INTERNET
tudy Says Most Children's Web Sites Are Lax On Privacy (Cybertimes)
Capital Dispatch: Internet Board To Open Meetings And Drop Fee (NYT)
The Info Culture: You've Got Mail (Trib)
Hands-Off Unregulation (FCC)
BROADBAND
Battle Over High-Speed Net Access Centers In L.A. (Latimes)
LIBRARIES
At Library, Computers Compete With Books For Pupils' Time (NYT)
MERGERS
Neat Package Hides Issues In Phone Deal (NYT)
Vodafone To Buy Commnet Cellular For $764 Million (WSJ)
BROADCASTING
Your Set Has Lost Its Color (USA)
Less TV In On-Line Homes (USA)
Channel 11 Tries To Steer Clear Of Donor List Furor (Trib)
Public Broadcasting Stupidity (WP)
TELEPHONY
Sprint Offers 5 Cents-A-Minute Calls At Night (Trib)
INTERNET
STUDY SAYS MOST CHILDREN'S WEB SITES ARE LAX ON PRIVACY
Issue: Privacy
The Center for Media Education (CME), a Washington-based media advocacy group,
has just released a study revealing that only one-quarter of children's Web
sites post privacy policies and only 6% ask for parental permission before kids
send in personal information. Kathryn Montgomery, president of CME said that
the studies "findings underscore the urgent need for clear and effective rules
to protect children's privacy online. Parents must be involved when personal
information is collected from their children." The study's release coincides
with Federal Trade Commission workshop where companies and privacy advocates
are discussing ways to carry out the Federal Children's Onlne Privacy
Protection Act that was passed by congress last year. The Act, which isn't
scheduled to take effect until next April, will require all Web sites to get
parental permission before gathering information from children under 13. The
workshop is intended to help the FTC develop effective rules to carry out the
Act. Evan Hendricks, editor of Privacy Times, is worried that business
interests will have too much influence in determining privacy policies. "Every
time the FTC holds a workshop or a hearing, [the industry] trots out some dog
and pony show or pulls some rabbit out of the hat," Hendricks said. "All these
things have fizzled and they are just ways of buying time so industry can
continue to exploit information without informed consent."
[SOURCE: CyberTimes, AUTHOR: Jeri Clausing]
(http://www.nytimes.com/library/tech/99/07/cyber/articles/20privacy.html)
See also:
KIDS' ONLINE PRIVACY AT RISK
[SOURCE: San Jose Mercury News, AUTHOR: Debrorah Kong]
(http://www.mercurycenter.com/svtech/news/indepth/docs/priv072099.htm)
CAPITAL DISPATCH: INTERNET BOARD TO OPEN MEETINGS AND DROP FEE
Issue: Internet
Yesterday, three days before the House Commerce Committee will hold a hearing
to investigate the dealings of ICANN, (the Internet Corporation for Assigned
Names and Numbers), its interim Chairman, Ester Dyson, sent a letter to the
Commerce Department. The letter said ICANN will hold its next board meeting in
public and will temporally drop the $1 tax on domain name registrations.
(Hmmmmm, I wonder if there is a correlation with the timing on this one.) Dyson
says ICANN's board does not "see a global consensus demanding that ICANN hold
all its meetings in public." She is also assigning a task force to find
alternative funding for ICANN cost recovery. House Commerce Committee is
investigating ICANN for not opening their meetings to the public, proposing a
$1 tax to finance their budget and attempting to overregulating companies.
[SOURCE: New York Times, AUTHOR: Jeri Clausing]
(http://www.nytimes.com/library/tech/99/07/cyber/capital/20capital.html)
THE INFO CULTURE: YOU'VE GOT MAIL
Issue: E-mail
Is e-mail a unique and unprecedented form of communication or just the
latest way to chew the fat? Keller asks. According to author John Durham
Peters, communication is "one of the characteristic concepts of the
twentieth century," influencing our "reflections on democracy, love and our
changing times." E-mail seems distinctive because it hovers somewhere
between print and speech: "It's a paper genre, but it feels so much like
talking," said Kitty O. Locker, author of the fifth edition of _Business and
Administration Communication_, a college textbook used by thousands of
students each year. "Receivers tend to treat e-mail like a paper document.
But senders tend to treat it informally and carelessly." E-mail can sound
brusque even when you don't mean it that way," Ms. Locker said. "And it
feels urgent, even if it isn't. Because we send e-mails so fast, people
expect an instant response." Recent research found that many writers would
prefer to deliver bad news via email rather than in person [we're going to
start charging for this service]. E-mail "makes people more honest because
their inhibitions are lower," said a member of the research team, which
makes e-mail sound like a cocktail in a dimly lit bar.
[SOURCE: Chicago Tribune (Sec 5, p.3), AUTHOR: Julia Keller]
(http://chicagotribune.com/leisure/tempo/printedition/article/0,2669,SAV-990
7200107,FF.html)
HANDS-OFF UNREGULATION
Issue: Internet Regulation
News Release: The FCC Office of Plans and Policy (OPP) 7/19 released the latest
in its OPP Working Paper Series, entitled "The FCC and the
Unregulation of the Internet." Authored by Jason Oxman, Counsel for Advanced
Communications in the Office of Plans and Policy, the paper examines the FCC's
thirty-year history of not regulating the data services market, and how that
tradition of "unregulation" was a crucial factor in the successful growth of
the Internet. OPP periodically issues working papers on emerging issues in
communications; these papers represent the individual views of their authors
and are not official statements by the FCC or any FCC commissioner. Since
opening an inquiry into the interrelationship of the telecommunications network
and computer-based services in 1966, the FCC has taken numerous affirmative
steps to ensure that the marketplace, not regulation, allowed innovation and
experimentation to flourish. As a result, a vast majority of Americans have
inexpensive and reliable access to the Internet. The typical American family
gains an incredible amount of value from its $20 per month Internet account,
including such services as investing, travel planning, homework research, email
communications, and shopping, among others. The Internet Economy generated over
$300 billion in revenue in the U.S. last year and is rapidly changing the way
America does business. Nearly one third of the nation's households are regular
Internet users. A summary of the working paper is attached. The full text is
available on the FCC web site at www.fcc.gov. Office of Plans and Policy
contact: Jason Oxman, 202-418-1078, (joxman( at )fcc.gov).
[SOURCE: FCC]
(http://www.fcc.gov/Bureaus/OPP/News_Releases/1999/nrop9004.html)
BROADBAND
BATTLE OVER HIGH-SPEED NET ACCESS CENTERS IN L.A.
Issue: Broadband
"This is a defining moment for the future of the Internet, but when this
amount of money is being spent, the underlying issues get obscured," said
Andrew Schwartzmann of the Media Access Project, a Washington consumer advocacy
group. Who will stand to rake in the billions of dollars that consumers are
likely to spend for lightning-fast access to this
world-changing communications medium? A lobbying war with AT&T on one side and
America Online and GTE on the other will decide. LA has turned into Ground Zero
in the open access war. The City Council there is expected to hold its next
public hearing on Tuesday and move toward a vote this fall. Los Angeles is at
the center of this national debate because it is perhaps the largest city whose
political leaders remain undecided on open access.
[SOURCE: Los Angeles Times 7/19, AUTHOR: Sallie Hofmeister and Jim Newton]
(latimes.com)
LIBRARIES
AT LIBRARY, COMPUTERS COMPETE WITH BOOKS FOR PUPILS' TIME
Issue: EdTech
When Shawn Hunt took her third grade class on a field trip to a nearby branch
of the Brooklyn Public Library, she quickly discovered that the lure of books
pales in comparison to the draw of computers. Richard Suico, a librarian on
duty, admits that computers are a big attraction to the kids, many of whom
don't have any at home. "They come in for the computers, but we hope to
supplement it with books," he said. Mrs. Hunt was glad that kids enjoyed the
field trip, but wished they could have been more focused on reading. "They
should be able to see that you can do other things in the library besides
playing on the computer."
[SOURCE: New York Times (A18), AUTHOR: Randal C. Archibold]
(http://www.nytimes.com/library/national/regional/072099library-trip-edu....)
MERGERS
NEAT PACKAGE HIDES ISSUES IN PHONE DEAL
Issue: Mergers
As the dust starts to settle in the telecommunication's industries latest
merger battle, there are still many questions that need to be answered as US
West, the smallest of the regional bells, and Qwest, the long distance upstart,
begin to combine operations. The companies are eager to propel themselves to
the level of the global telecommunication's giants like AT&T and MCI/Worldcom,
but there are many barriers for them to overcome. While one of the driving
forces behind the deal was the goal of offering integrated local and
long-distance service to customers, US West is still a few years away from
gaining an FCC ok to enter that business. Also, in order to obtain regulatory
approval for the deal, Qwest will likely have to sell off its long-distance
business in all of US West's territory.
[SOURCE: New York Times (C1), AUTHOR: Seth Schiesel]
(http://www.nytimes.com/library/tech/99/07/biztech/articles/20qwest-uswest.h
tml)
VODAFONE TO BUY COMMNET CELLULAR FOR $764 MILLION
Issue: Merger
Vodafone/AirTouch was formed when the Vodafone Group purchased AirTouch
Communications of San Francisco a few weeks ago. Now Vodafone/AirTouch has
operations in 24 countries with more than 28 million cellular customers.
Vodafone/AirTouch has also just acquired CommNet Cellular, which serves
Colorado, Montana, North Dakota, South Dakota, Utah, Wyoming, Idaho, Iowa and
New Mexico. They have approximately 360,000 customers. Vodafone/AirTouch paid
$764 million and will assume $600 of CommNet's debt. This deal is expected to
be good for Vodafone/AirTouch who had been using networks they did not own and
paying huge roaming fees that were passed onto their customers. The CommNet
deal will alleviate that customer burden by lowering Vodafone/AirTouch's
operating costs in those markets.
[SOURCE: Wall Street Journal, B7, AUTHOR: Gautam Naik]
(http://wsj.com/)
BROADCASTING
YOUR SET HAS LOST ITS COLOR
Issue: Television
Network television is quickly changing its fall line-up to add some minority
characters. This is happening at a time of intense scrutiny by the NAACP.
Though blacks account for only 12% of the population, they watch 40% more
television than whites. Yet, the number of shows with minority characters has
dwindled over the past few years. "I think its appalling," says Blair
Underwood, star of CBS' new show City of Angels due out in January. The actor
blames a backlash against affirmative action: "There's a sense that 'we've done
enough for, quote, those people." NBC currently has the lowest percentage of
black viewers and a nearly all-white lineup of shows. Fox has no black leads in
its seven pilots for the season. Asians and Hispanics account for 3% and 8% of
U.S. TV household respectively, but are largely absent from the new fall season
as well. TV wasn't always so white as shows like Sanford and Son and The
Jeffersons paved the way for shows like the Cosby Show and A Different World.
These shows were huge successes and proved that viewers could relate to
universal themes of family, regardless of race.
[SOURCE: USA Today (B1), AUTHOR: David Lieberman]
(http://usatoday.com/)
LESS TV IN ON-LINE HOMES
Issue: Television/Internet
Homes hooked up to the Internet watch an average of 13% less television a day
than unconnected homes. This finding comes from a recent survey conducted by
Nielsen Media Research, commissioned by AOL. It also found that the biggest
movement away from television is after school and work, from 4:30 to 6pm.
During that time viewers watched 17% less television. During prime time (8 to
11pm) viewership in connected homes was only lower than unconnected homes by
6%.
[SOURCE: USA Today (B1), AUTHOR: David Lieberman]
(http://usatoday.com/)
CHANNEL 11 TRIES TO STEER CLEAR OF DONOR LIST FUROR
Issue: Public Broadcasting
Oh, don't mind us here in Chicago; no political controversy here, if you
please. Chicago's largest public broadcaster, WTTW-Channel 11, did not share
its donor list with the Democratic party. It has purchased names from the
Democratic Party and tried to do the same with Republicans, but the GOP would
not sell names. "We don't share our names with partisan political
organizations, only bipartisan," said station spokesperson Joanie Bayhack. "Our
internal records and records of our brokers say we never gave names to
political parties." The furor over a few stations exchanging names with the
Democratic Party has put public broadcasting funding at risk. "This puts a
stain on the political process because it implies a cozy relationship between
those who receive federal funding and those who approve the funding," said Ken
Johnson, press secretary to Rep. Billy Tauzin (R-LA), chairman of the
Telecommunications Subcommittee of the House Commerce Committee. "Public
broadcasting has shot itself in the foot." The Subcommittee will hold a hearing
on public broadcasting funding today. [See
(http://www.house.gov/commerce/schedule.htm); hear it at
(http://comnotes.house.gov/cchear/hearings106.nsf/eeae8466ba03a2158525677f0
04b4d11/b851d22782eade84852567af005aaada?OpenDocument)]
[SOURCE: Chicago Tribune (Sec 3, p.1), AUTHOR: Tim Jones]
(http://chicagotribune.com/business/printedition/article/0,2669,SAV-9907200
337,FF.html)
PUBLIC BROADCASTING STUPIDITY
Issue: Broadcasting
[Op-Ed] An editorial by the Washington Post calls the list-sharing between
public stations and politicians stupid. About three-dozen stations have used
"list brokers" whose business is helping nonprofits swap donor lists and more
are set to emerge, it says, most recently with the Democratic National
Committee. Fortunately, the leaders of public broadcasting say they will work
with Congress so that it doesn't continue because they understand their funding
could be in jeopardy. According to a spokesman for Rep. Billy Tauzin, "It
undermines the faith in public broadcasting," the author notes. He applauds
those executives who have prohibited the exchange or "rental" of donor lists
with anyone. Even though stations may try to show they also shared lists with
Republicans, "that won't reassure us much