[IP] Exposing Phone Company Skunkworks, Sock Puppets and Astroturf Groups and the Harm to the Public.
------ Forwarded Message
From: Dewayne Hendricks <dewayne@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Reply-To: <dewayne@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Date: Wed, 09 Mar 2005 05:19:54 -0800
To: Dewayne-Net Technology List <dewayne-net@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Subject: [Dewayne-Net] Exposing Phone Company Skunkworks, Sock Puppets and
Astroturf Groups and the Harm to the Public.
[Note: I'm cross posting this item from the Cybertelecom list. The
announcement yesterday of the FCC's Consumer Advisory Committee can be
found at
<http://hraunfoss.fcc.gov/edocs_public/attachmatch/DA-05-549A1.pdf>
DLH]
> From: Bruce Kushnick <bruce@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
> Date: March 8, 2005 11:16:58 PM PST
> To: CYBERTELECOM-L@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
> Subject: Exposing Phone Company Skunkworks, Sock Puppets and Astroturf
> Groups and the Harm to the Public.
>
> TELETRUTH ALERT --- March 9th, 2005
>
> Teletruth, with New Networks Institute, Exposes the Bell Phone Company
> Skunkworks, Sock Puppets and Astroturf Groups that have Harmed the
> Public
> Interest --- (Phone companies: SBC, Verizon, BellSouth)
>
> VISIT: <http://www.newnetworks.com/skunkworks101.html>
>
> If you care about broadband, the Internet, Wi-Fi and wireless,
> municipalities wiring cities, the cost of phone service, VOIP, open
> access
> to content, or anything else related to your Digital Future, you need
> to
> read this.
>
> Then check out the materials and take actions to call for
> investigations.
> You've already been harmed.
>
> WHAT'S BEHIND THE CURTAIN: There is an underground network of political
> deceit in the telecom and broadband industry. It is made up of very
> well
> funded fake or co-opted consumer groups, research firms, lobbying
> groups,
> politicians and PR firms throughout the United States, that are out to
> fool
> reporters, state legislatures, Congress, the public and the FCC that
> they
> represent the public interest.
>
> In fact, many are controlled or have been co-opted through Sam Simon's
> Issue
> Dynamics and paid for by SBC, Verizon, BellSouth and the other phone
> and
> cable companies. The list of groups includes APT, TRAC, USIIA, Connect
> USA,
> New Millennium Research Council, League of United Latin American
> Citizens,
> and American Association of People With Disabilities, among others
>
> It is also the co-opting of well known groups, from the Gray Panthers
> and
> NAACP, to the National Council of La Raza, the National Consumer
> League and
> others.
>
> Call it skunkworks, (the phone companies' black-ops groups) call it
> astroturf, call it sock puppets, a consortium of groups -- run by Issue
> Dynamics, includes a host of non-profits directly funded by the Bell
> companies to wield undo influence --not in your favor. These groups are
> do the bidding of the Bell companies, not you.
>
> And the impacts? They have helped to raise your phone rates, they've
> blocked
> fiber-optic and Wi-Fi initiatives in various states, they have helped
> to
> close down investigations of wrong doing by the phone companies,
> including
> audits of the companies showing customer overcharging and cooked
> books, and
> have helped to put competitors out of business.
>
> The phone companies, through these groups, have also been able to
> shape or
> control new state laws or public service commission actions, as well as
> federal legislation and FCC actions.
>
> They have, in essence, subverted the democratic process and stolen your
> right to be properly represented -- and you should resent it. And the
> sad
> part is that Washington insiders all know this is happening. It's
> common
> knowledge in the Beltway, and they have not stepped in to stop it.
>
> Some examples:
>
> 1) Control of the FCC: Did you know that the FCC Consumer Advisory
> Committee is mainly comprised of phone, cable and broadcast interests.
> In the last session, 1/3 of the members are from the industry or their
> associations. However, there were also 6 different groups tied to Sam
> Simon
> and Issue Dynamics.This has helped to give the phone companies control
> of the consumer interests at the FCC. It is the reason phone bills are
> unreadable, or competitors are being put out of business or sold off.
>
> March 8th, 2005, the FCC announced the new members of this Committtee.
> It
> includes:
>
> * Alliance for Public Technology, Daniel Phythyon: is Senior Vice
> President, Law and Policy at the United States Telecom
> Association ("USTA").
> APT is funded by Verizon and BellSouth and SBC APT is run by
> Sam
> Simon's Issue Dynamics. Other members, still on the Committee,
> also
> have ties to Sam Simon and Issue Dynamics.
> * National Association of Broadcasters, Sprint Corporation,
> Time Warner,
> T-Mobile, Verizon, Nextel Communications, Inc., Cellular
> Telecommunications
> and Internet Association, and Consumer Electronics Association,
>
> 2) Raising Phone Rates: In 2000, the phone company coalition, known as
> the
> "CALLs Coalition", got over 40 consumer groups who agreed to raise the
> FCC
> Line Charge -- on every local phone bill in America --- from a cap of
> $3.50
> to $6.50. Issue Dynamics helped to run a campaign to make consumer
> groups
> believe this increase was important and good for their constituents,
> claiming it would lower long phone rates. --- It didn't work for most
> Americans. Interestingly, almost all of the groups also got grants
> from the
> phone companies.
>
> * "Verizon has worked closely with the National Consumers League
> (NCL) to
> create and update consumer web pages explaining common
> telecommunications
> charges." Sam Simon is the current Chairman of the National
> Consumer League.
> The NCL is on the FCC Consumer Advisory Committee.
> * Other groups backing this were NAACP, (an Issue Dynamics client
> and on the
> APT board) the National Hispanic Council on Aging and American
> Association
> of People with Disabilities, both on the APT board. All three
> got grants and
> donations from the Bell companies.
>
> The FCC, in 2005, is currently proposing to raise this charge to
> $10.00 ---
> and guess who they will listen to?
>
> 3) Wi-Fi and Municipalities -- Recently, Wi-Fi Network News and others
> have
> outlined how Issue Dynamics, APT and the New Millennium Research
> Council (a
> project of Issue Dynamics) have been issuing reports bashing
> municipalities
> ability to offer broadband and Wi-Fi Internet services. This data is
> being
> using in multiple states throughout the US to make state legislatures
> vote
> against competition. Go to the site to read more.
>
> 4) Harm to Competition and Broadband --- Questionable or co-opted
> consumer
> groups have helped to give exclusive rights for broadband networks to
> the
> phone companies -- SBC and Verizon. For example, American's For a
> Digital
> Divide in 2001, with APT, were supporters of the Bell broadband
> proposals
> that essentially harmed competitors. The group included:
>
> * World Institute on Disability, (Verizon's Foundation is a member
> and Simon
> is on the board), American Association of People With
> Disabilities, (got
> "major donations from both Verizon and the Verizon Foundation,
> and put a
> Verizon VP on its own board") and the National Association of
> the Deaf, a
> Sam Simon/Issue Dynamics' client.
>
> 5) TRAC and APT, with the help of fake and co-opted groups and bad
> research,
> helped the phone companies enter the long distance markets, as well as
> harm
> competitors.
>
> * TRAC and APT helped Verizon and SBC enter the long distance
> market, which
> helped to put AT&T and MCI up for sale -- they couldn't compete.
> Sam Simon
> is founder of TRAC, APT is run by Issue Dynamics. TRAC, a
> nonprofit, has
> been running at a suspicious loss for years.
> * Issue Dynamics got the Gray Panthers to go after MCI in a full
> page
> advertisement and staged fake rallies. They also enlisted the
> United Church
> of Christ for other attacks. APT and the United Church of Christ
> work
> together on projects including the "Everett C. Parker Ethics In
> Telecommunications Lectures" (stop laughing.)
>
> 6) VOIP and Universal Service Fund (USF) --- APT has helped to create
> the
> "Keep USF FAIR Coalition", with full page adds in USA Today, in
> February
> 2005. In 2004, APT created the VOIP Coalition (Voice over the
> Internet).
> Both are filled with a mixture of the same players and their positions
> are
> related to the phone companies' needs. For example, instead of
> demanding an
> investigation into the problem-ridden Universal Service Fund, this
> group
> wants what's fair for the phone companies --- increase the USF, but
> leave it
> alone.
>
> * Groups signed onto these campaigns include: APT, American
> Association of
> People with Disabilities, National Hispanic Council on Aging,
> Telecommunications for the Deaf, TRAC, and World Institute on
> Disability.
>
> The list goes on and on. --- In some cases, these groups are merely
> fronts
> for the phone companies interests. In other cases, we believe they've
> been
> duped, co-opting authentic consumer groups for the phone companies'
> purposes. However, in ALL cases, the outcome has been to not
> investigate the
> phone companies' behavior and sign on to Bell-friendly activities that
> ended
> up with higher phone rates, a national lack of fiber-based broadband,
> and
> harm to competition, as well as new threats to the Wi-Fi rollout,
> municipalities offering services, or new technologies, such as VOIP.
>
> Let us be clear --- To date we have found no illegal acts. Also, many
> of
> these groups have done great activities for the public interest. And,
> we
> have no problem with non-profits taking money from a large corporation
> to
> fund a public interest activity. However, when these same groups vote
> and
> use their name to promote the activities of the large corporation,
> especially when they do not fully disclose the money received or fail
> to
> first consider the needs of their own constituency, then the country
> should
> be outraged and these activities investigated. While many groups will
> counter that the phone companies only represent a percentage of their
> income, it is now clear that it represents 100% of their favoritism on
> telecommunications and broadband issues. Should they have nonprofit
> status?
>
> Are they doing illegal-unethical acts?
>
> TAKE ACTION:
>
> A) Go to http://www.newnetworks.com/skunkworks101.html and learn more
> --
> Don't take our word for it. We've put links to articles and documents
> by
> others, including TRAC's IRS financials, ties between groups, etc.
>
> TAKE ACTION: http://www.newnetworks.com/takethefccback.html
>
> B) Join us in our Complaint to Congress to investigate the FCC Consumer
> Advisory Committee's board members. Read the government's report
> questioning
> the FCC's Committee process. --- The new Committee, announced March
> 8th, 2005
> is still filled with phone companies and astro-turfers.
>
> C) Complain about nonprofit status and co-mingling of funds for
> questionable
> groups: Why are fake groups, research firms, etc. getting a free ride
> as
> 501c3, nonprofit groups? Billions of dollars are at stake. Read the IRS
> information about restrictions on lobbying.
>
> D) Call for investigations of this problem --- This same scam is
> happening
> in other industries as well, from the fake environmental groups set up
> by
> the oil companies, to the astroturf groups designed to torpedo health
> care
> reform. Read what others have been writing on this.
>
> Bruce Kushnick, Teletruth, bruce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
> Tom Allibone, Teletruth, tom@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
>
> PS: Teletruth was a member of the FCC Consumer Advisory Committee in
> 2003-2004. We were not invited back in 2005.
>
Archives at: <http://Wireless.Com/Dewayne-Net>
Weblog at: <http://weblog.warpspeed.com>
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