Daily Digest 12/21/2017 (Brace for Fast Lanes)

Benton’s weekly digest recaps the biggest (or most-overlooked) communications stories of the week. See https://www.benton.org/benton-weekly-digest

Net Neutrality

After net neutrality, brace for Internet ‘fast lanes’

Benton Summary

via Associated Press

How Congress Can Save Net Neutrality: A Step-by-Step Breakdown (Free Press)

26 senators are supporting a resolution to undo the FCC’s net neutrality repeal

Benton Summary

via Vox

Sen Markey Statement on Rep. Blackburn’s Net Neutrality Legislation

Benton Summary

via US Senate

Where Were Netflix and Google in the Net-Neutrality Fight?

Benton Summary

via Atlantic, The

From Neutrality to Inequality: Why the FCC Is Dismantling Equal Access and What It Could Mean for Education

Benton Summary

via EdSurge

Roslyn Layton: Net neutrality will be reincarnated as platform regulation (American Enterprise Institute)

Former Rep Bob Barr: Massive Fraud in Net Neutrality Process is a Crime Deserving of Justice Department Attention (Townhall)

The Attack on Net Neutrality Is Just One Small Part of a Much Bigger, Dumber Plan

Benton Summary

via Vice

New Hampshire Gov Sununu’s support for repeal of federal net neutrality rules sparks partisan political battle (WMUR)

On Ajit Pai, Fair Use, and “Harlem Shake” (Public Knowledge)

More Internet/Broadband

The FCC’s Next Stunt: Reclassifying Cell Phone Data Service as ‘Broadband Internet’

Benton Summary

via Vice

Carriers Urge FCC to Close $110 Million Annual Broadband A-CAM Funding Gap

Benton Summary

via telecompetitor

AT&T, CenturyLink, Frontier’s rural wireline, wireless expansions could benefit from FCC’s $2B CAF auction

Benton Summary

via Fierce

Why Tech Giants and Telecoms Should Join to Build an Internet for All

Benton Summary

via Wired

Race to the top: Does competition in the DSL market matter for fibre penetration?

Benton Summary

via Telecommunications Policy

Ownership

Taming monopolies in the digital age

Benton Summary

via Medium

Privacy/Security

Facebook is giving the US government more and more data

Benton Summary

via Quartz

Congress is sneaking through a major expansion of NSA surveillance powers (Vox)

Key NSA surveillance program’s reauthorization hits roadblock in Congress (Washington Post)

White House Homeland Security Adviser Tom Bossert: Facebook, Microsoft disabled North Korean cyber threats (Reuters)

Security firm Keeper sues news reporter over vulnerability story (ZDNet)

Government and Communications

President Trump blasts media for critical coverage of tax reform

Benton Summary

via Hill, The

Sarah Huckabee Sanders: Americans don’t approve of Trump because of media coverage (Washington Post)

Senate Majority Leader McConnell to reporter: I understand ‘your job is to use the Democratic talking points’ on tax bill (Hill, The)

Six reasons, besides bias, that explain negative media coverage of the Republican tax bill (Washington Post)

The CDC’s language policy isn’t just politics as usual. It’s Orwellian. (Vox)

Emergency Communications

DHS Test Reveals Flaws in Emergency Responder Apps (nextgov)

Rhode Island to Opt-In to FirstNet Network (First Responder Network Authority)

 

 

Labor

Facebook Job Ads Raise Concerns About Age Discrimination

Benton Summary

via New York Times, Washington Post

Stories From Abroad

Uber Dealt Blow as EU’s Top Court Rules It Is a Transport Company

Benton Summary

via Wall Street Journal