Dec 2, 2009 (The Internet Must Not Become a Segregated Community)
BENTON'S COMMUNICATIONS-RELATED HEADLINES for WEDNESDAY DECEMBER 2, 2009
Journalism, radio rating and cybersecurity all on today's agenda
benton.org/calendar/2009-12-02
NETWORK NEUTRALITY
The Internet Must Not Become a Segregated Community
Fine Network Neutrality Whines Accompany Comcast's NBC Takeover
OWNERSHIP
Comcast, GE Value Cable Channels at Up to $7 Billion
Comcast, NBC aim to ease feds' concerns
Free Press, Media Access Project want Comcast-NBC merger blocked
Genachowski Mum on NBCU/Comcast
Fuzzy picture for Comcast-NBC deal
With NBC, Comcast Zeros in on ESPN
With NBC Spinoff, GE Returning To Roots
No cash for Vivendi in deal for NBC stake
With Sale of NBC, Analysts Say Vivendi Can Pursue Other Acquisitions
Tribune Co. given until Feb. 28 to file Ch. 11 reorganization plan
SPECTRUM/WIRELESS
Broadcasters Cool To Cash-For-Spectrum
FCC Starts Up Its Radio White Space System, New Wireless Tech En-Route
A $350 early-termination fee for smart phones? Now that smarts
NATIONAL BROADBAND PLAN
FCC Seeks Input on Broadband Communications Transition
FCC Chairman Pushes Changes to Expand Broadband Access
Cable industry proposes 50 percent discounts on broadband service for low-income students
Back to the [Broadband] Future
Attn NTIA/RUS: Wiring Community Anchors May Be A Mistake
Slow Internet meets its Waterloo as 105Mbps comes to Iowa
GOVERNMENT & COMMUNICATIONS
Lunch With The President: The Politics Of Obama's War Plan
EFF sues feds for info on social network surveillance
Sprint fed customer GPS data to cops over 8 million times
Congress' Best (And Worst) Committee Web Sites
India blocks service to millions of handsets
JOURNALISM
News groups open new online front
FTC Will Team With FCC To Vet Journalism's Future
FTC Panel On Future Of Journalism: Murdoch Advocates Paid Content
For-Pay The Key To New Media Success, says WSJ editor
E.W. Scripps' Contreras to FTC: Help Newspapers Protect Online Content
Steiger: Embrace Internet, But Protect Journalism
Journalism 2009: Desperate Metaphors, Desperate Revenue Models, And The Desperate Need For Better Journalism
In nod to media, Google News policy limited
Cellphone news, next big thing in media
New blogger payola disclosure rules start
HEALTH
ONC reorganizes for push on EHR, HITECH goals
Senate Healthcare Reform Bill's IT Provisions Make Sense
Seniors Who Use Internet Could Reap Health Benefits, Studies Show
MORE ONLINE ...
Comcast launches bandwidth meter pilot
Survey shows cyberattacks are getting more disruptive
New Consortium To Focus On Cyber Research
Nielsen Speeding Up Single-Source Measurement Plan
Despite new technology, TV is still the main medium
Policymakers, business talk about America's innovation challenges and A Dialogue on Accelerating the Innovation Economy
Auto Recovery Is Stations' Best Hope
Broadcasting & Cable Magazine, Multichannel News, TWICE sold to NewBay Media
Italy Asks EU to Review News Corp. TV Plans
Political Google
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CyberMonday Shopping: Celebrate Net Neutrality
NETWORK NEUTRALITY
THE INTERNET MUST NOT BECOME A SEGREGATED COMMUNITY
[SOURCE: The Huffington Post, AUTHOR: Malkia Cyril, Chris Rabb, Joseph Torres]
[Commentary] When Fox News' Glenn Beck called President Barack Obama a racist this past July, the online advocacy group ColorOfChange.org launched a campaign to convince advertisers to boycott the show. To date, some 285,000 people have joined the effort, and more than 80 companies have pulled their ads. CNN parted ways with Lou Dobbs last month after civil rights groups and Presente.org mobilized thousands of Latinos online to call on CNN to dump the talk show host for spewing hate against immigrants for years. None of this -- not these advocacy efforts, not countless small business success stories, not even the election of President Obama -- would have happened without a free and open Internet. For communities of color, the Internet provides us with a unique opportunity to speak for ourselves without first seeking approval or permission or having to secure major funds to do so. But the big telecommunications companies like AT&T, Verizon and Comcast want to create an effectively segregated online community where they will act as our gatekeepers. We are living through a critical moment in our nation's history. The FCC is going to decide whether the Internet will remain an open platform that allows for the greatest number of voices to participate in our democratic society, or whether it will be a closed network controlled by the big telecom companies. We are concerned about the dire consequences of living without Net Neutrality. It would create a separate but unequal online world where our communities will be unable to use the Internet to compete or to advocate for justice when we have been wronged. We need civil rights, media justice, community-oriented and grassroots organizations to stand together to make sure effective Net Neutrality regulation will protect our communities from the predatory practices of the phone and cable companies. As with past civil rights struggles that successfully expanded access, thwarted discrimination, destroyed legalized segregation, and created broad opportunity, so too will the cause of Internet freedom.
benton.org/node/30168 | Huffington Post, The
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FINE WHINES ACCOMPANY COMCAST'S NBC TAKEOVER
[SOURCE: Public Knowledge, AUTHOR: Art Brodsky]
[Commentary] Just in time for the holidays, some old and new whines are presenting themselves for our seasonal enjoyment. In New York City, songwriters are still complaining about the Internet as a City Council committee considered endorsing the simple idea of "Network Neutrality." In Washington, AT&T's top lobbyist blew his stack when an Administration official endorsed Net Neutrality in terms the lobbyist didn't like. Not that there are any terms endorsing Net Neutrality that the lobbyist would like, save those with which he agrees, which are relatively meaningless. All of this would be mere background noise to the sound of Christmas carols if it weren't for the pending announcement of Comcast, the country's largest Internet Service Provider, taking over NBC-Universal, one of the biggest content providers. The debate over that unwieldy combination will move Net Neutrality to the forefront of issues as policymakers and the public consider the shifting balances of power between controlling the distribution of content and the content itself. Those who want to argue that AT&T, Verizon and, yes, Comcast, should be able to play favorites and have control over the content on the Internet will have an even larger barrier to surmount as the breadth, depth and economic might of the new media giant becomes apparent.
benton.org/node/30167 | Public Knowledge
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OWNERSHIP
COMCAST, GE VALUE CABLE CHANNELS AT UP TO $7 BILLION
[SOURCE: Bloomberg, AUTHOR: Kelly Riddell, Rachel Layne]
Apparently, Comcast and General Electric have valued Comcast's channels at as much as $7 billion, potentially lowering the amount of cash the cable company would have to pay over time to form a venture with NBC Universal. Comcast, which is in talks to merge its cable channels with GE's NBC entertainment assets, would probably also contribute about $6 billion in cash to the new company, said the person, who declined to be identified because the discussions are private. GE owns 80 percent of NBC Universal and is in talks to buy Vivendi SA's 20 percent stake. GE and Comcast may announce a deal as soon as Thursday.
benton.org/node/30166 | Bloomberg
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COMCAST, NBC AIM TO EASE FEDS' CONCERNS
[SOURCE: Washington Post, AUTHOR: Cecilia Kang]
Apparently, a merger between Comcast and NBC Universal, expected to be announced by Thursday, would probably come with concessions aimed at forestalling a drawn-out federal review of the deal. In previous major media mergers, companies have agreed to preserve local news coverage and grant competitors access to content, for example. Sources familiar with the Comcast-NBC Universal talks said such promises would probably be announced with the merger. The $30 billion transaction would significantly reshape the media landscape by giving the nation's largest cable and broadband Internet provider control over content that makes up one out of five TV viewing hours, according to some analysts. NBC owns Universal Studios, theme parks, shows such as "The Biggest Loser" and "Heroes," and cable channels such as USA Network, Bravo and CNBC. Although no regulation prevents ownership of a broadcast station and cable assets in the same market, such combinations would probably raise concerns. Regulators conceivably could force Comcast to sell its broadcast or cable stations in the same region as a condition of approval. Another area expected to draw regulatory scrutiny is online video distribution. Comcast hopes to expand its offerings by acquiring NBC's content. Either the Federal Trade Commission or Justice Department will review whether the deal is anti-competitive, and the Federal Communications Commission will examine how the deal affects consumers.
benton.org/node/30180 | Washington Post
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FREE PRESS, MAP WANT COMCAST-NBC MERGER BLOCKED
[SOURCE: The Hill, AUTHOR: Kim Hart]
Free Press and Media Access Project are calling for regulators and the Obama Administration to block the proposed merger of Comcast and NBC, which the groups say would "open the door to a new era of media consolidation that reaches across content creation and distribution, giving one company enormous power over TV and Internet content." "The American public doesn't want a media behemoth controlling the programming they watch and how they can access it," said Josh Silver, executive director of Free Press. "If Washington allows this deal to go through, Comcast will have unprecedented control of marquee content and three major distribution platforms: Internet, broadcast and cable. We've never seen this kind of consolidated control." The merger proposal will be weighed by regulators just months before the FCC begins its media ownership review next year. Media diversity, competition and consolidation will be three issues on the docket in that review. The deal also comes as the debate over net neutrality--or how much control Internet service providers should have over content delivered through their pipes--rages on in Washington. Andrew Schwartzman, president and CEO of Media Access Project, said he is concerned about the market power a combined Comcast/NBCU would enjoy. "I am especially concerned about the effects the merger would have on evolving technologies for delivering video over the Internet....I also expect a great deal of opposition from the private sector, since the merger has anti-competitive implications for local TV stations, independent cable programmers, advertisers, Internet video entrepreneurs and many other businesses," he said.
benton.org/node/30165 | Hill, The | Free Press press release | Josh Silver/Huffington Post | B&C
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SPECTRUM/WIRELESS
BROADCASTERS COOL TO CASH-FOR-SPECTRUM
[SOURCE: TVNewsCheck, AUTHOR: Kim McAvoy]
A proposal calling for reallocating broadcast television spectrum for wireless broadband use got a chilly reception from industry representatives during a forum hosted by the Progress and Freedom Foundation. Blair Levin, the head of the Federal Communications Commission's National Broadband Plan team, said the spectrum could be put to a "better, higher use." "The value of the spectrum itself is greater than the value created for broadcasters in the use of that spectrum," said Levin. Association For Maximum Service Television President David Donovan said that broadcasters do want to work with the FCC to help explore ideas for improving broadband access in the United States. "We believe we are part of the solution,'' Donovan said. He went on to say that broadcasters have a role to play in the nation's broadband future, providing multicast services, mobile DTV, emergency information, local news and high-definition TV. "My members believe strongly that the business value proposition of over-the-air television far exceeds what would be a one-time snapshot value,'' Donovan said. Media Access project Andy Schwartzman said broadcasters have been given an unbelievable benefit in terms of spectrum. "They sat on twice as much spectrum for 10 years. They squandered it, they haven't come up with a business model... Most of all, they have not provided the benefit to the public in terms of building a service that comes with the bargain to get free broadcast licenses," he argued. "They want all the benefits and none of the responsibilities," Schwartzman claimed. But he also says he doesn't like the idea of spectrum auctions. Instead, the public interest advocate said he is a strong advocate of the white spaces technology and its unlicensed uses.
benton.org/node/30163 | TVNewsCheck
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FCC STARTS UP ITS RADIO WHITE SPACE SYSTEM
[SOURCE: Fast Company, AUTHOR: Kit Eaton]
[Commentary] After a year of dithering, controversy and retro-thinking government meddling, the Federal Communications Commission has finally begun the process of enabling new whitespace broadband Wi-Fi devices. Good news. The FCC voted to start up a database to track where existing television and radio signals use up portions of the radio spectrum next to white space gaps. This is the first step to making whitespace useable by new wireless devices: The idea is that when you switch on a white space device, it checks where it is in the country by using GPS, looks up the existing occupied radio frequencies, and starts using the available white space to transmit and receive digital wireless signals. Why should you care about this? Because it's the green light for a whole new bunch of novel wireless systems. Obviously the broadband wireless access issue is the most obviously promising use, but since the whitespace is available for whoever would like to use it you can bet there'll be a number of innovative uses that surface that we can't even guess at yet.
benton.org/node/30162 | Fast Company
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NATIONAL BROADBAND PLAN
FCC SEEKS INPUT ON BROADBAND COMMUNICATIONS TRANSITION
[SOURCE: Federal Communications Commission, AUTHOR: ]
Driven by technology and market forces, the evolution of communications services to broadband creates many opportunities for our country, but it also has a significant impact on the circuit switched Public Switched Telephone Network (PSTN), a system that has provided, and continues to provide, essential services to the country. Our country has been through other communications transitions, such as the transition from analog mobile service to digital mobile service or the transition from analog broadcast television to digital broadcast television. While each transition is different, policy has played an important role in ensuring consumers were protected from loss of essential services and were informed of the choices presented by the transition. Policy also has played a role in providing a glide path for all industry players, enabling more efficient planning and adjustment over the course of the transition. The intent of this Public Notice is to set the stage for the Commission to consider whether to issue a Notice of Inquiry (NOI) relating to the appropriate policy framework to facilitate and respond to the market-led transition in technology and services, from the circuit switched PSTN system to an IP-based communications world. The FCC seeks public comment to identify the relevant policy questions that an NOI on this topic should raise in order to assist the Commission in considering how best to monitor and plan for this transition. In identifying the appropriate areas of inquiry, the FCC seeks to understand which policies and regulatory structures may facilitate, and which may hinder, the efficient migration to an all IP world. In addition, the Commission seeks to identify and understand what aspects of traditional policy frameworks are important to consider, address, and possibly modify in an effort to protect the public interest in an all-IP world. For example, one line of questioning that a Notice of Inquiry may pursue is how to continue ensuring appropriate protections for and assistance to people with disabilities in the transition to an IP-based communications world. Another could focus on the role of carrier of last resort obligations. In this Public Notice, the FCC seeks comment on what policy areas should be understood in considering how best to prepare for the transition from the circuit-switched to the IP-based communications world. Comments are due December 21.
benton.org/node/30161 | Federal Communications Commission
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FCC CHAIRMAN PUSHES CHANGES TO EXPAND BROADBAND ACCESS
[SOURCE: Wall Street Journal, AUTHOR: Amy Schatz]
Federal Communications Commission Chairman Julius Genachowski said he wants to overhaul the Universal Service Fund, $7 billion/year federal phone-subsidy program, and reallocate more airwaves to wireless carriers as part of a strategy to improve US broadband Internet availability and affordability. The Universal Service Fund is a federal subsidy program funded by consumers through a charge on their phone bills. The fund subsidizes phone service in rural areas and for low-income households. FCC officials want to change the plan so it funds new broadband Internet lines in rural areas. Proposals to revamp the fund have in the past provoked resistance from rural phone companies and their congressional allies. Smaller rural phone companies depend on the fund for operating revenues. "USF is a multi-billion dollar annual fund that continues to support yesterday's communications infrastructure," Chairman Genachowski said. "We need to reorient the fund to support broadband communications." The agency is also trying to identify airwaves that might be taken away from current holders and auctioned off for more wireless broadband service. A proposal floated recently by FCC officials to take airwaves from TV broadcasters has been met with sharp resistance by station owners. Broadcasters don't use all of their airwaves but they are reluctant to give any up. Some broadcasters have begun offering more free digital channels and others are considering using airwaves for mobile TV service, designed to allow consumers to watch TV on their cellphones and other wireless devices. Broadcasters' airwaves are highly coveted because signals travel easily across them and they carry through walls and around trees. Most of the airwaves used by wireless carriers aren't that strong, which means that companies need more towers to provide strong signals for subscribers.
benton.org/node/30138 | Wall Street Journal | CongressDaily | Chairman Genachowski
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CABLE INDUSTRY PROPOSES DISCOUNTS FOR MIDDLE SCHOOL STUDENTS
[SOURCE: Washington Post, AUTHOR: Cecilia Kang]
Getting high-speed Internet to American homes is just half the battle. Getting people to pay for the service and use it is the other part of the challenge facing federal regulators. As such, the cable industry Tuesday proposed a two-year project to bring discounted broadband service to middle school students who don't get broadband today. The National Cable and Telecommunications Association announced a plan called Adoption Plus that would target 3.5 million middle school children from low-income families. In it, cable providers represented by the NCTA said they would give free installation and a 50 percent discount for high-speed Internet service. The offer would give cable companies more customers. It also hinges on government aid for computers and training. The industry group is pushing the government to use stimulus funds to help households with training on computers and Internet use as well as discounts for computers. The cable companies won't get any of that funding.
benton.org/node/30137 | Washington Post | Broadcasting&Cable | NCTA press release | NCTA proposal | Chairman Genachowski | CongressDaily
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BACK TO THE [BROADBAND] FUTURE
[SOURCE: Light Reading, AUTHOR: Leonard Grace]
[Commentary] The Federal Communications Commission needs to look back at how broadband proliferation occurred from the beginning to understand how to move it forward today. By studying the Cable Communications Act of 1984, the Cable Television Consumer Protection and Competition Act of 1992, and the Telecommunications Act of 1996, the federal arm of our telecommunications regulatory system can learn valuable lessons about how to create a well oiled infrastructure with plenty of competition. Fast forward to today, and, due to years of deregulation, you have a closed infrastructure consisting of a few large operators. But you can't blame cable companies for taking steps to eliminate competition and protect their territories, because Wall Street demands it. To solve the problem, the FCC will have to look closely at network sharing, possibly viewing broadband like our interstate highway system and enabling a pipeline to share with all competitors. But the question remains as to who would build it out and at what cost. A competitive infrastructure is the right solution.
benton.org/node/30160 | Light Reading
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ATTN NTIA/RUS: WIRING COMMUNITY ANCHORS MAY BE A MISTAKE
[SOURCE: App-Rising.com, AUTHOR: Geoff Daily]
[Commentary] There's been a lot of buzz around the benefits and relative viability of wiring all community anchor institutions (schools, libraries, hospitals, etc.) with fiber as the way to get the best bang for the broadband stimulus buck. But with any broadband policy it's dangerous to assume that an idea is universally good as the devil's always in the details. If we were to just go and build fiber networks to meet the needs of community anchor institutions then it's actually more likely that these networks won't be useful for future deployment. The reasons for this are manifold. Their might not be enough capacity designed into the network, either in dark fiber or spare conduit. Their won't necessarily be an easy to way to physically access this capacity even if it's there. The network likely won't be engineered in the optimal way in terms of its layout to facilitate universal broadband as community anchors aren't evenly distributed, especially in rural areas. And even if the network is designed the right way, there needs to be a fair system with clear rules for how deployers can get equal access to these networks.
benton.org/node/30136 | App-Rising.com
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GOVERNMENT & COMMUNICATIONS
LUNCH WITH THE PRESIDENT
[SOURCE: The Atlantic, AUTHOR: Marc Ambinder]
President Barack Obama spoke with a group of columnists and reporters at a White House lunch Tuesday in advance of his West Point address on his revised Afghanistan strategy. The hour-long discussion was on the record, but attendees agreed to embargo the content until the president finished speaking at West Point. As President Obama answered questions, White House stewards served the president and his guests a three-course meal. Some reporters scribbled notes in moleskin books; at least two recorded the session with their iPhones; one pecked away at his computer. Before President Obama arrived, a White House aide placed five separate audio recorders in front of the president. Two of his aides took copious notes. But the president did not seem to be overly concerned about calibrating his words, even as he discussed more sensitive issues, like counterterrorism in Pakistan and his conversations with Afghan President Hamid Karzai.
benton.org/node/30171 | Atlantic, The
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EFF SUES FEDS FOR SURVEILLANCE INFO
[SOURCE: C-Net|News.com, AUTHOR: Elinor Mills]
The Electronic Frontier Foundation sued the CIA, Defense Department, Justice Department and three other government agencies on Tuesday for allegedly refusing to release information about how they are using social networks in surveillance and investigations. The nonprofit Internet rights watchdog group formally asked more than a dozen agencies or departments in early October to provide records about federal guidelines on the use of sites like Facebook, Twitter, and Flickr for investigative or data gathering purposes, according to the lawsuit. The requests were prompted by published news reports about how authorities are using social networks to monitor citizen activities and aid in investigations.
benton.org/node/30156 | C-Net|News.com
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SPRINT FED CUSTOMER DATA TO COPS
[SOURCE: ars technica, AUTHOR: Jon Stokes]
Christopher Soghoian, a graduate student at Indiana University's School of Informatics and Computing, has made public an audio recording of Sprint/Nextel's Electronic Surveillance Manager describing how his company has provided GPS location data about its wireless customers to law enforcement over 8 million times. That's potentially millions of Sprint/Nextel customers who not only were probably unaware that their wireless provider even had an Electronic Surveillance Department, but who certainly did not know that law enforcement offers could log into a special Sprint Web portal and, without ever having to demonstrate probable cause to a judge, gain access to geolocation logs detailing where they've been and where they are. Through a mix of documents unearthed by Freedom of Information Act requests and the aforementioned recording, Soghoian describes how "the government routinely obtains customer records from ISPs detailing the telephone numbers dialed, text messages, emails and instant messages sent, web pages browsed, the queries submitted to search engines, and geolocation data, detailing exactly where an individual was located at a particular date and time." The fact that federal, state, and local law enforcement can obtain communications "metadata"—URLs of sites visited, e-mail message headers, numbers dialed, GPS locations, etc.—without any real oversight or reporting requirements should be shocking, but it isn't. The courts ruled in 2005 that law enforcement doesn't need to show probable cause to obtain your physical location via the cell phone grid. All of the aforementioned metadata can be accessed with an easy-to-obtain pen register/trap & trace order. But given the volume of requests, it's hard to imagine that the courts are involved in all of these.
benton.org/node/30155 | Ars Technica
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JOURNALISM
NEWS GROUPS OPEN ONLINE FRONT
[SOURCE: Financial Times, AUTHOR: Andrew Edgecliffe-Johnson, Kenneth Li]
The US news industry opened a new front on Monday in its battle to find a better online business model, with the publication of a study intended to arm publishers in their attempts to make allies out of former foes such as Google, Yahoo and AOL. The Fair Syndication Consortium, a group of more than 1,500 newspaper publishers, said a month-long study of how news spread across the Internet found that the average American newspaper story was being copied 4.4 times in full or in part by unauthorized websites. The study of 101,000 articles published by 157 newspapers found that more than 75,000 sites reused 112,000 almost exact copies without authorization, and a further 520,000 articles in part. The problem was most serious for large national publishers, with 15 unauthorized reuses on average. Under the Digital Millennium Copyright Act, publishers can already force ad networks to ensure that unauthorized stories alongside which their advertising appears are taken down, although few such requests are made. But publishers are eager to try a different approach, which would allow them to claw back the ad revenues being made by sites that are distributing their content without the authorization of a traditional syndication agreement.
benton.org/node/30173 | Financial Times
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FTC WILL TEAM WITH FCC TO VET JOURNALISM'S FUTURE
[SOURCE: Broadcasting&Cable, AUTHOR: John Eggerton]
Federal Trade Commission Chairman Jon Leibowitz says the FTC will hold workshops in the spring on possible policy changes to help save journalism. They could include taxes, cross-ownership issues, changes in copyright laws, and antitrust treatment. Chairman Leibowitz said the FTC would work closely with the Federal Communications Commission on those issues and whether the government will need to step in, and how. He said that the commission was not out to undo the profound changes wrought on journalism by the Internet, "nor do we want to," he said. What he wants to find out, he said, is whether the "creative destruction" brought about by the Internet's impact on journalism represents more destruction than creation for journalism and what, if anything, the government needs to do about it.
benton.org/node/30149 | Broadcasting&Cable
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MURDOCH ADVOCATES PAID CONTENT
[SOURCE: Associated Press, AUTHOR: Joelle Tessler]
Media companies need to deliver compelling information on a variety of electronic devices and overcome readers' resistance to paying for material online, news executives said Tuesday at a government-sponsored journalism conference. Rupert Murdoch, News Corp.'s chairman and chief executive, sees a promising future for publishers that can adapt to the Internet age. Key to survival, he said, is giving consumers what they want, how they want it be it on a computer, mobile device or e-reader and then charging for it, as his company does with The Wall Street Journal. "We need to do a better job of persuading consumers that high-quality, reliable news and information does not come free," Murdoch said. "Good journalism is an expensive commodity." Murdoch's comments were echoed during the Federal Trade Commission's workshop, which explored the challenges facing media companies and ways the government can help them survive. Murdoch said that if the government wants to insure the survival of newspapers and other journalistic organizations, the best thing it can do is simply get out of the way. He called for the end of "arbitrary and contradictory regulations that actually prevent people from investing in these businesses" and he blasted the idea of government subsidies for journalists.
benton.org/node/30148 | Associated Press | Washington Post | TVNewsCheck | MediaWeek | B&C | Hollywood Reporter
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NEW BLOGGER PAYOLA DISCLOSURE RULES
[SOURCE: Washington Post, AUTHOR: Cecilia Kang]
Starting today, bloggers must abide by the Federal Trade Commission's new disclosure rules. That means, for example, that a blogger who's getting paid by an advertiser to promote a brand of coffee needs to let readers know. Much confusion surrounded the new disclosure rules when they were announced last Oct. 5, particularly fears that bloggers who didn't disclose financial or product payments would get fined as much as $11,000 per violation. In short, the FTC says they aren't out to fine bloggers and that fears of punishment have been blown out of proportion. The FTC has been on an education campaign since then, with officials hosting Webinars and participating in conferences to help explain the revised rules. The agency revised its rules on advertising disclosures to update long outdated guidelines that didn't take into account new forms of media such as blogs and social media Web sites.
benton.org/node/30134 | Washington Post | LATimes
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HEALTH
ONC REORGANIZES
[SOURCE: GovernemntHealthIT, AUTHOR: Mary Mosquera]
The Office of the National Coordinator for Health IT (ONC) announced it would reorganize the office to better reflect its role as a leading force in the adoption of electronic health records and other health IT, including closer oversight of privacy issues. Appointing a chief privacy officer is one of the main moves detailed in a notice published in the Federal Register. The notice is dated Nov. 20, but the changes are effective as of Dec. 1. The reorganization is part of the preparations called for in federal health IT stimulus legislation to support physicians and hospitals to become meaningful users of electronic health records and be eligible for Medicare and Medicaid incentive payments starting in 2011. ONC's reorganization below the top leadership is designed to "more effectively" accomplish the tasks in the HITECH Act, according to Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius, who signed the notice.
benton.org/node/30153 | GovernemntHealthIT | Dept Health and Human Services
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HEALTHCARE REFORM IT PROVISIONS
[SOURCE: InformationWeek, AUTHOR: Marianne Kolbasuk McGee]
As the Senate begins debating its healthcare reform bill, there's several health IT related provisions that aren't likely to stir a lot of emotion on the Senate floor, but deserve some attention. Among the proposals of the Senate's "Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act" is the call to develop interoperable and secure standards to facilitate the electronic enrollment of individuals in federal and state health and human services programs. When it comes to funding, among other health IT-related grants proposed in the Senate bill is a provision for one or more demonstration projects on the use of health IT in skilled nursing homes. The bill also supports the use of health IT in the management of chronically ill patients in their own homes--especially to reduce hospitalizations.
benton.org/node/30151 | InformationWeek
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