recent incidents of harassment in diverse communities that could lead to a brain drain of much needed talent,” the business leaders pledged to “protect people from the erosion of their civil liberties;” to “refuse to contribute skills or platforms to any effort that infringes on civil liberties by any government agency;” and to “accept a responsibility to partner with communities where the effects of rapidly changing technologies have hurt all Americans.” The letter -- signed by the leaders of Shift, Comfy, HelloVote, Willpower Labs, Kiva and The Westly Group, among others -- argues that preservation of such liberties is essential for the advancement of American business. Top officials from major tech organizations such as Apple, Amazon, Facebook, Google and Tesla are expected to attend the tech meeting with the president-elect at Trump Tower in New York. Jobs will likely be the focal point of the conversation.

Sen John Thune is prairie player in tech world

Senate Commerce Committee Chairman John Thune (R-SD) has made himself into an indispensable player in debates over the future of technology policy and its ripple effects around the economy.

His education on technology issues began when he unexpectedly became the committee’s ranking member after then-Sen. Jim DeMint (R-SC) left the Senate to become the head of the conservative Heritage Foundation. When he became chairman in 2014, Thune said in a speech at the conservative American Enterprise Institute that lawmakers should work to free up government-owned spectrum — the invisible frequencies that carry signals to mobile devices — for private use. Chairman Thune released a bill to carry through that pledge, though it did not make it out of Congress. He’s found bipartisan ground on a bill to reauthorize the Federal Communications Commission, which would give Congress another chance to weigh in on the goings-on at the agency. That bill, however, also failed to make it through Congress. “He knows the facts, he knows the background, he knows where the policy challenges are and he knows what needs to be done,” said Andy Halataei, senior vice president for government affairs at the Information Technology Industry Council. “And I think the other thing that gives us confidence is the way he conducts the debate is that it’s usually pretty open, transparent, it’s pretty thoughtful and it lends itself to a bipartisan result.” Even some who disagree with Thune sing his praises.

How Trump and promise of FCC reform are already spurring economic growth

[Commentary] The unexpected presidential election of a very successful builder and value creator determined to spur economic and employment growth, coupled with a reelected Republican-controlled Congress, has already created significant growth opportunity by signaling a completely new business and investment environment for industry regulated by the Federal Communications Commission. This change in business outlook is as different as night and day.

As a result, these forward-looking companies are already putting into motion new investments in infrastructure and growth opportunities that will create jobs. First, for the next four years starting Jan. 20, the FCC will shift from being extremely regulatory and openly hostile to private investment in infrastructure and proprietary content creation, to being highly deregulatory and supportive of private investment, and value and job creation. Second, Republican FCC commissioners were vehemently opposed to the FCC’s creation of an un-bounded Title II “Standard for Future Conduct” that has empowered FCC enforcement staff to unilaterally make up new rules of the game as they go along and play “gotcha-enforcement” after-the-fact. Third, in the months ahead, a comprehensive tax reform package is expected to pass into law that will lower America’s corporate tax rates from 35 percent to roughly 15 percent. This is one of the most pro-growth, pro-investment, pro-employment, policies any new government could enact. Finally, concerning merger review, the Republican FCC commissioners, and Republicans in general, believe that the FCC has abused its unbounded and unpredictable public interest test in the FCC’s redundant merger review process; and that the FCC was wrong in administratively whipsawing established antitrust precedent in high-fixed cost industries like communications from three market competitors required, to four – after the fact.

[Cleland is president of Precursor LLC, a consultancy for Fortune 500 companies, and chairman of NetCompetition, a pro-competition e-forum supported by broadband interests]

What Trump means for telecom, media and technology

[Commentary] Elections have consequences. And nowhere are the consequences more monumental than in the telecommunication, media and technology (TMT) sector, where the erstwhile status quo stands to be upended soon. Hazarding an early guess on the "Trump doctrine," we should expect a more benign, pro-business approach to communications regulation as it affects TMT.

Under Trump, size will not matter: Big corporations are not seen as inherently bad or suspect, despite candidate Trump's shoot-from-the-hip reactions to questions on mergers during the campaign.

Communications Act rewrite and FCC jurisdiction: The Communications Act of 1996 is the statutory beacon for federal policy in the media and communications space. As its title suggests, however, the Act is 20 years old, and is in desperate need of revision, if not reform altogether.

Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA): The Obama Federal Communications Commission adopted one of the most controversial anti-business rulings in decades, as it reinterpreted the TCPA. Seen by many companies as a boon for class action litigants, the TCPA imposed costly restrictions on the ability of businesses to communicate with their customers with auto dialer technology. Both Republican FCC Commissioners — Ajit Pai and Michael O'Rielly — have been opposed to the FCC's interpretation of the TCPA and have delineated its detrimental effect on business. In a Trump Administration, their view will prevail, and the current TCPA ruling is likely be reversed.

[Adonis Hoffman is chairman of Business in the Public Interest and adjunct professor at Georgetown University]

Our desperate need to save US democracy from ourselves

[Commentary] The trouble is that no one really sees it as their job to save American democracy — not politicians, not owners of social media platforms, not advocates of conservative and liberal causes, and maybe not even citizens themselves. Instead, in the course of selfishly or zealously pursuing our interests, we all do our bit to chip away at the great gift of democracy. Eventually, unless we start taking better care of democracy, it’s going to stop taking care of us.

American democracy is a marvelous edifice for governing in which we all pursue our own interests. But its health and persistence depends upon restraint and ethical commitments to preserving democracy. That’s why each of us needs to make it part of our job to save American democracy.

[Archon Fung is the Ford Foundation Professor of Democracy and Citizenship at Harvard’s Kennedy School of Government.]

Sen Reid to media: Your work is more important than ever

Retiring Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) urged the media to double their efforts as power changes hands in Washington during what may be his last press conference on Capitol Hill.

"Right now your work is more important than ever," Minority Leader Reid said, acknowledging that he may not address them again as Democratic leader. Referring to the proliferation of fake news stories that Democrats felt played a role in tipping the presidential election to Donald Trump, Minority Leader Reid said: "You have an extremely difficult responsibility now, and it’s more important than ever." “Taking tough questions from journalists is part of the job and I wish you all the very best, recognizing your burden at this stage of America is extremely heavy, and I wish you the very best in doing what you can to help our great country,” he said.

After blowback, NYT public editor walks back criticism of reporters

The public editor of The New York Times says she should have been more restrained in criticizing some of newspaper's reporters' tweets during a recent interview. "In retrospect, I should have held back more, not knowing what the context was for the tweets. I think that's a fair criticism," Liz Spayd said. "But I stand by my view that journalists should be careful, sometimes more careful than they are, with what they say on social media," she maintained. "That includes how it can be interpreted."

On Dec 2's "Tucker Carlson Tonight," Carlson asked Spayd about tweets by Times journalists including Eric Lipton, Peter Baker and Michael Barbaro that appear to be more opinion than straight news reporting. Carlson slammed the Tweets during his interview with Spayd, claiming the reporters were anti-Donald Trump and didn't care to hide their feelings about the president-elect. "We tried to keep this guy from getting elected, but did anyways," Carlson said in characterizing the tweets. "Yes, I think that's outrageous. I think that that should not be. They shouldn't be tweeted," Spayd responded. Progressive journalists and professors took to Twitter to complain about Spayd's comments.

Rep Walden to head House Commerce Committee

Republicans have elected Rep Greg Walden (R-OR) the next Chairman of the powerful House Energy and Commerce Committee. Rep Walden defeated Reps John Shimkus (R-IL) and Joe Barton (R-TX), the former committee chairman, in the race for the gavel. Current Chairman Fred Upton (R-MI), is stepping down from the position due to term limits. Support for Rep Walden's elevation to chairman surged after two successful terms as head of the House GOP's campaign arm, a tenure that endeared him to both leadership and the House GOP Steering Committee members who elected him on Dec 1.

A nine-term lawmaker, Rep Walden has experience on both the Energy panel and within the industries over which it has jurisdiction. He previously owned radio stations in Oregon and has chaired the panel’s technology and telecom subcommittee. He has also worked on healthcare issues in rural Oregon.

A political temper tantrum at the FCC

[Commentary] Two days after the election, Federal Communications Commission Chairman Tom Wheeler announced an aggressive agenda for the FCC's Nov 17 open meeting to push through some of his remaining high-priority items, including, among other things, mandating a massive rate reduction for Business Data Services without any economic justification for the naked benefit of select constituencies. As to be expected after a major election where the other party takes control, Senate Commerce Committee Chairman John Thune (R-SD), shortly thereafter wrote a letter to the FCC behooving Chairman Wheeler to refrain from acting on "complex, partisan, or otherwise controversial items" during the Presidential transition.

Telecom policy is a serious business and — as Chairman Wheeler's tenure as chairman amply demonstrates — the public interest is ill-suited by partisan leadership. Instead, President-elect Donald Trump should appoint somebody to lead the FCC who truly understands the economics of the business, respects the law and, most importantly, is committed to uphold every American's basic right to due process. If not, then just when you think the next chairman can't be any worse than the last — they will be.

[Lawrence J. Spiwak is the president of the Phoenix Center for Advanced Legal & Economic Public Policy Studies]

House passes intelligence bill enhancing efforts against Russia

The House passed an annual intelligence policy authorization bill Nov 30 that includes a provision to increase scrutiny of Russia's attempts to exert covert influence around the world, after the country was accused of meddling in 2016's US presidential election. Tucked into the 93-page unclassified portion of the legislation, approved by a vote of 390-30, is a measure establishing an interagency committee to counter Russian meddling in foreign countries that's often taken the form of media manipulation and spreading disinformation.

Another provision of the bill limits the travel of Russian diplomatic personnel in the US to a maximum of 25 miles from their official posts unless the FBI certifies to Congress that it didn't find evidence of wrongdoing by those individuals. In 2016, independent researchers also found that a Russian propaganda campaign created and spread fake news meant to boost Trump over Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton. Some stories promoting misinformation came from state-funded Russian information services or were spread on social media by Russian sites.

Lawmakers mull US role in AI technology

Lawmakers and experts voiced concerns Nov 30 about America’s future as a leader in artificial intelligence technology. Sen Ted Cruz (R-TX) cautioned during a Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation subcommittee hearing that the US could lose its spot as a leader in developing AI technology. “Today, the United States is the preeminent leader in developing artificial intelligence. But that could soon change,” warned Sen Cruz. “Ceding leadership in developing artificial intelligence to China, Russia and other foreign governments will not only place the United States at a technological disadvantage, but it could also have implications for national security,” he said in opening remarks. Experts on a panel expressed similar sentiments. “I do think it’s important that we grow our AI workforce quickly,” said Andrew Moore, dean of the School of Computer Science at Carnegie Mellon University.

Sen Cruz calls for lifting campaign fundraising limits

Sen Ted Cruz (R-TX) wants to squeeze out super PACs by abolishing limits on fundraising dollars to individual candidates. Joining with Rep Mark Meadows (R-NC), Sen Cruz is filing legislation that the pair argues will increase transparency and treat all campaign donations like free speech.

"Restrictions to political contributions are always presented under the guise of preventing corruption and holding politicians accountable, when in fact they accomplish exactly the opposite: protecting incumbent politicians," Sen Cruz said. "Establishing unlimited contributions paired with immediate disclosure is the best way to promote transparency, eliminate the viability of SuperPACs going forward, and ensure that free speech is protected in the electoral process." The new bill would allow donors to give unlimited sums to candidates but require that donations of more than $200 be disclosed within one day's time.

Tech groups reach out to President-elect Trump for infrastructure boost

More than a dozen tech groups extended an olive branch to President-elect Donald Trump, penning a joint letter to the President-elect congratulating him on his win and offering recommendations for working with the tech sector. “We stand ready to help your Administration tap into 21st century innovation to achieve prosperity for the nation,” read the letter from a coalition of 17 tech trade groups. The letter was signed by leaders from trade associations including the Information Technology Industry Council and Internet Association, which represent companies such as Google, Facebook and Intel.

“We recognize a critical early step in achieving your goals of moving the country forward in a productive way will be identifying the right people for critical positions,” the trade association leaders wrote. “We would welcome the opportunity to meet with your leadership team to discuss our policy and personnel ideas in greater depth.” Their recommendations included support for investing technology infrastructure and tax and regulatory reform to spur job growth.

Apple, Google, Amazon ask Trump for focus on financial tech

A coalition of major tech companies — including Google, Amazon and Apple — is calling on President-elect Donald Trump to appoint a Treasury undersecretary for technology. Financial Innovation Now (FIN), which also includes PayPal and Intuit, is asking the Trump Administration to appoint regulators and promote policies that will bolster the use of financial technology (FinTech) as it gains popularity and prominence. FinTech includes a wide array of smartphone apps and websites that aim to offer quicker, safer and more accessible financial services.

FIN executive director Brian Peters emphasized Trump’s business experience in a letter outlining the coalition’s desire for “a national vision and coordinated strategy” to grow FinTech jobs and use FinTech to drive competition between financial services providers. FIN asked Trump to appoint regulators, including a special Treasury undersecretary for technology, that “value technology and who will seek to promote innovation as a means to foster competition in financial services.”

President-elect Trump hires put premium on TV prowess

For all Donald Trump's attacks on the media, a TV career seems to help the chances of anyone hoping to get a job in his Administration. In recent days, President-elect Trump has appointed KT McFarland, a Fox News contributor, as his deputy national security advisor, and met with Sheriff David Clarke, a more controversial figure who frequently appears on the same network. The TV prowess of Trump’s campaign manager, Kellyanne Conway, has been widely reported to boost her standing with her boss. Meanwhile, President-elect Trump’s national security advisor, retired Gen Mike Flynn, is a frequent presence on Fox, as are several politicians apparently under consideration for positions, including former UN ambassador John Bolton and former Arkansas Gov and two-time presidential candidate Mike Huckabee.

The focus on TV commentators is beginning to attract attention of its own. The Washington Post noted the trend and suggested that Trump was in the business of “stocking the federal government with … people that he’s seen on TV and likes.” It could be as simple as that. But it could also be that Trump — who has taken the use of social media to an art form, albeit a deeply controversial one — has a keener eye than most for the importance of effective TV communication.

Let's build infrastructure for the future, not just today

[Commentary] What goals are appropriate to government and what decisions should be left to the private sector? This bedrock question underlies most disputes in modern American politics, even when the issue is framed in scientific, economic or moral terms. However, one role that almost everyone agrees belongs to government is the planning and funding of large-scale infrastructure. Broadband and wireless networks, in addition to the power grid, must be resistant and resilient to cyberattack.

[David M. Lodge is the Francis J. DiSalvo Director of Cornell University's Atkinson Center for a Sustainable Future and a professor in Cornell's Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology.]

President-elect Trump taps another net neutrality critic for FCC transition

President-elect Donald Trump is tapping another critic of network neutrality to help with the transition at the Federal Communications Commission. The Trump transition team announced that Roslyn Layton will join the FCC landing team. Layton will work alongside Jeffrey Eisenach and Mark Jamison.

Layton, like her two colleagues, has served as a visiting fellow at the American Enterprise Institute (AEI), a conservative think tank. The three are all critics of the agency's controversial net neutrality rules. “The FCC's recent actions and the White House's intervention is inconsistent with a stable, evidence-based regulatory approach,” Layton wrote about net neutrality in a 2015 op-ed cowritten with Jamison. Layton went on to say that the FCC should focus on other matters. “The situation distracts the FCC from its mission-critical responsibilities, such as the upcoming incentive auction to get more spectrum in the marketplace and meet consumers’ increasing demand for wireless technologies.”

Trump FCC can't repeal rules quickly, but can enforce how it wants

[Commentary] The Federal Communications Commission under President-elect Donald Trump is likely to take a hard look at network neutrality and the reclassification of broadband as a Title II common carrier service. Repealing a regulation so recently blessed by the Court of Appeals may, however, be a lengthy and difficult process. The Internet Service Provider (ISP) privacy regulations pursuant to the Title II reclassification may be more readily overturned because no court has yet ruled on them. But that would still take some time.

In the interim, the new FCC should adopt a more rational enforcement policy. One early candidate should be the treatment of "pay-for-privacy" or "financial incentive" plans. These are broadband service plans that offer discounts to subscribers who permit their ISP to collect and use their data. The new FCC privacy regulations suggest an enforcement policy that will actively discourage these plans, notwithstanding FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler's claim that, "The bottom line is that it's your data. How it's used and shared should be your choice." Left unsaid was that he prefers some choices to others.

[Thomas M. Lenard is senior fellow and president emeritus of the Technology Policy Institute.]

Internet Archive putting database in Canada to keep it from President-elect Trump

The Internet Archive, a nonprofit that saves copies of old web pages, is creating a backup of its database in Canada, in response to the election of Donald Trump. “On November 9th in America, we woke up to a new administration promising radical change,” the organization wrote. “It was a firm reminder that institutions like ours, built for the long-term, need to design for change.”

The Internet Archive is responsible for services like the Wayback Machine, a tool that allows users to access cached versions of websites long after they are pulled from the Internet, and Open Library, which offers free access to millions of e-books. The move will cost millions, according to the Internet Archive, which is soliciting donations. In their post, the Internet Archive justified its decision to backup its data in Canada, claiming that Trump could threaten an open Internet. “For us, it means keeping our cultural materials safe, private and perpetually accessible. It means preparing for a Web that may face greater restrictions.”

'Fake news' isn't the problem — mainstream news with an agenda is

[Commentary] Talk to people on the anti-“Mainstream media” side of the culture war, Donald Trump supporters or not, and they will tell you that The New York Times or The Washington Post are no more reliable than Breitbart or the conspiracy-theory site Infowars.

Comparing the mainstream media in the United States to the state-controlled Russian media that routinely traffic in outright hoaxes and blatant propaganda is factually wrong and unfair. But the media must do a better job and invite a greater diversity of viewpoints. Otherwise, its ability to counter fake news will continue to erode, with dangerous consequences for us all.

[Cathy Young is a contributing editor for Reason magazine and a columnist for Newsday.]

Breitbart slams President-elect Trump for backing off Clinton's e-mails

President-elect Donald Trump's plan not to pursue an investigation into Hillary Clinton’s private e-mail server is not being received well at Breitbart News. "Broken Promise: Trump ‘Doesn’t Wish to Pursue’ Clinton Email Charges," reads the lead story headline on Breitbart.com. Breitbart openly supported Donald Trump during the campaign, with almost all stories and editorial being favorable to the Republican nominee. Its former executive chairman, Steve Bannon, served as CEO of Trump's campaign and was recently named as a senior advisor in his White House.

Google, ACLU call to delay government hacking rule

A coalition of 26 organizations, including the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) and Google, signed a letter asking lawmakers to delay a measure that would expand the government’s hacking authority. The letter asks Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) and Minority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV), plus House Speaker Paul Ryan (R-WI), and House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) to further review proposed changes to Rule 41 and delay its implementation until July 1, 2017. The Department of Justice’s alterations to the rule would allow law enforcement to use a single warrant to hack multiple devices beyond the jurisdiction that the warrant was issued in.

President-elect Trump taps economists, investors for transition team

President-elect Donald Trump designated a dozen transition officials, campaign supporters, scholars and former administration officials to bridge the gap at key federal finance and business agencies. President-elect Trump’s transition team announced 12 men and women from various sectors and industries — including several early campaign supporters — to serve on “landing teams.” The teams will help Trump staff his new administration, though members of the teams won’t necessarily be nominated or hired. Jeffrey Eisenach, director of the fiscally conservative American Enterprise Institute’s Center for Internet, Communications, and Technology Policy, and Mark Jamison, director of the University of Florida’s Public Utilities Research Center, will lead the Federal Communications Commission team.

President-elect Trump to meet with news executives

President-elect Donald Trump will meet with anchors and executives from the country's five biggest television networks Nov 21 at Trump Tower. The top five networks from a ratings perspective are NBC, ABC, CBS, Fox News and CNN. MSNBC, the cable news arm of NBC News, will also attend. The meeting was arranged by Trump senior adviser Kellyanne Conway, who also served as Trump's campaign manager for the final few months of the White House race. The conversation has been deemed off the record.

President Barack Obama held similar meetings with television executives and anchors in 2008 before and after the election, including one two months before his victory with then-Fox News chairman and CEO Roger Ailes and 21st Century Fox Executive Chairman Rupert Murdoch.