May 2012

How to fight back against privacy pirates

Have you Googled yourself lately? Is the information about you accurate or full of inconsistencies, both of which can be devastating? Accurate information that you'd rather be kept private can be used by stalkers to find where you are and by cyber criminals to steal your identity and empty out your bank account. While incorrect data that casts you in a bad light can cost you a promotion, a job, or even your business. So, how can you reclaim your digital privacy and fight back against companies that collect your personal data and sell it for their own profit. What if you want to completely erase your online presence? Is that even possible? Unfortunately, the short answer is no. But here's what you can do to mask your identity and make it difficult for the privacy pirates.

On piracy, it's Microsoft vs. Everyone

Microsoft is pitching itself as the new best friend of American manufacturing in a campaign aimed at convincing state and federal authorities to crack down on software piracy.

The company's argument: foreign manufacturers are slashing costs by ripping off software, giving them a competitive advantage over Americans playing by the rules. But the push is engendering opposition from some of the very companies the software giant says stricter enforcement is meant to protect -- a roster that includes Apple, Cisco, Dell, HP, Google, IBM, Motorola, and Xerox. The nascent battle of tech titans for now centers on a bill Microsoft is working to steer through the California state legislature, but it has also landed in Congress and lobbyists watching the issue expect it to intensify quickly. Microsoft contends it is simply seeking to level a playing field whose tilt has accelerated the offshoring of manufacturing jobs over the last decade. It points to a study by the Business Software Alliance showing that reducing piracy by 10% over four years would generate nearly $38 billion in new economic activity and create 25,000 new tech-industry jobs.

School Discounts Mandated by Federal E-Rate Program Largely Neglected

At the dawn of the Internet era, Congress set out to avert a digital divide between rich and poor students. In a landmark bill, lawmakers required the nation’s phone companies to provide bargain voice and data rates to schools and to subsidize the cost of equipment and services, with the biggest subsidies going to the schools with the most disadvantaged children. More than a decade later, as schools struggle for funding amid widespread budget cuts, there is growing evidence that the program’s crucial low-price requirement has been widely neglected by federal regulators and at least one telecom giant. A decade after the program started, AT&T was still not training its employees about the mandatory low rates, which are supposed to be set at the lowest price offered to comparable customers. Lawsuits and other legal actions in Indiana, Wisconsin, Michigan and New York have turned up evidence that AT&T and Verizon charged local school districts much higher rates than it gave to similar customers or more than what the program allowed.

FCC Rejects Billionaire John Malone's Attempt To Take Control Of Sirius XM

The Federal Communication Commission rejected Liberty Media’s request to take de facto control of Sirius XM Radio.

Liberty Media, owned by billionaire John Malone, has preferred stock that represents approximately 40% of Sirius, but a widening rift between them and current management has stalled the operation. The FCC disclosed the rejection on May 4; the statement noted that Liberty Media failed to correctly file the application for consent to transfer de facto control of Sirius. The problem: Sirius wouldn’t provide Liberty Media “with its passwords, signatures and other information required to file an electronic transfer of control application.” Sirius CEO Mel Karmazin and the management team are trying to ensure “shareholders receive a control premium from Liberty.” Karmazin, who has pocketed more than $37 million in pay since taking the top job at Sirius (and stands to get another $125 million over the next couple of months as he exercises stock options), told my colleague Jeff Bercovici “I’m one of the most underpaid executives in the history of executive payment.”

Anonymous Trolling: How Does Online Racism Affect Broadband Adoption?

[Commentary] It happens all too often: We read an interesting article and feel compelled to add our two cents about the topic, so we scroll down to the comments section only to be faced with a barrage of hate. Arguably, most people who write articles would love for their work to be a catalyst for discussion and learning. Unfortunately, many journalists have found the opposite, their words being a springboard for racists and Internet trolls to graffiti their work with odium. According to digital scholar Vint Cerf, “The Internet is a reflection of our society and that mirror is going to be reflecting what we see. If we do not like what we see in that mirror the problem is not to fix the mirror, we have to fix society.” But is this true? Are the vile words of so many on the Internet true representations of American society? And what effect does that have on minority broadband adoption and their desire to allow access to this type of expression into their home?

Could an Oracle Win Against Google Blow Up the Cloud?

A San Francisco court has spent the past few weeks considering a copyright question that could weigh heavy on the future of cloud computing.

It’s part of a high-profile lawsuit between Oracle and Google. Oracle says that Google violated its copyrights and patents when it wrote its own version of Java for the Android mobile operating system. Part of what the court is trying to figure out this week is whether Google wronged Oracle by writing software that mimicked the Java Application Programming Interfaces (APIs are coding standards that let programs communicate with one another). The conventional wisdom in the coder community has been that it’s fine to reproduce the interface of someone else’s APIs, so long as you don’t actually copy their software. So if the court finds that APIs are copyrightable, it could have major implications for any software that uses APIs without explicit permission — Linux for example. But it could affect things in the cloud, where there are several efforts to clone Amazon’s Web Services APIs.

India Launches Antitrust Probe of Google

India has launched an antitrust probe of Google's online advertising business to investigate potential anticompetitive practices, government officials familiar with the matter say, marking the latest setback for the Internet company in an emerging market where it has lofty ambitions.

The probe, which could take several months to complete, is initially focused on AdWords, Google's flagship advertising product and main source of revenue. But the agency conducting the investigation, the Competition Commission of India, could expand it to scrutinize other Google services if it sees fit, according to the Indian officials.

Almunia says won't rush Google antitrust decision

EU regulators are in no rush to decide any antitrust charges against Google, in a complicated investigation into complaints by rivals about its search results, the EU's competition chief said.

The European Commission launched a probe into Google in November 2010 after rivals, including Microsoft, accused the company of manipulating search results and promoting its own services, while demoting theirs. "We are not yet there. This is a complex case," EU Competition Commissioner Joaquin Almunia told Reuters on the sidelines of a competition conference. "We are not in a hurry. We are very serious" about the investigation. Asked whether he had decided to formally charge Google by sending the company a statement of objections or charge sheet, Almunia said: "No." Almunia had previously said he expected to receive a report on Google from his case team after Easter, which was on April 8, and would then decide on the next step. Asked whether he had the report, he said: "I receive a lot of reports."

Kenya government to sell treasury bills via mobile phone service

The Kenyan government is set to launch Treasury Mobile Direct to enable citizens to buy government debt on their mobile phones, including Treasury Bills and bonds.

The scheme has been launched by the World Bank and the Central Bank and aims to capitalize on the popularity and success of mobile money transfer services in the country. According to data released by the Communications Commission of Kenya (CCK), the number of mobile money subscribers in the country stood at 18.9 million by April, with money deposited through mobile phones amounting to KES 177 billion. The project, still at the pilot phase, will require potential investors to be registered as mobile money subscribers with the various operators in the country, who will open Central Depository System accounts for them. The scheme will help individuals cultivate a culture of savings and increase participation in the bond market, which is currently less than 3 percent. The first phase will be rolled out to bank holders before being integrated with the unbanked.

Senate Judiciary Committee
May 9, 2012
10 am

Witness:

The Honorable Victoria A. Espinel
Intellectual Property Enforcement Coordinator
Office of Management and Budget

Read more about Oversight of the Office of the Intellectual Property Enforcement Coordinator

Benton

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