April 2012

Testifying, Murdoch Cites a ‘Cover-Up’ in Phone Hacking

Rupert Murdoch criticized many different people for many different things in a morning of scrappy and often blunt testimony before a judicial panel in London. But in the most explosive criticism of all, he unexpectedly accused at least one former employee of presiding over a “cover-up” of phone hacking and other dubious practices at The News of the World tabloid.

“I do blame one or two people,” he said, adding that he did not want to name them because “for all I know they may be arrested,” and then proceeded to make it fairly obvious whom he meant, anyway. One was the now-defunct newspaper’s longtime chief lawyer, Tom Crone; the other appeared to be Colin Myler, its final editor. Murdoch said that as the newspaper’s proprietor, he bore ultimate responsibility for the hacking scandal that spurred him to shut The News of the World down last summer. But he said he had been “shielded” from the truth by his obfuscating employees.

OFCOM scrutiny raises stakes for News Corp investors

Asked by Robert Jay, counsel to the Leveson inquiry, whether he ever told his newspaper editors to pursue stories which promoted his other business interests, Rupert Murdoch was quick with his reply: “I don’t have any other business interests.” The remark might have surprised investors in News Corp, a $48 billion collection of television channels and satellite broadcasters in which newspapers now play a marginal financial role. Print went from 90 percent of News Corp’s operating income in 1980 to 11 percent in 2010. It was one exchange in a morning of back-and-forth that left Murdoch looking tired and testy. But behind the theatre lay serious questions about the impact of this week’s revelations on far bigger business interests than Fleet Street’s disgraced tabloids.

OFCOM escalates probe into BSkyB

Rupert Murdoch faces a growing threat to his British media business, after the UK communications regulator stepped up its probe into whether British Sky Broadcasting was a “fit and proper” owner of a broadcasting license.

Ofcom has ordered News Corp’s UK newspaper subsidiary to provide it with documents relating to civil litigation stemming from the long-running phone hacking scandal at the group. Until now the regulator has only been “monitoring” publicly available evidence relating to the scandal that has rocked the British media, police and political establishment. Confirmation of OFCOM’s switch to an “evidence-gathering phase”, originally reported by the Financial Times, came as Mr Murdoch faced tough questioning during a second day of evidence under oath at a judicial inquiry into the behavior of the UK press.

For the Love of the Technology, the Bay Area Is Reinventing Baseball

A decade ago, as portrayed in the book and movie “Moneyball,” the Athletics put a new spin on the game of baseball through statistics and data. A new generation of baseball executives huddled around computers in Oakland and threw out century-old scouting traditions, relying instead on technology to select undervalued players in the 2002 Major League Baseball draft. By tapping into the tech corridors of Silicon Valley, the Bay Area teams and their partners are once again transforming the game, from the ticket booth to the locker room to the concession stands. Baseball may have been invented elsewhere, but it is being reinvented in the Bay Area.

When We Wage Cyberwar, the Whole Web Suffers

[Commentary] Responding to concerns voiced by privacy advocates, conservative groups and hundreds of thousands of Americans, the House Intelligence Committee has revised parts of the Cyber Intelligence Sharing and Protection Act, also known as CISPA. Those provisions would have allowed companies to disclose sensitive information to the government without being accountable to U.S. privacy laws.

But the real problem with CISPA and similar bills now pending in the Senate is much deeper: This flurry of legislation signals that elements of our government want to wage unconstrained war on other nations in cyberspace, no matter what the consequences may be to humanity. The arms race being driven by this desire is threatening Internet freedom here and abroad. Our openness has always carried some risks to the U.S. We can be attacked. We should always prefer principled engagement - - even with our enemies -- to bellicosity driven by fear, particularly when our own citizens will otherwise be deeply harmed. We don’t have enough guns to direct at everyone around the world. We might as well communicate.

[Crawford is a visiting professor at the Harvard Kennedy School of Government and Harvard Law School. She is a former special assistant to President Barack Obama for science, technology and innovation policy.]

White House rejects Boehner's claim Obama wants to control the Internet

An administration official slammed House Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) after he claimed President Obama wants to "control the Internet." "The administration wants the U.S. government to have less access to information not an unlimited amount as the House Republican leadership and backers of [the Cyber Intelligence Sharing and Protection Act] propose," the official said in a statement. "CISPA would trample the privacy and consumer rights of our citizens while leaving our critical infrastructure vulnerable." "We need Congress to address this critical national and economic security challenge while respecting the values of freedom, privacy, openness, and innovation so fundamental to our nation," the official said.

House approves cybersecurity bill over Obama veto threat

The House approved controversial cybersecurity legislation that the Obama Administration has threatened to veto. Members approved the Cyber Intelligence Sharing and Protection Act (CISPA), HR 3523, in a 248-168 vote that split both parties somewhat.

The bill was supported by 42 Democrats, while 28 Republicans opposed it. The House approved the bill after making a number of changes aimed at limiting the way the government could use the information that companies provide. CISPA would make it easier for companies to share information with the government about the threats facing their networks. Supporters — Republicans and Democrats alike — said the proposal is a reasonable compromise between the need for privacy and security. Republicans did allow several amendments to be considered that narrowed the scope of the bill, including proposals from members of both parties.

Here’s a look at approved amendments:

Mike Pompeo (R-KS), to clarify the bill's liability provision that the use of cybersecurity systems is the use of these systems to obtain cyber threat information. Accepted voice vote.
Mike Rogers (R-MI), to clarify that regulatory information already required to be provided remains subject to FOIA requests, as under current law. Passed 412-0.
Ben Quayle (R-AZ), to limit the use of shared cyber threat information for cybersecurity, investigation of related crimes, protection of people from danger, protection of minors from child pornography, and protection of U.S. national security. Passed 410-3.
Justin Amash (R-MI), to prohibit the federal government from using library records, firearms sales records, and tax returns from private entities under the bill. Passed 415-0.
Mick Mulvaney (R-SC), to authorize the federal government to create reasonable procedures to protect privacy and civil liberties, consistent with the need for cybersecurity. Passed 416-0.
Jeff Flake (R-AZ), to require the development of a list of all federal agencies receiving information about cyber threats. Accepted voice vote.
Mike Pompeo (R-KS), to clarify that nothing in the bill would alter existing authorities or provide new authority to federal agencies to install or use cybersecurity systems on private sector networks. Accepted voice vote.
Rob Woodall (R-GA), to add language stating that entities who choose not to participate in the voluntary information sharing authorized by the bill are not subject to new liabilities. Accepted voice vote.
Bob Goodlatte (R-VA), narrowing the definitions on what information may be identified, obtained and shared. Passed 414-1.
Michael Turner (R-OH), to make a technical correction to definitions in the bill. Accepted voice vote.
Mick Mulvaney (R-SC), to sunset the provisions of the bill five years after enactment. Passed 413-3.

House approves second cybersecurity bill

The House approved a second cybersecurity bill, the Federal Information Security Amendments Act (HR 4257).

The bill is aimed at updating the federal government's responsibility to manage its information systems so as to best thwart cyber threats. But according to Oversight and Government Reform Committee Chairman Darrell Issa (R-CA), the current law on the books, the Federal Information Security Management Act (FISMA), is not enough. The bill was approved by unanimous consent after being brought up under a suspension of House rules. Suspension bills are usually non-controversial, and must pass by a two-thirds majority vote.

Why Mobile Data Is Such a Cash Cow for Carriers

Verizon and AT&T reported their quarterly earnings in the last week, and they told nearly identical stories: Both are making a lot of money just from mobile data — the fees customers pay to reach the Internet over their networks. Some numbers shared by AT&T make it clear why.

Ralph de la Vega, chief executive of AT&T Mobility, said during Tuesday’s earnings call that about 60 percent of smartphone customers were paying for tiered data plans, and of those, 70 percent were choosing the higher-priced plans. For its tiered data plans, AT&T charges $20 for 300 megabytes of data, $30 for three gigabytes or $50 for five. (A gigabyte is 1,000 megabytes). Verizon’s data plans are similar: $30 for two GB, $50 for five GB or $80 for 10 GB. de la Vega’s statement suggests that the majority of people on AT&T’s tiered plans are paying at least $30 for three GB, or more. And it turns out that three GB is far more than most people use. A recent Cisco study showed that the average amount of data used per smartphone last year was 150 MB. And this year, Cisco predicts that 100 million smartphones will surpass just 1 GB of usage. An estimated 500 million smartphones shipped in 2011.

Rep. Lofgren pleased by SOPA's demise, but still wants action on piracy

While Rep. Zoe Lofgren (D-CA) couldn't be more pleased about the protests that derailed the Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA) in January, she sees serious problems with current efforts to protect intellectual property.

Rep Lofgren said critics who claim Google orchestrated the bill's demise to protect its business interests are getting it wrong. "It wasn't Google" who stopped the anti-piracy bill, she said. "It was the 14 million people who spoke up.” Putting SOPA aside, Rep Lofgren did say content creators have legitimate concerns about content theft that need to be addressed. "We need to be partners in a [next-generation] solution," she said.

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