January 9, 2012 (Supreme Court as Defender of Free Speech)
BENTON'S COMMUNICATIONS-RELATED HEADLINES for MONDAY, JANUARY 9, 2012
The New America Foundation hosts “Civil Rights on the Airwaves” today http://benton.org/calendar/2012-01-09/
GOVERNMENT & COMMUNICATIONS
Study Challenges Supreme Court’s Image as Defender of Free Speech
Crying Foul: Supreme Court to Hear Challenge to FCC Cussing Crackdown
Debating Internet Rights - analysis
Code for America opens 'civic accelerator' in San Francisco
INTERNET/BROADBAND
Commerce COMPETES Report: BTOP is Building Infrastructure for the 21st Century - research
Internet Exiles Stores On Main Street
Will Congress hold 'em or fold 'em on Net gambling?
Rep. Barton cheers DOJ online gambling ruling [links to web]
The Race to Nab Web Addresses
A New Challenge for Web Freedom - editorial [links to web]
PRIVACY
Privacy group calls for federal investigation of Facebook's Timeline
ELECTIONS AND MEDIA
In New Hampshire Newspaper, Gingrich Gets Coveted and Ferocious Supporter
Democratic governors launch new media attack ads [links to web]
ADVERTISING
Appellate Court Upholds AdWords Settlement
WIRELESS/SPECTRUM
It’s becoming a mobile-first world - analysis
New site helps consumers track data usage
Sprint: Unlimited still means unlimited
Sprint Re-Org A Nod To Bring-Your-Own-Device And Piles Of Red Ink [links to web]
Deutsche Telekom seeks to boost T-Mobile USA
Forget wireless bandwidth hogs, let’s talk solutions - analysis
JOURNALISM
News Networks Ignore Controversial SOPA Legislation - research
Big Three Newscasts Are Changing the State of Play
In New Hampshire Newspaper, Gingrich Gets Coveted and Ferocious Supporter
BROADCASTING
Crying Foul: Supreme Court to Hear Challenge to FCC Cussing Crackdown
Big Three Newscasts Are Changing the State of Play
Broadcast Station Totals 2011 - research [links to web]
HEALTH
12 Months of Health Information Technology: A Year of Momentous Progress - press release [links to web]
EVENTS
A Tech Show Loses Clout as Industry Shifts
STORIES FROM ABROAD
Internet Activism Increases in Russia
Beijing Calling: The Trouble With China's New English-Language News Network [links to web]
London volunteers warned over social media use [links to web]
MORE ONLINE
Fred Upton's 2010 challenger promises answer on rematch by Jan. 17 [links to web]
NBC Announces Musical Theater Program For Schools Needing Arts Education [links to web]
GOVERNMENT & COMMUNICATIONS
THE ROBERTS COURT AND FREE SPEECH
[SOURCE: New York Times, AUTHOR: Adam Liptak]
The Supreme Court led by Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr., the conventional wisdom goes, is exceptionally supportive of free speech. Leading scholars and practitioners have called the Roberts court the most pro-First Amendment court in American history. A recent study challenges that conclusion. It says that a comprehensive look at data from 1953 to 2011 tells a different story, one showing that the court is hearing fewer First Amendment cases and is ruling in favor of free speech at a lower rate than any of the courts led by the three previous chief justices. The study arrives as the Supreme Court prepares to consider two major First Amendment cases. On Jan 10, the court will hear arguments in Federal Communications Commission v. Fox Television Stations, No. 10-1293, which asks whether the First Amendment allows the government to regulate vulgarity in broadcast programming. Next month, the court will consider United States v. Alvarez, No. 11-210, which asks whether the government can make it a crime to lie about receiving military decorations. In neither case is a ruling in favor of the free speech argument assured. Indeed, how the court decides the cases will help determine whether the court’s reputation as a fierce protector of the First Amendment is deserved.
benton.org/node/109893 | New York Times
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SUPREME COURT TO HEAR FCC CHALLENGE
[SOURCE: Wall Street Journal, AUTHOR: Amy Schatz]
Should broadcasters be able to air whatever the &#%@ they want? Nine years after Cher used a swear word during a live awards show, the U.S. Supreme Court is finally addressing the constitutional issues behind that question. On Jan 10, the court will consider whether the Federal Communications Commission's efforts to police the U.S. airwaves for dirty words and images violate broadcasters' right to free speech and due process. The court's decision, expected by June, could affect the broadcast-television industry, which has been losing viewers to cable channels, Internet video and other forms of entertainment that by law can't be touched by the FCC's indecency cops. If the court sides with broadcasters, it might not just free them from the threat of multimillion-dollar indecency fines, but also lead to some networks experimenting with racier content or language that is commonplace on cable-channel rivals such as AMC or FX, industry officials say. The cases before the high court involve Walt Disney Co.'s ABC and News Corp.'s Fox networks. News Corp. also owns The Wall Street Journal.
benton.org/node/109903 | Wall Street Journal
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DEBATING INTERNET RIGHTS
[SOURCE: Benton Foundation, AUTHOR: Kevin Taglang]
On January 5, the New York Times published an op-ed by Vint Cerf, a co-creator of the TCP/IP standard the Internet is built on and now a Google employee. Cerf’s headline -- Internet Access Is Not a Human Right. Back in June, a lengthy report released by the United Nations argued that disconnecting individuals from the Internet is a violation of human rights and goes against international law.
http://benton.org/node/109848 | Benton Foundation | The Atlantic
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CODE FOR AMERICA
[SOURCE: San Francisco Chronicle, AUTHOR: James Temple]
[Commentary] The nonprofit Code for America plans to open a first-of-its-kind "civic accelerator" in San Francisco, a program designed to house, mentor and fund startups focused on using technology to improve government efficiency. Mayor Ed Lee announced the initiative, highlighting a San Francisco partnership aimed at streamlining government processes, such as small-business applications or locating property records. The details are still being worked out, but Code for America will work with the city to identify departments in particular need of new online tools. Code for America will sponsor so-called hackathons this spring and summer to find and fund entrepreneurs building the most promising solutions.
benton.org/node/109900 | San Francisco Chronicle
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INTERNET/BROADBAND
BTOP IN THE COMPETES REPORT
[SOURCE: National Telecommunications and Information Administration]
The Department of Commerce released “The Competitiveness and Innovative Capacity of the United States.” Part of the report explores the federal role in providing a 21st century infrastructure and highlights Administration efforts already underway, including NTIA’s BTOP program, which is expanding broadband access and adoption in communities across the country. These projects are already having a positive impact on the lives of Americans: new public computer centers are open, free computer classes and job-trainings are underway, and infrastructure projects are under construction. Already, grantees in NTIA’s BTOP program say that they have deployed or upgraded more than 29,000 miles of broadband infrastructure and installed more than 24,000 workstations in public computer centers. In the last quarter, grantees provided more than 755,000 hours of training to around 220,000 participants. And grantees say that their programs have already led to a total of more than 230,000 new broadband subscribers.
Broadcasting&Cable emphasizes that the report says “techniques such as improvements in spectrum efficiency, increases in network density through cell site construction, and offloading traffic to wired networks will not be sufficient to allow capacity to keep up with demand," though it added that being more efficient with spectrum "can" be part of the solution. In other words, the report said, wireless carriers won't be able to handle demand unless they have access to "additional parts of the spectrum." It called "vital" the Federal Communications Commission's planned reallocation of broadcast spectrum -- currently awaiting congressional approval of the ability to pay broadcasters to exit -- and indicated it would be transferring the spectrum to "more efficient use."
benton.org/node/109877 | National Telecommunications and Information Administration | The Hill | NTIA | read the report | read more from Dept of Commerce |
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INTERNET AND MAIN STREET
[SOURCE: National Public Radio, AUTHOR: Alan Greenblatt]
Open any children's book with a scene set downtown and you'll see a picture of basically the same row of shops. There's a bookstore, a pharmacy, a florist, a post office and a bank, and maybe a bakery where the kids can hope for a free cookie. Nearly all those businesses are under threat from the Internet. There's nothing new about this. Bookstores have been going under for a couple of decades now. But reports that former corporate giant Eastman Kodak will seek bankruptcy protection serve as a reminder that a multitude of products and just about every kind of transaction is now available digitally. Kodak's fall was accompanied by news that 60-year-old camera stores and record stores open longer than 30 years were going out of business as well, all citing pressure from the Internet. There's no doubt that the mix of shops and services that make up the spines of commercial strips and strip malls all across America will continue to change. The question now is what type of Main Street business will come under threat next.
benton.org/node/109858 | National Public Radio | NPR - Kodak
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ONLINE GAMBLING BILLS
[SOURCE: Politico, AUTHOR: David Saleh Rauf]
The gambling lobby has a message for Congress as states line up to cash in on a White House ruling that in-state online lotteries and poker won’t violate a federal Internet betting ban: Deal now or get stuck with a bad hand. A Justice Department opinion issued before Christmas has created a now-or-never dynamic on the Hill for lawmakers and lobbyists pushing for a federal Internet poker law as state and regional officials move ahead with online gambling plans. Come April, DC plans to offer online poker and blackjack. Illinois intends to be selling lottery tickets on the Web by then, too. Meanwhile, Gov. Chris Christie (R-NJ) was quoted this week saying his state could be the “epicenter” of Internet betting. “The writing is on the wall. The states are going to do this,” said John Pappas, executive director of the Poker Players Alliance. “The first three or four months of the year is going to be pretty important for Congress to act.” All bets are on some key lawmakers — some backed by Las Vegas casinos — trying to do an end-run around the DOJ opinion by pre-empting it with a federal law. That could set up a showdown pitting states vs. the feds.
benton.org/node/109884 | Politico
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NEW WEB ADDRESSES
[SOURCE: Wall Street Journal, AUTHOR: Sarah Needleman]
This week will bring the long-awaited opening up of a new realm of Web addresses in which just about any word—such as dot-furniture or dot-arcticvacations—can serve as a domain name. And to some, that spells opportunity. Beginning Jan 12, the organization that oversees the Internet will start accepting applications to manage new top-level domains -- the names that appear at the end of website addresses, like dot-com and dot-net. It will be the first time in more than a decade that anyone can apply for the rights to control a slice of the broader Web marketplace, as opposed to just domains for specific types of Internet users. Only a few options, such as dot-jobs for sites catering to job seekers, have been available more recently. Allowing a wider variety of domains to exist will create more choice on the Internet and potentially spur innovation, according to the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers, or Icann, the nonprofit that regulates the world's Internet domain names.
benton.org/node/109904 | Wall Street Journal
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PRIVACY
FACEBOOK’S TIMELINE AND PRIVACY
[SOURCE: The Hill, AUTHOR: Brendan Sasso]
The Electronic Privacy Information Center (EPIC) is urging the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) to investigate whether Facebook's new "Timeline" feature is legal. "With Timeline, Facebook has once again taken control over the user's data from the user and has now made information that was essentially archived and inaccessible widely available without the consent of the user," EPIC wrote in a letter to the FTC, dated Dec. 27. Facebook's Timeline feature, which launched last month, replaces users' profiles with a log of information dating back to their birth. Users can still control what information they share, but Timeline makes it much easier to access even long-forgotten posts.
EPIC says Timeline might violate a settlement that Facebook reached with the FTC last year. "With Timeline, Facebook is increasing the exposure of users' personal information without seeking their consent," EPIC wrote. But a Facebook spokesman argued Timeline does not change any privacy settings.
benton.org/node/109890 | Hill, The
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ADVERTISING
ADWORDS SETTLEMENT
[SOURCE: MediaPost, AUTHOR: Wendy Davis]
The 9th Circuit Court of Appeals has upheld a $20 million settlement of a class-action lawsuit against Google by AdWords marketers. The settlement requires Google to give some search marketers credits that can be applied to their ad campaigns. The lawyers who brought the suit behalf of search marketers will receive up to $5 million. The long-running lawsuit, which dates to 2005, centered on allegations that Google served more ads than marketers had agreed to pay for. Two advertisers -- Minnesota printing company CLRB Hanson Industries and New Jersey resident Howard Stern (no relation to the radio personality) -- alleged in the lawsuit that Google violated the AdWords agreement by charging marketers up to 120% of their maximum daily budget. Before settling the case, Google filed court papers stating that it sometimes charged up to 120% of the daily budgets, but only to make up for days when it under-delivered ads. After a settlement was announced, the law firm Weiss & Associates -- which also used AdWords -- challenged the deal. The firm, which alleged that it was overcharged $135,000 by Google, argued that the settlement wasn't fair or reasonable. The law firm argued to the 9th Circuit that $20 million was inadequate because that figure “appears to be significantly less than the potential recovery from litigation.” But the 9th Circuit rejected those arguments this week. “The district court did not clearly abuse its discretion in approving the settlement,” the 9th Circuit said in its two-page order.
benton.org/node/109887 | MediaPost
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WIRELESS/SPECTRUM
MOBILE-FIRST WORLD
[SOURCE: GigaOm, AUTHOR: Ryan Kim]
In the last day, I’ve gotten two notes from start-ups that began on the web but have seen their businesses transformed by mobile, as users increasingly shift their consumption to mobile apps and browsers. This might seem obvious in a world in which services like Twitter and Pandora now get most of their traffic from mobile. But it bears highlighting because the trend is happening across all sorts of apps and websites and that has implications for developers, publishers and businesses, who must now consider what a mobile-first world looks like. There is still an obvious need for a traditional website but the shifting habits of consumption mean you can’t make mobile an afterthought. People notice if you’re not optimizing for mobile and ignoring mobile users and their experiences can cost publishers. Google quoted a study last year that found that 61 percent of mobile users won’t return to a site if they have trouble accessing it from their phone.
benton.org/node/109863 | GigaOm
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WHATISMYCAP
[SOURCE: The Hill, AUTHOR: Brendan Sasso]
Nonprofit groups Public Knowledge, Mozilla Foundation and the Open Source Democracy Foundation launched a website to help consumers stay under their mobile data usage caps. All of the major carriers except Sprint impose fees if consumers exceed their plan's monthly data limits. The website, whatismycap.org, allows users to select their wireless carrier and then determine how many hours of video they can watch before triggering the extra fees. "At top advertised speeds, consumers can use up an entire month’s worth of data in well under an hour," Michael Weinberg, Public Knowledge staff attorney said. "It also means that using your device in ways your carrier touts in advertising will quickly drive you into expensive overcharge territory. This new site allows consumers to understand what their caps really mean and urge the FCC to ask hard questions about why the caps exist."
benton.org/node/109871 | Hill, The | B&C
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IS SPRINT’S UNLIMITED PLAN UNLIMITED?
[SOURCE: GigaOm, AUTHOR: Kevin Fitchard]
Sprint is walking back comments from CEO Dan Hesse on Jan 5 about Sprint ‘throttling’ data speeds of its heaviest data users even though they subscribe to unlimited plans. At a Citigroup conference, Hesse clearly stated that Sprint was reining in bandwidth for its greediest smartphone customers, who Hesse described as abusing the network. But Sprint executive Bill White told CNET that Hesse was referring only to roaming customers off of Sprint’s primary networks – a policy that has been in place for some time. For any smartphone on Sprint’s 3G or 4G networks, unlimited still means unlimited, White said. Like all operators, Sprint doesn’t run networks everywhere it offers service. It contracts out with dozens of smaller regional carriers to provide coverage in smaller towns and rural highways, allowing it to focus on cities and major traffic corridors. Those roaming agreements aren’t free, though. Sprint has to pay those operators for every MB its customers consume, leading it to cap data out-of-network at 300 MB per month. Sprint also places caps and use restrictions on its data modem plans, hotspot features in smartphones, and on its Virgin Mobile and Boost Mobile prepaid services. Sprint, however, has kept its smartphone unlimited plans restriction free because of the competitive advantage they give it over its competitors, all of whom cap or throttle data.
benton.org/node/109864 | GigaOm
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DT’S NEXT MOVE WITH T-MOBILE
[SOURCE: Financial Times, AUTHOR: Daniel Thomas, Anousha Sakoui, Paul Taylor]
Deutsche Telekom could raise billions of dollars for the T-Mobile USA business by issuing bonds and selling broadcast towers to bolster the independence of the US unit after failing to sell it to AT&T last month. The company has held preliminary talks with bankers about options to keep the US’s fourth-largest mobile operator competitive in the US market, where it is trailing behind far larger groups such as Verizon and AT&T, as well as Sprint Nextel, which sells the latest Apple smartphones. Deutsche Telekom has admitted that its US arm risks being left stranded with outdated technology as its rivals move to the next generation of mobile services able to carry the increased data that is being demanded by US consumers. René Obermann, Deutsche Telekom’s chief executive, said in the wake of the deal’s collapse that the company had not come up with a plan to launch a competitive level of services using the emerging 4G technology that is set to lead the US telecoms market. Deutsche Telekom faces the prospect of being marginalized since it does not have the bandwidth necessary to carry next-generation, or LTE, services such as high-speed mobile TV and gaming. Deutsche Telekom is expected to announce a strategic update after its results in February. Sources familiar with the company said that one option discussed has been to raise funds for the US business by means of bond issuance. One source said that a fundraising would show Deutsche Telekom shareholders – who have become accustomed to high dividend payments but who will now have to forgo a windfall from the US – that T-Mobile USA would operate independently of its parent.
benton.org/node/109901 | Financial Times
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WIRELESS SOLUTIONS
[SOURCE: GigaOm, AUTHOR: Stacey Higginbotham]
News about wireless bandwidth hogs, new session-based pricing from Leap Wireless and the appearance of a new web site aimed at helping consumers understand their data caps and the limits those impose, all point to a growing problem in the wireless industry. And that problem isn’t congestion. Rather, unless the industry figures out how to give people connectivity at a reasonable costs, wireless will always be luxury access technology and ubiquitous connectivity will be a pipe dream. And the tension between what consumers want from their wireless networks and what operators want to give them is leading to stories that harp on congestion, new pricing models and consumer advocacy around high-priced plans. But it’s time to stop trying to address that tension solely with new types of rate plans, and customer education. If we want wireless data to become ubiquitous and deliver on the promise of connectivity, the industry needs to address its costs and educate consumers on those costs in a transparent way.
benton.org/node/109898 | GigaOm
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JOURNALISM
SOPA COVERAGE
[SOURCE: Media Matters for America, AUTHOR: Ben Dimiero]
The Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA) has received virtually no coverage from major American television news outlets during their evening newscasts and opinion programming. The parent companies of most of these networks, as well as two of the networks themselves, are listed as official "supporters" of this legislation on the U.S. House of Representatives' website. To their credit, the online arms of most of these news outlets have posted regular articles about the fight over the legislation, but their primetime TV broadcasts remain mostly silent.
Over the past few months, debate over SOPA and its companion Senate bill, the PROTECT IP Act (also known as PIPA) has boiled over online. Numerous tech writers, experts, and companies have spoken out against the bills, warning that while they ostensibly target online piracy and "rogue" foreign websites hosting pirated copyrighted content, the bills could severely limit internet freedom and innovation.
benton.org/node/109861 | Media Matters for America
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BIG THREE HAVE NEVER BEEN SO DIFFERENT
[SOURCE: New York Times, AUTHOR: Brian Stelter]
There was a time when each of the Big Three nightly newscasts on American television tended to open with the same story — the latest campaign speech, a new government study or perhaps a big snowstorm. That time is gone. Influenced by cable and the Internet, the nightly newscasts are shaking up conventions that stretch back 50 years, seeking to distinguish themselves by picking different stories and placing them in different orders. On any given night, one might lead with the Republican campaign, another with extreme weather and the third with an exclusive interview. “The three evening newscasts have become more different from one another than at any time I can remember,” said Bill Wheatley, who worked at NBC News for 30 years and now teaches at Columbia. The differences provide a stark illustration of the state of the news media — much more fragmented than ever, but also arguably more creative.
benton.org/node/109911 | New York Times
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NEW HAMPSHIRE’S PRIMARY AND THE UNION LEADER
[SOURCE: New York Times, AUTHOR: Jeremy Peters]
Newt Gingrich may not have much money to spend on advertising in New Hampshire. But he does have Joseph W. McQuaid, the publisher of New Hampshire’s largest newspaper, The Union Leader. And McQuaid will happily spill barrel after barrel of ink trying to tear every other candidate down. “Our job is to say, ‘Here’s our guy. Here’s why he’s the best, and why all the others are the worst,’ ” Mr. McQuaid said in a recent interview. He had just finished a front-page editorial for Sunday’s paper that ripped into Mitt Romney, who leads Mr. Gingrich by double digits in the polls. “Romney may be the WORST candidate,” he wrote. “There’s no reason to be subtle,” McQuaid said. McQuaid and his newspaper are the Siberian tigers of political journalism: ferocious and endangered. At a time when editorials and newspapers themselves are playing a smaller role in American politics, the brash and biting Union Leader still commands the attention and respect of the country’s most prominent politicians. Every four years, they flatter and pay homage to the newspaper in hope that they can secure what remains one of the most coveted endorsements of the presidential election.
benton.org/node/109910 | New York Times
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EVENTS
NO NEWS FROM CES?
[SOURCE: New York Times, AUTHOR: Nick Wingfield]
The International Consumer Electronics Show, which will open on Jan 10 in Las Vegas, is impossible to ignore. It will smother the city’s gigantic convention center with gadgets and those who make and promote them; more than 140,000 people are expected to attend for a frenzy of old-fashioned social networking with other members of the tech set. But once again, the show is unlikely to be where any blockbuster products of 2012 are introduced. Many of the hottest new gadgets in recent years — including Apple’s iPad and iPhone, Microsoft’s Kinect and Amazon’s Kindle Fire — were first announced at other events, even though C.E.S. remains the world’s biggest consumer technology convention. This reflects the changing nature of the technology industry — particularly the fact that the most important developments in the electronics business are no longer coming from the makers of television sets and stereos that have been most closely identified with the show since it started in 1967. And as the industry and its trade show have grown, the need for buzz and branding has become more acute. The most innovative players — like Apple and Amazon — need to stand out from the crowd and so have chosen to introduce their products at smaller, more narrowly defined conferences and company-only events.
benton.org/node/109907 | New York Times
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STORIES FROM ABROAD
INTERNET ACTIVISM IN RUSSIA
[SOURCE: Wall Street Journal, AUTHOR: Alexander Kolyandr]
The recent opposition rallies in Moscow, like their counterparts in the Arab world last year, grew suddenly and unexpectedly from chatter over social networks. But they also showed the power of the Internet to raise money for anti-Kremlin causes. Four days after an appeal went out on Facebook and other networks, organizers had raised four million rubles, about $129,000, through a Russian online-payment system. Not much by Western standards, it was a princely sum for Russia, more than enough to finance what on Dec. 24 became the country's largest antigovernment demonstration in two decades. The money paid for a stage, a sound system, video screens and portable toilets, leaving a one-million-ruble surplus to spend on the next challenge to Prime Minister Vladimir Putin -- a planned march in Moscow on Feb. 4, a month before he runs in presidential elections.
benton.org/node/109897 | Wall Street Journal
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