Facebook should stop reversing WhatsApp privacy protections and not collect payment and transaction data from users, said about three dozen advocacy groups, announcing a campaign Monday. “This latest move to encroach upon the privacy of WhatsApp users is further proof that Facebook is using exploitative practices and abusing its dominant market power,” said Public Citizen Digital Rights Program Director Burcu Kilic. Facebook is scheduled to make the change May 15. PC, the Center for Digital Democracy, Electronic Privacy Information Center and Fight for the Future signed. They cited Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg’s promises in 2014 not to “change plans around WhatsApp and the way it uses user data.” The company didn’t comment.
Digital services taxes drove countries back to the negotiating table on international tax harmonization, and now it may be hard to roll back such DSTs, experts said. Many tech and other stakeholders oppose other countries' digital taxes. The U.S. was driven to talks again because so many countries were considering taxing revenue, rather than profit, of digital giants like Facebook and Google, Deloitte Managing Partner Bob Stack told a Washington International Trade Association webinar Thursday. "Countries need to commit to get rid of these DSTs. That's the deal to be had." Noting a U.S. proposal for Organization of Economic Coordination and Development member-countries to drop such levies, Miller & Chevalier's Loren Ponds said "it’s a matter of everybody dropping their weapons at the same time" and "nobody wants to go first." Georgetown Law professor Lilian Faulhaber reminded that most DSTs haven't actually been imposed. "Part of that is probably because USTR pushed back so hard," she said of the Office of U.S. Trade Representative. USTR didn't comment Friday.
Symmetrical broadband is a "focus" for Comcast "for the next several years," Comcast Cable CEO Dave Watson said Thursday as the company detailed progress toward offering multi-gigabit symmetrical speeds while announcing Q1 results. CEO Brian Roberts said the cable ISP live-tested 1.25 Gbps symmetrical speeds in October. Roberts said it did a lab test earlier this month of DOCSIS 4.0, which opens the door to multi-gigabit symmetrical speeds. Watson said Comcast's upstream broadband traffic is a tenth of downstream. "Over time, I think we can address symmetrical issues," he said. Roberts said Comcast's other major initiative is virtualizing its network using AI and machine learning, as it moves functions into the cloud. He said that also involves automating core network functions. Comcast has spent close to $30 billion over the past decade building its 191,000 route-mile fiber network, he said. The company ended the quarter with 28.8 million residential broadband subscribers, up 1.9 million year over year, it said. Chief Financial Officer Mike Cavanagh said broadband growth momentum is continuing into Q2, and Comcast expects mid-single-digit percentage growth in broadband for the year. Comcast's broadband business could get further juiced by the federal dollars "being thrown at connectivity" in the Cares Act, MoffettNathanson analyst Craig Moffett wrote investors. Broadband benefited during the pandemic, and that growth isn't slowing, he said.
The success of the FCC's $3.2 billion emergency broadband benefit program will "largely depend on educating consumers" about the temporary discount, said Wiley Rein's Edgar Class during an FCBA event Wednesday. Consumers eligible for the Lifeline program should consider applying for that first because all Lifeline subscribers are automatically EBB eligible, Class said. Charter Vice President-Regulatory Affairs Christine Sanquist said trusted community leaders will have to play a key role in outreach efforts. State and local officials should also take advantage of the FCC's forthcoming digital toolkit to promote the program through local channels, said AT&T Director-Federal Regulatory Anisa Green. Community organizers and local leaders are "ready to hit the ground running," said Olivia Wein, National Consumer Law Center attorney. Figuring out how this program operates "will really inform program design moving forward," Wein said. "The last year has shown the importance of" broadband for telehealth and education, said NTCA Vice President-Policy Josh Seidemann.
A proposed Maine broadband agency is “not an expansion of government bureaucracy,” nor will it be a tax or regulatory authority, Gov. Janet Mills (D) told legislators Tuesday. The joint Energy, Utilities and Technology Committee heard testimony on Mills’ plan to establish a Maine Connectivity Authority to pursue universal broadband (see 2104260069). The authority could own infrastructure under the planned amendment to LD-1484, but the intent would not be for the state entity to sell service, said Maine Department of Economic Community Development Commissioner Heather Johnson. The Telecom Association of Maine would oppose the state becoming a competitor, and believes Johnson that this isn’t the goal, said Executive Director Benjamin Sanborn. TAM will seek to write in some “guardrails” to clarify the body’s role, he said. Maine Public Advocate Barry Hobbins supported the proposed agency, which would become parent to the existing ConnectMaine Authority. “It is time for the authority to expand its scope,” he said. Maine should think carefully about diversifying board membership, said TAM, Charter Communications and Consolidated Communications officials. Include private broadband companies and bankers who understand what projects can be financed, said Sanborn. Give localities more seats at the table because much responsibility will fall to them, said Maine Municipal Association legislative analyst Neal Goldberg.
California Assembly Judiciary Committee members from both parties OK'd a social media transparency bill. AB-587 would require sites to post their terms of service, including an explanation about what types of behaviors would lead to users getting banned. Companies would have to submit quarterly reports to the California attorney general, including details on methods used to moderate online activity and data on how many times the company took action against users or content. Dylan Hoffman, Internet Association government affairs director-California, told the committee Tuesday it would be too costly to implement.
Roku community members blasted Roku Monday in its dispute with Google over what Roku called “unfair terms” for YouTube TV. Some users received an email from Roku warning of the possibility “that Google may take away your access to the YouTube TV channel,” saying recent negotiations “have broken down because Roku cannot accept Google’s unfair terms as we believe they could harm our users.” Roku cited Google’s “unfair and anticompetitive requirements to manipulate your search results, impact the usage of your data and ultimately cost you more.” It urged customers to “contact Google and urge them to reach an agreement.” Roku employee Mary told the community the company isn't removing the YouTube TV channel “at this time," it's "just making customers like you aware of this possibility.” Google has been “working with Roku in good faith to reach an agreement that benefits our viewers and their customers," said a Google spokesperson. "Unfortunately, Roku often engages in these types of tactics in their negotiations.” Google is “disappointed that they chose to make baseless claims while we continue our ongoing negotiations.” Google has tried to ensure a “high quality and consistent experience for our viewers” and has made “no requests to access user data or interfere with search results.” It hopes the companies can resolve the issue “for the sake of our mutual users.”
Starlink urged the FCC to reject the Ensuring RDOF Integrity Coalition's objection to its petition for designation as an eligible telecom carrier, in a filing posted Friday in docket 09-197. The designation is required in the Rural Digital Opportunity Fund Phase I auction (see 2102040058). ERIC's arguments are a "baseless attempt to obstruct the ETC process as part of larger efforts to hamstring a new, highly competitive entrant to the broadband marketplace, to obtain proprietary and competitively sensitive network information, and to commandeer valuable spectrum already being used," the company said. "Hopefully, this mystery filer, which purportedly aims to 'ensure integrity' while directly parroting the arguments of others, will dish out the truth about its funding and membership." The coalition couldn't be reached for comment.
Netgear’s connected home segment generated net revenue of $240.9 million in Q1, up 46.3% year over year but down 18.6% sequentially from Q4, said Chief Financial Officer Bryan Murray on a quarterly call Wednesday. “Heightened demand” for Netgear’s “premium Wi-Fi 6 solutions” drove the growth, he said. Despite “supply headwinds” for Wi-Fi 6 products, Netgear gained 2 points in its top U.S. consumer Wi-Fi market share, to 43%, he said. “We fully expect we will continue to gain share in the second quarter, given the improved supply position in the channel.” The pandemic “has accelerated multiple years of technological progress into one year, and people adjusted surprisingly quickly to more time and activities from home,” said CEO Patrick Lo. “Highly reliable, high-speed internet connectivity that covers the entire home and even patio or yard has become a necessity. This spurred the rapid growth of the premium segment in home Wi-Fi, spearheaded by Wi-Fi 6 mesh with tri-band architecture.” Wi-Fi 6-based systems “fuel the work and do everything from home for families that need to cover large houses and supply reliable internet,” said Lo. “Given the demands all these activities put on home Wi-Fi, we see no slowdown in the demand for our products.” Premium tri-band Wi-Fi 6 had 30% of the U.S. Wi-Fi mesh market, rising from 25% in Q4 and 7% in Q1 2020, he said: “It garners the highest prices" with the "healthiest margins."
The European Commission's "first-ever" draft rules for AI unveiled Wednesday prompted a mix of praise and criticism. "Trust is a must" for AI, and the rules will spearhead "the development of new global norms to make sure AI can be trusted," said Margrethe Vestager, EC vice president for a Europe fit for the digital age. The rules take a risk-based approach. AI systems deemed a clear threat to users' safety, livelihoods and rights would be banned, including AI that manipulates human behavior to circumvent users' free will and systems allowing government "social scoring." High-risk uses include those involved in critical infrastructure; those that could put people's lives at risk; safety components; and law enforcement. High-risk systems would be subject to strict obligations, including adequate risk assessment and mitigation; logging activities to ensure results are traceable; and giving users clear, adequate information. "All remote biometric identification systems are considered high risk and subject to strict requirements." Limited-risk AI systems such as chatbots would have specific transparency conditions, like notifying users they're interacting with a machine. Low-risk uses such as AI-enabled videogames or spam filters, which comprise the majority of AI systems, won't face the regulation. The EC proposed that national market surveillance authorities supervise the rules and that a European Artificial Intelligence Board be established. The plan foresees voluntary codes of conduct for non-high-risk AI. It needs the European Parliament's and EU governments' OKs. Parliament's Special Committee on Artificial Intelligence in a Digital Age welcomed the proposal. Lawmakers now "need to act on two fronts," said Chair Dragos Tudorache of Renew Europe and Romania: Reduce unnecessary burdens on startups, small and midsize businesses, and industry so "AI can be unleashed to its full economic potential" and boost citizens' rights. The Computer & Communications Industry Association applauded the risk-based approach, saying the proposal should be "clarified and targeted to avoid unnecessary red tape for developers and users. ... Regulation alone will not make the EU a leader in AI.” It's a "bold step towards pioneering regulation in this field," said the Information Technology Industry Council, urging the EC to focus on flexible rules targeted to the highest-risk applications. BSA|The Software Alliance urged the EC to engage with international partners, since building trust in AI is a shared responsibility. Others were less enthusiastic. The draft fails to prohibit "the full extent of unacceptable uses of AI," particularly biometric mass surveillance, and allows too much industry self-regulation, said European Digital Rights. The Center for Data Innovation accused the EC of striking "a damaging blow to the Commission’s goal of turning the EU into a global AI leader by creating a thicket of new rules." The recommendations overly focus on too limited a range of AI uses, said the European Consumer Organisation: It omits many uses that affect people's everyday lives, such as smart thermostats, and doesn't ensure consumers have enforceable rights.