December 17, 2010 (Privacy Recommendations from Dept of Commerce)
"[Network neutrality] is a partisan, big government intervention in a rapidly evolving sector that has flourished without its heavy hand."
-- FCC Commissioner Meredith Baker http://benton.org/node/46684
BENTON'S COMMUNICATIONS-RELATED HEADLINES for FRIDAY, DECEMBER 17, 2010
PRIVACY
Commercial Data Privacy and Innovation in the Internet Economy: A Dynamic Policy Framework
Reaction Mostly Positive To Commerce Privacy Report
Privacy Groups Critical Of Commerce Privacy Report
Two picks for Privacy and Civil Liberties Oversight Board; one for President’s National Security Telecommunications Advisory Committee
NETWORK NEUTRALITY
Sen Hutchison Files Amendment to Halt Government Regulation of the Internet
See also: Lawmakers take up debate on network neutrality rules
Baker: Network Neutrality is "partisan, big government intervention"
Amazon Backs Network Neutrality Order
John Doerr, Brian Roberts push Obama on network neutrality
INTERNET/BROADBAND
US ranks 25th in the world for Internet connection speed
In Defense of the National Broadband Plan
Community Broadband Partnerships Demand Creativity
Maine PUC finds FairPoint on target to hit broadband benchmark
A free and open Internet
Free Press Makes 2 Million Mistakes?
WIRELESS
FCC set to auction 16 700 MHz licenses in 2011
MEDIA OWNERSHIP
Kerry Urging Careful Examination Of Comcast-NBCU Merger
Pearlstein hits back at Google on antitrust
CONTENT
The Details Behind The Government’s Recent Domain-Name Seizures
In 500 Billion Words, New Window on Culture
POLICYMAKERS/AGENDA
Rep. Greg Walden, a Fierce FCC Critic, to Chair Influential House Telecom Panel
The FCC, Cupcakes and Humbug
Two picks for Privacy and Civil Liberties Oversight Board; one for President’s National Security Telecommunications Advisory Committee
CYBERSECURITY
Homeland Security chief says cybersecurity is a civilian problem, not a war
EMERGENCY COMMUNICATIONS
FCC mandates (very) minimum interoperability level for initial broadband public safety network deployments
GOVERNMENT & COMMUNICATIONS
Transparency for Global Development
TELEVISION/RADIO
National Association of Broadcasters gives Congress static
Cable penetration hits 21-Year Low
COMMUNITY MEDIA
These headlines presented in partnership with:
Broadcast TV still Go-to Community Medium
When libraries charge, you're not borrowing
Public Libraries: Computers, Books and Much More
Common Sense Media and Verizon Announce Partnership to Promote Digital Citizenship
MORE ONLINE
Tax Compromise and Wikileaks Capture Social media
PRIVACY
COMMERCE ONLINE PRIVACY REPORT
[SOURCE: Department of Commerce]
The Department of Commerce issued a report detailing initial policy recommendations aimed at promoting consumer privacy online while ensuring the Internet remains a platform that spurs innovation, job creation, and economic growth. The report outlines a dynamic framework to increase protection of consumers’ commercial data and support innovation and evolving technology. The Department is seeking additional public comment on the plan to further the policy discussion and ensure the framework benefits all stakeholders in the Internet economy. The following are key recommendations of the report:
Consider Establishing Fair Information Practice Principles comparable to a “Privacy Bill of Rights” for Online Consumers: The report recommends considering a clear set of principles concerning how online companies collect and use personal information for commercial purposes. These principles would be recognized by the U.S. government and serve as a foundation for online consumer data privacy. They would build on existing Fair Information Practice Principles (FIPPs) that are widely accepted among privacy experts as core obligations.
Consider Developing Enforceable Privacy Codes of Conduct in Specific Sectors with Stakeholders; Create a Privacy Policy Office in the Department of Commerce: In considering new policies for commercial privacy, the government should enlist the expertise of industry, consumer groups, privacy advocates, and other stakeholders. In particular, the report recommends establishing a privacy policy office in the Department of Commerce that would work with the FTC, the Executive Office of the President, and other Federal entities, to examine commercial uses of personal information and evaluate whether uncertainty or gaps in privacy protections exist. The new office would convene stakeholder dialogues, and, with respect to specific areas of concern, help develop enforceable privacy codes of conduct.
Encourage Global Interoperability to Spur Innovation and Trade: Reducing regulatory barriers to trade is a high priority for the Obama administration. Currently, disparate privacy laws have a growing impact on global competition. The report recommends that the U.S. government work together with its trading partners to find practical means of bridging differences in our privacy frameworks. Collaborations with other privacy authorities around the world can reduce the significant business compliance costs. This global engagement could play a key role in a new dynamic privacy framework.
Consider How to Harmonize Disparate Security Breach Notification Rules: As an initial step towards consideration of a new privacy framework, the report recommends looking at ways in which to harmonize the rules that set standards for businesses to notify customers about commercial data security breaches. This comprehensive national approach to commercial data breaches would provide clarity to consumers, streamline industry compliance, and allow businesses to develop a strong, nationwide data management strategy.
Review the Electronic Communications Privacy Act for the Cloud Computing Environment: The report recommends that the Obama Administration review the Electronic Communications Privacy Act (ECPA) to address privacy protection in cloud computing and location-based services. A goal of this effort should be to ensure that, as technology and market conditions change, ECPA continues to appropriately protect individuals’ privacy expectations and punish unlawful access and disclosure of consumer data.
benton.org/node/46638 | Department of Commerce | read the report | request for comments | FTC Chairman Leibowitz | LATimes | B&C | AP | WashPost | National Journal | WSJ | paidContent.org | Google
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RESPONSE TO PRIVACY REPORT
[SOURCE: National Journal, AUTHOR: Juliana Gruenwald]
Privacy advocates were skeptical of the proposals outlined in a privacy report released by the Commerce Department. While pleased that the agency is bringing attention to the need to do more to protect consumer privacy online, representatives from five privacy groups said in a conference call that the report's proposed measures are too focused on industry self regulation. It's a "Christmas gift to the data collection industry from the Obama administration," according to John Simpson of Consumer Watchdog. Susan Grant with the Consumer Federation of America said it appears that the "thrust" of the report continues to focus on industry self regulation. "We've tried that and it's clearly inadequate," she said. "We need real privacy legislation." The Center for Democracy and Technology called the report a "creative and flexible approach to develop enforceable privacy protections for consumers," but also said Congress should pass baseline privacy legislation. Jeff Chester of the Center for Digital Democracy argued that an agency that is focused on promoting U.S. business "cannot play the role of an independent, honest broker. ... Having the Commerce Department play a role in protecting privacy will enable the data collection foxes to run the consumer privacy henhouse."
benton.org/node/46698 | National Journal
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NOMINATIONS ANNOUNCED
[SOURCE: The White House, AUTHOR: President Barack Obama]
President Barack Obama announced his intent to nominate James Dempsey and Elisebeth Collins Cook to the Privacy and Civil Liberties Oversight Board; and Kevin J. Kennedy to the President’s National Security Telecommunications Advisory Committee. [see bios at link below]
benton.org/node/46675 | White House, The | Elisebeth Collins Cook nomination
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NETWORK NEUTRALITY
HUTCHINSON SEEKS TO BLOCK NETWORK NEUTRALITY
[SOURCE: US Senate Commerce Committee]
Sen Kay Bailey Hutchison (R-TX), the Ranking Member on the Senate Commerce Committee, filed an amendment to prevent the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) from regulating the Internet. The amendment specifically would prohibit the FCC from using any appropriated funds “to adopt, implement, or otherwise litigate any network neutrality based rules, protocols, or standards.” The amendment is cosponsored by Senators Tom Coburn (R-OK), John Cornyn (R-TX), Jim DeMint (R-SC), John Ensign (R-NV), Johnny Isakson (R-GA), John Thune (R-SD), and Roger Wicker (R-Mississippi). “The FCC chairman’s attempt to impose new government regulations on the Internet is unnecessary government overreach that will stifle future innovation,” said Senator Hutchison.
benton.org/node/46687 | US Senate Commerce Committee
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BAKER AT FEDERALIST SOCIETY
[SOURCE: Federal Communications Commission, AUTHOR: ]
Speaking to the Federalist Society, Federal Communications Commission member Meredith Baker addressed the FCC's upcoming vote on network neutrality. "By seeking to regulate the Internet now," she said, "we exceed the authority Congress has given us, and justify those concerns. She believes that the Commission should defer to Congress on the matter, especially since the courts ruled earlier this year that the FCC "failed to make [its] showing" that Title I-based network neutrality protections were within the FCC's authority -- and the Commission now plans to adopt a new order based on Title I authority. "It is a partisan, big government intervention in a rapidly evolving sector that has flourished without its heavy hand. And, it goes to a broader question of the proper role of an independent agency whose operation is increasingly divorced from the limits of its statute."
benton.org/node/46684 | Federal Communications Commission
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NET NEUTRALITY DEBATE REACHES PRESIDENT
[SOURCE: Politico, AUTHOR: Kim Hart, Tony Romm]
The “Open Internet” agreement pending at the Federal Communications Commission got a vote of confidence from two CEOs who visited the White House this week. John Doerr, partner at powerhouse venture capital firm Kleiner Perkins in Silicon Valley, brought up the network neutrality proceeding during conversations with President Barack Obama Doerr, who has invested in Web heavyweights including Google and Amazon, told Obama he was supportive of the net neutrality proposal on which the FCC plans to vote next week. Doerr emphasized the importance of regulatory certainty, which he said the net neutrality proposal would provide. Also in attendance at the White House was Comcast CEO Brian Roberts, who further expressed the need for regulatory certainty, the source said. It is not clear whether other participants in Wednesday's meeting -- including Google CEO Eric Schmidt or Cisco CEO John Chambers -- sounded off on the issue.
benton.org/node/46651 | Politico
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A FREE AND OPEN INTERNET
[SOURCE: Washington Post, AUTHOR: Editorial staff]
[Commentary] Federal Communications Commission Chairman Julius genachowski's latest plan for keeping the Internet free and open is still flawed. There is scant evidence to support the FCC's possible intrusion into Internet service providers' ability to manage their networks. The few cases of possible ISP abuse were resolved quickly once the alleged infractions were brought to light by consumers or public interest groups. Doubts surrounding the agency's legal authority raise questions about the viability of the proposal. A federal court would undoubtedly have the last word. In some respects, the real problem lies with Congress. Lawmakers should work with the FCC to hammer out sensible but limited rules that would maximize transparency and allow the agency to clamp down on clearly uncompetitive practices without stifling innovation.
benton.org/node/46701 | Washington Post
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INTERNET/BROADBAND
SPEED MATTERS REPORT
[SOURCE: IDG News Service, AUTHOR: Grant Gross]
The U.S. ranks 25th in the world in average Internet connection speeds, and nearly half of all U.S. residents' Internet connections fall below the Federal Communications Commission's minimum definition of broadband, at 4 megabits per second download, according to a new report. The median download speed in the U.S. in 2010 is 3 mbps, a slight increase from 2009, according to the report, released Wednesday by the Communications Workers of America (CWA) and sister organization Speedmatters.org. South Korea's average download speed is 34.1 mbps, Sweden's is 22.2 mbps, Romania's is 20.3 mbps, and Japan's is 18 mbps, according to the report.
benton.org/node/46649 | IDG News Service | read the report
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COMMUNITY BROADBAND PARTNERSHIPS DEMAND CREATIVITY
[SOURCE: Public CIO, AUTHOR: Craig Settles]
[Commentary] Many communities are at an important crossroad. Maybe yours is one of them. After a year of steady news about broadband stimulus awards and Google’s contest for a 1 gigabit network, there’s widespread awareness about the benefits of true broadband delivering hundreds of megabits per second. With this awareness has come a strong yearning from constituents, local businesses, government agencies and various institutions for a piece of this broadband action. The question that stymies casual observers and visionaries alike, though, is how do we get there from here? Specifically how can we afford it?
benton.org/node/46672 | Public CIO
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WIRELESS
FCC TO AUCTION LICENSES
[SOURCE: RCRWireless, AUTHOR: Tracy Ford]
The Federal Communications Commission is planning to auction 16 licenses for 700 MHz spectrum next July 19. The licenses previously were offered in Auction 73, but were either not sold or the winning bidder defaulted on the payments. Based on proposed minimum bid prices, the agency expects the auction to raise a minimum of $1.42 million. 2008's Auction 73 raised more than $19 billion, netting AT&T Mobility and Verizon Wireless nationwide 700 MHz channels, which the nation's two largest carriers are now building out. Indeed, VZW turned on its 700 MHz spectrum earlier this month. Two of the licenses are 12-megahertz (2 by 6 megahertz) in the A block, (698 MHz-704 MHz, 728 MHz-734 MHz) and 14 are in the B block (704 MHz-710 MHz, 734 MHz-740 MHz). The FCC filed a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking around the auction. Comments are due Jan. 12 and reply comments are due Jan. 27.
benton.org/node/46648 | RCRWireless
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MEDIA OWNERSHIP
KERRY COMMENTS ON COMCAST-NBC
[SOURCE: National Journal, AUTHOR: Juliana Gruenwald]
Senate Commerce Communications Subcommittee Chairman John Kerry (D-MA) called on the Federal Communications Commission and the Department of Justice to focus on ensuring that consumers are protected and that competition is not hampered as the agencies contemplate possible conditions to attach to the proposed merger of Comcast with NBC Universal. In a letter to FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski and Assistant Attorney General for Antitrust Christine Varney, Sen Kerry did not call for blocking the merger as some lawmakers have insisted. Instead, he said he wanted to "reinforce the need for this merger to work for consumers, and enhance innovation and competition. I believe it can, but we count on you to ensure that it does." Sen Kerry said regulators should consider offering remedies if the merger would pose a risk to such goals as ensuring consumer access to video content on the Web including programming the merged company will control. In addition, he also noted that the merged company should not "act unfairly as a bottleneck or gatekeeper for critical programming for competing distributors or leverage its distribution network against content that competes with its new property."
benton.org/node/46680 | National Journal | The Hill
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PEARLSTEIN RESPONDS TO GOOGLE
[SOURCE: Washington Post, AUTHOR: Steven Pearlstein]
Google has done a good job at reciting the predictable antitrust lawyer talking points (efficiency, good for consumers) to support the proposition that it should be allowed to buy any company not in their core business area. The problem for Google is that it is so good it now has what, for all intents and purposes, amounts to a monopoly in the key Internet portal market for web search. That means the law requires that it be treated differently. Not true in the case of many of the other acquirers it cites. Is this unfair? Does this punish a successful company? Yes and yes. But the basic premise of the anti-trust law is that this degree of unfairness is a reasonable price to pay to maintain robust competition in other markets. In the short run, consumers may be denied the benefits of the new products or the lower prices that might result from such a non-horizontal merger. But that does not end the conversation in the case of a monopoly buyer, because there is a larger issue involved -- one that goes well beyond the competitive dynamic of the small market niche of the acquired company, which is the limit of most Hart-Scott-Rodino analyses. The point of the column was to suggest the proper analysis is now the larger market for Internet search and services, for which Google is a dominant portal. Google is not yet interested in joining a serious discussion of what the rest of us should do about its legally obtained monopoly. The company wants to grow and produce great new products and services and make more money -- all perfectly legitimate and healthy instincts. From an economy and industry-wide perspective, however, it would be better to let some other companies grow and some other companies come up with these great new products. Google's aggressive acquisition strategy, combined with its dominance, makes this unlikely. The tipping point has now been reached.
benton.org/node/46659 | Washington Post
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CONTENT
DETAILS BEHIND DOMAIN-NAME SEIZURES
[SOURCE: paidContent.org, AUTHOR: Joe Mullin]
When Immigrations & Customs Enforcement agents seized 82 web domain names over the Thanksgiving weekend, it was an unprecedented event—not just because of the scope of the seizures, but also because the web sites grabbed included a search engine and some well-known music blogs. That’s outside the scope of the intellectual property issues ICE has traditionally dealt with, which involve counterfeit goods. Here's the affidavit that the government used to get its seizure warrant, and it lays out the reasoning behind the government’s move.
benton.org/node/46674 | paidContent.org
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NEW GOOGLE SERVICE
[SOURCE: New York Times, AUTHOR: Patricia Cohen]
With little fanfare, Google has made a mammoth database culled from nearly 5.2 million digitized books available to the public for free downloads and online searches, opening a new landscape of possibilities for research and education in the humanities. The digital storehouse, which comprises words and short phrases as well as a year-by-year count of how often they appear, represents the first time a data set of this magnitude and searching tools are at the disposal of Ph.D.’s, middle school students and anyone else who likes to spend time in front of a small screen. It consists of the 500 billion words contained in books published between 1500 and 2008 in English, French, Spanish, German, Chinese and Russian. The intended audience is scholarly, but a simple online tool allows anyone with a computer to plug in a string of up to five words and see a graph that charts the phrase’s use over time — a diversion that can quickly become addictive. A new study offers a tantalizing taste of the rich buffet of research opportunities now open to literature, history and other liberal arts professors who may have previously avoided quantitative analysis.
benton.org/node/46697 | New York Times | Google labs | Science | Wall Street Journal
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POLICYMAKERS/AGENDA
WALDEN TO CHAIR HOUSE COMMUNICATIONS SUBCOMMITTEE
[SOURCE: National Journal, AUTHOR: David Hatch, Juliana Gruenwald]
Rep. Greg Walden (R-OR), one of the harshest critics in Congress of the Democratic-led Federal Communications Commission, will head the House Communications, Technology and the Internet Subcommittee in the Republican-controlled House in the 112th Congress. Incoming Commerce Committee Chairman Fred Upton indicated he would enlist all the subcommittee chairs in an army of budget-cutters. "Every member and every subcommittee will be on the frontlines as we take on federal agencies -- EPA, HHS, DOE, FCC, you name it -- to identify wasteful programs and target areas to immediately cut spending."
The announcement could spell bad news for FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski, who can expect blunt questioning and tough oversight from Rep Walden, a GOP firebrand who has previously accused the agency of overstepping its regulatory authority. In a statement, Walden emphasized that oversight of the $7.2 billion broadband stimulus program, run by the Agriculture and Commerce departments, would be a high priority. "With that much money going out so quickly, taxpayers need to know how it's being spent and what they're getting for it," he said. "We will conduct oversight on those expenditures and will also review the existing regulatory policies and new regulations under consideration by various agencies." In the fall of 2009, Rep Walden expressed outrage over the FCC's hiring of Mark Lloyd, a civil rights advocate and former professor who was brought aboard to promote media diversity, because of critical views he'd expressed about conservative talk radio and other topics.
benton.org/node/46679 | National Journal | The Hill - more chairmanships | B&C - more chairmanships
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THE FCC, CUPCAKES AND HUMBUG
[SOURCE: Public Knowledge, AUTHOR: Art Brodsky]
Public Knowledge got the AT&T cupcake delivery list because someone was outraged at the sight of AT&T having total access to the staff of the Federal Communications Commission, even if was only to deliver cupcakes with AT&T logos on them, on the day after the public debate closed on the crucial network neutrality item. AT&T, after all, is a regulated company that has billions of dollars at interest at the FCC. No one is intimating that a mere cupcake can influence the decisions of FCC officials. As former Commissioner (and interim chairman) James Quello once said, “If you can't eat their food and drink their booze and still vote against them, you shouldn't have this job.” The problem is the easy familiarity AT&T nourishes at the FCC continually reinforcing that they are simply another part of the FCC family bringing cheer throughout the agency for the sheer, non-threatening seasonal joy of it, ulterior motives not included. It’s more that there are a few questions, which deserve to be discussed. Why does AT&T want to spend all that money on cupcakes? What they really think they get out of it? Is it appropriate to do so? And what is the effect on other companies which also want to do business at the Commission but don't have the time, energy or resources to sweeten their advocacy as AT&T does?
benton.org/node/46676 | Public Knowledge
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CYBERSECURITY
CYBERSECURITY A CIVILIAN DOMAIN
[SOURCE: nextgov, AUTHOR: Aliya Sternstein]
Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano asserted cybersecurity is a civilian domain, not a military battlefield or private sector jurisdiction, as some critics of federal cyber policy have argued. "Some categorize the challenge as one for the market, or a looming war," she said. "In my view, cyberspace is fundamentally a civilian space, and government has a role to help protect it, in partnership with the private sector and across the globe ... both the market and the battlefield analogies are the wrong ones to use." New cyber threats, such as intrusive monitoring of Internet users and the Stuxnet worm, which can cripple computer operating power grids, have prompted calls for the U.S. military to design a cyber defense plan and for industry to give consumers "do not track" options on Web browsers. But DHS, by mandate, must be involved in securing the critical infrastructure of the country, which includes the information technology networks underpinning every aspect of modern life, Sec Napolitano said.
benton.org/node/46678 | nextgov
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EMERGENCY COMMUNICATIONS
PUBLIC SAFETY NETWORK DEVELOPMENT
[SOURCE: Connected Planet, AUTHOR: Joan Engebretson]
While stakeholders continue to debate the best approach to building a nationwide mobile broadband public safety network, the Federal Communications Commission’s Emergency Response Interoperability Center (ERIC) recently issued what it called “requirements for a baseline technical framework” for that network. The framework applies only to 700 MHz public safety mobile broadband networks in individual states, cities and counties that are approved for early deployment. But it provides a glimpse into how ERIC and the FCC are thinking about the network. The new guidelines sidestepped two issues that are at the heart of the ongoing debate about a nationwide broadband public safety network. The first issue is whether the public safety community will be given the 700 MHz D-block in addition to the 700 MHz spectrum already under its control. The second issue is which, if any, additional 700 MHz bands public safety will inter-operate with.
benton.org/node/46654 | Connected Planet
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GOVERNMENT & COMMUNICATIONS
TRANSPARENCY FOR GLOBAL DEVELOPMENT
[SOURCE: The White House, AUTHOR: Jeremy Weinstein, Robynn Sturm]
The State Department and the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) launched Version 1.0 of the Foreign Assistance Dashboard, a new platform devoted to making it easier than ever for policymakers, civil society, and the public to understand U.S. investments and their impact around the globe. Do you want to know how much the U.S. invested in education in the Democratic Republic of Congo in 2009? The Foreign Assistance Dashboard makes it easy to see and compare investments across sectors and countries at a glance. Civic-minded developers and researchers can download any and all of the Dashboard’s data in a machine-readable format to mash, visualize, and analyze U.S. budget data in new ways.
benton.org/node/46653 | White House, The
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TELEVISION/RADIO
NAB GIVES CONGRESS STATIC
[SOURCE: Politico, AUTHOR: Jennifer Martinez]
The National Association of Broadcasters is pinching the nerves of some lawmakers on Capitol Hill, where tensions are already flaring with the end of the session fast approaching. Some Democratic and GOP staffers say their bosses are tired of negotiating with the NAB on lingering policy issues because the trade association seems unwilling to hammer out a compromise. In particular, staffers point to NAB’s stubbornly pushing back on two pieces of legislation that have bipartisan support: one a bill that would allow the Federal Communications Commission to distribute more licenses to noncommercial, low-power local radio stations and the other a bill that would force broadcasters to pay royalties to recording artists when playing their music on the radio.
benton.org/node/46650 | Politico
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