Verizon partners with Vice Media. Will spy videos be allowed?
Controversy surrounding Verizon's ban on spy-related news in its short-term tech news site 'SugarString.com' raises questions of censorship in its new partnership with Vice Media.
This April 7, 2013, file photo, shows the Verizon studio booth at MetLife Stadium, in East Rutherford, N.J.
Mel Evans/AP/File
On Tuesday, Verizon Communications announced a partnership with Vice Media that will broaden the content available on its mobile video service expected to start this year.
The telecommunications company has become increasingly involved in the multi-media news sector over the past several years. Verizon bought AOL, a multinational mass media corporation, in May for $4.4 billion, . AOL鈥檚 portfolio of news brands includes The Huffington Post, TechCrunch, Endgadget, and AOL.com, among others 鈥� all hubs of trending news.
In 2014, Verizon played their hand at news production and created a technology news site called SugarString.com. But : 鈥淚n exchange for the major corporate backing, tech reporters at SugarString [were] expressly forbidden from writing about American spying or net neutrality around the world.鈥�
reported that the site was shut down in December of 2014.
It鈥檚 not surprising that Verizon would take such heavy measures to distance themselves from potential spying scandals. The company has allegedly been turning over phone call records to the National Security Agency (NSA) since the September 11 terrorist attacks. And, just last year, that Verizon was fined $7.4 million for failing to notify some two million new Verizon phone customers of their privacy rights before using their information for marketing.
At the same time, Verizon has been vocal about what it sees as the outdated regulatory demands of net neutrality. In February, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) voted to impose tough new laws on broadband companies under Title II of the Communications Act of 1934, . Michael E. Glover, Verizon鈥檚 senior vice-president, public policy and government affairs, the decision would 鈥渆ncumber internet services with badly antiquated regulations.鈥�
But Vice has had no problem reporting on spying and net neutrality. Headlines like 鈥淐able companies are astroturfing fake consumer support to end net neutrality鈥� are sprinkled across the search results for 鈥渘et neutrality鈥� . The online site even has titled 鈥淣SA spying will cost US tech titans billions, and that鈥檚 just the start鈥� that specifically mentions Verizon.
And yet, Verizon probably isn鈥檛 looking for complete ownership of Vice. At least that鈥檚 what CEO Lowell McAdam said in January when rumors that the company was poised to buy AOL (a rumor that turned out to be true) were abundant:
鈥淲e will be more of a partner with media companies rather than doing an acquisition,鈥� McAdam said .听
In the mean time, Vice looks ready to expand its growing list of media partnerships 鈥� landing an investment with the television group A&E Networks and striking deals with HBO and the music streaming service Spotify in the past year.
Terry Denson, vice president of content strategy and acquisition at Verizon, released a statement Tuesday morning supporting the partnership:
鈥淰ice is connecting with an entire generation in a way that no one else is and Verizon will connect consumers to Vice in a way that no one else does by combining Vice鈥檚 storytelling with the most compelling mobile video platform.鈥澛�