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April 2012

The DOJ’s half-baked explanation of Apple’s role in the e-book case

[Commentary] The Justice Department is pouncing on statements by Apple like “aikido move” and “trounce Amazon” to prove its case that Apple was the hub of an illegal conspiracy to fix the price of e-books. While the statements sounds serious, the government’s overall explanation of Apple’s role in the conspiracy is far from convincing.

The “aikido” comments appear in a court filing that coincided with a long-expected announcement that the government is suing Apple and book publishers for antitrust violations. The filing instead relies on circumstantial evidence like frequent phone calls and lunches between executives, as well as the publishers’ common concern over Amazon’s $9.99 e-book pricing. While this might or not be evidence of a conspiracy among the publishers, the government’s explanation for why Apple participated is far-fetched at best.

NTIA’s Strickling defends framework protecting online privacy

Assistant Commerce Secretary Lawrence Strickling remains adamant that the Obama administration can partner with industry and public interest stakeholders to create a robust, fair and enforceable framework for protecting Americans' privacy online.

At a Hudson Institute event, Strickling said he understands that misuse and theft of personal data can cause financial risk and identity fraud. But there are harms "that go beyond financial," he said, harms that "are more difficult to quantify" because while they may not leave victims poorer, they leave them "filled with embarrassment ... surprised and shocked." The goal of the privacy process, he said, will be to prevent abridging the Internet's role as "an amazing engine for economic growth" and to "preserve the trust between all actors on the Internet." That trust is fragile, he said, not only for consumers but also to industry because if consumers don't think their information is protected, they will pull their business. He said privacy regulations must be formed "in a way that will protect innovation" because to do otherwise would hurt the Internet economy.

Intellectual Property and the U.S. Economy: Industries in Focus

The US Commerce Department today released a comprehensive report, entitled “,” which finds that intellectual property (IP)-intensive industries support at least 40 million jobs and contribute more than $5 trillion dollars to, or 34.8 percent of, U.S. gross domestic product (GDP).

The report has several important findings, including:

  • IP-intensive industries contributed $5.06 trillion to the U.S. economy or 34.8 percent of GDP in 2010.
  • 40 million jobs, or 27.7 percent of all jobs, were directly or indirectly attributable to the most IP-intensive industries in 2010.
  • Between 2010 and 2011, the economic recovery led to a 1.6 percent increase in direct employment in IP-intensive industries, faster than the 1.0 percent growth in non-IP-intensive industries.
  • Merchandise exports of IP-intensive industries totaled $775 billion in 2010, accounting for 60.7 percent of total U.S. merchandise exports.

How Twitter lets politicians route around the media

The rise of social media has had a number of disruptive effects on the traditional media industry, but one of the most powerful aspects of this “democratization of distribution” is how it allows the sources of news — everyone from celebrities to eye-witnesses at important events — to publish their thoughts and reach a large audience directly, without any help from the mainstream media. Twitter provides politicians with ways of routing around the traditional media channels and getting their message out directly — just as it allowed dissidents in Egypt and elsewhere in the Arab world to express themselves and be heard far and wide. The directness of the medium is transformative.

Cyber czar: Power companies need to watch their backs

President Obama's top cybersecurity official said utilities must pinpoint security gaps in their electricity delivery systems on a regular basis.

The Energy Department, in cooperation with the White House, Homeland Security Department and power companies, this month is expected to test a voluntary reporting model that assesses an individual utility's security posture to identify where safeguards are needed most. As of March 30, the Office of Management and Budget was finalizing information collection procedures for the trial. The nation's energy sector must perform "active risk management performance evaluations, continuous monitoring, exercises and simulations to determine on a regular basis how we're doing," White House cybersecurity coordinator Howard Schmidt told industry and government leaders at McAfee's annual public sector conference.

Can Online Education Be Both Successful and Good for Us?

What would it take to create wildly profitable, culturally effective online education system? How could the system reflect the marketplace demands of an era of technology, and provide tangible resources for students to find and create opportunity? What would that look like?

Chances are it would not look quite like either the online education kingpin, University of Phoenix, or the many startups in the space. But there are elements from each that might make their way into a truly effective online educational system.

Project Glass Takes Social Media by Storm

The online world buzzed last week over what could be a major technological breakthrough in personal devices. On April 4, Google released a video previewing its planned augmented-reality glasses, or "Project Glass."

In the video, an unidentified user starts his day by checking his schedule and monitoring the weather by looking in the glasses. The glasses also inform him of a subway delay, provide walking directions to his destination, and help him with other small tasks that would currently be done through a smartphone. The man ends his day playing the ukulele for a lady friend who he is chatting with through the glasses. The reaction online was both instantaneous and voluminous. Project Glass became the top story on blogs for the week of April 2-6 and the No. 2 story on Twitter according to the New Media Index from the Pew Research Center's Project for Excellence in Journalism. But there were some differences in how bloggers and Twitter users responded. While tech bloggers were largely impressed by the potential of the device, they tempered that excitement with some concern about whether the glasses would work as well as advertised. (Google has not announced a release date for the product.) Twitter users seemed more unabashedly enthusiastic about the technology, sharing jokes and videos about Project Glass.

As Santorum Moves On, So Does the Coverage

When April 10 broke, it looked like Rick Santorum’s Easter and family campaign recess was about to end. Events were scheduled. The Underdog Machine was seemingly about to rev up. What broke instead was news that Santorum’s presidential campaign was over. The announcement would come from the same small town where another campaign ended in 1863 —Gettysburg (PA). Media outlets here were quick to reverse course, with Twitter updates, email alerts, and breaking news bars posted and sent out. Some were also quick to forget the story, including many large-market television websites—stations set to lose a good chunk of the $2.9 million the Mitt Romney campaign was reportedly set to plunk down in the state.

FCC Seeks Further Comment on Foreign Ownership Policies

In the Notice of Proposed Rulemaking in this docket, the Federal Communications Commission sought comment on proposals to revise and simplify the policies and procedures that apply to foreign ownership of common carrier and aeronautical radio station licensees pursuant to section 310(b)(4) of the Communications Act of 1934, as amended (the “Act”).

Although the FCC did not specifically seek comment on its policies and procedures relating to section 310(b)(3), several commenters in this docket have asked the FCC to find that all “indirect” foreign interests in a common carrier licensee should be governed under section 310(b)(4), rather than section 310(b)(3). They are concerned that applying section 310(b)(3) to “indirect” foreign interests in common carrier licensees may limit the flexibility of foreign investors in structuring their investments. Commenters also state that applying section 310(b)(3) to foreign interests in a licensee held through an intervening U.S.-organized entity that does not control the licensee (which commenters term “indirect non-controlling” foreign interests) is inconsistent with the U.S. commitments in the WTO Basic Telecom Agreement. Commenters state that a determination that section 310(b)(3) does not apply in this situation would be one of the “most helpful actions” the FCC could take to further this proceeding’s goals of reducing unnecessary regulatory barriers to foreign investment that can benefit innovation, economic growth, and employment in the United States.

Broadband at the Speed of Light

Submitted by benton on Wed, 04/11/2012 - 14:44

The fastest networks in the nation are built by local governments, a new report by the Institute for Local Self-Reliance and Benton Foundation reveals

Chattanooga, Tennessee, is well known for being the first community with citywide access to a “gig,” or the fastest residential connections to the Internet available nationally. Less known are Bristol, Virginia, and Lafayette, Louisiana – both of which now also offer a gigabit throughout the community.

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