August 2012

Google is acquiring the Frommer's travel brand from publicly traded John Wiley & Sons for an undisclosed price in order to bolster its offerings of local reviews around the world.

Google sees an opportunity to broaden its consumer offerings outside of restaurant reviews. That Frommer's provides information about hotels and destinations globally made the acquisition that much more attractive. The deal is expected to close shortly. Google hasn't yet decided whether the Frommer's guidebooks will continue to be published in print or whether they will eventually migrate entirely to online. It is also possible that the Frommer's brand could be melded into the Zagat brand. One publisher suggested it was unlikely that the Frommer's sale would generate significant antitrust concerns. "The travel book business is small potatoes even for the Justice Department," said Bill Newlin, publisher of Avalon Travel, an imprint of the Perseus Books Group that publishes travel expert Rick Steves and the Moon branded guides. Newlin isn't worried about Frommer's titles getting an unfair advantage in search, either. "There's only one way to spell Rick Steves," he said.

Frommer's dates back to 1957, when Arthur Frommer, founder of the Frommer's series, with a book that offered travel advice to Americans visiting Europe for those able to spend $5 a day. Wiley acquired the Frommer's brand in 2001.

The Pentagon has proposed that military cyber-specialists be given permission to take action outside its computer networks to defend critical U.S. computer systems — a move that officials say would set a significant precedent.

The proposal is part of a pending revision of the military’s standing rules of engagement. The secretary of defense has not decided whether to approve the proposal, but officials said adopting the new rules would be within his authority. “Without a doubt it would be a very big and significant step forward,” said a senior defense official, speaking on the condition of anonymity to discuss a sensitive topic. “It would account for changes in technology that will give more flexibility in defending the nation from cyberattack.” Currently, the military is permitted to take defensive actions or to block malicious software — such as code that can sabotage another computer — only inside or at the boundaries of its own networks. But advances in technology and mounting concern about the potential for a cyberattack to damage power stations, water-treatment plants and other critical systems have prompted senior officials to seek a more robust role for the department’s Cyber Command.

The architects of the Senate’s lagging cybersecurity bill don’t exactly see eye to eye on whether the Administration should implement reform by fiat.

Sen. Joe Lieberman (I-CT) said he still hopes Congress can finalize a law this year, but he added: “[If] Congress cannot get its act together to protect our nation from the real, urgent and growing threat of cyber attack, then the president must do everything he can by executive order.” That said, the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee chairman acknowledged there’s just “some things” an executive order can’t accomplish (potentially including liability protection) that instead “can only be done by statute.” Yet Lieberman’s close ally, Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine), isn’t so fond of the idea. “Given the threat, I understand the administration’s desire to act, but an executive order should not be a substitute for legislative action,” she said in a statement. “I am deeply disappointed that the Senate failed to pass our bipartisan bill before the August recess, but it remains imperative that this Congress address this issue. An executive order could send the unintended signal that congressional action is not urgently needed.”

An advertising trade association dismissed lawmakers' concerns about companies that buy and sell information about consumers.

A bipartisan group of House lawmakers wrote to major data brokers last month and questioned them about their business practices. “By combining data from numerous offline and online sources, data brokers have developed hidden dossiers on almost every U.S. consumer,” the lawmakers wrote. “This large scale aggregation of the personal information of hundreds of millions of American citizens raises a number of serious privacy concerns." But in a response, the Digital Marketing Association said the lawmakers are questioning "legitimate commercial data practices that are essential to America’s job creation, economic growth and global leadership." The group said that targeted advertising is "the fuel on which America’s free market engine runs."