March 2010

China cutting access to uncensored Google site

Officials in Beijing are furious with Google's move Monday to shut down access to its Chinese search portal and redirect users to its unfiltered Hong Kong site. China late Monday mobilized quickly to censor access to that content, previously unavailable to the tens of millions who parsed Web pages using Google's self-censored search site.

Separately, a handful of native Chinese phone and Web companies scrambled on Tuesday to cancel or revise search partnerships with Google, fearing they too could be subject to the backlash now greeting the U.S. search giant's decision.

Google, Yahoo object to proposed Internet censorship in Australia

The latest country in the news for attempting to block objectionable content is Australia.

The Sydney Morning Herald reports that Google, Yahoo and others have criticized government plans to force Internet service providers to make certain content inaccessible. Australia plans legislation this year that will blacklist certain sites. Google has gone on record saying the scope of the filtering is too broad, that it would slow down Internet access, could easily be circumvented and would give parents a false sense of safety.

It is time for a public debate on whether and how to wage war in cyber space

[Commentary] A chorus of alarmists is raising the specter of cyberwarfare and urging the militarization of the Internet to ensure our national security against online attacks. But failure to distinguish between real acts of war and other malicious behavior not only increases the risks of war, but also distracts us from more immediate threats such as online crime.

Before we plunge into a Cold War-style arms race with perceived online enemies, we should engage in a public dialog and decide exactly what cyberwar is, who should fight it and how to do it. Not only would such a dialogue help to define the conditions and rules for cyberwar, but they would free us to better deal with the very real threat of cybercrime. If we are not able to see cybercrime for what it really is, we will not be able to effectively deal with it. If the so-called war on drugs has taught us anything, it is that declaring war against a criminal activity is likely to fail.

Senate Cyber-security Bill Set for Markup

After months of revisions, Sens. Jay Rockefeller (D-WV) and Olympia Snowe (R-ME) released their latest Cybersecurity Act 2010, which would address the nation's flagging cyber-security efforts.

The Senate Commerce is expected to mark up the legislation March 24. The legislation is the culmination of nearly a year's worth of consultation and input from cyber-security experts in the private sector, government and civil liberties community. The legislation provides a framework for engagement and collaboration between the private sector and government on cyber-security while addressing earlier concerns about civil liberties, proprietary rights and confidential and classified information. The bill does not criminalize any conduct, contain any criminal law provisions or provide any resources for law enforcement agencies. It does require a report ad promotes cyber-security public awareness, education and research and development. The bill requires the president to collaborate with owners and operators of critical infrastructure IT systems, through the existing sector coordinating councils, to develop and rehearse detailed cyber-security emergency response and restoration plans. The explicit purpose of this section is to clarify roles, responsibilities and authorities of government and private sector actors in the event of a cyber-security emergency that threatens strategic national interests. The president's declaration of a cyber-security emergency would trigger the implementation of the collaborative emergency response and restoration plans.

Three tech groups: Cybersecurity bill could prove too bureaucratic

Three tech groups are fearful the Senate's forthcoming cybersecurity bill might prove so bureaucratic that they will not be able to innovate -- much less respond to emerging online threats -- as quickly as they would like.

In a letter Tuesday to Sens. Jay Rockefeller (D-WV) and Olympia Snowe (R-Maine), the bill's authors, TechAmerica, the Business Software Alliance and the Information Technology Industry Council (ITIC) asked the lawmakers to address those concerns in time for the bill's debut before the Senate Commerce Committee.

AT&T execs want more spectrum, lighter regulation

AT&T executives are pushing the government to allocate more spectrum for wireless broadband and back off on regulation in order to keep the mobile broadband growth engine revving.

Ralph de la Vega, head of AT&T Mobility and the new chairman of CTIA, and Randall Stephenson, the CEO of AT&T, each spoke at the CTIA 2010 wireless trade show Tuesday about how the US leads the world in wireless broadband, but they emphasized the need for more spectrum and a light regulatory touch from the government to keep the momentum going. Stephenson said that demand for mobile broadband will grow twice as fast as demand for traditional DSL and cable modem services. The key to meeting this demand is directly related to carriers' ability to access more spectrum, they said. The CTIA has asked the FCC to free up an additional 800MHz of spectrum. The Federal Communications Commission said in its National Broadband Plan filed last week that it will work to get 500MHz of spectrum freed in the next 10 years. It expects to get 300MHz available within the next three years.

Mobile Broadband: You're Gonna Pay for the Convenience

Sandvine (you may remember it as the company that helped Comcast block P2P files) has released data showing exactly how much people use mobile broadband — and concluded that for carriers, such use is neither sustainable nor profitable. Since the carriers are positioning themselves for the implementation of usage-based pricing schemes for mobile broadband, Sandvine is merely telling its future customers what they want to hear. But Sandvine's data also paints a very clear picture (one we've been painting for at least a year) about the economics of mobile broadband demand and use.

Wi-Fi spreading fast among mobile phones

Amid the industry hype about 4G (fourth-generation) mobile technologies this week at the CTIA Wireless trade show, the Wi-Fi Alliance will play up the growing importance of wireless LANs on mobile phones.

The number of phones shipped with Wi-Fi jumped to 139.3 million in 2009, up from 92.5 million in 2008, the group said. ABI's research indicates that annual shipping number will surpass 500 million units by 2014, when 90 percent of all smartphones will have the technology. And even as smartphones make up more of the handset market, Wi-Fi is expected to grow more common in less-expensive phones, said Kelly Davis-Felner, Wi-Fi Alliance marketing director. Wi-Fi gives cell phone users a tool for browsing the Web and downloading data faster than on a cellular connection, as well as a safety valve for carriers with overburdened networks.

Verizon Wireless set to launch mobile payment service

Verizon Wireless customers will soon be able to charge up to $25 a month in online purchases to their Verizon Wireless accounts.

The carrier announced that the e-commerce payment service, based on services created by Danal Inc. will be launched later this spring. The service will require text messaging-enabled phones, and that purchases be made from Verizon-approved online stores, which include game sites and social networks. The service requires that customers click a BilltoMobile button during checkout from a participating online Web site. Users will be asked to input their mobile numbers and mobile billing zip codes for authentication. The benefit of the system means customers don't have to rely on credit cards, Verizon officials noted.

Internet use overtakes TV in Canada

Canadians now spend more time basking in the glow of their computer screens than curled up in front of the television, but it's not yet time to plan a funeral for TV.

"It's not like TV is going to disappear in the next few years," says Alfred Hermida, a journalism professor at the University of British Columbia. "Television is incredibly powerful, but perhaps what we're going to have is more of the divided attention." Hermida agrees with other experts who suggest that swelling hours of Internet use mask the fact that people are increasingly watching TV content online. He also suspects much of that Internet and TV time overlaps, and says the Internet could transform the traditionally one-sided medium of television into something more engaging as people chat in real-time on their laptops about the program they're watching on TV.

Benton

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