“A small portion” of the U.S. job growth’s pickup in June “was due to the end of a strike of 35,100 workers in the telecommunications industry that temporarily lowered job growth in May,” said White House Chairman of the Council of Economic Advisers Jason Furman in a statement Friday. He referred to the Verizon workers’ strike, an issue he cited a month ago when describing a dip in the job numbers (see 1606030028). The information services sector had “an increase of 44,000 jobs due in part to the bounce-back from May’s strike in the telecommunications industry,” Furman said.
Presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton's telecom plan “expands handouts to political allies,” “increases government role in broadband,” “makes empty promises of less regulation” and “promises an open Internet, but delivers a closed one,” said American Enterprise Institute Center for Internet, Communication and Technology visiting fellow Mark Jamison in a blog post Thursday. Clinton released her agenda last month (see 1606280071). “Despite this enthusiasm, there is much to worry about in this agenda as it provides a blueprint for diminishing US leadership in tech,” Jamison said. “The plan will expand subsidies from the federal government to cities, regions, and states to invest in dark fiber, broadband in recreation centers and transportation centers, and free public WiFi. Of course these programs will be wrought with political favoritism and waste.” The agenda is "particularly impotent on the most pressing digital issues," glossing over "critical topics such as the role of encryption for enhancing privacy and safety, and the critical need for greater transparency into how algorithms increasingly impact everyday lives," Pennsylvania State University Palmer Chair in Telecom Sascha Meinrath wrote in the Christian Science Monitor. "We need policies to drive universal access to low-cost, high-speed connectivity, and for the two-thirds of Americans already online, we need truth-in-labeling that addresses the quarter-of-a-trillion dollars in overpayments US consumers will make by 2025. The baby steps made thus far are necessary but insufficient to address both the digital and information divides that currently exist in broadband service provision." He cited priorities such as consumers having control over their data and laying the groundwork for intelligent transportation systems. Clinton's platform "ignores nearly all of the big problems," he said, noting her one remaining Democratic challenger, Bernie Sanders, and presumptive GOP nominee Donald Trump "haven’t released anything meaningful at all."
More than two dozen civil liberties groups want President Barack Obama to quickly nominate a qualified individual to replace Privacy and Civil Liberties Oversight Board Chairman David Medine, who resigned July 1 (see 1603290010). In a Wednesday letter addressed to Obama, the 29 organizations urged him to appoint someone with a background in privacy and civil liberties to the post on the five-member independent agency. "It is vital that all members of the board, but particularly its chair, come equipped with both a deep understanding and significant practical experience in this area," wrote the coalition, including the American Civil Liberties Union, New York University School of Law's Brennan Center for Justice, Center for Democracy & Technology, Electronic Privacy Information Center, Free Press, Sunlight Foundation and TechFreedom. "Appointing a chair who lacks this background would risk undermining the board’s mission. Moreover, a board chaired by an individual without the appropriate qualifications would risk losing the support of the civil liberties community -- support that we believe has been integral to the board’s actual and perceived effectiveness." It doesn't always agree with the board's conclusions and recommendations in its reports, the coalition said, but PCLOB provides a "tremendous service" by getting declassified information on government programs "and by calling public attention to some of the civil liberties issues they raise." The White House didn't comment.
The FCC Wireless and Media bureaus designated Louis Libin chairman of the Frequency Coordinating Committee for the 2016 political conventions and 2017 presidential inauguration, the agency said in a public notice. It referred to him as the single point of contact for coordination for the Republican and Democratic conventions happening this month and the presidential inauguration in January. “By this action, we facilitate the ability of broadcasters and cable network entities to cover these important events,” the PN said: “This designation will allow for advance coordination of terrestrial auxiliary broadcast frequency usage within a 100 kilometer radius, and within a 150 kilometer radius for any mobile operations aboard aircraft, around the following locations” of the Quicken Loans Arena in Cleveland, where the Republican convention is happening; the Wells Fargo Center and the Philadelphia Convention Center in Philadelphia, where Democrats are holding their convention; and the Capitol building and White House.
The 2016 Democratic Party draft platform advancing to a full platform committee consideration this week includes language on net neutrality, broadband infrastructure and data localization requirements. The full 187-member platform committee will review the 39-page document during a meeting in Orlando Thursday and Friday and, once approved, the platform will be submitted for ratification at the Democratic National Convention in Philadelphia later this month. “Democrats support a free and open internet at home and abroad, and will oppose any effort by Republicans to roll back the historic net neutrality rules that the [FCC] enacted last year,” said the draft platform, released Friday. Democrats will “continue to support the expansion of high-speed broadband networks” and the creation of an independent national infrastructure bank to provide loans and other funding for broadband infrastructure investment, it said. The draft platform also said: “We will protect the intellectual property rights of artists, creators, and inventors at home and abroad. … Democrats will fight against unfair theft of intellectual property and trade secrets. We will also increase access to global markets for American intellectual property and other digital trade by opposing quotas, discriminatory measures, and data localization requirements.” A section on cybersecurity pledges Democrats will protect industry, infrastructure and government from cyberattacks, with strengthened security and an effort to “establish global norms in cyberspace” with “consequences on those who violate the rules,” all “while protecting the privacy and civil liberties of the American people.” Republicans haven't released their 2016 platform.
AT&T Senior Executive Vice President Jim Cicconi and Netflix CEO Reed Hastings are among more than 50 major technology, cable TV and other business executives who endorsed Hillary Clinton for president Thursday, her campaign said in an email. “I’ve supported every Republican Presidential candidate since 1976, and was honored to work for two of them," said Cicconi in a statement supplied by the Clinton campaign. "But this year I think it's vital to put our country's wellbeing ahead of party. Hillary Clinton is experienced, qualified, and will make a fine President. The alternative, I fear, would set our Nation on a very dark path.” Hastings said in a statement from the campaign that presumptive GOP nominee Donald Trump "would destroy much of what is great about America. Hillary Clinton is the strong leader we need, and it's important that Trump lose by a landslide to reject what he stands for." The Trump campaign didn't comment. Others who endorsed Clinton include Salesforce CEO Marc Benioff; Airbnb Chief Technology Officer Nathan Blecharczyk, CEO Brian Chesky and Chief Privacy Officer Joe Gebbia; IAC and Expedia Chairmen Barry Diller; Dish Network co-founder Candy Ergen; Dropbox CEO Drew Houston; Qualcomm CEO Emeritus Irwin Jacobs and Executive Chairman Paul Jacobs; Black Entertainment Television founder Robert Johnson and CEO Debra Lee; Tumblr CEO David Karp; Box CEO Aaron Levie; former Time Warner Cable CEO Rob Marcus; Prologis CEO Hamid Moghadam; Zynga co-founder Mark Pincus; Facebook Chief Operating Officer Sheryl Sandberg; Alphabet Chairman Eric Schmidt; Yelp CEO Jeremy Stoppelman; and Entravision Communications CEO Walter Ulloa.
New Street Research thinks the communications fallout from the likely presidential nominees of the two major parties will probably break down along familiar lines. An FCC chaired by Democrat Hillary Clinton's choice "would be generally good for what might be seen as attackers, including Tech and CLECs," while an FCC chaired by Republican Donald Trump's choice "would be generally good for incumbents, including ILECs and Cable," said New Street analysts in a lengthy note to investors Sunday, elaborating on previous notes (see 1603020020 and 1605020031). "Either outcome will generally be mixed for broadcasters, programmers and rural telephone companies. ... While the reactions of a Trump or Clinton presidency are fairly predictable as to the current set of issues, ... either Administration is likely to face issues which defy the simple regulation v. deregulation narrative." A recession, depending on the severity, could cause Democrats to "look more favorably upon policies that carriers argue incent network capital expenditures, perhaps modifying some policies that carriers have claimed depress investment," they wrote. "A Trump FCC might use a recession as a justification but we don’t think the outcome would be different, other than to soften Democratic resistance to the change in policy." The analysts said the litigation cycle from FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler's decisions "is just beginning"; a Clinton FCC "will attempt to continue to achieve the Wheeler policy objectives within the parameters" of court opinions. Congress could re-emerge as a major player, they suggested: "A Trump victory would likely lead to an effort to rewrite the Telecommunications Act, addressing, among other things, net neutrality, privacy, business data services and a host of other issues. Any such legislation would be largely deregulatory, and would favor ILECs over CLECs and tech interests. Of course, the question of whether Trump would actually be willing to sign a law passed [by Republican Hill leaders] challenges us more than usual in thinking about a party controlling all branches of government. A Clinton victory would be less likely to lead to legislation, particularly given that the Title II court victory removed what would have been the Democrats’ strongest incentive to negotiate legislation."
The 2016 Internet Policy Platform, released Monday and backed by 17 public interest groups, urges policymakers to oppose “unreasonable practices, such as the use of punitive and unnecessary data caps and zero-rating schemes that favor the content and services of ISPs and their affiliates” and uphold the FCC net neutrality order and decision to reclassify broadband as a Communications Act Title II service. The backers include the American Civil Liberties Union, Demand Progress, Free Press and Public Knowledge. They sent the eight-page platform to party chairs and presidential contenders Hillary Clinton, Donald Trump and Bernie Sanders. “As the parties draft their platforms for 2016, they must listen to the millions and millions of people who want leaders to prioritize internet and technology policies that promote opportunity and free expression for all,” Free Press President Craig Aaron said. “The 2016 Internet Policy Platform offers a roadmap for any candidate truly committed to a future where everyone can share in the benefits of an open network free of gatekeepers, surveillance and discrimination.” The platform also addresses data security. Companies must take steps including “publishing annual reports about government data requests, notifying users when the government seeks to access their data or censor certain content, and requiring a search warrant before handing over user content,” the platform said. It urged reining in “Executive Order 12333, which is being used to indiscriminately collect masses of Internet data outside the U.S. -- even when that data includes some communications by people inside the U.S.” and opposing “legal limits to encryption systems that make them vulnerable to backdoor hacks and other incursions by government authorities.” The FCC “has a congressionally mandated responsibility to ‘accelerate deployment of such capability by removing barriers to infrastructure investment and by promoting competition,’” it said. “The agency needs to take this mandate seriously and oppose the drift toward monopoly.” The groups encouraged promotion of “mobile broadband competition by taking a serious look at spectrum concentration” and acting “to reduce the stranglehold that the two largest carriers have over the most valuable spectrum -- both in upcoming license auctions and in terms of what these companies already control today.” They said the FCC should “safeguard” municipal broadband networks and “improve the efficiency and effectiveness” of USF programs.
Several public interest groups plan to unveil their 2016 Internet Policy Platform Monday, they said in a news advisory Friday. “The platform is built around six guiding principles supported by the millions of Americans who have become forceful advocates for internet rights,” the release said. “These principles include: free speech, access, choice, privacy, transparency and openness. … The 2016 Internet Policy Platform has been endorsed by the internet rights, social justice and consumer advocacy organizations that have played leading roles in these campaigns, including 18 Million Rising, ColorOfChange, Demand Progress, Free Press, the National Hispanic Media Coalition, New America’s Open Technology Institute and Public Knowledge.” Several affiliated officials plan a call with journalists Monday, including Free Press President Craig Aaron, National Hispanic Media Coalition Executive Vice President Jessica Gonzalez and New America Open Technology Institute open internet policy director Sarah Morris.
The White House is attributing sluggish jobs numbers from May in part to the recent Verizon worker strike (see 1605310032). “The economy added 38,000 jobs in May, considerably below both expectations and the pace of growth in recent months, with volatility in monthly data and a temporary strike in the telecommunications industry contributing to the disappointingly low number,” said Council of Economic Advisers Chairman Jason Furman in a blog post Friday. “The decline of 37,200 jobs in the telecommunications industry in May in part reflects the effects of this strike. In the past, strikes in this industry coinciding with the survey reference period had a noticeable negative effect on monthly estimates of changes in industry employment ... . However, these downturns reversed once the strikes were resolved, leading to a jump in employment that almost perfectly offset the apparent job loss.” Furman said a “portion of the slowdown in job growth in May” is “likely to reverse in June” due to the strike’s end.