June 2011

BENTON'S COMMUNICATIONS-RELATED HEADLINES for THURSDAY, JUNE 2, 2011

A grilling often reserved for cheese... Sony and Epsilon: Lessons for Data Security Legislation http://benton.org/calendar/2011-06-02/

AT&T/T-MOBILE
   Status Update: The AT&T, T-Mobile Mega-Merger
   Financial Analysts Note Range Of Support For Wireless Merger
   Groups Representing African Americans Support AT&T Merger Plan
   New York Opposes AT&T/T-Mobile
   EFF Opposes AT&T/T-Mobile
   AT&T to spend $8 Billion on LTE expansion after T-Mobile deal

MORE ON SPECTRUM/WIRELESS
   Recap: Promoting Broadband, Jobs and Economic Growth Through Commercial Spectrum Auctions
   Taking Sides over the Spectrum Question
   Sen Kerry endorses D Block reallocation bill
   Reps Call for GAO Cell Phone Safety Study [links to web]
   The Cellphone Study - editorial [links to web]
   WHO report questions cell phone risks - editorial [links to web]
   LightSquared's Wireless Network Interferes With GPS

INTERNET/BROADBAND
   Public Knowledge Still Urging Broadband Reclassification
   ITIF municipal broadband debate reveals strong passions on both sides
   The FCC Needs More Fixes, Fewer Excuses for the National Broadband Map - op-ed
   FCC could make VoIP providers pay to connect calls
   Wi-Fi to Overtake Wired Network Traffic by 2015
   Palo Alto's fiber dreams dealt another blow [links to web]
   No Need for New Federal Internet Agency [links to web]

CYBERSECURITY
   House Commerce Committee Announces Plans for Comprehensive Review of Data Security and Electronic Privacy
   Lawmakers mull new cyber powers for FERC
   All aboard the privacy-breach gravy train [links to web]

CONTENT
   All or Nothing at All - op-ed
   Tennessee passes Web entertainment theft bill
   Twitter Update 2011
   Public finds less value in entertainment industry, is unhappy about paying [links to web]
   Cable Giants Seek to Limit Internet Streaming, Slow Netflix [links to web]
   What's at stake in Google's plan to digitize all the world's books [links to web]

JOURNALISM
   It's time for journalists to stand up against Fox News - editorial

POLICYMAKERS
   Alito owned stock, voted in case with Disney's ABC

STORIES FROM ABROAD
These headlines presented in partnership with:

   Officials call for protecting free expression on the Internet
   Google Says Hackers in China Stole Gmail Passwords
   EU to warn foot-dragging states on e-privacy law
   Switzerland Planning Radio Spectrum Auction in Early 2012 [links to web]
   German Rights Holders Go After 300,000 P2P Users Per Month [links to web]
   Cell Phone Text Technology Helps Promote Health in Senegal [links to web]
   Wireless Industry Contributes $41.2 Billion to the Canadian Economy [links to web]

MORE ONLINE
   FCC: Rural Telcos Must Interconnect With Competitors [links to web]
   Telecom Providers See Opportunities In Telemedicine [links to web]
   NAB Completes Merger with MSTV [links to web]
   IT Reform at the Department of Commerce [links to web]
   Qualcomm’s Wi-Fi Chip Could Turn Handhelds Into a TV Set-Top Box [links to web]
   Washington power outage tests telework plans [links to web]

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AT&T/T-MOBILE

STATUS UPDATE
[SOURCE: Wireless Week, AUTHOR: Maisie Ramsay]
A lot has happened since news broke in March that AT&T planned to acquire T-Mobile USA. Here's a rundown of what led up to the merger, who's for and against the deal, and where it goes from here. This week marks the first major deadline in the Federal Communications Commission's review of AT&T's mega-merger with T-Mobile USA, which will make it the largest wireless operator in the country and further consolidate an already condensed industry. Anyone who wants the FCC to block AT&T's merger with T-Mobile had until the end of May 31 to file their opposition – the FCC calls it a "petition to deny" – with the agency. So far, more than 15,000 comments have poured into the FCC about the merger. The volume of comments surged by the thousands last week as people flocked to a website set up by Free Press that made it easier for consumers to voice their opposition to the deal, with more than 10,000 comments filed through the site in a single day last week. Since AT&T announced its $39 billion bid to buy T-Mobile on March 20, the companies have withstood a storm of criticism over the deal, sat through interminable hearings in the House and Senate and explained again and again why regulators should allow the deal to pass. And this is just the beginning.
benton.org/node/74288 | Wireless Week
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SUPPORT FOR MERGER
[SOURCE: National Journal, AUTHOR: Josh Smith]
Analysts at an influential financial counseling firm say there were few surprises in petitions filed at the Federal Communications Commission asking the agency to block AT&T's proposed takeover of T-Mobile. "The opposition filings largely amplify arguments that were previewed in the press and congressional testimony, with an emphasis on arguing that the merger would create a tipping point for a wireless duopoly and challenging AT&T's core claim that they need to acquire T-Mobile in order to resolve capacity constraints," researchers for Baltimore-based Stifel, Nicolaus & Company wrote in an analysis. The firm identified a series of demands made by critics of the merger, including a need for spectrum divestitures, regulation of wireless roaming, special access, and handset access.
benton.org/node/74536 | National Journal
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SUPPORT FOR MERGER
[SOURCE: National Journal, AUTHOR: ]
A coalition of African American groups filed comments with the Federal Communications Commission in support of AT&T's proposed takeover of T-Mobile USA, saying the deal would help blacks compete for business opportunities and better jobs. "The merger of AT&T and T-Mobile will mean more diplomas, better jobs and healthier African American families," National Coalition of Black Civic Participation's President and CEO Melanie Campbell said. "A combined AT&T-T-Mobile also will help achieve the federal government's goal that our organizations share: 'Connecting every part of America to the digital age."
benton.org/node/74534 | National Journal | National Journal
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NY OPPOSES MERGER
[SOURCE: Public Service Commission of the State of New York, AUTHOR: Peter McGowan, Sean Mullany]
The Public Service Commission of the State of New York has filed a Petition to Deny AT&T's acquisition of T-Mobile. In this case, both the market concentration and spectrum aggregation screening tools indicate the proposed merger may have anticompetitive impacts, and that these anticompetitive impacts will be felt, in particular, in New York State. More significantly, the proposed merger will materially increase the level of market concentration in the New York City Metropolitan Area. Therefore, the Federal Communications Commission should carefully scrutinize the potential impacts of the proposed merger on New York State's wireless voice and broadband markets. The PSC also urges the FCC to allow additional process, including opportunities for further review and comment, as the FCC moves forward in its review. This is particularly important in states, such as New York, where anticompetitive impacts would be felt disproportionately. The New York State Public Service Commission is continuing its review of this proposed merger, and more work must be done to evaluate potential adverse impacts and, where necessary, eliminate or mitigate such impacts.
benton.org/node/74532 | New York State Public Service Commission
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EFF OPPOSES MERGER
[SOURCE: Electronic Frontier Foundation, AUTHOR: Cindy Cohn]
The Electronic Frontier Foundation opposes the proposed merger of AT&T and T-Mobile USA from our perspective as a participant in the public debate about network neutrality, the Federal Communications Commission’s Open Internet Rules processes, and our long-standing interest in maintaining the favorable conditions for innovation and protecting consumer interests in wireless as well as wired networks.
One of the major contributing factors to the risk of non-neutral behavior by carriers is the lack of sufficient competition. Because of this, and because of our concerns about the FCC’s jurisdictional claims and the potential for unintended consequences of the proposed (and now adopted) Open Internet Report and Order, EFF has maintained that the preferable way to avoid discriminatory conduct and achieve network neutrality by carriers is through fostering competition and preventing the consolidation of market power. Thus, if the Administration, both the FCC and the Department of Justice, seeks to support a more neutral, more innovation-friendly digital communications infrastructure, it should use its efforts to assist in the creation of more competitors, rather than fewer. The merger thus represents a step in the wrong direction.
benton.org/node/74530 | Electronic Frontier Foundation
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AT&T INVESTMENT
[SOURCE: Fierce, AUTHOR: Phil Goldstein]
AT&T CEO Randall Stephenson said that if the company's proposed $39 billion purchase of T-Mobile USA is approved by regulators, AT&T will spend $8 billion over three years to expand LTE coverage to 97 percent of Americans. In a wide-ranging interview at the Sanford C. Bernstein & Co. Strategic Decisions Conference, Stephenson talked about the acquisition, AT&T's efforts to woo technology companies to support the deal, the company's LTE deployment and the future of the industry.
Stephenson said AT&T thinks it will be at least six years before the FCC can get a significant amount of spectrum into the market, which is why AT&T felt compelled to make the T-Mobile deal. He said AT&T's move to LTE is more about spectral efficiency and lower latency than simply boosting transmission speeds. He said AT&T is deploying 2,000 cell sites this year in its efforts to upgrade to the faster HSPA+ network technology. And though AT&T's LTE deployment trails significantly behind that of Verizon Wireless, Stephenson said AT&T is not worried about lagging Verizon. He said the two companies will be compete as fiercely over data speeds and network claims on LTE as they have on 3G. "That's going to be the fight," he said. "It's going to be the boxing match."
benton.org/node/74286 | Fierce
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MORE ON SPECTRUM/WIRELESS

HEARING RECAP
[SOURCE: House of Representatives Commerce Committee]
On June 1, the House Commerce Committee's Subcommittee on Communications and Technology held a hearing on the potential benefits of making additional spectrum available for wireless broadband.
Subcommittee Chairman Greg Walden (R-OR) made a strong case for passing incentive auction legislation. Chairman Walden said he supports incentive auctions and said the wireless industry’s track record for innovation is "second-to-none." Still, the former broadcast industry executive also worked to allay the concerns of broadcasters, reiterating that participation must be "voluntary." "Any incentive auction in which a licensee forfeits spectrum rights must be voluntary. This is not only good spectrum policy, it is good economic policy. Incentive auctions help match willing buyers and willing sellers. If a broadcast station values its spectrum more than a potential wireless broadband provider is willing to pay, the station will not be forced off the air," Chairman Walden said.
Subcommittee ranking member Rep Anna Eshoo (D-CA) also made a strong push for incentive auctions in her opening statement. "Voluntary incentive auctions will address our nation’s growing demand for wireless, while providing a financial incentive for broadcasters to give back spectrum," she said.
Veteran broadcaster Bert Ellis says the Federal Communications Commission should make putting TV tuner chips in handsets the price of entry for wireless companies in an incentive spectrum auction, and for approval of the combo of major wireless players AT&T and T-Mobile. Ellis, currently president of Titan Broadcasting, says he may well sell some of the spectrum from some of his stations under the right conditions. Those conditions also include making sure that the stations, his and others, that remain after an auction retain the same coverage area, do not suffer increased interference, and do not impact the ability to deliver new services, like mobile DTV.
The Public Interest Spectrum Coalition (PISC) said that Congress should consider a comprehensive spectrum policy that recognizes the importance of the “white spaces” created by the gaps between digital TV channels, and not focus solely on commercial spectrum that can be auctioned. In written testimony, Harold Feld, legal director for Public Knowledge stressed the benefits that can be obtained from using unlicensed “white space” spectrum: “Using unlicensed spectrum to increase access to spectrum for new entrants to provide more competition among commercial license holders will allow more ubiquitous access through a deregulatory, free market approach and exponentially grow capacity to match exponential growth in mobile data demand.” Feld testified on behalf of the coalition.
benton.org/node/74563 | House of Representatives Commerce Committee | The Hill | B&C | Public Knowledge | Feld testimony
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TAKING SIDES
[SOURCE: TVNewsCheck, AUTHOR: Diana Marszalek]
At the SNL Kagan TV and Radio Finance Summit in New York, National Association of Broadcasters General Counsel Jane Mago said broadcasters' sale of airwaves to wireless carriers — even if it’s voluntary as proposed — could result in the restriction of free, accessible information provided by over-the-air TV stations. Free broadcasts still account for 50% of all TV viewing in the US. In addition, Mago said the proposal, designed to appeal to broadcasters who want to unload spectrum or need a cash infusion, “destroys the world of innovation, which really is vital for the broadcast industry moving forward.”
Brandon Burgess, chairman-CEO of Ion Media Networks, agreed, saying that although traditional TV is still broadcasters’ core business, making better use of alternative platforms is incumbent upon them as well. “We serve 115 million television homes … pretty well,” he said. “What we'd also like to be able to do is service the devices, outside the home, and create that option over the next years to grow into that marketplace.”
Selling off massive amounts of airwaves to wireless carriers is not the only way to meet the growing demand for spectrum that’s accompanying the explosive use of mobile devices like smart phones and tablet computers, Mago said. “The position that we at the NAB and broadcasters have taken is that there is more than one way to skin a cat,” she said. “There also are a whole lot of places that spectrum is accessible.”
Michael Altschul, SVP and general counsel of the Wireless Association, sees it otherwise. “We are doing everything we can in the wireless industry to be more efficient,” he said. But use of smartphones and wireless data doubled just last year alone, he said. “Spectrum really is the answer to fulfilling the public’s demands for broadband wireless services,” Altschul added.
William Lake, chief of the FCC’s Media Bureau, said the agency wasn't taking sides. Rather, by creating a voluntary airwaves auction, the fate of the airwaves will really be in the hands of the buyers and sellers. The FCC is not mandating how much spectrum should be sold, he said.
benton.org/node/74561 | TVNewsCheck
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KERRY BACKS D BLOCK SOLUTION
[SOURCE: The Hill, AUTHOR: Sara Jerome]
Sen. John Kerry (D-MA), chairman of the Senate Commerce Committee's Communications Subcommittee, endorsed a sweeping spectrum bill days before the divisive legislation faces its first test in the Senate. The bill from Senate Commerce Chairman Jay Rockefeller (D-WV) and ranking member Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison (R-TX) is still under intense scrutiny by members of the Commerce Committee who are reviewing it ahead of a June 8 markup. The bill is unlikely to gain House Commerce Committee support since those members are devoted to a spectrum plan that they say is better-suited for deficit reduction. The Senate Commerce bill allocates a valuable D Block of spectrum to public safety agencies while funding a communications network for first responders, an unfulfilled recommendation of the 9/11 Commission. The legislation raises money for the network by auctioning other pieces of the airwaves, and devotes leftover revenue to deficit reduction.
benton.org/node/74581 | Hill, The
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LIGHTSQUARED FACING INTERFERENCE ISSUES
[SOURCE: Wall Street Journal, AUTHOR: Amy Schatz]
LightSquared's plan to launch a new national wireless broadband network faces a setback as preliminary tests suggest the start-up's network could knock out some GPS systems. Later this month, the company and GPS makers are scheduled to deliver a planned report to the Federal Communications Commission about any interference issues that arose from tests held recently in New Mexico. Public safety officials near the testing area reported LightSquared's tower knocked out their GPS systems in some areas, according to Bill Range, New Mexico's E-911 program director, in a letter to federal officials. On May 27, construction giant Deere & Co. also reported to the FCC the risk of "severe interference" on its tractors GPS systems from as far as 20 miles away from a LightSquared tower and "a complete loss of service" between four miles and 22 miles. Initial, unofficial tests by GPS users suggest that high-performance GPS equipment used by the aviation, defense and other industries would be more likely to be hobbled by LightSquared's network than the cheaper devices used by most consumers. If existing GPS equipment needs to be fixed to avoid interference, it's not clear who would pay for those alternations. LightSquared's interference problems could slow down FCC approval of its new network and create problems for other companies – including its primary financial backer, Harbinger Capital Partners, the hedge fund led by Philip Falcone. Harbinger and its affiliates have put $2.9 billion of assets into LightSquared.
benton.org/node/74578 | Wall Street Journal | Financial Times
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INTERNET/BROADBAND

BROADBAND RECLASSIFICATION
[SOURCE: Public Knowledge, AUTHOR: Harold Feld]
Meeting with Federal Communications Commission staff, Public Knowledge restated that the failure to classify broadband as a Title II service raises significant difficulties for expanding the universal service fund to include creation of the Connect America Fund (CAF) and disbursement of funds high cost funds to entities other than eligible telecommunications carriers (ETCs). However, the authority asserted by the FCC under Section 706 of the Telecommunications Act and under its forbearance authority, if sufficient for the modifications proposed in a rulemaking, would also be sufficient to support the proposals made by Public Knowledge and the Benton Foundation. In particular, the authority asserted by the FCC would permit both creation of a small fund for the purchase of equipment for self-provisioning entities in unserved communities pursuant to the law's mandate to ensure deployment where broadband is not being deployed in a timely manner.
PK proposed two solutions. First, and on the most solid legal footing, the FCC could classify interconnected VoIP as a Title II service. Alternatively, the FCC could interpret the creation of CAF as occurring through a combination of Section 706 and Section 254.
benton.org/node/74280 | Public Knowledge
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MUNI BROADBAND DEBATE
[SOURCE: Connected Planet, AUTHOR: Joan Engebretson]
Of all the policy topics in telecom, few are debated with as much passion as municipal broadband networks -- and an event sponsored by the Information Technology & Innovation Foundation June 1 was a prime example of that dynamic in play. Using the sort of formal debate process that many of us learned in high school, advocates and opponents discussed the thesis that “Governments should neither subsidize nor operate broadband networks to compete with commercial ones.” Jeffrey Eisenach, managing director and principal of Navigent Economics, supported that view. When a municipality passes legislation to fund a broadband project, it is essentially “coercing people to give up money, many of whom don't want to do it,” Eisenach said. Christopher Mitchell, director of telecommunications for the Institute for Self Reliance, countered that argument, noting that municipalities typically obtain funding through bonds. If local officials raise taxes to fund a broadband network without sufficient support, he said, they will lose their jobs when the next election comes around.
benton.org/node/74547 | Connected Planet | ITIF
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NATIONAL BROADBAND MAP
[SOURCE: Slate, AUTHOR: Sascha Meinrath]
[Commentary] Our critique of the National Broadband Map, "Map to Nowhere," has caused quite a stir over at the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) and the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA). Yet the response from Steven Rosenberg, chief data officer with the FCC's Wireline Competition Bureau, offers PR spin and damage control rather than substantive ideas. Rosenberg begins by saying that we "miss almost entirely the real story regarding broadband data and the FCC [and that] the National Broadband Map is the largest and most detailed map of broadband ever created." However, Mr. Rosenberg sidesteps our fundamental critique -- if the map contains wrong data or excludes key information (for example, price), then it doesn't matter how large it is—a massive number of inaccurate details is no more helpful than a more modest heap of misinformation. While the map did get some things right, our critique is that the map is ineffective as a meaningful resource for U.S. residents.
benton.org/node/74542 | Slate
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VOIP AND INTERCONNECTION
[SOURCE: Politico, AUTHOR: Kim Hart]
More and more Americans are abandoning home telephone lines in favor of mobile phones, Skype, Google Voice and Vonage — and that leaves the Federal Communications Commission with a problem: figuring out what digital-age companies should pay to connect calls to the old Ma Bell network. One possible upshot: higher rates for low-cost or “free” Internet calls. The FCC has proposed phasing out the decades-old public switched telephone network altogether and instead moving toward a broadband-based network to accommodate the new, popular applications. Until then, however, the question is what to do when consumers dial someone on the old network using computers and the Internet. “You've got an antiquated telephone network out there,” said Dale Hatfield, a former chief of the FCC’s Office of Engineering and Technology who now teaches at the University of Colorado. “It should be gotten rid of, but there’s an awful lot of money being made on that network.” Some Voice over Internet Protocol services, such as Skype and Vonage, have so far been exempt from paying the same rates that traditional companies like Verizon pay to swap calls on the physical network of telephone lines, circuits and “switches” that connect calls. Since VoIP providers don't have to pay those fees — which are worth billions of dollars — their services have been able to undercut the prices of traditional carriers. Many of those carriers, such as AT&T, Verizon and CenturyLink, want the FCC to intervene and force Internet services to pay like everyone else.
benton.org/node/74580 | Politico
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INTERNET TRAFFIC HEADED TO WI-FI
[SOURCE: GigaOm, AUTHOR: Janko Roettgers]
Wi-Fi devices will for the first time use more bandwidth than wired devices in 2015, according to Cisco’s new Visual Networking Index (VNI) Global IP Traffic Forecast. Cisco predicts Wi-Fi devices will consume 37.2 Exabytes of data worldwide per month in 2015, which is slightly more than the 37.0 Exabytes of wired IP traffic the company is forecasting. And Wi-Fi will take up 46.2 percent of all IP traffic in 2015, up from 36 percent of all IP traffic in 2010. The share of wired IP traffic, on the other hand, will sink from 63 percent in 2010 to 46.1 percent in 2015. Mobile networks will place third, with 6.3 Exabytes per month, but cell phone network operators will have to adapt faster than anyone else to growing data consumption: Mobile IP traffic will grow 26 times over the period, compared to three-fold growth for wired and five-fold growth for Wi-Fi traffic. Mobile will make up 8 percent of global IP traffic in 2015. Last year, mobile users only consumed 237 Petabytes per month, which accounted for 1 percent of the global IP traffic.
benton.org/node/74283 | GigaOm | CNNMoney | CNNMoney - video and mobile
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CYBERSECURITY

HOUSE COMMERCE AGENDA
[SOURCE: House of Representatives Commerce Committee, AUTHOR: Press release]
The House Commerce Committee is launching a thorough review of data security and electronic privacy issues affecting American businesses and consumers. The committee has begun its work with hearings to shed light on the foundational question of data security, which has drawn increased attention in the wake of recent high-profile data breaches affecting tens of millions of consumers. While data security and prevention of data theft will mark the first phase of the committee's action, the Energy and Commerce Committee will also look later in the year at broader electronic privacy concerns. The committee has a long history addressing of more complex privacy-related matters, from the historic protections afforded under the Health Information Privacy law and Gramm-Leach-Bliley to continuing oversight in the last decade.
The first phase of the committee's review will look at the security of personal information collected and maintained online, particularly in light of the fact that nearly nine million Americans a year are victims of identity theft. Breached records include reports detailing consumers’ financial and medical records. Sophisticated hackers have been successful in obtaining access to personal information such as names, birthdays, credit card numbers, PIN numbers, and social security numbers. The ramifications of a data breach are both costly and time consuming for businesses and consumers.
benton.org/node/74560 | House of Representatives Commerce Committee
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FERC AND CYBERSECURITY
[SOURCE: Federal New Radio, AUTHOR: Jared Serbu]
House lawmakers are considering legislation that would give the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) emergency powers to shore up the electric grid's cyber defenses. It's authority that utility companies say FERC doesn't need, and may not be qualified to exercise. The Grid Reliability and Infrastructure Defense (GRID) Act passed the full House last year, but stalled in the Senate. Now, its backers in the House are considering reintroducing the measure, which attempts to boost cyber protections in two areas: The nation's interstate bulk power supply system, and parts of the electric grid that supply power to Defense Department facilities that are critical to national security. Under the bill, FERC would have the authority, at the President's direction, to "with or without notice, hearing, or report, issue such orders for emergency measures as are necessary in its judgment to protect the reliability of the bulk-power system or of defense critical electric infrastructure against such threat." Potential cyber attacks to civilian critical infrastructure are something DoD worries a lot about, said Paul Stockton, the Pentagon's assistant secretary for homeland defense. He said the military depends on the private grid for 99 percent of its electric needs.
benton.org/node/74272 | Federal New Radio
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CONTENT

ALL OR NOTHING AT ALL
[SOURCE: The Huffington Post, AUTHOR: Rick Carnes]
[Commentary] In looking at the response of the critics to the new PROTECT IP bill I couldn't help but recall the title of the old Altman/Lawrence song "All or Nothing at All". These critics want a perfect solution to piracy or no solution at all. They all do lip service to the idea that piracy is a problem but, and there is ALWAYS a "but", they find some hypothetical situation that might happen as a result of the legislation and say the results would be too dire for them to support the bill in its current form. As a creator there is nothing more disheartening than seeing your work being stolen while advertizements are sold on top of the access to illegal copies of your work. The time has come to protect the voices that are being silenced by these rogues websites. The Protect IP Bill isn't a perfect fix-all for piracy, but it is a start. Sometimes instead of singing "All or Nothing at All" we need to sing 'something is better than nothing'! [Carnes is President of the Songwriters Guild of America]
benton.org/node/74282 | Huffington Post, The
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TENNESSEE DIGITAL THEFT BILL
[SOURCE: Associated Press, AUTHOR: ]
State lawmakers in the capital of country music have passed a groundbreaking measure that would make it a crime to use a friend's log-in — even with permission — to listen to songs or watch movies from services such as Netflix or Rhapsody. The bill, now awaiting the governor's signature, was pushed by recording industry officials to try to stop the loss of billions of dollars to illegal music sharing. They hope other states will follow. The legislation was aimed at hackers and thieves who sell passwords in bulk, but its sponsors acknowledge it could be employed against people who use a friend's or relative's subscription. While those who share their subscriptions with a spouse or other family members under the same roof almost certainly have nothing to fear, blatant offenders — say, college students who give their log-ins to everyone on their dormitory floor — could get in trouble.
benton.org/node/74557 | Associated Press
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TWITTER UPDATE
[SOURCE: Pew Research Center's Internet & American Life Project, AUTHOR: Aaron Smith]
As of May 2011, 13% of online adults use the status update service Twitter. That represents a significant increase from the 8% of online adults who identified themselves as Twitter users the first time Pew asked our “stand-alone” question about Twitter adoption in November 2010. Pew also included a follow-up question asking cell phone-owning Twitter users if they access the service on their phones and found that half (54%) access the service in this way. Non-white Internet users continue to have higher rates of Twitter use than their white counterparts; indeed, the Twitter adoption gap between African-Americans and whites has increased over the past six months. In November 2010, there was an eight percentage point difference in Twitter use between African-American and white Internet users (13% for blacks vs. 5% for whites). By May 2011, that gap was 16 percentage points -- 25% of online African Americans now use Twitter, compared with 9% of such whites. African-American and Latino Internet users are each significantly more likely than whites to be Twitter adopters. Even more notable: One in ten African-American Internet users now visit Twitter on a typical day -- that is double the rate for Latinos and nearly four times the rate for whites.
benton.org/node/74540 | Pew Research Center's Internet & American Life Project
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JOURNALISM

STANDING UP TO FOX
[SOURCE: Online Journalism Review, AUTHOR: Robert Niles]
[Commentary] Rolling Stone's profile of Fox News chief Roger Ailes this week provides the latest item in a long line of evidence that Fox News is a morally bankrupt sham of a news organization - a propaganda outlet that engages in intentional lying to advance its partisan cause. If you haven't read the piece yet, do. It's vital media criticism.
I've met plenty of journalists who bristle when I criticize Fox News. They've told me that, as defenders of free speech and the First Amendment, journalists should not be in the business of trying to silence other voices in the media marketplace. But as defenders of truth, journalists also have an obligation to call out voices that intentionally spread lies to the public. Fox News' owners and executives have a right to speak. But they don't have a right to set the public agenda. It's past time for responsible journalists to stand up against Fox News.
benton.org/node/74274 | Online Journalism Review
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POLICYMAKERS

ALITO'S CONFLICT
[SOURCE: Associated Press, AUTHOR: Mark Sherman]
Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito took part in a case over curse words on television involving ABC and other networks even though he owned stock in ABC's parent, Walt Disney, at the time. Justice Alito said that he owned around $2,000 in Disney stock when the court heard the case FCC v. Fox Television Stations in late 2008. ABC and the other networks also were parties to the case. Justice Alito said his participation was an oversight. He said aides who routinely check for conflicts in high court cases missed the Disney connection when they looked at the Fox case, even though ABC's brief clearly disclosed Disney's ownership. In any event, Justice Alito voted with the majority, against ABC's interests. The case came out 5-4, suggesting that Alito's participation directly affected the outcome in which the court threw out an appeals court ruling favorable to the networks.
benton.org/node/74284 | Associated Press
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STORIES FROM ABROAD
These headlines presented in partnership with:

PROTECTING ONLINE EXPRESSION
[SOURCE: National Journal, AUTHOR: Juliana Gruenwald]
Top human rights officials from four international organizations called on governments to do more to respect freedom of expression on the Internet. The declaration was issued by rapporteurs who deal with human rights and freedom of expression issues from the United Nations, the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe, the Organization of American States, and the African Commission on Human Rights and Peoples' Rights. "Freedom of expression applies to the Internet, as it does to all means of communication. Restrictions on freedom of expression on the Internet are only acceptable if they comply with established international standards, including that they are provided for by law, and that they are necessary to protect an interest which is recognized under international law," according to the declaration. The document outlined other principles including protection from liability for Internet service providers and other intermediaries for content they have no control over; support for network neutrality; and opposition to the blocking or filtering of Internet content or websites.
benton.org/node/74565 | National Journal
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GOOGLE HACK
[SOURCE: New York Times, AUTHOR: John Markoff, David Barboza]
Google said that hundreds of users of Gmail, its e-mail service, had been the targets of clandestine attacks apparently originating in China that were aimed at stealing their passwords and monitoring their e-mail. The company said the victims included senior government officials in the United States, Chinese political activists, officials in several Asian countries, military personnel and journalists. Google said that once the intruders had logged into the accounts, they could change settings for mail forwarding so that copies of messages would be sent to another address. The company said it had “disrupted” the campaign and had notified the victims as well as government agencies. The company recommended that Gmail users take additional security steps, like using a Google service known as two-step verification, to make it more difficult to compromise their e-mail accounts. But it emphasized that the password thefts were not the result of a general security problem with Gmail.
The Chinese Foreign Ministry said Thursday that the government had no involvement in any such attacks, declaring that it “consistently opposes any criminal activities that damage the Internet and computer networks including hacking and cracks down these activities according to law.”
benton.org/node/74583 | New York Times | Google | Bloomberg | FT | Politico | WashPost
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EU TO WARN FOOT-DRAGGING STATES ON E-PRIVACY LAW
[SOURCE: Reuters, AUTHOR: Leila Abboud, Georgina Prodhan]
The European Commission plans to call Britain and Denmark to account for dragging their feet on enforcing a controversial new law to protect people's privacy on-line. The move is a sign of how the war of words over so-called "cookie" reform is heating up a week after a deadline for European Union member states to adopt the rules into their national laws. The EU e-privacy directive requires websites to obtain users' explicit consent before allowing the storage of cookies, small pieces of text that Web browsers use to store information like website preferences, as well as track users' movements from site to site. The reform has been hotly contested by Internet companies, on-line advertisers and start-ups, who say it will handicap a tool that is central to how the Web operates.
benton.org/node/74271 | Reuters
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