June 2012

A Note to Congress: The United Nations Isn't a Serious Threat to Internet Freedom—But You Are

[Commentary] The House Commerce Committee will vote on a powerfully worded resolution declaring that "it is essential that the Internet remain stable, secure, and free from government control." The target of the bi-partisan resolution? The United Nations. That's a bit rich, coming from a legislative body whose appetite for Internet regulation is rapidly growing.

The House resolution, which has garnered over 50 co-sponsors, proclaims that it is "the consistent and unequivocal policy of the United States to promote a global Internet free from government control and preserve and advance the successful multistakeholder model that governs the Internet today." If only it were true. The reality is that Congress increasingly has its paws all over the Internet. Lawmakers and regulators are busier than ever trying to expand the horizons of cyber-control across the board: copyright mandates, cybersecurity rules, privacy regulations, speech controls, and much more. While the congressional resolution is commendable, Congress would do well to heed its own cries of alarm. The most serious threat to Internet freedom is not the hypothetical specter of United Nations control, but the very real creeping cyber-statism at work in the legislatures of the United States and other nations. We hope those members who vote for the resolution tomorrow will remember their distaste for Internet regulation in the future.

House Committee Approves Sweeping, Warrantless Electronic Spy Powers

The House Judiciary Committee voted 23-11 to reauthorize the FISA Amendments Act including broad electronic eavesdropping powers that largely legalized the Bush administration’s warrantless wiretapping program.

The legislation, expiring at year’s end, authorizes the government to electronically eavesdrop on Americans’ phone calls and emails without a probable-cause warrant so long as one of the parties to the communication is outside the United States. The communications may be intercepted “to acquire foreign intelligence information.” Rep. Lamar Smith (R-TX) and the committee’s chairman, said before the vote that “We have a duty to ensure the intelligence community can gather the intelligence they need to protect our country.” He said terrorists “are committed to the destruction of our country.”

NSA: It Would Violate Your Privacy to Say if We Spied on You

The surveillance experts at the National Security Agency won’t tell two powerful United States Senators how many Americans have had their communications picked up by the agency as part of its sweeping new counterterrorism powers. The reason: it would violate your privacy to say so.

That claim comes in a short letter sent to civil libertarian Senators Ron Wyden and Mark Udall. The two members of the Senate’s intelligence oversight committee asked the NSA a simple question last month: under the broad powers granted in 2008′s expansion of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, how many persons inside the United States have been spied upon by the NSA?

Google Responds to New British Investigation of Street View

What did Google know about the data-scooping its Google Street View cars did, and when did Google know it? That seems to be at the heart of a newly reopened investigation by British data authorities, their third try at getting to the bottom of this controversial episode.

The Information Commissioner’s Office also seems to suspect Google of not being quite forthright with its officials earlier, which might explain the more aggressive stance this time around. Google has now responded to the ICO’s questions via a letter from its chief privacy counsel. Google says it is “surprised” to find itself confronting another investigation and offers one of its most sustained defenses yet. But there doesn’t seem to be much common ground yet even over the basic chronology. Google implies it blew the whistle on itself.

Facebook explains reporting tool

Ever wonder what happens after you click “Report/Mark as Spam” on your Facebook account? On June 19, the social network released an infographic that explains that process a little more and drew back the curtain on what happens when its users report to the site.

There are a few cases in which users would want to use Facebook’s reporting tool. For example, a user may want to file a report if they see spam, offensive content or if they notice a hacked or fake profile. The company has several teams that deal with different kinds of content, according to the graphic and accompanying blog post. There’s a Safety team, a Hate and Harassment team, an Abusive Content team and an Access Team, which each deal with a specific type of reported material.

EU moves against Universal-EMI deal

Universal Music Group said it received a statement of objections from the European Union's antitrust regulator over its bid to buy EMI.

The complaint does not necessarily mean the European Commission will block the deal, but it could force the companies to make concessions. A Universal spokesman said the company is preparing a "detailed response to the commission's statement." In the United States, the Federal Trade Commission is currently reviewing the transaction. The Senate Judiciary’s subcommittee on Antitrust, Competition Policy and Consumer Rights will examine the deal at a hearing on June 21.

Lawmakers look to save Microsoft's 'Do Not Track' default setting

Reps. Ed Markey (D-MA) and Joe Barton (R-TX) sent a letter to the World Wide Web Consortium, a Web standards organization, calling for the group to back a new privacy feature on Microsoft's Internet Explorer browser.

They argued that a default Do Not Track setting "provides consumers with better control and choice with respect to their personal information." The lawmakers called on the group to make the "protection of consumer privacy a priority and support Microsoft's announcement by endorsing a default Do Not Track setting." They also argued for a broad Do Not Track definition that stops companies from "accumulating, using, sharing, or selling the consumer's personal data." The W3C's Tracking Protection Working Group is meeting in Washington state this week to try to develop a consensus definition of Do Not Track.

Sen Schumer questions Apple, Google about use of 'spy planes'

Sen. Charles Schumer (D-NY) is questioning Apple and Google about the use of “military grade spy planes” for map photography and urging the companies to blur out individuals who are caught by the cameras.

In a letter sent to the two tech giants, Sen Schumer questioned the companies about their plans to snap detailed images of towns and cities for map products and said he worries the practice violates people’s privacy. He noted that some of the sensitive cameras can capture images of objects just four inches wide. Sen Schumer said people should not have to worry that planes are overhead taking pictures of their private events. He also expressed concern that criminals and terrorists could use detailed images of utilities and other infrastructure to launch attacks. Sen Schumer asked the companies to notify communities when they plan to take pictures for the maps, to automatically blur photos of individuals and to allow property owners to opt out of having photos taken of their home. He also urged them to work with law enforcement to blur pictures of sensitive utilities.

Senators Ask Supremes to Televise Health Care Decision

The chair and ranking member of the Senate Judiciary Committee have called on Chief Justice John Roberts to allow television cameras to record the reading of the court's ruling on the high-profile health care law appeal, which the court is expected to hand down soon.

In a letter to Chief Justice Roberts, Chairman Patrick Leahy (D-VT and Ranking Member Charles Grassley (R-Iowa), both advocates of cameras in federal courts, told the Chief Justice that given the importance of the case -- "the issues in the case are as important and consequential as any in recent Court history," they said -- the public had a compelling interest in the outcome of the case. "Broadcasting the Court's ruling would permit millions of citizens the opportunity to view what so few can from the court's small and limited public gallery," said the senators. "Modern technology makes televising the proceedings simple and unobtrusive," they added. "A minimal number of cameras in the courtroom, which could be placed to be barely noticeable to all participants, would provide live coverage of what may be one of the most historic rulings of our time. We believe permitting the nation to watch the proceedings would bolster public confidence in our judicial system and in the decisions of the Court."

Pro-Romney Super PAC launches new ad wave

Restore Our Future, the Super PAC backing Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney, will launch a $7.6 million television ad sweep across nine states, its latest contribution to the growing media presence of outside spending groups in the US election.

The ads will run through the end of June in presidential battleground states of Colorado, Florida, Iowa, Nevada, New Hampshire, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania and Virginia. The Super PAC backing President Barack Obama's re-election, Priorities USA, has been on air in five of those states since late May with $7 million worth of ads that hit Romney over his tenure at a private equity firm.

Benton

Search