Online platforms should commit to a code of principles to combat online disinformation, the European Commission’s High-Level Expert Group told Commissioner for the Digital Economy and Society Mariya Gabriel Monday. The group emphasized the term “online disinformation” over fake news, calling the latter an “inadequate term.” The group recommended online platforms commit to algorithm transparency on news visibility and allow more visibility for reputable news sources. The report was sent to Gabriel the day of release of a Eurobarometer survey. More than 80 percent said fake news is a “danger to democracy.” Traditional media on radio, TV and print is trusted by, respectively, 70 percent, 66 percent and 63 percent, while online news sources and video hosting websites had 26 percent and 27 percent.

“Initial abstracts” are due May 28 for proposed technical presentations to be made at the SMPTE Annual Technical Conference & Exhibition Oct. 23-25 at the Westin Bonaventure Hotel in Los Angeles, said SMPTE Friday in a call for papers. Possible paper topics include the management of Ultra HD, high dynamic range and wide color gamut, future media delivery platforms, new compression techniques and implementations and advances in display technology, it said.

A Connecticut hearing on net neutrality legislation attracted copious written testimony last week from telcos, consumer advocates and others. The Senate Energy and Technology Committee held a hearing Thursday on SB-2, which would require the Connecticut Public Utilities Regulatory Authority to enforce net neutrality principles with civil penalties. The FCC rule “will allow telecommunication companies to potentially block content, extort fees from users and shrink economic opportunities for Connecticut businesses and residents,” said Connecticut Comptroller Kevin Lembo, supporting SB-2. Net neutrality rules “are essential for political discourse, dissemination of news, and democratic participation,” said the League of Women Voters of Connecticut. Congress should codify rules, but that’s unlikely, so the league supports state legislation, it said. Other supporters included Common Cause, the American Civil Liberties Union, New America’s Open Technology Institute, the Connecticut Office of Consumer Counsel and Gigi Sohn, former aide to ex-FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler. AT&T said “the legislation is unnecessary, addresses issues more appropriate for action by the U.S. Congress, is preempted by federal law, and would hurt Connecticut’s business climate.” The FCC’s December order “will NOT fundamentally change what websites users can access or alter how users experience the Internet,” Frontier Communications said. Other industry opponents included CTIA, CompTIA, CenturyLink and the New England Cable and Telecommunications Association. Many states have net neutrality bills (see 1803070045).

MuckRock released emails it obtained through a Freedom of Information Act request to the FCC on Chairman Ajit Pai’s decision not to attend CES in January (see 1801100027). Included is a Dec. 29 email from Julie Kearney, CTA vice president-regulatory affairs, to Pai aides asking about rumors Pai wouldn’t attend in person a Jan. 9 on-stage interview with CTA President Gary Shapiro. “We’re hearing from 3rd party sources that the Chairman is planning to do his Tuesday one-on-one session with Gary remotely,” Kearney wrote. “This seems like strange info. since we haven’t talked about it, so I’m just letting you know. I assume that we are all systems GO for CES.” Kearney reassured the Pai aides: “We have a very tight security plan for the room and the area (and for all of CES), so I hope that provides comfort.” Also included is a Jan. 3 email from Kearney to Pai's Chief of Staff Matthew Berry expressing disappointment that Pai canceled and alerting Berry that CTA planned to put out a news release that afternoon announcing Pai's withdrawal from the show. "Gary feels that we need to issue a short release" because many CES attendees "are expecting" Pai's "presence" at the show, said Kearney. She promised CTA would answer any media inquiries about the release with a "no comment." Days later, Shapiro told a C-SPAN interviewer on the CES show floor that Pai withdrew because his children got death threats over the FCC's December vote to roll back 2015 net neutrality rules (see 1801260018). We “totally understand and appreciate all you and the team have done over the past several days on many fronts,” Kearney wrote Berry in her Jan. 3 email. The FOIA materials released also included a Dec. 18 email that Kearney sent FCC staff with draft questions Shapiro planned to ask Pai during their Jan. 9 one-on-one in Las Vegas. Among the topics were net neutrality, efforts to cut regulation and Pai’s digital empowerment agenda. The FCC and CTA didn't comment.

High-end control company Savant was a casualty of the Home Technology Specialists of America’s decision to sign Crestron as a vendor partner (see 1803050019) this week. “Unfortunately, HTSA leadership decided not to renew their program with Savant,” Savant Executive Vice President J.C. Murphy emailed us. Savant will continue to support all Savant customers inside HTSA “and throughout the custom integration channel,” Murphy said. HTSA President Jon Robbins emailed us: “The HTSA Board reviews all Vendor programs annually and opted to not renew the Savant program.” On the decision to go with Crestron at a time when lower cost smart home systems are seeing strong growth, Robbins agreed the entry level of the category is gaining traction, “which our members are also experiencing,” but HTSA members are “still enjoying tremendous success in the high performance segment as well,” he said. “Additionally, like with a few of our other control vendor partners, we believe we are in synergy with Crestron in many initiatives, adding very strong options to our members’ assortments,” Robbins said. Savant, meanwhile, is still a vendor member of Azione Unlimited. On whether it would revisit a relationship with ProSource, after the two broke off a relationship a number of years ago, Murphy said, “We are always looking for great industry and trade associations to build our brand and support our customers." Meanwhile, responding to the HTSA-Crestron news at the ProSource Summit this week, ProSource CEO David Workman told us Crestron had walked away from groups a while ago and said, “it’s promising that they’re maybe keeping a more open mind on buying groups.” Crestron didn’t respond to questions.

A White House meeting on media violence Thursday primarily focused on videogames and didn’t stray into other types of media, said Parents Television Council Program Director Melissa Henson in an interview. The meeting was closed to the press. Henson said the proceeding was “more about fact gathering,” and President Donald Trump didn’t make any policy pronouncements or announce any conclusions. Videogame industry officials argued in the meeting that industry self-regulation is the only model that makes sense, but an effective ratings system would have to be administered by an outside party, Henson said. PTC has made similar arguments about the ratings system for TV. The Entertainment Software Association "welcomed the opportunity" to meet with Trump, the association said in a statement. ESA discussed scientific studies that argue there's no connection between video games and violence, First Amendment protections, and the video game industry rating system, ESA said. "We appreciate the President’s receptive and comprehensive approach to this discussion.” The White House didn't comment.

The recent tax overhaul will boost AT&T and Verizon cash flow by billions of dollars, Moody's said Monday. The changes "will result in an increase in operating cash flow by about $3 billion for AT&T and by up to $4 billion for Verizon," said Mark Stodden, senior vice president. "The extra cash will increase both companies' flexibility to continue investing in capex and modestly reduce leverage, while sustaining high dividends." The higher cash flows are unlikely to affect the pace of telecom consolidation or materially change AT&T's or Verizon's level of capital investment, he added.

The Home Technology Specialists of America buying group is partnering with Crestron, giving members “an expanded set of options” for control systems, lighting, shading and security, said the companies Monday. HTSA is Crestron’s only national group partnership at this time, they said. Many HTSA members are already Crestron dealers. An HTSA spokesman emailed us that the new agreement will result in “even greater focus on Crestron by these members.” HTSA and Crestron will jointly develop training and education programs as part of the agreement, he said. John Clancy, Crestron Electronics vice president-residential, said the company has been committed to advancing its residential division over the past 18 months, “investing heavily in new products and building sales, marketing and support teams dedicated to the residential channel.”

If legislators take action on net neutrality, they should recognize the FCC should be in charge of enforcement rather than the FTC, said Commissioner Mignon Clyburn in an appearance on C-SPAN’s The Communicators, set to be telecast Saturday. The FCC is capable of quick action on open Internet issues, but the necessary showings to trigger FTC intervention would make relying on that agency cumbersome, she said. “People want action,” Clyburn said. Any legislative solution should have “strong legal footing,” encourage infrastructure investment, and allow for consumer protection “in real time,” Clyburn said. If net neutrality legislation can accomplish all of that without relying on Title II of the Communications Act, she’s willing to consider it, though she said the FCC “got it right” in 2015. Without Title II authority, there could be issues with legal challenges to Connect America Fund policies, Clyburn said. Such challenges could damage the USF, a “deeply unsettling” prospect, she said. Consumers need net neutrality protections because ISPs now offer bundles of services that could incentivize anti-consumer actions, Clyburn said. Companies changing their statements about whether they consider concepts like paid prioritization acceptable is evidence there's a need for strong net neutrality regulation, she said. Proposals by the FCC majority on 5G don’t sufficiently account for the needs of local communities, Clyburn said. She said some jurisdictions might have restrictive siting rules or high rents for carriers, but bad actors are a small portion of the overall landscape. The FCC shouldn’t “regulate on the fringes,” she said. Treating small cells differently “makes all the sense in the world,” but the FCC should work “collaboratively,” she said. Clyburn also took the FCC majority to task over inmate calling, where she said FCC policies are hurting families: “The FCC has not done it’s job.”

The FTC settled with PayPal over allegations Venmo customers weren't adequately informed about balance transfer procedures, preventing them from being able to pay bills. PayPal failed to tell customers Venmo balance transfers to external bank accounts could be subject to review, potentially resulting in frozen or removed balances, the agency announced. Its complaint said consumers say “Venmo delayed the withdrawal of funds or reversed the underlying transactions after initially notifying them that the funds were available.” The agency alleged Tuesday Venmo misrepresented information about the amount of protection for consumer accounts from “bank grade security systems,” violating the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act. No fine was levied, said a PayPal spokeswoman. “This brings to an end the investigation that primarily focused on Venmo platform issues and practices prior to acquisition by PayPal.” She said her company has strengthened privacy and data security practices. PayPal bought Venmo in 2014. “Consumers suffered real harm when Venmo did not live up to the promises it made to users about the availability of their money,” said acting FTC Chairman Maureen Ohlhausen.