April 2012

MPAA: you can infringe copyright just by embedding a video

The Motion Picture Association of America is squaring off against a coalition of Internet giants and public interest groups over the key question of whether it's possible to directly infringe copyright by embedding an image or video hosted by a third party.

A federal judge took that position last July, prompting a chorus of criticism. Two briefs -- one by Google and Facebook, the other by the Electronic Frontier Foundation and Public Knowledge -- attacked the decision as contrary to past precedents and potentially disruptive to the Internet economy. They asked the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals to overturn it. Last week, the MPAA joined the fray with a brief in support of Illinois federal judge John F. Grady's ruling. It urged the Seventh Circuit not to draw a legal distinction between hosting content and embedding it. In the MPAA's view, both actions should carry the risk of liability for direct copyright infringement. The case arose from a dispute over Internet pornography. MyVidster is a video bookmarking site that allows users to save links to their favorite videos and share them with others. The site supports embedding, so bookmarked videos can be viewed on a myVidster page surrounded by myVidster ads.

Terms of service violations not a crime, appeals court rules

Violating an employer's computer use policy or a website's terms of service is not a hacking crime covered by US statutes, a federal appeals court ruled. The US Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals made the determination in a criminal case filed against a former employee of an executive search firm who convinced some of his former colleagues to use their login credentials to download names and contact data from the company's confidential database.

Federal prosecutors indicted him on charges involving trade-secret theft, mail fraud, and conspiracy, in addition to violations of the 1984 Computer Fraud and Abuse Act (CFAA), which outlaws computer use that "exceeds authorized access." A lower court judge dismissed the CFAA charges on grounds that employees were legally authorized to access the database and only violated the employer's restriction on the way the information could be used. A majority of judges hearing an appeal of that dismissal upheld the decision, arguing that to hold otherwise would criminalize even casual terms of service violations imposed by social networking services, online retailers, and search engines.

Instagram and the Internet’s ‘Secret’ Places

[Commentary] Are the golden days of Instagram over? Instagram is by no means private. Like Twitter, Instagram operates under a strict binary. Either all photos are public and accessible to anyone who follows you, or they are private and visible only to the select few you give permission to view your feed. But the service’s seeming remoteness — the app was limited to smartphone users, and there was no built-in way to copy or repost pictures — lent it a sense of privacy and intimacy, separate from the rest of our online lives. Its ability to let its users delicately toe the line between public and private gave us a little breathing room from the all-pervasiveness of Facebook, and to see it whisked away feels like a tangible loss. The sale of Instagram brings a harsh reality into focus, the realization that the secret rooms or private spaces online where we can share, chit-chat and hang out with our friends are fading. The few safe havens that do exist are quickly being encroached upon or are next on the shopping list for a company like Google, Apple or Facebook. The few proposed alternatives are still in their infancy. And it is clear that our personal data and online interactions are so valuable that they are powering the Web’s future.

Sens. Kerry, Graham urge FCC to save LightSquared

Sens. John Kerry (D-MA) and Lindsey Graham (R-SC) have urged the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to move LightSquared to a new section of airwaves in an effort to save the troubled wireless start-up.

LightSquared has invested billions of dollars in plans for a nationwide 4G network, but the FCC moved to block the network in February over concerns that it would interfere with critical GPS devices. In a letter to FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski the senators say they "understand" the agency's decision to prevent LightSquared from interfering with GPS devices. But the senators said that instead of ruining the company, the FCC should allocate different wireless airwave frequencies, known as spectrum, for LightSquared. "Others have rightly pointed out that this situation raises the question of whether the agency should create receiver standards so that license holders operate only in their licensed spectrum," Sens Kerry and Graham wrote. But they said tougher receiver standards for GPS devices is a "long-term" issue that is of little help to LightSquared, which is reportedly near bankruptcy.

US court narrows reach of computer fraud law

A US appeals court rejected the government's broad reading of a computer fraud law to prosecute workers who steal from company computers, saying it could expose millions of Americans to prosecution for harmless activities at work.

The 9-2 decision by the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco diverges from broader readings of the federal Computer Fraud and Abuse Act by three other federal appeals courts. This raises the chance that the U.S. Supreme Court might decide to try to resolve the issue. The decision, written by Chief Judge Alex Kozinski, upheld a lower court's dismissal of five of 20 counts against David Nosal, a former manager at Korn/Ferry International who left that executive search firm in October 2004.

Second-Screen Sports Options Circumventing TV Rights Pacts

NBCUniversal has committed $4.38 billion to broadcast the next four Olympics. Could ESPN steal those rights by hardly spending a dime? Not a chance. But ESPN has every right to go after the Olympics and every other major sporting event via its second-screen companion viewing apps like the popular GameCast. In fact, as social TV continues to explode, it’s opened up the next battleground in the sports media world, where those exorbitant broadcast rights fees don’t guarantee anything.

“We want to see ESPN as second screen for all sports,” said Eric Johnson, evp of multimedia sales at ESPN. “We know we have a lot of companion [mobile] usage, even when it’s not our event. We want to take co-viewing to the next level.” There’s no doubt that more and more sports fans are sitting in front of the tube with iPads or iPhones in hand—some just texting or tweeting, while others are consuming complementary content via apps or engaging with mini sports fan social nets.

Game of DVRs

It’s been axiomatic for years that Sunday nights are one of the most-watched evenings in television, capable of sustaining a larger-than-average number of shows for every taste. But are Sunday nights getting too crowded? Well, sort of.

Networks that staked the night out early and are using anchor shows to promote new product will probably do fine. “Sunday has been a destination for our viewers for at least 15 years,” said Susan Ennis, HBO’s executive vp of program planning and original programming strategy. “And as with past Sunday shows, if something good is on, people will find it.” Indeed, HBO’s The Sopranos was Sunday-night appointment viewing for years, and it carved out a niche for prestige drama. That may be part of the problem, actually. “Viewers had gotten used to high-quality, unique programming on Sunday nights, largely because of HBO, and that’s where we decided to go for Mad Men,” said Tom Halleen, AMC’s senior vp of programming and scheduling.

New Initiatives to Combat Massive Smartphone & Data Theft

Federal Communications Commission Chairman Julius Genachowski joined major police department chiefs, including New York City Police Commissioner
Raymond E. Kelly, Philadelphia Police Department Commissioner Charles Ramsey, Washington, D.C. Metropolitan Police Chief Cathy Lanier, Washington, D.C. Mayor Vincent Gray, wireless carriers, and Senator Chuck Schumer to announce new initiatives to combat cell phone and data theft.

Chairman Genachowski commended police departments and members of Congress, in particular Senator Schumer, for calling attention to a growing epidemic of robberies targeting smartphone users. Genachowski announced an industry commitment to develop a shared, centralized database that will record unique identifiers of stolen wireless devices to prevent their reuse, thereby making it harder for thieves to resell stolen wireless devices. Legislation, sponsored by Senator Schumer, will ensure that authorities have the tools they need to crack down on efforts to evade this technological solution.

New initiatives by wireless carriers -- initially including AT&T, T-Mobile, Verizon and Sprint who cover 90 percent of US subscribers -- include:

Implement a database to prevent use of stolen smartphones. Within six months, when Americans call their participating wireless provider and report their wireless devices stolen, their provider will block that device from being used again. This system will be rolling out globally using common databases across carriers over the next 18 months.
Encourage users to lock their phones with passwords. Smartphone makers will notify and educate users in the most highly visible ways—through messages on the smartphone itself and through “Quick Start” user guides—about how to use passwords to deter theft and protect their data.
Educate users on lock/locate/wipe applications. Wireless providers will directly inform their customers about how to find and use applications that enable customers to lock/locate/and wipe smartphones remotely.
Public education campaign on how to protect your smartphone and yourself. The wireless industry will launch a campaign, with media buys, to educate consumers on how to protect their smartphones and themselves from crime.
Progress benchmarks and ongoing dialog. The wireless industry will publish quarterly updates and submit them to the FCC on progress on these initiatives.

FCC move to disable stolen smartphones won't stop government data thieves

A new nationwide system for shutting off stolen smartphones might stop scammers from reselling government devices, but it won't necessarily protect the sensitive data inside, some information security experts say.

In Washington -- home of the federal government -- cellphones are stolen in 38 percent of all robberies, according to authorities. But while the national switch-off board might prevent fraud, confidential data stored in phones that are unencrypted still could be compromised, some information security experts say. Several major agencies handling sensitive information have neglected to encrypt their employees' mobile devices, according to the White House's annual report on data security compliance.

Census Director Robert Groves to Leave the Commerce Department This Fall

Census Bureau Director Robert Groves will leave the Department of Commerce this fall. Dr. Groves has led the Census Bureau for almost three years. During that time, his remarkable leadership of the 2010 Census resulted in a historic, successful operation that was completed on time and $1.9 billion under budget.

Dr. Groves helped shape a strategy for planning a more cost-efficient 2020 Census and launched an employee-led operational efficiency program that saved millions of additional taxpayer dollars. He also led a formal reorganization of the Census Bureau, reestablishing the research directorate to spur technical innovation. With the implementation of a corporate hiring and job rotation program, Dr. Groves has worked to expand the breadth of skills among Census staff to effectively lead the Bureau into the 21st century. Further, in a time of tight budgets, Dr. Groves’ management has increased the efficiency of the Census Bureau. His leadership is a prime example of this administration’s commitment to do more with less and be good stewards of taxpayer dollars. Most important, his efforts have greatly improved the quality of data that Census collects, which is crucial for researchers, service providers and policymakers around the country–something I can personally attest to as a frequent consumer of Census data. By bringing quantitative management techniques to the oversight of data collection, Dr. Groves has helped provide high-quality information about the nation’s people and economy.

Benton

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