April 2011

"There are a lot of wolves at the door when it comes to spectrum."
-- House Communications Subcommittee Chairman Greg Walden (R-OR)

BENTON'S COMMUNICATIONS-RELATED HEADLINES for THURSDAY, APRIL 14, 2011

See a map of today's headlines http://benton.org/headlines/map

BUDGET
   President Obama: Broadband Access Investment Will Not Be Cut
   NPR, public television won't get budget ax
   See also: Kerger: Viewers Helped save PBS Funding [links to web]
   Budget Deal Eliminates Enhancing Education Through Technology Program

INTERNET/BROADBAND
   Berners-Lee: Web access is a 'human right'
   NCTA: Broadband Subsidies Are Wasting Millions
   NCTA: FCC Needs To Rethink Network Neutrality Compliance Burden
   Fujitsu’s move surprises UK telecoms industry
   Comcast bumps up speed for home-Internet users [links to web]

WIRELESS
   FCC's Genachowski hints at lack of competition in AT&T merger bid
   AT&T’s Purchase of T-Mobile Questioned on Prices by FCC Official
   Walden: Congress Won't Be Rushed Into Spectrum Decision
   FCC’s Mignon Clyburn Vows To Fight for Mobile Users [links to web]
   T-Mobile introduces unlimited plans, but with throttling [links to web]
   Life360 Wins as Smartphones Become Family Utilities [links to web]
   Mobile payments: Who will regulate?

COMMUNITY MEDIA
   PEG Access Centers Closing at Alarming Rate
   Public Libraries Developing Technology Benchmarking [links to web]

TELEVISION
   CBS, NBC affiliates say fair compensation for spectrum harms might be 'impossible'
   NAB Chief Links AT&T-T-Mobile Deal With Incentive Auctions
   Chairman Walden Warning: Content-Controlling Viewers Should 'Scare Heck' Out Of Cable [links to web]
   How Mobile TV Could Finally Find an Audience - analysis [links to web]
   New Jersey Broadcasters Push for Improved EAS [links to web]

PRIVACY
   Rep Stearns' Privacy Bill Balances Consumer, Corporate Needs
   Senators say digital privacy law covers smartphones [links to web]
   Apple Adds Do-Not-Track Tool to New Browser
   How to Fix (Or Kill) Web Data About You - analysis

HEALTH
   New ONC head Mostashari outlines his priorities
   Ambulatory providers overly optimistic about reaching MU [links to web]
   ONC Employs Social Media For Input On Strategy [links to web]

FCC REFORM
   Chairman Walden Plans Hearing, Legislation On Reforming FCC
   Free Press Panel Blasts ‘Broken’ FCC

GOVERNMENT & COMMUNICATIONS
   Senate security will use Internet data mining to identify lawmaker threats
   Federal IT Reform: Something Left and Right Can Agree On? [links to web]

CYBERSECURITY
   US shuts down massive cyber theft ring [links to web]

MORE ONLINE
   How Google’s Algorithm Rules the Web - analysis [links to web]
   Internet ad revenue hits high in '10 [links to web]
   Sam Zell's attorney calls Tribune bankruptcy plans unfair [links to web]
   NPR’s Andy Carvin, tweeting the Middle East [links to web]
   Huawei declares truce with Motorola [links to web]
   Will Latin America tolerate a free press? - op-ed [links to web]

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BUDGET

OBAMA RE-COMMITS TO BROADBAND
[SOURCE: Broadcasting&Cable, AUTHOR: John Eggerton]
In a speech on his plan to cut the deficit by $4 trillion over the next 12 years, President Barack Obama said that he was willing to make tough cuts to programs he supports, but one of them won't be getting broadband to the nation. "I will not sacrifice the core investments we need to grow and create jobs," he said, including broadband access among the programs he said the country will continue to invest in.
benton.org/node/55397 | Broadcasting&Cable
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NPR SPARED BUDGET AXE
[SOURCE: Washington Post, AUTHOR: Paul Farhi]
Despite Republican-led calls to strip funding from National Public Radio, public broadcasting emerged largely unscathed in the federal budget compromise hammered out in Congress over the past week. The Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB), which passes federal funds to public radio and TV stations, is slated to receive $445 million from Congress — essentially the same amount it received in its last appropriation. The proposed budget places no restrictions on how CPB can dole out federal funds to stations. House Republicans, led by Rep Doug Lamborn (R-CO), had sought to restrict public radio from using CPB-granted funds to pay dues to NPR for its programming. The proposed funding is a huge victory for public broadcasters, particularly NPR, which has suffered a series of public-relations disasters that have strengthened conservative calls to eliminate its federal support.
benton.org/node/55361 | Washington Post
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BUDGET AND ED TECH
[SOURCE: eSchool News, AUTHOR: ]
The budget deal reached earlier this month would eliminate the Enhancing Education Through Technology (EETT) program. President Obama originally wanted to eliminate EETT in his 2011 budget, but he also proposed a new initiative that would focus on improving teaching and learning within three areas: literacy, STEM (science, technology, engineering, and math), and well-rounded education (arts, foreign languages, civics and government, history, geography, economics, financial literacy, and other subjects). According to education officials, the new initiative was supposed to “include a focus on integrating technology into instruction and using technology to drive improvements in teaching and learning” throughout all three curricular areas. This new initiative didn't make it into the final budget deal for the remainder of FY11, however. Last month, educational technology advocates, including the International Society for Technology in Education, the Consortium for School Networking, the Software and Information Industry Association, and the State Educational Technology Directors Association, urged Congress to continue to fund EETT.
benton.org/node/55349 | eSchool News
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INTERNET/BROADBAND

WEB ACCESS A HUMAN RIGHT?
[SOURCE: NetworkWorld, AUTHOR: Jon Brodkin]
Two decades after creating the World Wide Web, Tim Berners-Lee says humans have become so reliant on it that access to the Web should now be considered a basic right. In a speech at an MIT symposium, Berners-Lee compared access to the Web with access to water. While access to water is a more fundamental right, because people simply cannot survive without it, Web access should be seen as a right, too, because anyone who lacks Web access will fall behind their more connected peers. "Access to the Web is now a human right," he said. "It's possible to live without the Web. It's not possible to live without water. But if you've got water, then the difference between somebody who is connected to the Web and is part of the information society, and someone who (is not) is growing bigger and bigger."
benton.org/node/55393 | NetworkWorld
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NCTA BIP CASE STUDY
[SOURCE: Broadcasting&Cable, AUTHOR: John Eggerton]
The National Cable & Telecommunications Association said that the Agriculture Department's broadband subsidy program wastes millions of dollars to overbuild existing service and, if it is symptomatic of a larger infirmity, could mean it would cost $87.2 billion to reach every unserved household in the country, rather than the FCC's estimated $23.5 billion. NCTA's new study finds that "millions of dollars in grants and loans have been made in areas where a significant majority of households already have broadband coverage," and that "the costs per incremental home passed are therefore far higher than existing evidence suggests should be necessary." The study found that over the three projects analyzed, more than 85 percent of households were already served by existing providers and in one, more than 98% were served by at least one other provider.
Defenders of the program argue that grantees need to be able to provide service in the more lucrative served areas to afford sustainable service to the target unserved areas--sustainability is one of the requirements of the one-time grants and loans. But the NCTA study points to the cost-ineffectiveness of the government spending what amounts to $349,000 per incremental home passed if mobile broadband is counted, and over $30,000 if it isn't. The study was conducted by Jeffrey Eisenach and Kevin Caves of Navigant Economics of Washington.
benton.org/node/55366 | Broadcasting&Cable | NCTA press release
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NCTA QUESTIONS NET NEUTRALITY COMPLIANCE
[SOURCE: Broadcasting&Cable, AUTHOR: John Eggerton]
The National Cable & Telecommunications Association has told the Federal Communications Commission and the Office of Management and Budget that the FCC has significantly underestimated the time and money it will take to comply with the transparency and complaint procedures it adopted in its Open Internet order (network neutrality rules). OMB is vetting the paperwork-collection requirements to make sure they do not run afoul of Congress's Paperwork Reduction Act mandate to keep bureaucratic tree-killing to a minimum. NCTA has asked for changes in those requirements, which could delay that effective date even more. The FCC, when it approved the rules back in December, said it expected the costs of compliance with new rules on transparency, blocking and unreasonable discrimination to be "small" since the principles are in line with current practice. NCTA says the open-ended rules mean costs and paperwork could be far greater, and wants the FCC to rethink its estimates so that OMB has a better idea of the burden, or amend its requirements.
benton.org/node/55389 | Broadcasting&Cable
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FUJITSU'S UK SOLUTION
[SOURCE: Financial Times, AUTHOR: Andrew Parker]
Fujitsu has taken much of the UK telecoms industry by surprise by announcing plans to build a high-speed broadband network that would reach 5 million homes in rural Britain. Few had anticipated that the Japanese information technology services group would seek to solve the problem of providing superfast broadband in rural areas. BT and Virgin Media are rolling out high-speed broadband networks, but they are largely focused on urban areas. This is where the companies have the best chance of securing a return on their large investments. Fujitsu’s planned £2bn high speed network, based on optical fibre cables, would cover 5m homes in countryside areas scattered across England, Scotland and Wales. Those communities have been at serious risk of never receiving superfast broadband because of the greater cost of building high-speed networks in the countryside compared with towns and cities. Fujitsu’s plans are contingent on it securing at least £500m of the £830m of public funds that the government last year said could help pay for superfast broadband in rural areas. Andy Stevenson, managing director of network solutions at Fujitsu’s UK operations, said that “without government subsidy it becomes extremely difficult to make a case” for the company’s planned high- speed network. Fujitsu’s plans are also dependent on it being able to run fibre through BT’s underground ducts, as well as string cables between telegraph poles. Fujitsu wants to build a fibre network that extends to homes and businesses. Its “fibre to the home” plans mean that broadband download speeds could be faster than on large parts of BT’s high speed network. However, after rolling out its network, Fujitsu is not proposing to supply consumers and businesses with broadband. Instead, the Japanese company is pursuing a wholesale business model.
benton.org/node/55407 | Financial Times
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WIRELESS

COMPETITION AND THE AT&T|T-MOBILE DEAL
[SOURCE: Washington Post, AUTHOR: Cecilia Kang]
Federal Communications Commission Chairman Julius Genachowski won't talk directly about AT&T’s bid to buy T-Mobile, but he did hint at the agency’s thinking about competition ­ the key to determining whether to pass the deal. When asked if the wireless industry is competitive enough, Chairman Genachowski pointed to an FCC report last May on the issue. And what’s interesting is that nowhere in the 281-page report did the FCC say the wireless industry is effectively competitive. That omission was significant, analysts say, because for all the reports before that the agency had concluded that there was enough competition. “We released a competition report that looked at a whole series of metrics and trends,” Chairman Genachowski said. “We looked at real areas of vibrancy and areas where there were questions and concerns.” Specifically, the FCC report found: “There appears to be increasing concentration in the mobile wireless market. One widely-used measure of industry concentration indicates that concentration has increased 32 percent since 2003 and 6.5 percent in 2008.”
benton.org/node/55364 | Washington Post
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AT&T DEAL QUESTIONED
[SOURCE: Bloomberg, AUTHOR: ]
AT&T’s proposed $39 billion acquisition of Deutsche Telekom’s T-Mobile USA raises questions about whether the deal would lead to consumer price increases, the Federal Communications Commission’s top economist said. Chief FCC economist Jonathan Baker said that the agency should determine whether the deal would leave wireless customers without viable alternatives. These concerns should be weighed against the possibility of technological breakthroughs and whether cost savings would be passed on to consumers. “It’s just a signal that the FCC is going to be examining these issues very carefully,” said Robert Lande, a University of Baltimore law professor who attended Baker’s speech and confirmed its content. He said Baker’s concerns are the basis of “a tough standard for approving a merger.”
benton.org/node/55381 | Bloomberg
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WALDEN: CONGRESS WON'T BE RUSHED
[SOURCE: Broadcasting&Cable, AUTHOR: John Eggerton]
"There are a lot of wolves at the door when it comes to spectrum," House Communications Subcommittee Chairman Greg Walden (R-OR) said, but he conceded there was a huge demand behind all that huffing and puffing. He told an American Cable Association summit audience that spectrum was an important and valuable commodity held by the public -- he is a former broadcaster -- and that country needed to get the spectrum issue right. Chairman Walden said that he did not know whether an incentive auction bill paying broadcasters for giving up spectrum would be passed this year. The FCC has been pushing Congress to pass a bill ASAP so it can reclaim spectrum for wireless broadband before a looming spectrum crunch gets any worse. But Chairman Walden was suggesting a more tortoise than hare approach. He said he would not be "rushed by arbitrary or historical timelines or deadlines," adding: "I want to make sure the subcommittee and the full committee have as solid an understanding of spectrum needs and demands and issues involved as possible before we legislate." He said he does plan to legislate, but that he "wants to get it right" the first time.
benton.org/node/55357 | Broadcasting&Cable
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WHO WILL REGULATE MOBILE PAYMENTS?
[SOURCE: Politico, AUTHOR: Elizabeth Wasserman]
As more Americans learn how to shop with their cellphones, Washington is trying to figure out who should answer the call to regulate this new form of commerce. A variety of competing business sectors — from telecoms to financial institutions to Internet companies — are launching pilots of new technology they hope will replace consumer reliance on credit cards with the wave or tap of a mobile phone. The problem is, no one knows which agency should regulate. “They want to make your mobile phone akin to your wallet,” said Suzanne Martindale, an attorney and associate policy analyst in Consumers Union’s San Francisco office, who recently co-authored a white paper about mobile payments. “But the laws haven't necessarily caught up to the state of the payment technology.” In particular, Martindale said, banking laws and policies governing private data and consumer protection may need to be extended to cover mobile payments. Mobile payments may cross regulatory domains covered by many different federal agencies. The Federal Reserve Board, Federal Deposit Insurance Corp., Office of the Comptroller of the Currency and other agencies regulate banking. The Federal Communications Commission has authority over wireless carriers. The Federal Trade Commission, meanwhile, protects consumers from fraud and privacy violations. The Federal Reserve Banks of Atlanta and Boston have been trying to address this issue — among other questions surrounding mobile payments — in a working group of wireless carriers, issuing and acquiring banks, credit card brands, payment processors and trade associations. The group has met five times over the past 16 months. In a report issued March 25, the group concluded that members want “to understand sooner rather than later the regulatory focus and oversight regimen of each agency in the mobile payments world, as well as the applicability of current regulations and laws to the mobile environment, in order to avoid potential missteps as they proceed to develop mobile payments solutions.”
benton.org/node/55410 | Politico
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COMMUNITY MEDIA

PEG STUDY
[SOURCE: Benton Foundation, AUTHOR: Cecilia Garcia]
[Commentary] Benton and our friends at the Alliance for Communications Democracy (ACD) wanted to get a feel for the state of public, educational and government (PEG) access across the nation. ACD and the Buske Group set out to gauge the health and well-being of PEG access. The results of their study are in and are disheartening to say the least. Since 2005, PEG access centers in 100 communities have closed. The overwhelming majority of these are public access centers, rather than educational or government channels seen on local cable systems. California has been particularly hard-hit, with 51 closures throughout the state. Nearly half of those survey respondents who provided financial information for the five-year period of the study (2005 -2010) reported an average funding decrease of nearly 40 percent. Also, 20 percent of those who reported in-kind support from their cable operators reported that in-kind materials and services had been cut back or eliminated during this five-year period.
benton.org/node/55396 | Benton Foundation | see press release | read the study
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TELEVISION

COMPENSATION FOR SPECTRUM HARMS IMPOSSIBLE
[SOURCE: The Hill, AUTHOR: Sara Jerome]
Representatives of NBC and CBS television affiliates headed to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to question whether it's even possible to quantify the damages they could incur during repacking, a central aspect of FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski's spectrum proposals. Though Genachowski says participation will be voluntary, some broadcasters who opt not to take part in the auctions will nevertheless have to change which airwaves they use so that contiguous swaths of spectrum are available for mobile broadband. The FCC has promised to repay the broadcasters for the costs they incur. But broadcasters are saying that might be "impossible." A representative for the NBC and CBS affiliates met with Chairman Genachowski's top aides to raise concern that the harms associated with repacking won't be fully addressed, according to an ex parte filing. He argued that the damages "would be serious, widespread, and difficult or even impossible to quantify in terms of compensable damages."
benton.org/node/55379 | Hill, The
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NAB LINKS AT&T DEAL WITH INCENTIVE AUCTIONS
[SOURCE: National Journal, AUTHOR: Juliana Gruenwald]
National Association of Broadcasters President Gordon Smith stepped back into his previous life as a U.S. senator at the NAB meeting, saying AT&T's proposed acquisition of T-Mobile may force lawmakers to question the efficacy of a proposal to persuade broadcasters to give up some of their spectrum to meet the mobile broadband boom. If he were still a member of the Senate Commerce Committee, he said, he would question whether the FCC's proposal for incentive auctions will bring in the predicted proceeds. The FCC proposal, which must be approved by Congress, aims to entice broadcasters to give up their spectrum in exchange for a share of the proceeds from the auction of that spectrum.
"Were I still a member of the Commerce Committee and looking at budgetary numbers of $30 billion that [incentive auctions are] supposed to provide, and the biggest bidder just walked out, two of them, I would wonder what the options are," Smith said. "So as you begin to start to say, ok, we can compensate broadcasters, we can build out a public safety network we can add to the Treasury, I'm telling you can't do all those things."
benton.org/node/55351 | National Journal
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PRIVACY

STEARNS PRIVACY BILL
[SOURCE: National Journal, AUTHOR: David Hatch]
The congressional push to enact major online privacy legislation intensified April 13 when Rep Cliff Stearns (R-FL) followed through on his pledge to introduce a comprehensive measure that he began crafting in the last congressional session. The "Consumer Privacy Protection Act" seeks to strike a balance between consumer and corporate interests by requiring websites to better inform visitors about how their personal information is used while relying on self-regulation by companies for compliance. The Consumer Privacy Protection Act, requires covered entities to provide consumers in clear and easy to understand language what information is being collected and how the information is being used. It also provides incentives for covered entities to enter into strong self-regulatory standards. The Consumer Privacy Protection Act of 2011 specifically would:
Require covered entities to notify consumers that their personally identifiable information as defined in the bill may be used for a purpose unrelated to the transaction.
Require entities to notify consumers of any material change in their privacy policy.
Require covered entities to establish a privacy policy with respect to the collection, sale, disclosure for consideration, or use of the consumer's information and such policy be made easily available for consumers.
Require an entity to provide consumers the opportunity to preclude the sale or disclosure of their information to any organization that is not an information-sharing partner.
Provide for a Federal Trade Commission (FTC) approved five-year self-regulatory program and prescribes requirements for a self-regulatory consumer dispute resolution process.
Require the FTC to presume that an entity is in compliance with this Act if it participates in an approved self-regulatory program.
benton.org/node/55375 | National Journal | The Hill
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APPLE ADOPTS DO-NOT-TRACK
[SOURCE: Wall Street Journal, AUTHOR: Nick Wingfield]
Apple has added a do-not-track privacy tool to a test version of its latest Web browser for keeping customers' online activities from being monitored by marketers. The tool is included within the latest test release of Lion, a version of Apple's Mac OS X operating system that is currently available only to developers. The final version of the operating system is scheduled to be released to the public this summer. Mentions of the do-not-track feature in Apple's Safari browser began to appear recently in online discussion forums and on Twitter. The move leaves Google as the only major browser provider that hasn't yet committed to supporting a do-no-track capability in its browser, called Chrome. Microsoft and Mozilla both offer do-not-track features in their latest browsers.
benton.org/node/55415 | Wall Street Journal
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HOW TO FIX DATA ABOUT YOU
[SOURCE: New York Times, AUTHOR: Riva Richmond]
As more of our social lives, shopping sprees and dating misadventures take place online, we leave behind, purposely or not, a growing supply of personal information. Marketers, employers, suitors and even thieves and stalkers are piecing together mosaics of who we are. Even when it is accurate, it may not present a pretty picture. For a glimpse of your mosaic, type your name into Spokeo.com. Prepare to see estimates of your age, home value, marital status, phone number and your home address, even a photo of your front door. Spokeo, one of several services like this online, will encourage you to pay $15 or more, for a full report with details on income, hobbies and online social networks. Snoops who take the time to troll further online may also find in blog posts or Facebook comments evidence of your political views, health challenges, office tribulations and party indiscretions, any of which could hurt your chances of admission to school, getting or keeping a job or landing a date. Many privacy experts worry that companies will use this data against users, perhaps to deny insurance coverage or assign a higher interest rate on a loan. The online aggregation of personal data is setting the stage for “a WikiLeaks for your life,” said Michael Fertik, the chief executive of Reputation.com, previously known as ReputationDefender, a company that charges to manage people’s online information and images. “The treasure trove of personal data about each of us is growing to unanticipated levels, and the leak of huge portions of those data can be personally devastating,” he said. If you want to try to manage privacy, the obvious first place to start is with the search engines Google, Bing and Yahoo, exactly where other people will most likely go to check you out.
benton.org/node/55417 | New York Times
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HEALTH

PRIORITIES FOR NEW ONC HEAD
[SOURCE: ModernHealthcare.com, AUTHOR: Joseph Conn]
The new head of the Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology pledged to continue to run an open and transparent office, but Dr. Farzad Mostashari said he would "double down" on efforts to improve communications, be more consumer-centric and to tailor the office's efforts to improve care coordination to align with objectives in the National Strategy for Quality Improvement in Healthcare and the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act. Mostashari said policies of openness and transparency have been vital in advancing the country's health IT objectives. A willingness to listen to assorted health IT stakeholders, too, has played a key role, he said. The ONC also will continue "to work with the market and tap into the energy of the private sector while we continue to make a more perfect market," Mostashari said. "And while we do that we have to continue to look out for the little guy." There are three other areas that will require increased focus, Mostashari said. The first, he said, involves "boots on the ground." "We're moving into an intense implementation and execution phase," Mostashari said, adding that he knows how difficult the work is from personal experience implementing electronic health-record systems in New York, where he served as a public health official. "The second area of emphasis and redoubling, and we see this in the strategic plan, (is) the concept of putting the patient at the center of everything we do,” he said. Those efforts will be manifested in attention to privacy and security, according to Mostashari. "I think we owe that to the American people and also in terms of making progress on ways we can technologically have opportunities for greater patient protection." That could include, he said, "more granular protection through metadata" as outlined in a December report from the President's Council of Advisors on Science and Technology. Finally, there will be an increased focus on outcomes, Mostashari said. "Everything we've done in meaningful use has not been about the technology" but about improving quality of care, he said. "Quite consciously, we need to be aligning and coordinating our work in the service of the broader national health goals."
benton.org/node/55343 | ModernHealthcare.com
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FCC REFORM

WALDEN ON FCC REFORM
[SOURCE: Broadcasting&Cable, AUTHOR: John Eggerton]
Speaking at the American Cable Association annual summit, House Communications Subcommittee Chairman Greg Walden (R-OR) said to look for a hearing and legislation on Federal Communications Commission reform, but he did not talk about specific reforms. Chairman Walden said the FCC is a "creature of Congress," and suggested it was Congress' duty to keep that creature in check if it starts to run loose. "Failure to do that only gives them license to do other things they don't have the authority to do," he said. He said FCC reform will be a "serious topic" the subcommittee will be working on "diligently in the weeks ahead." He said discussions have already begun on the effort and the subcommittee is seeking input from "those who have an interest in FCC process. He said he thinks that FCC commissioners from both parties agree that the process can be improved. Chairman Walden thinks that reform can be achieved in a "positive and constructive way," likening it to Republican's rewriting of the House rules.
benton.org/node/55355 | Broadcasting&Cable
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A BROKEN FCC?
[SOURCE: BroadbandBreakfast.com, AUTHOR: Jonathan Charnitski]
Panelists at the Free Press National Conference for Media Reform railed on the Federal Communications Commission over the weekend, debating to what extent the Commission has been “captured” by industry and how to fix it. Joel Kelsey, Political Advisor at Free Press, moderated the panel. The event included participants from the public interest, industry and government sectors. Kelsey started the discussion by posing the question of the difference between capture by the industry and corruption. He also highlighted issues such as a perceived “revolving door” between employment at the FCC and private industry and the comparative discrepancy between the lobbying representation from the public and that of the telecommunications industry. “We’re really at an important inflection point,” said Kelsey. “We find the vision we all share and the policies we’re all fighting for are crashing into a political juggernaut in DC.” Gigi Sohn, president and co-founder of industry watchdog, Public Knowledge, called attention to the entrenched relationship between a government regulator and the industry it oversees as problematic. Repeatedly during the hour-long panel, she pointed a finger at current FCC Chairman, Julius Genachowski, as having failed to provide competent leadership at the agency.
benton.org/node/55380 | BroadbandBreakfast.com
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GOVERNMENT & COMMUNICATIONS

DATA MINING FOR THREATS
[SOURCE: The Hill, AUTHOR: Debbie Siegelbaum]
The Senate will conduct data mining of the Internet to identify potential threats against lawmakers, as well as offer Secret Service-led security training sessions for congressional staff. The plans come in the wake of January’s shooting of Rep. Gabrielle Giffords (D-AZ). Senate Sergeant at Arms Terry Gainer said his office will issue a contract by July to perform data mining of the Internet and social networking sites in an effort to identify and assess threats before they become an issue. The data mining will be driven by keywords, including lawmakers’ names, and also by threatening terms such as "kill," "slash" and "shoot." Asked at what point comments would require further attention, Gainer said it would be depend on the situation. “It is not illegal to say, ‘I wish he was dead.’ It’s not illegal to say, per se, ‘I wish someone would put a bullet through his head,’” he said. But “we do have ongoing threats against members, so I might say, ‘OK, if there’s a couple of threats against this member and the member’s going to go a particular area and have a large public forum on a controversial subject, maybe I'll data mine that and see who’s saying what.'” Flagged comments would then be assessed by forensic psychologists or experienced staff to determine if intervention is required.
benton.org/node/55388 | Hill, The
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