Comcast, Time Warner Cable Spend Big To 'Honor' FCC Commissioner Overseeing Their Merger Review

from the soft-corruption dept

Tue, Aug 12th 2014 2:27pm — Mike Masnick

We've written in the past about the idea of "soft corruption," in which the direct exchange of money isn't necessarily obvious, but the very clear appearance of conflicts of interest certainly erode the trust of the public in the policy makers. Even when everything is technically above-board, these actions attack the credibility of the policy process. Witness the latest example. Comcast and Time Warner Cable are each shelling out significant cash to "sponsor" an event which is honoring FCC Commissioner Mignon Clyburn who, of course, is in the midst of a review over the merger proposal between the two companies. As Politico reports:

Comcast will pay $110,000 to be a top-level “presenting sponsor” at the Walter Kaitz Foundation’s annual dinner in September, at which Clyburn is receiving the “diversity advocate” award, according to a foundation spokeswoman. Time Warner Cable paid $22,000 in May to the foundation for the same event, according to a Senate lobbying disclosure filed at the end of last month. The foundation supports diversity in the cable industry.

Diversity is a good thing and we're all for it. It's also great that Comcast and TWC want to "support" diversity. But the questionable optics here are quite troubling -- even if it's technically legal:

There are no rules preventing businesses from helping to honor regulators in this way, and both companies say they have supported the foundation for years.

Comcast further claims that it's "insulting" to suggest that its donation here has anything to do with Clyburn being honored at the event. And, indeed, Comcast has sponsored similar events from the same group, giving similar amounts -- all while past honorees tended to be industry insiders, rather than public sector officials. So it's doubtful that this is any sort of direct tit-for-tat type payment. But, again, that's part of what's so troubling about the nature of "soft corruption." There's still a pretty clear conflict of interest in the entire setup which -- whether true or not -- creates the perception that people in the public sector are in debt to the very companies they're supposed to be regulating.

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Filed Under: awards, conflict of interest, fcc, merger, mignon clyburn, soft corruption, sponsorship
Companies: comcast, time warner cable

29 Comments

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Rich Kulawiec, 12 Aug 2014 @ 2:43pm

Make sure there's a recording
Otherwise when it comes times to pay the event bills, Comcast will lie about their committment and offer a year of discounted cable service instead.
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ChurchHatesTucker (profile), 12 Aug 2014 @ 2:47pm

"soft corruption"
Is that when you pay with bills instead of coins?
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Anonymous Coward, 12 Aug 2014 @ 2:55pm

What's da problem?
There's nothing unethical about this, in much the same way that there's nothing illegal about selling cigarettes that "fell off the back of a truck".
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Anonymous Coward, 12 Aug 2014 @ 2:59pm

Re: "soft corruption"
No, that's when you fail to pay with sexual favours.
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Anonymous Coward, 12 Aug 2014 @ 3:13pm

Corruption is corruption .
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Anonymous Coward, 12 Aug 2014 @ 3:18pm

If it walks like a duck, and talks like a duck, dare I say it is a duck? It is geting about time to sneak across the Canadian border, the stench here in the states is getting to be unbearable.
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Alien Rebel (profile), 12 Aug 2014 @ 3:18pm

Adjustment Bureau
It's not corruption, it's merely the everyday business in D.C. of keeping our elected officials in an endless stream of controlled situations so they won't deviate from the plan. Beware lobbyists wearing hats.
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Anonymous Coward, 12 Aug 2014 @ 3:30pm

Unbelievable how corruption happens in the open in US, and how companies can get away with spinning it into something else.
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sorrykb (profile), 12 Aug 2014 @ 3:48pm

"Questionable optics"?
Still, I'm trying to figure out the relationship between the Walter Kaitz Foundation (which certainly seems to have laudable goals) and the NCTA (which seems to be a festering pile of...)

The NCTA website seems to imply that the Kaitz Foundation is one of its projects. (See https://www.ncta.com/who-we-are .)

So... if it helps, this could be seen as something more like ALL the major cable players honoring Clyburn, rather than just Comcast and TWC. OK, maybe that doesn't help. But it certainly business as usual across a lot of different industries.
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Anonymous Coward, 12 Aug 2014 @ 4:04pm

Get hat p.o.s. out of the FCC now!
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That One Guy (profile), 12 Aug 2014 @ 4:07pm

Just once...
Just once I'd like to see a politician, or someone in an equally powerful position, take a stand and refuse to go to an event like this, noting, publicly, the appearance of massive conflict of interest and/or corruption.

Yes such a decision would drastically cut down on the perks of the job(which is likely the biggest reason they never will), but it would certainly be refreshing to see them realize how obviously for sale their votes/voices are, and do something to try and minimize that.
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art guerrilla (profile), 12 Aug 2014 @ 4:20pm

Re:
are you implying ducks stink ?
i think that is most unfair, the duck i've eaten hasn't stunk at all...

besides, we are in times of 'diode justice' (only works one way), the 1% pull legal justifications out of their butts and they pass muster (to odiferously mix metaphors), and the 99% can't depend on 'rights' or 'laws' or 'justice' at all...

works out great for the 1%, and, after all, isn't that -both literally and figuratively- all that counts ? ? ?
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Kronomex, 12 Aug 2014 @ 5:26pm

Corruption is still corruption no mater what buzz words you place before it. Keep the puppets happy and fat and you have no problems.
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Socrates, 12 Aug 2014 @ 5:48pm

Re: Re:
'diode justice' (only works one way)

Might this be the Police/Nobody diode?
or P–N diode for short

/geek-pun
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Greg Robert, 12 Aug 2014 @ 6:16pm

De monopolize them
Like with ma bell.
Make them common carriers and get them OUT of the content packaging biz.
And let me buy my hardware from competitors via Amazon and Best Buy.

These guys are screwing us bad.
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Socrates, 12 Aug 2014 @ 7:31pm

Emigration
Canada does full class-room education for people that seek to cancel their US citizenship, in an attempt to alleviate the queue.

The scale of the emigration worries the US-government. Some of the retaliations and measures taken to limit emigration is demanding money to accept applications, choosing to unilaterally prolong the citizenship, double tax, demand money to end the citizenship, and so on.

Most nations expect its citizens to pay a larger part of their income as tax. This will be unfamiliar for some. And then give more of it back, something that some ex-USA people find queer. The tax evasion argument for FATCA is quite ludicrous.

You will probably be harassed and treated as an defector when you leave, so you might do the paperwork when you are safely out instead. Later you will probably be harassed at the border if you visit your friends and family after you have succeeded.

But your (future) kids will be safer from bullying, attend fewer schools run by correction officers, get less zero tolerance abuse, less manhandling at airports, less stop-and-frisk, less SWATting, and generally grow up in a place were it is OK to think. And so do you.
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Anonymous Coward, 12 Aug 2014 @ 7:45pm

Re: Just once...
"Just once I'd like to see a politician, or someone in an equally powerful position, take a stand and refuse to go to an event like this, noting, publicly, the appearance of massive conflict of interest and/or corruption."

If that happened they will then be accused of grandstanding.
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Anonymous Coward, 12 Aug 2014 @ 8:26pm

Funny, I don't remember any of this talk when Comcast sponsored a Public Knowledge event.
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Whatever (profile), 12 Aug 2014 @ 9:44pm

Re:
Don't confuse the story with facts!
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Anonymous Coward, 12 Aug 2014 @ 10:16pm

I honestly prefer the bad old days of under the table bribes because at least they had the decency to hide it like the shameful thing it is. Legalized bribery is worse.
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techflaws (profile), 12 Aug 2014 @ 10:31pm

Re: Re:
Or your whinings.
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David, 12 Aug 2014 @ 11:25pm

Re: Just once...
Just once I'd like to see a politician, or someone in an equally powerful position, take a stand and refuse to go to an event like this, noting, publicly, the appearance of massive conflict of interest and/or corruption.

This is the U.S.A. There are few other civilized countries where waiters are only paid their tips rather than a proper wage, leading to stuff like women being happy like anything to have the qualifications for working at "Hooters".

Bending over and smiling when someone is waving dollar bills is part of the culture.
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Anonymous Coward, 13 Aug 2014 @ 7:19am

Re: Re:
Get a room, you two.
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nasch (profile), 13 Aug 2014 @ 9:50am

Re: Emigration
But your (future) kids will be safer from bullying, attend fewer schools run by correction officers, get less zero tolerance abuse, less manhandling at airports, less stop-and-frisk, less SWATting, and generally grow up in a place were it is OK to think. And so do you.

Making Canadia sound so nice is part of your dirty Socialist plan to take over the world! ;-)
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nasch (profile), 13 Aug 2014 @ 10:11am

Re:
Funny, I don't remember any of this talk when Comcast sponsored a Public Knowledge event.

Does Public Knowledge have the authority to regulate Comcast?
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Anonymous Coward, 13 Aug 2014 @ 11:54am

Re: Re:
No, but I find it interesting the PK founder Gigi Sohn now works for Wheeler.
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John85851 (profile), 13 Aug 2014 @ 3:13pm

Where's the PR department?
Didn't anyone in Comcast's PR department say anything about how this would appear bad? Even though it may be technically legal, it's the job of the PR department to make sure the company is always seen in a positive light.
Or is their PR department about ready to throw in the towel, especially in light of all the bad customer service issues?
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nasch (profile), 13 Aug 2014 @ 3:38pm

Re: Where's the PR department?
Keep in mind the PR department's audience. Comcast doesn't have to compete for customers, so their top priority isn't impressing potential customers, it's impressing others such as regulators and Congress.
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Socrates, 14 Aug 2014 @ 5:59pm

Voting
An informed electorate casting votes that count. It might trigger change. It might spread. It might cause rights for citizens!

And I admit that I like it ;-)
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