May 2012

COMPANY NEWS

FACEBOOK REALITY CHECK
[SOURCE: GigaOm, AUTHOR: Ki Mae Heussner]
Once protected by the hype bubble, Facebook is getting a hard lesson in the realities of the public markets. Despite the massive build-up to its IPO, the market response has been more tepid than expected. “We are seeing the stock hit reality like a brick wall,” said GreenCrest Capital senior managing analyst Anupam Palit. Facebook’s scale and engagement might have pushed its valuation to $100 billion, but, like every other public company it’s not immune to the larger economic trends. Palit said he expected Facebook’s first day to be less dramatic than that of its public tech peers (like LinkedIn, Pandora and Groupon, which all saw a first-day pop of at least 30 percent), but added that today was “definitely more muted” than anticipated. Still, he said that Facebook’s performance was generally positive considering that “the guys who have flown really high on their IPO have tumbled in subsequent weeks.” Also, while first-day retail interest in other tech stocks had been essentially nonexistent, Palit said, retail buyers were much more interested in Facebook.
benton.org/node/123674 | GigaOm
Recommend this Headline
back to top

FACEBOOK’S EPIC FAIL
[SOURCE: Los Angeles Times, AUTHOR: Michael Hiltzik]
[Commentary] Maybe the dumb money wasn’t so dumb this time. The stock market did turn out to be a voting machine on Facebook and the vote was thumbs-down on flapdoodle. Market pros will be debating the lessons to be drawn from the disastrous first-day trading in Facebook’s initial public offering. But one lesson is that when given enough information, investors can find their way through fogbanks of hype. When a stock offering is as closely followed as Facebook’s, it’s much more likely that the shares will be fully valued than that they’ll harbor hidden treasure. Facebook went public at $38 a share, and after a day of epically heavy trading, closed at $38.23, for a gain of 0.61%. Not quite the huge pop market mavens were predicting. The expected pattern is that public investors — “dumb money” in Wall Street regard — react more to hype than to fundamentals. That’s why savvy Wall Street traders take it as a bearish signal when small investors pile into a stock or the stock market. This time the expected frenzy didn’t materialize.
benton.org/node/123672 | Los Angeles Times
Recommend this Headline
back to top

FACEBOOK BUYS KARMS
[SOURCE: New York Times, AUTHOR: Nick Bilton]
Facebook bought Karma, a beautifully designed mobile social gift-giving app that allows people to send real gifts. Employees of Karma, led by its co-founders, Lee Linden and Ben Lewis, would join Facebook and would continue to expand the service. The terms of the acquisition were not disclosed by Facebook or Karma, but it appears that this one is more than just a talent acquisition. Facebook is on the prowl for anything that enhances its presence on mobile devices, and the app is popular because it works.
benton.org/node/123669 | New York Times | GigaOm
Recommend this Headline
back to top

FACEBOOK WINS OREGON TAX BREAK
[SOURCE: New York Times, AUTHOR: Quentin Hardy]
Governor John Kitzhaber (D-OR) was scheduled to sign into law a so-called “Facebook bill” that assesses big data centers in Oregon for taxes on their local value, not on intangible assets like their national brand. The signing will take place at Facebook’s 333,400 square foot data center, located in Prineville (OR). With this bill in place, Facebook is likely to build a second big data center at the site, which is a showcase for the company. It is Facebook’s marquee “green” data center, using innovative cooling techniques to conserve energy. More important, the big public platform enables Facebook to push its Open Data Center Alliance strategy. By open sourcing computer technology in the data center, Facebook can to drive down its computing costs.
benton.org/node/123667 | New York Times
Recommend this Headline
back to top

FACEBOOK’S FRIENDS
[SOURCE: New York Times, AUTHOR: Somini Sengupta]
For nearly five years, Facebook has quietly and deftly befriended the nation’s top lawmakers by giving them a little tech support. In a typical session behind closed doors on Capitol Hill, Facebook staff members have walked them through how best to use the site: what kinds of pictures to post on their profiles, how to distinguish between valuable constituents and the random gadfly, how to write compelling messages. Members of Congress have asked: How do I get more Facebook followers? Facebook does much more in Washington than this kind of in-person hand-holding. It has hired a stable of seasoned, well-connected insiders from both parties, stepped up its lobbying and set up a political action committee. Its lobbying budget — $1.35 million in 2011 and $650,000 so far this year, according to figures from the Center for Responsive Politics — still pales in comparison to major companies in more established industries, like military and pharmaceuticals. But Facebook stands out for having staked out a Washington strategy so early in its history.
benton.org/node/123714 | New York Times
Recommend this Headline
back to top

PRIVACY

PUTTING TWITTER INTO CONTEXT
[SOURCE: The White House, AUTHOR: Danny Weitzner]
Twitter announced it will support the new Do Not Track feature in web browsers, giving users one-click control over whether or not Twitter keeps track of which websites they visit. This is an important step is part of a larger Obama Administration strategy to encourage more consumer privacy protections on the internet. As much as people use and love the internet and other digital technology, there has been a growing concern that rapid advances in technology can lead to an erosion of personal privacy. As the Internet evolves, maintaining consumer trust is essential for the continued growth of the digital economy. That's why the Obama Administration unveiled a Consumer Privacy Bill of Rights in February, to give users more control over how their information is used online (download as PDF). Immediately an association of over 500 companies (including search engines, internet platforms, advertising networks and browser developers) committed to expanding individual control with “Do Not Track” technology before the end of 2012. Since the Consumer Privacy Bill of Rights was announced, the internet community has pushed forward with new technology that makes more individual control a reality for millions of users. Every day online companies are developing new services that make innovative uses of personal data, and we’re pleased to see this same innovation applied to managing personal privacy. The “Do Not Track” effort shows that collaboration amongst business, privacy advocates, technical experts, academics, standards organizations and government can lead to development of technologies that make the Internet more responsive to privacy needs. However, even with all of the innovative and responsible action by companies, there are others who fail to take adequate steps to protect individual privacy. That's why it is still important for Congress to take the next step and pass legislation to enshrine the Consumer Privacy Bill of Rights as the law of the land.
benton.org/node/123713 | White House, The
Recommend this Headline
back to top

FACEBOOK VS TWITTER
[SOURCE: New York Times, AUTHOR: Nick Bilton]
In the world of social networks, Facebook looks like the swift and cunning hare, Twitter the leisurely and careful tortoise. This race is not judged by speed but by a stopwatch with a much longer lifespan, one that is tied to trust. To run so quickly, Facebook exploded because it slurped up endless amounts of data about its users. It often did so in ways that earned it scorn from those worried about privacy and the implications of personal data used by others. Again and again, Facebook pushed the boundaries of people’s privacy by making things public that had once been declared private on its site. It continually opted people into new features that clearly overstepped the company’s original privacy agreements. As a result, Facebook users tiptoe through the site on eggshells. A recent CNBC poll found that “59 percent of respondents said that they had little to no trust in Facebook to keep their information private.” Eventually, the Federal Trade Commission stepped in to stop Facebook, but it was eight years too late. Twitter, on the hand, has taken an opposite approach. The company has never made its users’ private information public when it has introduced new features. Unlike Facebook, Twitter has not endlessly changed its privacy policy. Users of the site trust Twitter more. The stark difference between the two companies’ approaches to privacy is evident with product introductions.
benton.org/node/123711 | New York Times
Recommend this Headline
back to top

REGULATORS AND FACEBOOK
[SOURCE: Wall Street Journal, AUTHOR: L Gordon Crovitz]
[Commentary] The best way for Facebook to fend off regulations is to be more transparent about how it uses data and to give users easier controls over privacy settings. The company could be more explicit about its offers of new services in exchange for expanded access to personal information. Above all, letting people determine their own trade-offs is in the spirit of the Internet more than the alterative of one-size-fits-all rulings by regulators or judges. The successful public offering of Facebook means the market is optimistic that Mark Zuckerberg will fend off political pressures. Markets can be naive about the damage that nonmarket forces can cause, but 900 million Facebook users are a constituency large enough that politicians will think twice before unfriending it.
benton.org/node/123710 | Wall Street Journal
Recommend this Headline
back to top

FACEBOOK SUED
[SOURCE: Bloomberg, AUTHOR: Kit Chellel, Jeremy Hodge]
Facebook was sued for $15 billion in an amended complaint by subscribers who claim the company invaded their privacy by tracking their Internet use. In the complaint filed May 17 in federal court in San Jose (CA), the plaintiffs say Facebook improperly tracked users even after they logged out. Twenty-one cases making similar claims have been consolidated before the court. The latest filing seeks to proceed on behalf of U.S. residents who subscribed to Facebook from May 2010 to September 2011. “This is not just a damages action, but a groundbreaking digital-privacy rights case that could have wide and significant legal and business implications,” David Straite, a partner at Stewarts Law, which represents some of the users, said in an e- mailed statement. Andrew Noyes, a Facebook spokesman, said that the claims are without merit and the company will contest them.
benton.org/node/123666 | Bloomberg | GigaOm
Recommend this Headline
back to top

VIDEO PRIVACY LAW
[SOURCE: MediaPost, AUTHOR: Wendy Davis]
Consumers who sued Hulu for alleged privacy violations are urging a federal judge to reject the company's argument that it isn't covered by the federal video privacy law. Hulu's contention that the Video Privacy Protection Act only applies to brick-and-mortar stores is "disingenuous at best," the consumers argue in a 19-page reply filed last week with the U.S. District Court in the Northern District of California. They say that Hulu's bid to distinguish streaming videos from DVDs or videocassettes is "akin to the argument that an email is not a document because it exists exclusively in cyberspace." The lawsuit was sent to mediation earlier this week, but that doesn't necessarily signal that it will be resolved; many cases in federal court are referred to dispute resolution programs but then return to court if the parties aren't able to come to an agreement.
benton.org/node/123648 | MediaPost
Recommend this Headline
back to top

TELEVISION

WHAT DOES FACEBOOK MEAN FOR BROADCATERS
[SOURCE: Broadcasting&Cable, AUTHOR: George Winslow]
If Facebook is able to significantly expand its ad take, as many investors seem to expect, then broadcasters and programmers could find themselves increasingly competing with the social media giant, much as they do with Google, which dominates online advertising. On the other hand, a successful effort by Facebook to expand social media and mobile advertising and establish better business models for those media could be extremely helpful for broadcasters looking to build up their mobile and social TV efforts, which have not yet produced much of a return on their investments.
benton.org/node/123670 | Broadcasting&Cable
Recommend this Headline
back to top

FCC, OVD, MPVP
[SOURCE: TVNewsCheck, AUTHOR: Harry Jessell]
[Commentary] The principal way that television stations can restore their ubiquity is by streaming their signals online — their entire signals, 24/7 — just as they broadcast them. The Internet is a path to all those second and third screens. TV is way behind radio on this front. As far as I know, not a single TV station is being simulcast online. It's a sad state of affairs. TV broadcasting is still reliant mostly on advertising revenue and the only way to reverse the long slide in viewership is for stations to break out of the box in the living room and leap onto the Internet. The reason they don't is because they can't. They don't control the online rights to the network and syndicated programming that comprises much of their schedule, and the networks and syndicators for the most part don't want to give them those rights. The Federal Communications Commission is considering whether it should regulate online video distributors (OVDs) just as it now does cable and satellite operators — or, legally speaking, multichannel video program distributors (MVPDs). Such regulation would bring with it entitlements and obligations.
benton.org/node/123657 | TVNewsCheck
Recommend this Headline
back to top

KIDS TV
[SOURCE: Hollywood Reporter, AUTHOR: Alex Ben Block]
Kids these days aren't like they used to be. Just ask executives at television networks that cater to children. Over the past year, a sea change in viewing habits has thrown one of the most profitable segments of Hollywood into a chaotic period of transition. Longtime leader Nickelodeon suffered a nearly 30 percent drop in ratings in February, while rivals including Cartoon Network have seen increases. At the same time, upstarts such as The Hub, PBS Kids, Sprout and even Netflix are siphoning off viewers, to say nothing of the online programming and gaming options that compete for the attention of young people. It's enough for savvy executives -- many of whom are heading to the NCTA conference beginning May 21 in Boston -- to begin questioning where the business model for kids television is headed.
benton.org/node/123641 | Hollywood Reporter
Recommend this Headline
back to top

2012 POLITICAL ADS
[SOURCE: Politico, AUTHOR: Alexander Burns, Maggie Haberman]
With nearly six months left before Election Day, national party committees have already reserved more than $72 million in television airtime for a fall campaign that’s shaping up as a Super Bowl-like spectacle of political advertising. Given that the 2012 cycle may go down in history as the most cluttered and expensive in history, committees and super PACs are maneuvering to get the most bang for their buck. For many, that means buying their ads unusually early. The National Republican Senatorial Committee has booked $25 million in airtime in the targeted states of Virginia, Missouri, Montana, Wisconsin, New Mexico and Nevada, while the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee has reserved $15.6 million across Missouri, Montana and Virginia. Those numbers are sure to grow. On the House side, the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee is in the process of reserving $32 million in advertising across 26 congressional districts in what party officials call an attempt to lock in low advertising rates and ensure the group’s ads don’t get lost in a flood of outside money.
benton.org/node/123642 | Politico
Recommend this Headline
back to top

WIRELESS/SPECTRUM

UPDATING TELECOM RULES FOR WIRELESS WORLD
[SOURCE: Politico, AUTHOR: Eliza Krigman]
Washington has gone wireless, but its rules haven’t. While the communications field rapidly moves toward a broadband infrastructure, Washington regulators are stuck with antiquated statutes from the days of corded telephones. Pressure is mounting for Congress to define the right role for government in an Internet-based universe — especially with pending court cases that question the Federal Communications Commission’s authority in this space — but opinions differ about how to tackle the issue. There is an 800-pound gorilla to contend with: the Telecom Act of 1996. Some wireless carriers argue that public officials must scrap the act, which was the first major reform to communications law since 1934, and start from scratch to craft new rules that make sense given the mobile broadband boom. To others, that line of reasoning is simply a way for the wireless industry to escape communication regulations that should apply regardless of technological protocol.
benton.org/node/123716 | Politico
Recommend this Headline
back to top

CODE OF APP CONDUCT
[SOURCE: Politico, AUTHOR: Tony Romm]
As smartphone-crazed consumers fiddle with Angry Birds and challenge each other on Words With Friends, policymakers are playing a different game: bringing order to mobile apps. To Washington, the daily deals tools, social networks and other programs that consumers download onto their smartphones present new challenges to consumer privacy and security. Lawmakers are keenly aware of the horror stories of apps surreptitiously accessing user address books or broadcasting location data sans permission. “There is an expectation of privacy when you use a mobile device, particularly when using an application that can collect and transmit personal information such as geolocation,” said Sen. Jay Rockefeller (D-W.Va.), chairman of the Senate Commerce Committee. There’s a “lot of work to do to make sure that consumers have control over what personal information is being collected about them and that companies respect consumer privacy.” The result has been a classic Beltway power struggle: A cutting-edge-yet-still-neophyte industry boasting millions of dollars in revenue is looking to stave off regulation from the wary sheriffs on Capitol Hill and at regulatory agencies. Here are the three key areas Washington is watching: 1) Protecting privacy, 2) Location tracking, and 3) Mobile wallet safety.
benton.org/node/123688 | Politico
Recommend this Headline
back to top

SPARRING OVER SPECTRUM
[SOURCE: National Journal, AUTHOR: Adam Mazmanian]
Tom Power, the U.S. Deputy Chief Technology Officer for Telecommunications, agrees with critics who want to see federal agencies move faster in identifying spectrum to be turned over for use under the National Broadband Plan. One of those critics is Federal Communications Commission member Robert McDowell. On C-Span’s "The Communicators," Commissioner McDowell suggested that the problem of the slow pace of federal spectrum givebacks could be solved with an executive order. Commissioner McDowell was also dubious of the $18 billion figure that's been tossed around as the total cost of federal spectrum reallocation, suggesting that agencies might be hyping costs. Part of the problem, Power said, is that the government is hamstrung in finding ways to create incentives for bureaucrats to relinquish spectrum - especially considering that some of those spectrum managers might innovate themselves out of a job by doing so. By contrast, Power observed, "Industry has the luxury of working in the free market." Power didn't comment on whether the $18 billion figure was high, and said that in any event, the true cost would be scored by the Office of Management and Budget down the road.
benton.org/node/123651 | National Journal
Recommend this Headline
back to top

DISH DISSES FCC TIMELINE
[SOURCE: Reuters, AUTHOR: Jasmin Melvin]
Dish Network told the Federal Communications Commission that the FCC’s proposed timetable for Dish's planned wireless network was unrealistic and carried too harsh a penalty for failing to meet requirements. The second-largest satellite TV provider in the United States proposed that it have four years to reach an initial milestone, instead of the three years proposed by the FCC. That initial phase would reach 60 million people under the Dish proposal, rather than the 30 percent of the U.S. population that the FCC proposed, roughly 90 million people. Dish also urged the FCC to adopt more flexible sanctions for failing to meet buildout milestones, "rather than requiring a draconian outcome such as automatic license termination," the company said in a filing with the regulator.
benton.org/node/123662 | Reuters | GigaOm
Recommend this Headline
back to top

DISH SPECTRUM CONDTIONS
[SOURCE: The Hill, AUTHOR: Andrew Feinberg]
Public Knowledge and the New America Foundation told the Federal Communications Commission that if it grants Dish Network a large block of spectrum for free, it should come with conditions meant to ensure the grant serves the public interest — by keeping the company from selling the spectrum licenses to AT&T or Verizon. Dish hopes the FCC will grant it a block of spectrum that has an estimated value of between $4 billion and $6 billion. Dish is asking the FCC for a waiver that would allow it to use some of the same 2 gigahertz spectrum that it uses to communicate with satellites to operate a mobile network. The public interest groups said in the filing that they "welcome the Commission's effort to reallocate fallow Mobile Satellite Spectrum for more fully flexible licensing in a manner that holds the potential to promote wireless industry competition, innovation and consumer welfare.” But given the value of the spectrum, the groups warned Dish could simply “flip” it to Verizon or AT&T, and said the FCC should impose conditions on the company to prevent that from happening. The groups urged the FCC to set aside half the spectrum for wholesale leasing or roaming by other carriers.
benton.org/node/123660 | Hill, The | Public Knowledge | National Journal
Recommend this Headline
back to top

MICROSOFT WINS IMPORT BAN
[SOURCE: ars technica, AUTHOR: Jon Brodkin]
The US International Trade Commission ordered an import ban on Motorola Mobility Android products, agreeing with Microsoft that the devices infringe a Microsoft patent on “generating meeting requests” from a mobile device. The import ban stems from a December ruling that the Motorola Atrix, Droid, and Xoom (among 18 total devices) infringed the patent, which Microsoft says is related to Exchange ActiveSync technology. Today, the ITC said in a “final determination of violation” that “the appropriate form of relief in this investigation is a limited exclusion order prohibiting the unlicensed entry for consumption of mobile devices, associated software and components thereof covered by claims 1, 2, 5, or 6 of the United States Patent No. 6,370,566 and that are manufactured abroad by or on behalf of, or imported by or on behalf of, Motorola.” ITC rulings such as this one are subject to a 60-day Presidential review period, during which time Motorola is required to post a bond of 33¢ “per device entered for consumption.” Motorola is on the verge of being acquired by Google, with the acquisition having been approved by every jurisdiction except China.
benton.org/node/123653 | Ars Technica
Recommend this Headline
back to top

CONTENT

INTERNET RALLY
[SOURCE: New York Times, AUTHOR: Michael Grynbaum]
More than 40,000 ultra-Orthodox Jews filed Citi Field to hear about a moral topic considered gravely important in their community: the potential problems that can stem from access to pornography and other explicit content on the uncensored, often incendiary Web. Inside the stadium, a dais was set up by the back wall of center field, where rabbis led the packed stadium in evening prayers and offered heated exhortations to avoid the “filth” that can be found on the Internet. English translations of the speeches appeared on a jumbo digital screen. Still, many attendees readily conceded that the Internet played a big role in their lives. Several opponents of the rally gathered outside the stadium, including a crowd that stood by police barricades holding signs that read, “The Internet Is Not the Problem.” Many of the protesters said they shared the religious beliefs of the attendees but wanted to show support for victims of child sexual abuse, some of whom in ultra-Orthodox communities have been discouraged from calling the police and have been shunned after the crimes against them were reported.
benton.org/node/123708 | New York Times
Recommend this Headline
back to top

INTERNET/BROADBAND

NETWORK NEUTRALITY AND GOVERNMENT SURVEILLANCE
[SOURCE: Internet Cases, AUTHOR: Evan Brown]
[Commentary] If one is in favor of network neutrality and also wary of overzealous government wiretapping, he or she must be careful to not allow advocacy of federal power in one arena (enforcing network neutrality) to bleed over, even by analogy, to advocacy of federal power in the other arena (surveillance). Participants in these discussions are advised to keep the ideological origins of the respective positions in mind.
benton.org/node/123638 | Internet cases
Recommend this Headline
back to top

FUTURE OF GAMIFICATION
[SOURCE: Pew’s Internet & American Life Project, AUTHOR: Janna Anderson, Lee Rainie]
A new Pew Internet/Elon University survey of more than 1,000 Internet experts, researchers, observers and users points to significant growth in the use of game elements in online activities. Roughly half of those responding to the survey said the use of game mechanics, feedback loops and rewards to spur interaction and boost engagement, loyalty, fun and/or learning will gain ground between now and 2020. While many of those surveyed said there will be limits to the growth of gamification, the tech experts generally believe that game elements in some form will become more prevalent in the everyday activities of many of the people who are actively using communications networks.
benton.org/node/123636 | Pew’s Internet & American Life Project
Recommend this Headline
back to top

WHO’S AFRAID OF CISPA?
[SOURCE: Wall Street Journal, AUTHOR: Editorial staff]
[Commentary] Internet activists who killed an antipiracy campaign on Capitol Hill in January are back on the virtual warpath against efforts to improve America's cyber defenses. As then, the ferocity of the ire is disconnected from the modesty of the legislation. Standing in the way of the Cyber Intelligence Sharing and Protection Act (CISPA), however, is the Obama Administration, which came out against CISPA before the House vote, citing supposed shortcomings on privacy protections. Having worked closely with Republicans to write the bill, Rep. Ruppersberger was blindsided by the White House and has said as much. The House passed the bill 248-168, with 42 Democrats defying the Administration's veto threat. The online activists, who don't let facts get in the way of a good campaign, needed no invitation to sound the call to battle. The ACLU, privacy evangelists and tea party libertarian-types are in. Search #CISPA on Twitter to behold the Orwellian future of the National Security Agency prying into your Web affairs. But just because you're paranoid doesn't mean someone's out to get you.
benton.org/node/123703 | Wall Street Journal
Recommend this Headline
back to top

COMCAST NEEDS TO GO FURTHER
[SOURCE: San Jose Mercury News, AUTHOR: Troy Wolverton]
[Commentary] It would seem that Comcast is finally listening to the "noise." So let's keep up the din. Last week, the company announced it will do away with its anti-competitive and anti-consumer cap on Internet data usage. Instead of threatening to cut off service to anyone exceeding its limits, Comcast now plans to simply charge them more. That's not ideal, but it's an improvement. Because the company hasn't finalized its new policy and because the announced change is apparently in response to an outcry from consumers, activists and competitors, there's reason to believe continued pressure could force it to offer an even better deal to customers. And we deserve it. If it's true that few people bump up against the old caps, then Comcast ought to easily be able to double or even triple the data allotments -- or eliminate them altogether. Meanwhile, treating similar services differently based on who's providing them is ultimately a bad deal for consumers. Comcast pitches its new app as beneficial to its subscribers. They get the ability to watch its streaming video at no additional cost whether in dollars or in deductions from their usage amount. But the move is anti-competitive. Because it gives consumers a strong incentive to use Comcast's no-cost streaming service over Netflix's or Hulu's, it could lead to much less competition. And if Comcast is able to get away with it, there's no telling how many other services it would set up on "private networks." That could leave the Internet looking a lot like cable TV, where companies like Comcast determine the content you can access and the price you'll pay for it. Let's not go there. Let's make some more noise
benton.org/node/123700 | San Jose Mercury News
Recommend this Headline
back to top

JOURNALISM

LA TIMES RECEIVES FORD FOUNDATION GRANT
[SOURCE: Los Angeles Times, AUTHOR: James Rainey]
The Los Angeles Times will use a $1-million grant from the Ford Foundation to expand its coverage of key beats, including immigration and ethnic communities in Southern California, the southwest U.S. border and the emerging economic powerhouse of Brazil. Times Editor Davan Maharaj announced the gift May 17, calling it "great news" that will bolster coverage of subjects vitally important to readers. A Ford Foundation spokesman said that, as media organizations face challenges funding reporting through advertising and traditional revenue streams, “we and many other funders are experimenting with new approaches to preserve and advance high-quality journalism.” The Times plans to use the two-year grant to hire journalists who will focus on the Vietnamese, Korean and other immigrant communities, the California prison system, the border region and Brazil. Maharaj said that although The Times already covered those beats, the reporting was typically done by journalists who also had other responsibilities. The five new reporters will provide more robust coverage of those topics.
benton.org/node/123665 | Los Angeles Times
Recommend this Headline
back to top

TELECOM

PRISON PHONE RATES
[SOURCE: The Hill, AUTHOR: Brendan Sasso]
A coalition of civil liberties and public interest groups are urging the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to cap the phone rates that prisons can charge inmates. In a letter sent to FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski, the groups said high phone rates unjustly punish the families of inmates and contribute to recidivism by cutting off contact between inmates and their families. According to the letter, a typical interstate collect call from prison has a $3.95 connection fee and rates as high as 90 cents per minute. The groups note that a 15-minute collect call would cost families $10 to $17 and that a one-hour call once a week would cost $250 per month. The letter was signed by groups including the Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights, the American Civil Liberties Union, Consumers Union, Free Press, NAACP and the National Council of La Raza. Conservatives David Keene of the American Conservative Union and Gary Bauer of American Values also signed the letter.
benton.org/node/123698 | Hill, The
Recommend this Headline
back to top

FCC REFORM

FCC ANALYSIS OF EXISTING RULES
[SOURCE: Federal Communications Commission, AUTHOR: ]
The Federal Communications Commission has developed this Final Plan for Retrospective Analysis of Existing Rules. The Final Plan represents the Commission’s strategy for incorporating retrospective analysis into its processes for reviewing its rules. This plan covers the following documents produced by the FCC:
Existing significant regulations;
Existing information collections; and
Future significant regulations.
Each Bureau and the majority of Offices in the FCC is involved in retrospective analysis of the rules that it implements. As part of the FCC’s Data Innovation Initiative, each of the Bureaus is tasked with identifying obsolete or overly burdensome data collections for potential elimination. Each Bureau and Office also has been asked to undertake a thorough review of regulations to identify duplicative, obsolete or repealed rules that should be taken off the books. Every part of the FCC is involved in efforts to eliminate outdated regulations and to promote private investment and innovation that creates jobs and spurs economic growth. As the FCC continues to implement its plan for retrospective review of regulations, the agency will explore ways of expanding public participation in order to achieve the goals of more efficiently providing the public with information necessary to participate in the regulatory process and improving the actual results of regulatory requirements.
benton.org/node/123656 | Federal Communications Commission | Chairman Genachowski | Commissioner Pai | The Hill | B&C
Recommend this Headline
back to top

STORIES FROM ABROAD

CHINA OK FOR GOOGLE-MOTOROLA
[SOURCE: Associated Press, AUTHOR: ]
Authorities in China have approved Google's bid to buy phone maker Motorola Mobility, clearing the way for the $12.5 billion deal to close soon. But Chinese regulators attached a big condition: That Google's Android operating system for mobile devices remain available to all at no cost for the next five years. The approval brings the Internet search giant closer to sealing its biggest acquisition ever. Buying Motorola allows Google to expand into manufacturing phones, tablet computers and other consumer devices for the first time. The deal also gives Google access to more than 17,000 Motorola patents.
benton.org/node/123696 | Associated Press
Recommend this Headline
back to top

GOOGLE AND THE EU
[SOURCE: Bloomberg, AUTHOR: Aoife White]
Google must submit remedies within weeks to assuage European Union regulators’ antitrust concerns to avoid a formal complaint and possible fines, EU Competition Commissioner Joaquin Almunia said. Almunia asked the company to send him proposals within “a matter of weeks” to eliminate concerns that Google promotes its own specialist “vertical” search services, that it copies rival content including travel and restaurant reviews and that its contracts with software developers prevent ads from being moved to different services. “I am today giving Google an opportunity to offer remedies to address concerns we have already identified,” Almunia told reporters today in Brussels. “Any final proposal by Google will be market tested before it’s made legally binding by the commission.”
benton.org/node/123695 | Bloomberg
Recommend this Headline
back to top

FACEBOOK NEEDS WORLD DOMINATION
[SOURCE: GigaOm, AUTHOR: Bobbie Johnson, Robert Andrews]
In many ways Facebook is a very American success: forged at Harvard, warmed up in the crucible of Silicon Valley, and now reaching boiling point by becoming one of the nation’s most valuable companies. But it’s also a very international business, too, with 900 million users spread all around the world. The company has made no secret of its ambition to make sure every person on the planet is connected to its service. What might seem like hubris, however, is actually necessity: with Wall Street now breathing down its neck, overseas growth is important — investors want to see that however big it has become, Facebook still has headroom left. So how will it manage?
benton.org/node/123692 | GigaOm
Recommend this Headline
back to top

FACEBOOK-OBAMA
[SOURCE: Financial Times, AUTHOR: Edward Luce]
[Commentary] Hope, change, friends. At a certain point in the past few years, Barack Obama and Facebook began to overlap in people’s minds. Not only did Obama’s 2008 campaign demonstrate Facebook’s potency as an electoral tool, it also hired Chris Hughes – a Facebook co-founder – to do the job. In the same way that Halliburton offered a corporate expression of the Bush administration, Facebook captures the zeitgeist of Obama’s. It is little surprise the freshly-listed Facebook faces the same overblown expectations with which Mr Obama started out. It may be too late for Facebook to learn from Obama and since its valuation it has $104bn worth of reasons not to care.
benton.org/node/123702 | Financial Times
Recommend this Headline
back to top

Benton

Search

Benton

Daily Digest

Analysis

May 2012

Why Samsung must negotiate. Why Apple won't settle.

Aereo is leaving the courts dazed and confused

T-Mobile, MetroPCS want Dish to give up 50% of its spectrum

May 21, 2012 (Facebook gets a reality check)

Should telecom rules be upgraded for wireless?

Facebook Builds Network of Friends in Washington

Putting Twitter’s “Do Not Track” Feature in Context