December 2011

INTERNET/BROADBAND

ACCESS, OPENNESS, AND THE MARKETPLACE OF IDEAS
[SOURCE: Times-Standard, AUTHOR: Sean McLaughlin]
[Commentary] Long before the advent of the Internet or cable TV we realized that the key to a healthy democracy is a free and open marketplace of ideas. From this human rights' perspective we can see that our broadband media systems deliver more than just voice, data, video and commerce -- in a real sense they deliver liberty and justice as well. Whether our communications travel on the ground over wire lines of copper and optic fiber, or wirelessly over the airwaves, they always traverse public spaces. So, the telecommunications networks that deliver our media and broadband Internet services are subject to laws and regulations that reflect public policy. Who should have a voice, and how do we keep robber barons and profiteers from controlling or monopolizing these essential networks? There are laws and regulations at federal, tribal, state and local jurisdictions that shape our communication networks and determine how we connect -- protecting privacy, restricting censorship, providing for universal service, ensuring localism, diversity and competition, etc. With all the technical and legal complexity involved, how can we figure out the best policies? [McLaughlin is a digital ecologist, serving as executive director of Access Humboldt]
benton.org/node/106594 | Times-Standard
Recommend this Headline
back to top

BROADBAND SPEEDS IMPROVING
[SOURCE: Federal Communications Commission, AUTHOR: Joel Gurin]
As part of our Consumer Empowerment Agenda, the Federal Communications Commission has been taking action to ensure that consumers are getting the information they need to make informed decisions. Our efforts to combat bill shock are one recent example, where we worked out a landmark agreement with the wireless industry to alert consumers before they are charged overage fees. The residential broadband market is another area where consumers may be faced with decisions they don’t have adequate information to make. Signing up for broadband—high-speed Internet—service can been a real challenge for consumers. To be an informed shopper for any service, you have to know what will best meet your needs, and you have to know that service providers will deliver what they advertise.
In our Measuring broadband America report, we presented findings in a number of ways, by technology, provider, and time of day. Many providers performed quite well, some even exceeding advertised speeds. But we also found some instances where broadband service fell significantly short of what was advertised, particularly at the times of day for peak broadband usage. As we had hoped, our results quickly began informing the marketplace. Our findings were reported not only on the news and on the websites of consumer groups, but also in television commercials, radio ads, and press releases from Internet service providers themselves. Those who had done well in our tests spread the news, and attempted to use their strong performance results to win customers in the marketplace. In the months since we released our initial report, we have continued to gather direct measurements of broadband performance. We are pleased to note that the performance of one company—Cablevision—markedly improved from earlier this year. As we noted in our report, during March 2011, subscribers to Cablevision’s 15 Mbps service were receiving average download speeds during peak hours of only about 50% of the advertised speed. By comparison, average users across all companies other than Cablevision were receiving download speeds during peak hours of 89% of the advertised speeds. During October 2011, the most recent month for which data is available, subscribers to Cablevision’s 15 Mbps service were receiving average download speeds during peaks hours at over 90% of the advertised speed.
benton.org/node/106591 | Federal Communications Commission | The Hill
Recommend this Headline
back to top

POWER GRID CYBERSECURITY
[SOURCE: Reuters, AUTHOR: Deborah Zabarenko]
The threat of cyberattacks on the U.S. power grid should be dealt with by a single federal agency, not the welter of groups now charged with the electric system's security, researchers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology reported. While acknowledging there is no absolute insurance against such attacks, the MIT researchers said a single U.S. agency would be better able to address the problem than the disparate federal, state and local entities responsible for various aspects of safeguarding the power grid. In a report on the future of the U.S. electric grid, through 2030, the team recommended that the federal agency should work with industry and have the appropriate regulatory authority to enhance cybersecurity preparedness, response and recovery.
benton.org/node/106610 | Reuters
Recommend this Headline
back to top

CONTNET

SOPA PROPONENTS SLAM ALTERNATIVE
[SOURCE: The Hill, AUTHOR: Gautham Nagesh]
Supporters of the Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA) are taking issue with a draft of alternate online piracy legislation circulated last week and predicting the bill would be unlikely to garner enough support to pass Congress. A bipartisan group of lawmakers including prominent SOPA opponents Rep. Darrell Issa (R-CA) and Sen. Ron Wyden (D-OR) released a draft proposal last week that would task the International Trade Commission (ITC) with handling complaints from copyright holders about foreign websites dedicated to piracy. A House Judiciary Committee aide said transferring intellectual property enforcement to the ITC from the Justice Department would result in "a dramatic and costly expansion of the federal bureaucracy." The aide argued the Justice Department has the expertise to handle such cases. In addition, the aide noted the Issa-Wyden bill would have to garner the support of the relevant committee heads, which include the Ways & Means/Finance Committees in both chambers. Senate Finance Committee ranking member Orrin Hatch (R-Utah) is a co-sponsor of PROTECT IP, a companion bill to SOPA.
benton.org/node/106601 | Hill, The
Recommend this Headline
back to top

OWNERSHIP

COURT DENIES APPLE
[SOURCE: ars technica, AUTHOR: Chris Foresman]
Despite garnering a few preliminary injunctions against Samsung outside the US, Apple was not able to convince a US federal court to keep Samsung tablet computers from store shelves. US District Judge Judy Koh denied Apple's request for a preliminary injunction barring Samsung from selling its "Galaxy" branded tablets and smartphones. While the ruling suggests Apple could eventually prevail after a full trial, the decision allows Samsung to continue to sell its competing Android-based devices unabated while the case slowly works its way through the docket. Apple's US lawsuit against Samsung began in April this year, and ultimately sparked a worldwide rash of 23 lawsuits between the two companies. Apple's main beef is that Samsung's Galaxy S and SII smartphones and Galaxy Tab tablets draw too heavily upon the design of the iPhone and iPad. Apple was able to win some limited preliminary injunctions based on a registered European Community Design right and a handful of functional patent claims. Its US case accused Samsung of violating a litany of US design and utility patents as well as accusing Samsung of violating Apple's trade dress, including unique packaging design and other related trademarks and intellectual property. Unfortunately for Apple, its motion for a preliminary injunction rested on just a handful of the issues at play in the main proceeding. And on those particular points, Judge Koh did not find enough solid evidence or issue at law to satisfy the requirements for a preliminary injunction. Judge Koh suggested that prior art, in particular the Knight Ridder tablet dreamed of in a promotional video from the '90s, may invalidate some of Apple's design patent claims. However, she also noted that "Samsung appears to have created a design that is likely to deceive an ordinary observer." If Apple is able to convince the court that its design patents are valid, the fact that Samsung is viewed by the court as a copycat could still end up being a thorn in Samsung's side.
benton.org/node/106600 | Ars Technica | Reuters
Recommend this Headline
back to top

DETAILS LEAKED
[SOURCE: Reuters, AUTHOR: Dan Levine, Carlyn Kolker]
A US court error offered a brief glimpse at information that Apple and Samsung Electronics have tried to shield from the public during their high-stakes patent litigation. The material appears to be less important for what it says about the companies than what it reveals about efforts to keep court proceedings secret. In denying Apple's bid to stop Samsung from selling its Galaxy smartphone and tablets in the United States, U.S. District Judge Lucy Koh's ruling inadvertently included details she had intended to black out. The judge's staff quickly realized the error, sealed the electronic document and posted a redacted version four hours later. The fuller version, which Reuters obtained while it was publicly available, did not expose the technical inner workings of the iPad -- or anything close. Rather, it contained internal company analysis about the smartphone market, as well as some details about Apple's patent licensing relationships with other tech companies. According to the redacted portions, Apple's own studies show that existing customers are unlikely to switch from iPhones to Samsung devices. Instead, the evidence suggests an increase in sales of Samsung smartphones is likely to come at the expense of other smartphones with Android operating systems, Judge Koh wrote. In arguing against the injunction, Samsung -- which is also a huge components supplier to Apple -- said Apple's supply cannot keep up with market demand for smartphone products. Koh recounted the argument in the redacted portions of the ruling. But Judge Koh then called Samsung's argument "dubious," given rebuttal evidence presented by Apple regarding its ability to keep up with demand in the long term. The redacted portions also refer to licensing deals that Apple struck with other high-tech companies over one of its key patents. Issued in December 2008, the patent covers the method of scrolling documents and images on Apple's touch-screen devices.
benton.org/node/106599 | Reuters
Recommend this Headline
back to top

PRIVACY

NEW CARRIER IQ SUIT
[SOURCE: ars technica, AUTHOR: Jon Brodkin]
Apple, Motorola, and three major wireless carriers are the latest to face a class-action lawsuit over a smartphone privacy scandal, with Carrier IQ, HTC, and Samsung also facing allegations that they spy on users with software installed on smartphones. While Carrier IQ makes the software, it is installed on phones manufactured by hardware companies and sold by carriers, providing plenty of targets for lawsuits. A lawsuit was filed in US District Court in Delaware Dec 2 against a big roster including Carrier IQ, AT&T, Sprint Nextel, T-Mobile USA, HTC, Apple, Samsung, and Motorola Mobility. Filed on behalf of four plaintiffs who are iPhone, HTC, and Samsung phone users and also customers of AT&T, Sprint and T-Mobile, the suit notes that "defendants Samsung, Apple, Motorola, and HTC pre-install Carrier IQ software on cell phones used by its customers on the AT&T, T-Mobile and Sprint networks." The lawsuit says that "[i]n addition to collecting device and service-related data, Carrier IQ’s software can collect data about a user’s location, application use, Web browsing habits, videos watched, texts read and even the keys they press." The suit claims violations of the Federal Wiretap Act, Stored Electronic Communications Act, and the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act, while demanding monetary compensation as well as a permanent order preventing the defendants "from installing software on cell phones that could track the users’ information in violation of federal law.”
benton.org/node/106587 | Ars Technica
Recommend this Headline
back to top

ANOTHER CARRIER IQ SUIT
[SOURCE: Los Angeles Times, AUTHOR: David Sarno]
Joining the growing parade of class-action lawsuits against cellphone software company Carrier IQ, suits have been filed by a group of five California plaintiffs alleging that the company and affiliated wireless carriers and phone makers violated state law by "surreptitiously intercepting communications" of smartphone customers. The plaintiffs are all clients of Century City attorney Susan Yoon, who filed the class-action suits in Los Angeles County Superior Court against Carrier IQ, T-Mobile USA, Sprint Nextel, Motorola Mobility Holdings, Samsung Telecommunications America and BlackBerry-maker Research in Motion Ltd. Each suit alleged that the companies secretly recorded user cellphone activities. The suit also alleges that Carrier IQ's software "records and transmits to defendants keystrokes, content of text messages and passwords."
benton.org/node/106613 | Los Angeles Times
Recommend this Headline
back to top

LESSONS FROM FACEBOOK SETTLEMENT
[SOURCE: Federal Trade Commission, AUTHOR: Lesley Fair]
The terms of the FTC's proposed settlement apply only to Facebook. But to paraphrase noted legal scholar Bob Dylan, companies that want to stay off the law enforcement radar don't need a weatherman to know which way the wind blows. What practical pointers can your business take from the Facebook case and other recent FTC actions dealing with consumer privacy?
Promises, promises. Not making any privacy promises? Think again. Reread your privacy policy to see just what you're telling customers and visitors you do with their information.
Legal-ease. Now that you have your privacy policy in front of you, show it to a real person — your receptionist, the guy in the warehouse, a member of your family. If they're not clear on what it says, chances are your customers aren't sure either.
Attitudes, not platitudes. Some retailers lace their privacy policies with lofty language, but don't back their words up with actions.
Color my world. How about giving your creative team a crack at rebooting the look of your privacy policy?
Ch-ch-ch-changes. Wise marketers call customers' attention to the proposed change and get their express OK first. Just editing what you say in your privacy policy won't alert them to what you plan to do.
Time for a tech tune-up. If it's been a while since you wrote your privacy policy, reconsider it in light of new technology you've put in place.
Natural resources. You've got a business to run, so save time and money by using free resources from the FTC.
benton.org/node/106597 | Federal Trade Commission
Recommend this Headline
back to top

WIRELESS/SPECTRUM

US CELLULAR WAITING FOR LTE
[SOURCE: GigaOm, AUTHOR: Kevin Fitchard]
It’s a common misconception that Apple is picking winners and losers among the wireless operators by bestowing or withholding the iPhone, but U.S. Cellular and its parent company TDS prove otherwise. TDS CEO Ted Carlson told attendees of a UBS analyst conference that U.S. Cellular is waiting for Apple to offer a more “cutting edge” iPhone before U.S. Cellular would be willing to take the risk of selling it. By cutting edge, U.S. Cellular means LTE. In November, U.S. Cellular revealed that Apple had offered it the CDMA variant of the iPhone, but it declined, saying it couldn’t make the economics work. That makes a lot of sense in this case: selling the iPhone requires enormous upfront subsidies from wireless operators, leading U.S. Cellular to question the model’s profitability. In addition, the smartphone takes a tremendous toll on operators’ data networks. Other regional operators like C Spire have risen to the challenge, but C Spire doesn’t have what U.S. Cellular has: a big, dense, data-hungry market like Chicago.
benton.org/node/106596 | GigaOm
Recommend this Headline
back to top

NEW LANDSCAPE WITH SPECTRUM DEAL
[SOURCE: Financial Times, AUTHOR: David Gelles, Paul Taylor]
Verizon Wireless agreed to buy $3.6bn of spectrum owned by a joint venture of Comcast, Time Warner Cable and Bright House Networks known as SpectrumCo. The result is a reshaped competitive landscape where cable and telecoms companies will be competing in some markets, but co-operating just miles away. Commenting on the announcement, Bernstein Research analyst Craig Moffett titled his note: “The End of the World as We Know It.” Comcast and Time Warner Cable, the two largest US cable companies, now have the nation’s leading wireless provider as a partner; one of the main benefits of the deal for them is that it puts to rest speculation that they were poised to build or acquire their own wireless networks. The deal also highlights the different strategies that the US wireless telecoms groups are adopting to deal with what they perceive to be a looming spectrum crunch driven in part by the success of smartphones. US regulators are seeking to free up additional spectrum for wireless communications, but it could be several years before that is available for auction. Verizon Wireless clearly believed it could not afford to wait. As several analysts noted, the spectrum purchase should ensure that Verizon can continue to deliver what it has positioned as a premium network experience to smartphone and tablet PC users. The deal also has knock-on effects for other cable and telecoms companies. Dish Networks, the satellite TV provider, is sitting on a large swath of valuable spectrum. With SpectrumCo’s licenses now accounted for, that makes the Dish assets more valuable. “It makes Dish’s spectrum all the more scarce,” said Stefan Anninger, a Credit Suisse analyst who put a value of about $8.6bn on the Dish spectrum.
benton.org/node/106612 | Financial Times
Recommend this Headline
back to top

VERIZON’S 4G PLANS
[SOURCE: C-Net|News.com, AUTHOR: Roger Cheng]
Verizon Wireless is keeping its foot firmly planted on the pedal when it comes to 4G LTE. Verizon has an aggressive slate of 4G products in the works for next year--including the vast majority of its smartphones. The carrier also plans to make more 4G devices affordable, further driving adoption. That'll be key to Verizon's effort to further extend its edge over the competition. The carrier was largely racing against itself when it came to 4G LTE this year, but 2012 will be different as rivals work quickly to roll out their own next-generation networks. Verizon, for its part, isn't so concerned. Verizon still holds an intimidating lead over its competition when it comes to 4G LTE deployment. The carrier told CNET that as of December 15, the 4G LTE network would cover 200 million people, surpassing its previous target of 185 million. It will also have reached 190 markets, with Youngstown, Ohio, being the latest addition.
benton.org/node/106586 | C-Net|News.com
Recommend this Headline
back to top

TELEVISION

COLLABORATIVE JOURNALISM
[SOURCE: New York Times, AUTHOR: Brian Stelter]
On Dec 6, NBC will announce a series of partnerships between its television stations and nonprofit news organizations. Effectively immediately, NBC’s station in Chicago will work with The Chicago Reporter blog and magazine; its station in Philadelphia, with WHYY, a public radio station, and its community site NewsWorks; and its station in Los Angeles, with KPCC, a public radio station. All 10 of NBC’s stations will at times collaborate with ProPublica, the acclaimed investigative journalism nonprofit organization. The partnerships — which NBC said would help its stations better cover their cities — are a byproduct of Comcast’s successful bid to gain control of NBC Universal, including the 10 television stations owned by NBC. As the government considered the bid last year, Comcast made a number of promises about news coverage, one of them being that it would set up such partnerships with at least five of its stations. The proposal was modeled after the relationship between the NBC station KNSD in San Diego and the local Web site voiceofsandiego.org. The government subsequently put the partnership commitment in writing, and NBC started a casting call of sorts last May. Somewhat surprisingly, the company did not link exclusively with Web sites like voiceofsandiego.org, which is nationally recognized for its highly local journalism. Instead, it also teamed up with radio and print outlets. The Chicago Reporter, for instance, is a blog and bimonthly magazine that focuses on race and poverty issues and specializes in data analysis. WHYY, an affiliate of NPR, operates NewsWorks, a hyperlocal news site.
benton.org/node/106619 | New York Times | B&C
Recommend this Headline
back to top

COST OF FOOTBALL
[SOURCE: Wall Street Journal, AUTHOR: Matthew Futterman]
The National Football League is close to inking an eight-year extension of three media-rights deals that should earn it a total of about $3.2 billion a year from its broadcast partners, a 60% increase over its prior contract. The agreements, which would be struck with News Corp.'s Fox, Comcast Corp.'s NBC and CBS Corp.'s CBS, shows just how valuable NFL rights have become for broadcasters, which view high-profile live sports as the key element to maintaining their value at a time when consumers have an ever-growing number of entertainment options. The deals would last through 2021. The agreements, including deals with Walt Disney Co.'s ESPN and satellite operate DirecTV Group Inc., are expected to lock in total average annual media fees for the NFL of about $6 billion. The expected fee increases are in the range of the NFL's $15.2 billion deal with ESPN for "Monday Night Football." That agreement, which also spans eight years through 2021, included an average annual rights fee increase of $800 million, bringing ESPN's average payment to the league to $1.9 billion per season. The deal also allows ESPN to show games on certain portable devices.
benton.org/node/106614 | Wall Street Journal
Recommend this Headline
back to top

DIVERSITY

TECH AND SENIORS
[SOURCE: Washington Post, AUTHOR: Liddy Manson]
[Commentary] Americans older than 65 now number 40 million — that’s roughly 13 percent of our population. The U.S. Census Bureau says that 11 million are older than 80, and, if the seniors I have encountered are any indication, very few of them are going to learn to use the spectacular, innovative and intuitive devices younger consumers can’t seem to live without. Still, shockingly few companies are providing pragmatic technologies to aid these 40 million people in their lives. In my work, I’m constantly amazed by the antiquated or inadequate technology used to serve the elderly. The “I’ve fallen and I can’t get up” buttons are almost the size of garage door openers, and seniors are supposed to wear them around their necks at all times. What’s more, they are supposed to somehow manage to push them after they’ve fallen and lost consciousness. I fail to see how that is in any way practical. The reason that panic pendants have gained adoption is that they’re simple: When a crisis happens, press the button. The elderly demographic needs innovation that reduces the complex into a minimalist interface that distills, rather than magnifies, information and choices. Today, most laptops come with dozens of preloaded games and gizmos littering the desktop. What would happen if they arrived instead with a start-up screen that looked just like the AOL sign-in page from 1999 but had state-of-the-art technology underneath it? Wouldn’t that get people on Skype, Twitter and Flickr faster?
[Manson is the president of the independent living technology company BeClose]
benton.org/node/106592 | Washington Post
Recommend this Headline
back to top

ELECTIONS AND MEDIA

FOX AND THE ELECTION
[SOURCE: New York Magazine, AUTHOR: Gabriel Sherman]
This chaotic and raucous primary season is demonstrating that Roger Ailes will put the interests of his network ahead of all else. If 2010 was the year that Fox fueled the tea party — culminating in record ratings and the Republican sweep of the House midterms — 2012 is shaping up to be the year that Ailes decided Fox will benefit if the political world recognizes that his network is willing to make GOP candidates sweat in front of their base. Like any good candidate, the network plans to tack toward the center for the general election. It's a complex game Ailes is playing. Conversations with Fox sources and media executives suggest a new strategy: Fox is trying to credibly capture the center without alienating its loyal core of rabid viewers. To this end, the network is flexing its news-gathering muscles in high-profile ways that will capture media attention. Why bother? Partly as a preemptive measure against CNN.
benton.org/node/106580 | New York Magazine
Recommend this Headline
back to top

CAMPAIGNS TURN TO TV
[SOURCE: New York Times, AUTHOR: Jeremy Peters]
After months of relative quiet, the Republican presidential candidates have started to increase their television advertising, bringing a new competitive dynamic to a fight that has largely remained off the commercial airwaves until now. The first sustained barrage of broadcast and cable advertisements in early-voting states is beginning this week in Iowa and New Hampshire, where Mitt Romney, Newt Gingrich, Gov. Rick Perry of Texas and Rep Ron Paul of Texas have all started securing time slots. Over the last several days, the campaigns have told officials at stations and cable providers that they would commit to spending a total of about $1 million on ads. An independent political group backing Mr. Perry has committed close to $400,000 more. Gingrich became the latest to enter the ad skirmish, reserving what his campaign said would be $250,000 worth of airtime on a new 60-second ad in which he declares over images of Americana that “Working together we can and will rebuild the America we love.” The delayed start to the advertising war — which by this point in the last two presidential election cycles was already in full swing — has been one of the more unforeseen aspects of a campaign season that has had all the other trappings of a highly competitive race: wild poll fluctuations, a fight over coveted endorsements and spirited back-and-forth among the candidates. Analysts said that advertising spending has been slow for a variety of reasons, chief among them the abundance of televised debates, which have given candidates the kind of wide exposure they would otherwise achieve only by buying commercials.
benton.org/node/106621 | New York Times
Recommend this Headline
back to top

CAMPAIGNS TURN TO WEB
[SOURCE: Associated Press, AUTHOR: Beth Fouhy]
As they peruse the Internet, voters in New Hampshire and Iowa are probably seeing ads for Mitt Romney and President Barack Obama alongside those for shoes and holiday gifts. The ads will then follow those voters around the Web, popping up on news sites, Google searches and on social networking sites like Facebook. Online advertising, once used primarily as a way to reach young and heavily wired consumers, has emerged as an essential communications tool in the 2012 presidential contest. While few expect Web ads to supplant television commercials anytime soon, strategists say online ads may be the most nimble, efficient and cost-effective way to reach voters. "Online advertising cuts through because of its ability to target. It's unparalleled in any other medium," said Romney's digital director, Zac Moffatt. "TV may be more effective for driving a big message, but per usage, the Internet is more powerful. We are probably one presidential cycle from everyone believing that."
benton.org/node/106620 | Associated Press
Recommend this Headline
back to top

EDUCATION

PERSONALIZED EDUCATION
[SOURCE: New York Times, AUTHOR: Daphne Koller]
[Commentary] Our education system is in a state of crisis. Among developed countries, the United States is 55th in quality rankings of elementary math and science education, 20th in high school completion rate and 27th in the fraction of college students receiving undergraduate degrees in science or engineering. As a society, we can and should invest more money in education. But that is only part of the solution. The high costs of high-quality education put it off limits to large parts of the population, both in the United States and abroad, and threaten the school’s place in society as a whole. We need to significantly reduce those costs while at the same time improving quality. The key to this transition was the use of technology—from crop rotation strategies to GPS-guided farm machinery — which greatly increased productivity. By contrast, our approach to education has remained largely unchanged since the Renaissance: From middle school through college, most teaching is done by an instructor lecturing to a room full of students, only some of them paying attention.
benton.org/node/106617 | New York Times
Recommend this Headline
back to top

AGENDA

TECHNOLOGY FORECAST
[SOURCE: Politico, AUTHOR: Tony Romm]
Despite the partisan gridlock in Washington, some tech and telecom stakeholders realized big victories in 2011 with the passage of patent reform and the Federal Communications Commission’s overhaul of an $8 billion phone subsidy called the Universal Service Fund. But other key policy priorities remain unresolved entering 2012, and the question is whether Congress will be able to take action in the face of budget politics and the election cycle.
Spectrum: Work must be done to relocate federal users and possibly broadcasters from choice airwaves, set up auctions and begin work on the board overseeing the new public safety broadband network.
Cybersecurity: Congress enters 2012 with some momentum behind cybersecurity legislation, but differences between parties and chambers need to be resolved.
Copyright: Congress quickened efforts in late 2011 to boost the protection of copyright holders online by cracking down on piracy. New bills in the House and Senate command big Hollywood support but alarm Web companies, many of which are fighting regulations that could hold them responsible for copyright infringement on their networks. The Internet players have congressional allies, but the push to protect American-made content is bipartisan.
Five key players to watch: NTIA’s Lawrence Strickling, House Subcommittee on Commerce, Manufacturing and Trade Chairman Mary Bono Mack (R-CA), the Department of Homeland Security’s Mark Weatherford, Cary Sherman of the Recording Industry of Association of America, and Michael Petricone, senior vice president of government affairs at the Consumer Electronics Association.
benton.org/node/106608 | Politico
Recommend this Headline
back to top

RESEARCH

MAPPING DIGITAL MEDIA
[SOURCE: Open Society Foundations, AUTHOR: Benjamin Lennett, Jessica Clark, Tom Glaisyer, Sascha Meinrath, Philip Napoli]
The Mapping Digital Media project examines the global opportunities and risks created by the transition from traditional to digital media. Covering 60 countries, the project examines how these changes affect the core democratic service that any media system should provide: news about political, economic, and social affairs. The digital transition has created new opportunities for innovative forms of investigative journalism while undermining the economic foundation that has supported traditional producers of investigative and local public accountability journalism. The net effect remains unclear. In this context, this report calls for policies to promote greater media diversity and protect and promote the public’s voice through the enforcement of open internet rules, the allocation of spectrum to unlicensed and other innovative uses, an expansion of the universal service fund to broadband, and the broadening of entities that can receive it. In order to strengthen commercial media, the newly proposed public interest obligation reporting rules need to be implemented. Increased public and philanthropic funding for both public and community media is needed. In today’s political context, many of these recommendations are a tall order. However, all are necessary if the United States is to develop the diverse media that will support democracy and the information needs of its communities.
benton.org/node/106606 | Open Society Foundations
Recommend this Headline
back to top

FCC REFORM

FCC REFORM
[SOURCE: Forbes, AUTHOR: Larry Downes]
[Commentary] Is the Federal Communications Commission’s expert staff of engineers, economics, and legal experts being manipulated or overruled to support a political agenda? Unfortunately, that appears to be the inescapable explanation for at least some of the agency’s strange behavior. But something deeper and more disturbing is happening. The agency has many opportunities to stray, largely because, when it comes to broadband and the Internet revolution more generally, the FCC has no playbook to work from. The Commission, quite simply, has lost the ability to keep up with the remarkable pace of innovation in communications technology – the same technology whose deployment the FCC was created to facilitate. Congress is partly to blame. It last made significant changes to the agency’s charter in 1996, well before the Internet revolution reshaped the landscape of telephone, radio, television, and mobile communications. Those innovations, which have spawned an almost magical new world of information interactions for U.S. consumers, also render obsolete much of the agency’s governing law. The failure of communications law to keep up—perhaps inevitably, given the high-speed pace of technological innovation–has undermined the agency’s ability to pursue its prime directive to “make available…rapid, efficient, Nation-wide, and world-wide wire and radio communication services with adequate facilities at reasonable charges.” Everything from the FCC’s organization chart to its management paradigm for allocating radio spectrum has mutated into perilous anachronisms.
benton.org/node/106593 | Forbes
Recommend this Headline
back to top

STORIES FROM ABROAD
These Headlines presented in partnership with:

CARRIER IQ INVESTIGATION
[SOURCE: IDG News, AUTHOR: Mikael Ricknäs]
Organizations and regulators across Europe, including Germany, have started looking into the use of Carrier IQ's tracking software, to ensure that mobile phone vendors and operators are not violating users' privacy. The Bavarian State Office for Data Protection has sent a letter to Apple questioning the company about its use of Carrier IQ's software. Thomas Kranig, president of the Bavarian data protection office, said: "The most important thing to me is that users know how their data is used, and if that isn't the case there is a problem." He wouldn't comment on the letter's contents, but expects an answer from Apple within about two weeks. "Normally, Apple employees in Germany have to talk to the U.S. before they can say anything, so we have to wait," said Kranig.
benton.org/node/106576 | IDG News
Recommend this Headline
back to top

SCHMIDT IN EUROPE
[SOURCE: IDG News Service, AUTHOR: Jennifer Baker]
Google's Executive Chairman Eric Schmidt met with the European Union's antitrust commissioner amid rumors that the Internet search giant will be hit with major objections by the European Commission early next year. The EC is currently assessing complaints that Google abused its dominant market position and, disputed reports say, plans "to slam Google with a 400-plus page" statement of objections. The objections would consist of a list of points outlining possible infractions of antitrust laws. The list of objections could be followed by sanctions and fines if Google can't reach an agreement with the EC on its conduct. The global search engine giant faces allegations that it prevents smaller competitors from generating advertising revenue. The EC has spent almost two years trying to determine whether Google's algorithm unfairly penalizes rival companies.
benton.org/node/106575 | IDG News Service | Reuters
Recommend this Headline
back to top

EUROPE’S LOVE-HATE RELATIONSHIP WITH ANTI-PIRACY LAWS
[SOURCE: GigaOm, AUTHOR: Bobbie Johnson]
While America’s online industries continue to deal with the specter of SOPA — a series of laws that rights-holders champion but technologists say are “poorly defined” and risky — things are a little different in Europe. At the highest level, it seems that European officials are trying to enshrine network neutrality and adopt a pro-technology position. Earlier this year commissioner Neelie Kroes said ‘open internet principles’ should be followed. And last week Derrick detailed how the European Court of Justice struck down a Belgian ruling that would have forced ISPs to monitor data.
benton.org/node/106574 | GigaOm
Recommend this Headline
back to top

TV EVERYWHERE
[SOURCE: Broadcasting&Cable, AUTHOR: John Eggerton]
The International Telecommunications Union is encouraging its member countries -- which includes the U.S. -- to capitalize on the transition to terrestrial digital television to make sure TV is more accessible "to everyone, everywhere." "For terrestrial broadcasting services, spectrum availability is sometimes an issue," the report acknowledged. "As the global manager of the radio frequency spectrum, ITU is actively encouraging its 193 Member States to ensure that sufficient spectrum is allocated to support services promoting accessibility for persons with disabilities," ITU said in releasing a new report, "Making TV Accessible." The report talks about the importance of terrestrial broadcasting to immigrant populations and the elderly, and for emergency communications.
benton.org/node/106589 | Broadcasting&Cable
Recommend this Headline
back to top

EU E-BOOK PROBE
[SOURCE: Bloomberg, AUTHOR: Aoife White, Erik Larson]
Apple, the world’s biggest technology company, and five e-book publishers are being investigated by European Union antitrust regulators over deals that may restrict sales across the region. The European Commission in Brussels said it opened a formal probe to examine whether the publishing groups and Apple, maker of the iPad tablet computer, engaged in agreements that would harm competition in the 27-nation EU. The probe will examine deals between Apple and Lagardere’s Hachette Livre, News Corp.’s Harper Collins, CBS Corp.’s Simon & Schuster, Pearson Plc’s Penguin and Verlagsgruppe Georg von Holtzbrinck GmbH. “The commission has concerns, that these practices may breach EU antitrust rules that prohibit cartels and restrictive business practices,” the EU said.
benton.org/node/106609 | Bloomberg
Recommend this Headline
back to top

Benton

Search

Benton

Daily Digest

Analysis

December 2011

FCC to Contest-Conducting Stations: Present Prizes Pronto!

EFF asks mobile device vendors to stop opposing jailbreaking

Carrier IQ: Not so invasive after all

Carrier IQ downplays 2010 patent request

December 6, 2011 (Universal access, open Internet and the marketplace of ideas)

Campaigns Take Ad War to TV After Months of Holding Fire

Campaigns turning more to Web to link with voters