Reporting

Cyberattack Caused Olympic Opening Ceremony Disruption

A cyberattack caused the internet disruptions during the Winter Olympics’ opening ceremony on Feb 9, Olympic officials and security experts said.  Jihye Lee, a spokesman for the Pyeongchang Organizing Committee, confirmed Sunday that “the technology issues experienced Friday night were caused by a cyberattack.” Lee did not elaborate on the cause but said that the attack had been quickly addressed and that systems had been stabilized by Feb 11.

White House: Media puts national security at risk by publishing classified info

White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders accused reporters of putting national security at risk by publishing classified information. Revelations that former staff secretary Rob Porter received an interim security clearance despite an FBI investigation that turned up allegations of past spousal abuse has led to questions about who at the White House is handling sensitive information.

President Trump proposes eliminating federal funding for PBS, NPR

President Donald Trump's newly proposed budget includes a proposal to end federal funding for the Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB), part of a package that includes $300 billion in new spending overall. CPB provides federal funding for PBS and National Public Radio stations. "The Budget proposes to eliminate Federal funding for the Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB) over a two year period," according to the proposal.

Inside the Two Years that Shook Facebook -- and the World

This is the story of the two years [at Facebook since the runup to the 2016 election], as they played out inside and around the company. Wired spoke with 51 current or former Facebook employees for this article. The stories varied, but most people told the same basic tale: of a company, and a CEO, whose techno-optimism has been crushed as they’ve learned the myriad ways their platform can be used for ill. Of an election that shocked Facebook, even as its fallout put the company under siege.

Public broadcasting coalition withdraws request for relief from equal employment opportunity reporting

A coalition of top public broadcast organizations formally withdrew a recommendation that the Federal Communications Commission ease equal employment opportunity requirements for public stations. America’s Public Television Stations, National Public Radio, the Corporation for Public Broadcasting and the Public Broadcasting Service recommended the review in a joint response to the commission’s request for comments on its agenda to modernize media regulations. After supporters of the EEO rules objected last week, the organizations formally withdrew it.

FCC report finds almost no broadband competition at 100Mbps speeds

If you live in the US and want home Internet service at speeds of at least 100Mbps, you will likely find one Internet service provider in your area or none at all. The latest Internet Access Services report was released by the Federal Communications Commission the week of Feb 5. The report's broadband competition chart finds that 44 percent of developed Census blocks had zero home broadband providers offering download speeds of at least 100Mbps and upload speeds of at least 10Mbps.

Sprint presses FCC to eliminate barriers to 4G, 5G deployments

Sprint CEO Marcelo Claure paid a visit to the office of Federal Communications Commission Chairman Ajit Pai and others to talk about eliminating barriers to Sprint’s 4G and 5G deployments, among other topics. Sprint referenced barriers that Sprint and others in the industry face as part of their efforts to deploy 4G and 5G services. Sprint urged the commission to quickly address the regulatory obstacles that make the densification of wireless networks so difficult.

AT&T CEO: Our proposed $85 billion Time Warner deal is aimed at competing with Netflix and Amazon

AT&T Chairman and CEO Randall Stephenson said it makes no sense for the government to oppose the telecommunications giant's $85 billion buyout of Time Warner on the grounds that content distributors and content creators under the same umbrella would be anti-competitive.  He said major technology firms such as Netflix and Amazon are allowed to do the same thing. "Reality is, the biggest distributor of content out there is totally vertically integrated. This happens to be something called Netflix.

The 22 agencies and programs Trump's budget would eliminate

President Donald trump unveiled his budget proposal for the 2019 fiscal year. While lawmakers are unlikely to enact most of Trump's proposal, here’s a look at some of the centers and agencies the White House wants to abolish:

1. The McGovern-Dole International Food for Education, which donates agricultural commodities and financial assistance to carry out school feeding programs in foreign countries.

2. The Rural Business and Cooperative Service, which provides loans, grants and payments intended to increase opportunities in rural communities.

AT&T forced to migrate copper to fiber in areas of fire-ravaged California

AT&T is going to replace copper wiring in parts of its California market damaged by fires due to drought conditions and high winds with fiber facilities. Major damage to public facilities was caused five counties of Northern California: Napa, Solano, Sonoma, Lake and Mendocino due to the result of 21 reported fires. AT&T filed an application for emergency authorization under Section 214(a) of the Communications Act and Section 63.63 of the Federal Communications Commission’s rules to suspend AT&T’s interstate telecommunications services until services can be rebuilt.

Washington House Passes Bill to Protect Net-Neutrality Rules

The Washington House on Feb 9 passed a bill meant to ensure the state's residents don't see a disruption in internet service. House Bill 2282 passed on a strong bipartisan 93-5 vote and now heads to the Senate for consideration. Under the measure, internet providers are prohibited from blocking content or impairing traffic. The bill also would require providers to disclose information about their management practices, performance and commercial terms. Violations would be enforceable under the state's Consumer Protection Act.

With internet neutrality rules changing, door opens for providers to raise rates

The Federal Communications Commission's network neutrality decision could affect everyone using the internet and the public’s access to knowledge, education and connection. “The libraries, schools, the public...all could feel this in the same way,” said Doug Harkness, technology manager at the James V. Brown Library in Williamsport (PA).  For the public, that could mean paying higher fees for their everyday internet activities separately.

FCC Commissioner Clyburn: net neutrality's end lets ISPs 'almost direct what you see'

Federal Communications Commission member Mignon Clyburn, who opposed the FCC's recent repeal of network neutrality rules, said she is "absolutely worried" about the change that she said allows internet service providers to “almost direct what you see." Commissioner Clyburn said, “I’m worried, I’m absolutely worried,” after the agency voted in December to rescind net neutrality regulations imposed in 2015 under President Barack Obama to govern how internet service providers treat content and data. “The world is watching everything we do ... People are watching.

Rep Devin Nunes creates his own alternative news site

House Intelligence Committee Chairman Devin Nunes (R-CA), a relentless critic of the media, has found a way around the often unflattering coverage of his role in the Trump-Russia investigation — by operating his own partisan news outlet. Resembling a local, conservative news site, “The California Republican” is classified on Facebook as a “media/news company” and claims to deliver “the best of US, California, and Central Valley news, sports, and analysis.” But the website is paid for by Nunes’ campaign committee, according to small print at the bottom of the site.

Verizon says it's locking its phones down to combat theft

Verizon said that it would begin locking the phones it sells to consumers, which will prevent them from using a SIM card from another carrier. Initially, the phones will be unlocked as soon as a customer signs up and activates the service. But later in the spring, the company will begin the practice of keeping the phone locked for a period of time after the purchase -- in line with the rest of the industry. 

Unilever, one of the world’s largest advertisers, threatens to pull its ads from Facebook and Google over toxic content

Unilever, one of the world's largest advertisers, is threatening to pull its ads from social sites such as Facebook and YouTube if the tech companies don't do more to minimize divisive content on their platforms.  Unilever’s Chief Marketing Officer Keith Weed will call on Silicon Valley Feb 12 to better police what he describes as a toxic online environment where propaganda, hate speech and disturbing content that exploits children thrives.

Facebook personal data use and privacy settings ruled illegal by German court

Facebook’s default privacy settings and use of personal data are against German consumer law, according to a judgement handed down by a Berlin regional court. The court found that Facebook collects and uses personal data without providing enough information to its members for them to render meaningful consent. The federation of German consumer organisations (VZBV), which brought the suit, argued that Facebook opted users in to features which it should not have.

West Virginia broadband council chairman blasts FCC report, says data isn't correct

The Federal Communications Commission's recent broadband deployment report claims that seven West Virginia counties have 100-percent access to a fixed broadband connection and, overall, 82.2 percent of West Virginians have access. Rob Hinton, chairman of the West Virginia Broadband Enhancement Council, which oversees broadband expansion and access in the state, said the FCC's numbers are “not even close to being correct." Hinton said the FCC's "Form 477" data isn’t expected to be a flawless measure of broadband access, but added that he thinks the data in the 2018 report is exaggerated.

Please Take Our Survey

We've recently redesigned the Headlines Daily Digest. Based on some feedback we've received, we're considering some additional tweaks to the newsletter. But before we do anything else, we'd love to hear from you about the new design and ways we can improve your reading experience. Please take our brief survey at https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/KJX3F72

Thank you.

President Trump blocks release of Dem memo rebutting GOP claims of FBI surveillance abuse

President Donald Trump refused to authorize the release of a Democratic rebuttal to a Republican intelligence committee memo alleging that FBI and Justice Department officials abused their power to spy on former Trump campaign adviser Carter Page. The White House said it could not release the Democrats' memo because the Justice Department "has identified portions...which it believes would create especially significant concerns for the national security and law enforcement interests." That explanation stands in stark contrast to his release of the GOP memo.

CBS-Viacom: What Does A Merged Company Look Like Globally?

As CBS and Viacom dance around each other like teenagers at a ball, the US implications of a merger have been widely covered. However, as the two consider rebuilding the House of Sumner over the next couple of months, one of the most interesting aspects is the growing power of their international business.

How public media could become a casualty of YouTube’s war on propaganda

If YouTube was looking for a little love from British lawmakers for its new initiative to label videos from news outlets that receive state funds, the company was in for a surprise.

This crafty tactic may let states get around the FCC on net neutrality

State governments are becoming pivotal players in the battle over net neutrality. Gov Phil Murphy (D-NJ) this week became one of the latest to adopta new strategy, signing an executive order that effectively forces Internet service providers (ISPs) that do business with the state to abide by strong net neutrality rules. Rather than directly regulating the broadband industry, the executive order imposes procurement obligations on state agencies.

NRECA calls for a portion of $10 billion in infrastructure go to rural broadband

The National Rural Electric Cooperative Association (NRECA) send letters to both the House and Senate Appropriations Committees asking for a portion of the $10 billion for infrastructure in the just announced budget agreement, for the FY18 Omnibus bill and FY19 spending bill still being developed, to be designated for rural broadband. Specifically, NRECA requested that at least $2.5 billion of those funds dedicated to rural broadband, and to fund that effort through the US Department of Agriculture's Rural Utilities Service, using a “level playing field” approach that would ensure electric