June 2009

EU Lays Out Web Privacy Rules

European regulators have laid out operating guidelines for Facebook, MySpace and other social-networking Web sites to ensure they comply with the region's privacy laws, in a move to address concerns about the handling of users' personal information. The privacy issue is key for social-networking companies, many of which are based outside of the European Union but have millions of users within it. Regulators here say social-network users are protected by the 27-nation EU's strict privacy laws, which require Web sites to warn users of privacy risks and limit the sites' ability to target advertising based on members' race, religion or other sensitive categories. A panel of European privacy regulators that advises the European Commission, the EU's executive arm, issued an opinion, which was released Tuesday, that describes how EU privacy laws apply to social-networking sites. The opinion stated that the sites should place default security settings at a high level and allow users to limit data disclosed to third parties. The recommendations also seek to limit the use of sensitive information, such as race, religion or political opinion in behavioral advertising, which targets users based on aspects of their online activity.

Arbitron Meters to Track TV Viewing

Arbitron Inc. said Tuesday it will use its Portable People Meter radio-audience measurement device to track TV viewership, vaulting it onto Nielsen's turf. Arbitron aims to offer more details about who watches various TV shows. Filling advertisers' demands for as much information as possible on their target customers has become increasingly important for media companies as more ad spending moves online. The company, whose pager-sized meters are worn by a sampling of people in about 15 major U.S. cities to track radio listening, says the devices also can track TV viewing by using sound encoding that isn't audible to humans. The idea is to use the meters to track people's TV viewing in bars and other locations outside the home.

DHS to Cut Police Access to Spy-Satellite Data

Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano announced yesterday that she will kill a controversial Bush administration program to expand the use of spy satellites by domestic law enforcement and other agencies. Sec Napolitano said she acted after state and local law enforcement officials said that access to secret overhead imagery was not a priority. Two years ago, President George W. Bush's top intelligence and homeland security officials authorized the National Applications Office (NAO) to expand sharing of satellite data with domestic agencies. But congressional Democrats barred funding for what they said could become a new platform for domestic surveillance that would raise privacy and civil liberties concerns.

Online shoppers leaving purchases behind

People shopping online are likely to bail out on planned purchases before making the final click to submit their orders, often because they are surprised by high shipping costs and other fees, according to a new survey out Tuesday. The survey, commissioned by online-payment processor PayPal, found that 45 percent of Internet shoppers abandon their "carts" before making the final purchase. The most common reasons for this are high shipping costs and other fees that are not apparent earlier in the process. This problem could be magnified by the slowing economy, as consumers are more likely to be scared away by expensive freight and other charges. Another factor is that online merchants could be battling each other over a market with slowing growth.

Viewers Tune Out Networks' Nightly News

The big news in TV ratings last week was how few people bothered to watch the news — the three network evening newscasts, anyway. Logging only 4.9 million viewers, the "CBS Evening News" slipped below 5 million for the first time on record. And ABC's "World News" had 6.4 million viewers — a drop of a half-million viewers from the week before, according to Nielsen Media Research. NBC won the week with a three-day average of 7.8 million viewers, down a half-million from the week before.

Western Journalists Among Reporters Detained in Iran

In the first days after Iran's disputed election, journalists covered it openly. Then, as government militias cracked down, they were told to stay in their offices. Now, many are being arrested -- so far, a Canadian Iranian reporter for Newsweek, a Greek reporter for the Washington Times and several dozen Iranian reporters, including a group arrested en masse at their office. It is unclear why the journalists were arrested or what, if anything, they will be charged with. The detentions could, some experts say, be a scare tactic. Or, as with so much of what is happening in Iran now, they could be the beginning of a new phase in which old rules don't necessarily apply.

From new media, a new portrait of Iran emerges

By the time Iranian authorities drew the curtain this week, it was too late. Attempts to choke off coverage of massive protests and postelection street battles between dissidents and government forces came well after the American public had reset a nascent and evolving impression of Iran, experts say. With the cooperation of the government, the global media buzzed in the days before the June 12 election with images of a youthful and exuberant Iran engaged in political debate. Even "The Daily Show" was allowed to profile a lovable, not-unlike-us Iranian family. It was a far cry from footage from decades ago of fanatics raging against America, more recent focus on Iran's nuclear program, or reports of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's frequent America-bashing as he traveled the world. That won't be true again, predicts James Rubin, a former U.S. assistant secretary of State for public affairs. "Whether it's in the Arab world or developing world, or even in Los Angeles, the perception of Iran is forever changed as a result of what's happened."

National Institute of Standards and Technology
Employees' Lounge
Administration Building,
Gaithersburg, Maryland 20899
Tuesday, July 7 2009
8:30 a.m. -- 3 p.m.
http://edocket.access.gpo.gov/2009/pdf/E9-14733.pdf

The Technology Innovation Program (TIP) Advisory Board is composed of ten members appointed by the Director of NIST who are eminent in such fields as business, research, science and technology, engineering, education, and management consulting. The purpose of this meeting is to review and make recommendations regarding general policy for the Technology Innovation Program, its organization, its budget, and its programs within the framework of applicable national policies as set forth by the President and the Congress. The agenda will include a TIP Update. Agenda may change to accommodate Board business.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
JoEllen Hansroth
National Institute of Standards and Technology
Gaithersburg, Maryland 20899-4700
telephone number (301) 975-2162
joellen.hansroth@nist.gov



Open Markup Session To Consider A Bill To Reauthorize The Satellite Home Viewer Extension And Reauthorization Act Of 2004

House Subcommittee on Communications, Technology, and the Internet
Thursday, June 25, 2009 At 10:00 AM
2322 Rayburn House Office Building
http://energycommerce.house.gov/index.php?option=com_jcalpro&Itemid=54&e...



Commerce, Justice, Science and Related Agencies Subcommittee
Senate Appropriations Committee
Wednesday, June 24, 2009
2:30 p.m.
138 Dirksen
http://appropriations.senate.gov/News/2009_06_22_Markup_Schedule_for_Wee...